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Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

theatlantic.com

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Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#31

Post by rubashov »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #19
toddh wrote: post #3

The theory is about total carbs, which includes sugar, potatoes, etc, not just grains. Strange to just focus on grains.

From the article: "...the grain figure doesn't even include the two hundred pounds of potatoes Americans ate every year in the early 20th century." Table 4 of the original report gives more detailed numbers. In the period 1909-1919, grains, potatoes and sweeteners together contributed 54.4% of American calories. In 2004, it was down to 43%. https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnpp.usd... On the other…

Interesting table. Note the major decline in saturated fat intake (butter, whole milk, lard) in favor of oils and synthetics.

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#32

Post by rubashov »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #6

In 1914 far more jobs involved physical labor, even house work. Also, there wasn't as much opportunity to consume excess calories in 1914. The killer combination today is sedentary lifestyles PLUS too much food PLUS the wrong sorts of foods.

Manual laborers then, as now, were more likely to be fat.

Physical labor is not related to obesity.

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#33

Post by nano81 »

rubashov wrote: post #32
InclinedPlane wrote: post #6

In 1914 far more jobs involved physical labor, even house work. Also, there wasn't as much opportunity to consume excess calories in 1914. The killer combination today is sedentary lifestyles PLUS too much food PLUS the wrong sorts of foods.

Manual laborers then, as now, were more likely to be fat. Physical labor is not related to obesity.

That seems counter-intuitive to me. Do you have a source?

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#34

Post by sliverstorm »

bluekeybox wrote: post #14

If you look at the chart and treat the blue (sweeteners) and purple (fats and oils) streaks as a single one, together they increase 1.6 times from around 25% in 1914 to 40% in 2004. That's a huge increase! In fact, these two calorie sources are the only ones that consistently increased over the given period. I am surprised anyone is even talking about grains and meat.

Nobody wants to give up their sweeteners or fats & oils. So they try to find a problem elsewhere.

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#35

Post by kragen »

elptacek wrote: post #20

Take a cup of flour from 1914 and a cup of AP flour from 2011. Place them side by side on the counter top. Tell me how they are different from each other. Take a cup of oatmeal from 1914 and a cup of Quaker Oats from 2011. Place them side by side on the counter top. Tell me how they are different from each other. Take a slice from loaf of bread baked in the home from 1914 and place it next to a slice of bread from th…

> Take a cup of flour from 1914 and a cup of AP flour from 2011. Place them side by side on the counter top. Tell me how they are different from each other.

Have you actually done this? Do you really expect someone else to be able to do it? You've managed to come across as really patronizing but I can't tell if you actually have a point.

I'm no expert on milling technology, but I imagine today's flour is finer (just from the numbering system: 0, 00, 000, 0000 — I assume the finest flour in the system originally was 1!) but do you expect any other differences?

> Highly refined, protein and fiber reduced, extended with fillers and soaked in sweeteners.

Extending flour with fillers is illegal now in the US, and it wasn't illegal in 1914. That's probably one big difference. It's just as "protein and fiber reduced" now as it was then (as the original article points out!) and it's not "soaked in sweeteners".

Likewise with the oats. What was oatmeal like in 1914? How do you know?

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#36

Post by shiny »

rubashov wrote: post #21
pyre wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought that the theory was the simple carbs (e.g. sugars, refined grains) were worse offenders than complex carbs (e.g. potatoes).

A potato is basically sugar, as far as digestion is concerned. The "complex carb" and glycemic index thing is pretty well nonsense. A carb is a carb. The only question is whether you have a properly functioning metabolism and insulin sensitivity. They call a screwed up insulin sensitivity "metabolic syndrome". If you've developed one, typically through many years of poor eating, you need to cut out starch, because yo…

A carb is a not a carb. Sucrose is composed of equal parts glucose and fructose, while starch is pure glucose. Fructose and glucose are two different 'carbs' and handled much differently by the body.

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#38

Post by crystalis »

kragen wrote: post #35
elptacek wrote: post #20

Take a cup of flour from 1914 and a cup of AP flour from 2011. Place them side by side on the counter top. Tell me how they are different from each other. Take a cup of oatmeal from 1914 and a cup of Quaker Oats from 2011. Place them side by side on the counter top. Tell me how they are different from each other. Take a slice from loaf of bread baked in the home from 1914 and place it next to a slice of bread from th…

> Take a cup of flour from 1914 and a cup of AP flour from 2011. Place them side by side on the counter top. Tell me how they are different from each other. Have you actually done this? Do you really expect someone else to be able to do it? You've managed to come across as really patronizing but I can't tell if you actually have a point. I'm no expert on milling technology, but I imagine today's flour is finer (just…

Flours today are more refined and more likely to be bleached.

Extended with fillers and soaked in sweeteners is stated to be how "grains are typically available to us." Wonderbread is a fair example, and the "standard" muffin that typically has 30 or more grams of sugar is another. Oatmeal today, in its most common presentations, will have a great deal of sugar.

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#39

Post by vlisivka »

georgieporgie wrote: post #22

We spend enormous amounts of mental energy thinking about types and combinations of calories, but not much time burning them. We pay huge signup and monthly fees to gyms that we never find the time to visit, meanwhile we never walk our streets.

"We"?

Re: Are grains making us fat? If so, we should be much thinner than 1914.

#40

Post by windsurfer »

nano81 wrote: post #33
rubashov wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manual laborers then, as now, were more likely to be fat. Physical labor is not related to obesity.

That seems counter-intuitive to me. Do you have a source?

I don't have a source, but when I worked construction during the summers, I would get fatter while also gaining muscle mass. I always felt hungry after working during the day and would consume massive amounts of calories.
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