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The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

wsj.com

41–50 of 129 posts

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#41

This article references salt consumption multiple times. I thought that was a myth of the past. Salt consumption has almost zero to do with blood pressure. IIRC, it's primarily based on eating more calories than one burns. As always, eat less, move more. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-t...

I'm actually curious about this: if that's true, why do hospitals still do low-salt diets for critical heart disease patients?

Because salt is fine for the normal person. Someone in the hospital with critical heart disease issues is not normal.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#43
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't tell if this is sarcastic. Hispanic communities suffer from large amounts of obesity, some due to genetic issues, but diet is an overwhelming factor. A proper tortilla has three ingredients: flour, lard and salt. Not exactly a staple in a slimming diet.

Tortillas are low calorie (100-150 calories), most likely better for you than bread. I guess it depends how many you eat, and if they're fried.

? They are made out of the exact same stuff. 2 slices of wonder bread has 140 calories.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#44

> Sandwiches are the number one source of sodium and saturated fat in Americans’ diets, making up about one-fifth of our daily sodium intake and 19% of our daily saturated fat calories 20% of sodium and saturated fat calories for a single meal doesn't really sound very alarming.

Yes but maybe Americans have high sodium and fat intake.

The problem with a sandwich, and I love bread, is that it’s high in carbs, low in fibre and vitamins.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm actually curious about this: if that's true, why do hospitals still do low-salt diets for critical heart disease patients?

Bad habits are hard to break

What if a diet high in salt is fine for healthy patients but dangerous for patients with heart disease? You can make the same argument for a diet high in sugar for healthy active individuals. It wouldn't be good for those with diabetes.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#46

Out of curiosity, what are popular lunch alternatives from other countries that are similarly quick and easy to sandwiches, but healthier? Would selfishly love some ideas to eat better lunches.

Salad bowls can be made arbitrarily hearty, and they have the nice property of being incremental. Whatever ingredients you have on hand can be tossed in: boiled eggs, sliced fruit, diced meat or salami, cubed cheese, etc.

Alternatively, if you’re okay with hanging on to some carbs, rice bowls are similar. You can cook rice in bulk and then use that as the base for different types of bowls.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#47

This article references salt consumption multiple times. I thought that was a myth of the past. Salt consumption has almost zero to do with blood pressure. IIRC, it's primarily based on eating more calories than one burns. As always, eat less, move more. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-t...

> I thought that was a myth of the past.

When in heart failure, a low-salt diet is optimal for long-term survival. This has little (but some) to do with blood pressure and lot more to do with water retention when your circulation is already failing.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#48
post #5

> Twenty years later, a turkey sandwich contained about 820 calories. Not sure where they got those numbers from. Just for comparison - in England, where many people eat sandwiches every day, the range is more like 300-500 for a supermarket sandwich. The meat is processed, but chicken is a fairly popular option, and the bread is thinner and less sweet. Really the main takeaway is to reduce your bread. Carbs are terri…

As a Dane - what is Warburton's "Danish" bread - and do you know what makes it Danish?

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#49
post #27
post #5

> Twenty years later, a turkey sandwich contained about 820 calories. Not sure where they got those numbers from. Just for comparison - in England, where many people eat sandwiches every day, the range is more like 300-500 for a supermarket sandwich. The meat is processed, but chicken is a fairly popular option, and the bread is thinner and less sweet. Really the main takeaway is to reduce your bread. Carbs are terri…

> Carbs are terrible for diets Excess, over-processed carbs are terrible. The right amount of carbs from whole or minimally processed foods are just fine. Over-processed: white flour, refined or concentrated sugar, carb heavy snack foods, deserts, juiced or cooked fruit Minimally processed: cooked grains or potatoes, whole raw fruit

>Excess, over-processed carbs are terrible

Correct - and for a lot of reasons, one of which is it's just so easy to each so much over-processed carbs without knowing it - satiety.

It's just too easily leads to over-eating. Sugar (or HFCS) is snuck into everything these days, upping the carbs.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#50
post #9

When I roast a chicken I save the breast for sandwiches, but there's a reason people don't make their sandwiches that way: processed meats are much cheaper. You might as well write an article that the American sandwich has a cost problem. Face it: the sandwich is a luxury food. Healthier things are often cheaper, too. The vegetable street taco at my nearest taco truck is almost a complete diet by itself, and it's the…

in my experience deli meat is quite expensive. Turkey is like $10 a pound
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