There's a great quote which I love, and think is relevant: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants"
It's from this NYT article and I think it hits the mark: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t...
Why is the American diet so deadly?
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Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#102For me, the biggest mystery is this: If obesity is caused by poor diet, why doesn't dieting work long-term? https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/when-dieting-doesnt-work... > 121 eligible trials with 21 942 patients were included and reported on 14 named diets and three control diets ... At 12 months the effects on weight reduction and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors largely disappear.
Yeah, there is definitely something we are missing. Some of the stuff about portion sizes and processed foods may actually be a symptom rather than a cause. I.E. those foods sell well because something else is wrong. GLP 1 inhibitors are expected to shrink the sales of snack foods and alcohol by at least 5% in the next couple years based on shifting preferences. So the idea that some chemical or pathogen we are exposed to has contributed to it isn't farfetched at all. Especially when we view the spread of obesity across the globe even to countries with very little discretionary income on average.
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#103I think a big part of the problem is that even prepared foods are packed with garbage. There are a lot of Americans who can't/don't cook mainly for time reasons, and instead eat lots of prepared foods, whether that be from restaurants, shops, or grocery stores. If you are not cooking it from scratch yourself, it is almost guaranteed to be brimming with fat, salt, and sugar. This is true regardless of the source. Whet…
Do you live near a Chipotle? Burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, and chicken for $8.50. I really don’t understand this “I don’t have a choice all fast food is bad” some are pretty healthy even if they are less tasty. I think the real discussion is how addictive the trash foods are.
Chipotle's Burrito Bowl has over 2000mg of sodium.
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#104The problem is really quite simple: Americans overeat Processed foods are part of the problem (in that they are tastier and easier to consume than "rawer" foods), but increased wealth and ability to consume food is also a part of the problem Food has literally never been cheaper and tastier
If processed foods are why Americans overeat (and they, and their abundance, price and marketing is why), then they are not part of the problem they are the problem.
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#105Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#106In July of 2023, I was about 254lbs. I'm a pretty tall dude (about 6'5"), so it's not quite "obese", but it's pretty heavy, and it was only growing. Amusingly, by accident, I started losing weight a month later, because I bought a kegerator, and I had up to 10 gallons at a time of Diet Coke in the kegs. Suddenly, I almost completely lost my urge to go to Taco Bell for every meal. I guess it turns out that I wasn't ad…
Thanks for sharing. Diet soft drinks get a bad rap but are imo an incredibly useful tool for health. I can probably count on my fingers how many standard soda drinks I had in 2024, compared to 1 or 2 diet soda drinks per day on average. I get the enjoyment of something sweet, fizzy and with a kick, but without the calories. And they're often just as tasty; in fact, I'm not sure I can even taste the difference today between Dr Pepper standard and Dr Pepper Zero.
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#107For me, the biggest mystery is this: If obesity is caused by poor diet, why doesn't dieting work long-term? https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/when-dieting-doesnt-work... > 121 eligible trials with 21 942 patients were included and reported on 14 named diets and three control diets ... At 12 months the effects on weight reduction and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors largely disappear.
Because weightless is hard and people fail at dieting.
Long term change in one of the most fundamental aspects of ones life and biology is a massive challenge.
Also, not everything is reversible biologically.
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#108I weigh myself every morning and have a chart of my weight going back 10 years. The chart plot looks like a roller coaster. Last March I hit 228, so started counting calories, limited myself to 1500/day, and hit 187 by August. Then I ate whatever I wanted and climbed back up to 232 at the end of 2024. So I'm counting calories again, feel comfortable at 1000/day of meat and potatoes, and have dropped 11 pounds the first 7 days of this year.
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#109For me, the biggest mystery is this: If obesity is caused by poor diet, why doesn't dieting work long-term? https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/when-dieting-doesnt-work... > 121 eligible trials with 21 942 patients were included and reported on 14 named diets and three control diets ... At 12 months the effects on weight reduction and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors largely disappear.
You might find this NYT piece on the winners of the Biggest Loser TV show interesting. Basically, "dieting" as a reduction in calories is a lose-lose game because your basal metabolic rate goes down so you have to keep eating less and less to keep it up. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weig... Keeping up the basal metabolic rate is part of the rationale behind intermittent/extended fasting ins…
Fasting also changes your bmr, often far more
Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?
#110I'd be curious to see if replacing seed oils with olive, peanut or avocado oil as the default would improve health.
Peanut oil is a seed oil.
I stand corrected. Then the question becomes are certain seed oils healthier than others? Soybean oil seems to be the default in most dressings, condiments now.