Comments on: You Are What You Eat

By: Meezer

Meezer — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

It is true that we are hard-wired for salt and sweet (very high energy foods). Animals will travel a hundred miles for a salt lick and I have never met an animal, wild or domesticated, that did not like honey (except cats; very odd, that). Most concentrated energy sources require *effort* (or pain - bee stings) to obtain so we needed to have a reason to do so.
Nonetheless, we are more than our instincts. We, as educated people, alone bear responsibility for what we eat.

By: Mud Blood & Beer

Mud Blood & Beer — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Don't forget that as part of our "education" about eating is government programs that actually push corn-based products upon us. Why? Not because we need them, but because the most powerful agribusiness lobbies deal with the production of corn. The whole food pyramid from the get-go has been a joke, bought and paid for by argibusiness. I'm no lefty, but our dietary recommendations -- founded on information from lobbyists instead of nutritionists -- are a complete perversion of what the body needs.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Meezer: Agreed on the predilection for such foods. I was reacting to "sugar" in the sense of processed sugar and the other things in the post-World War II diet that, because of their sudden abundance, have helped create the problem.

MBB: True as well, althouhg the four food groups model has been outmoded for a while now. I'm sure agribusiness is part of the problem but think undeveloped science is the main culprit. We were so focused on the effects of high fat and cholesterol that we missed the carbs issue. Plus, they were thinking whole grains, not doughnuts and pizza.

By: Attila Girl

Attila Girl — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

The modern version of the "food groups" model is the pyramid--but being taught the basics in grade school doesn't relieve us of the responsibility to stay abreast of current developments in nutrition. I'm not so sure we're having cornbread pushed down our throats--corn *syrup*, maybe, but that's by the soft-drink people, not the nutritionists. It's been pretty clear since the 1970s that refined flour, rice, and sugar are not as good as whole wheat, brown rice, and fresh (or small amounts of dried) fruit--there's no mystery here.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Well, I wouldn't say the soft-drink companies force us to drink corn syrup -- going back to that personal responsibility thing.

I don't understand how anyone can stand to drink pop (ahem) that is sweetened with that stuff. At the time the naturally sweetened soft drinks switched, the only pop I was drinking was artificially sweetened -- and ever since then the aftertaste I get from the corn sweeteners is repulsive to me.

By: Little Miss Attila

Little Miss Attila — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

The Land(s) of Milk and Honey Radly Balko had a piece in Time magazine that apparently advocated the proposterous notion that there is a behavioral component in obesity, and that this behavior (let's call it "overeating") is generally voluntary--therefore, the responsibility of the...

By: PoliBlog

PoliBlog — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Quit Yer Whinning and Move Around Some
This post at OTB elicits the following responses: 1) I am living proof that fast food is not addictive--you can say no! How do I know this? I worked at McDonalds for about three years--and even ate free as a...

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