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Why is the American diet so deadly?

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Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m blissfully unaware of that POV. Links? Are they claiming that boiling noodles is “ultra processing” or something?

The problem is that there's no definition of ultra-processed. It's generally a "I know it when I see it" type of thing but of course that means it's unevenly applied in a world without nuance. To use your example, surely hand made noodles aren't ultra processed. But are Bertolli noodles ultra processed? The only difference in ingredients is what emulsifier is used. Food, biology, etc. is complicated and reducing it t…

[deleted]

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#52
post #14

> Why Is the American Diet So Deadly? Too much sugar. Too carb heavy. Not enough fiber (fruits, veg). Fats demonized for a long spell. No time for preparing whole foods in daily lives. No easy access to cheap, prepared whole foods. Edit: car-focused culture and zoning laws/planning that result in more sedentary day-to-day lifestyle that magnifies the effect of the poor diet.

It's the carbs.

Japan, Vietnam, France, Italy, etc. would beg to differ. But they also don’t spray their wheat with roundup so it’s probably better to stay away from carbs in the US just on that basis.

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#53
For 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.

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#54

> Why Is the American Diet So Deadly? Too much sugar. Too carb heavy. Not enough fiber (fruits, veg). Fats demonized for a long spell. No time for preparing whole foods in daily lives. No easy access to cheap, prepared whole foods. Edit: car-focused culture and zoning laws/planning that result in more sedentary day-to-day lifestyle that magnifies the effect of the poor diet.

>No easy access to cheap, prepared whole foods. Apples, Bananas, Carrots, Milk. I imagine there are other foods too. But its weird to see people think they don't exist.

Now that's one filling meal!!!

Those you listed also aren't prepared.

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#55
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you need to explain why the Japanese diet, also filled with ultra-processed food, is vastly healthier.

I would guess it's because the calorie density of Japanese ultra-processed food is vastly different than the US (having eaten both extensively and also former over wight guy who calorie counts daily) - that's actually basically the premise of the article. American ultra-processed food is hugely calorie dense and refined to be palatable.

I feel like this gets at the core issue which is food being too palatable and not satiating enough? At least on the obesity / calorie overconsumption front, I think it's just that simple. 'ultra-processed foods' or 'too many carbs' or whatever other explanations people come up for are just lossy proxies for the underlying issue which is 'foods that people tend to eat too much of'.

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#56

> Why Is the American Diet So Deadly? Too much sugar. Too carb heavy. Not enough fiber (fruits, veg). Fats demonized for a long spell. No time for preparing whole foods in daily lives. No easy access to cheap, prepared whole foods. Edit: car-focused culture and zoning laws/planning that result in more sedentary day-to-day lifestyle that magnifies the effect of the poor diet.

>Not enough fiber (fruits, veg). I'm not sure why people think fiber is great. Yes it pushes things through. Yes there are bacteria that eat it. So does other food. But it also makes you go poop more often, which is bad for your body. I mostly eat meats and relatively low fiber food. I don't track it closely, so occasionally I'll eat corn and it passes through. --- My point: "Why fiber?" Actually prove that the gener…

Fiber keeps you feeling satiated for longer. Also, it’s bulking effect reduces your caloric intake while consuming the meal since the feeling of fullness can be reached with fewer calories.

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#57

I 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.

It is generally over $12 after tax

https://chipotlemenu.me/prices/

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#58

I 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…

[deleted]

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#59

I 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.

Brown rice isn't that good for you. Although if you remove that (or at least tell them to do 'light' rice) and add the lettuce, one of the salsas and the fajita veggies instead it starts getting pretty healthy (at least as far as I know).

Re: Why is the American diet so deadly?

#60

> Why Is the American Diet So Deadly? Too much sugar. Too carb heavy. Not enough fiber (fruits, veg). Fats demonized for a long spell. No time for preparing whole foods in daily lives. No easy access to cheap, prepared whole foods. Edit: car-focused culture and zoning laws/planning that result in more sedentary day-to-day lifestyle that magnifies the effect of the poor diet.

>Not enough fiber (fruits, veg). I'm not sure why people think fiber is great. Yes it pushes things through. Yes there are bacteria that eat it. So does other food. But it also makes you go poop more often, which is bad for your body. I mostly eat meats and relatively low fiber food. I don't track it closely, so occasionally I'll eat corn and it passes through. --- My point: "Why fiber?" Actually prove that the gener…

> But it also makes you go poop more often, which is bad for your body.

> I mostly eat meats and relatively low fiber food.

Are you Hank Hill? Pooping in a choleric or diarrhea sense is bad; pooping once a day is fine. How often is more often?

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