Unhealthy Eating Habits: What's Going Wrong?

[Evo]

I'm watching a show on people that have decided to make serious changes to their diet, thinking it's healthy. Instead it's so extreme, it's likely to be unhealthy. One guy is 6 feet tall and weighs 118 pounds. He looks terrible. He's on a "calorie restricted" diet for longevity.

Another guy is a "raw vegan". He thinks he's super healthy, yet they show him running, then crumpling to the ground in agonizing pain, and then passing out. What's wrong? Could it be his insanely restricted diet?

How do people get sucked into these crazy diets? It's not that hard to find out what the body needs.

I always love the people that restrict their diets to the point they can't live on food alone, and have to eat a bunch of processed "supplements", while spouting off about eating a 100% natural, unprocessed diet, then downing handfuls of pills or processed powders to keep them alive.

 

[wolram]

So true, my mom was bought up on beef dripping sarnies, and she is now 84 and still going strong Jack Sprat was a dick head.

 

[Evo]

So true, my mom was bought up on beef dripping sarnies, and she is now 84 and still going strong Jack Sprat was a dick head.

My grandmother lived to be 94 years old, most women in my family live to be 100 or older. They ate normal food.

 

[wolram]

My grandmother lived to be 94 years old, most women in my family live to be 100 or older. They ate normal food.

Rock on Evo, i hope you will (bar accident) match or exceed your ancestors.

 

[Andre]

Well In Germany they say Man ist, was man isst. One is, what one eats. And perhaps a bit of balance might be a good idea.

 

[lisab]

Well In Germany they say Man ist, was man isst. One is, what one eats. And perhaps a bit of balance might be a good idea.

Widely-known American equivalent: "You are what you eat."

So, don't eat garbage.

I had a sister-in-law who was always following these crackpot diets. She was a "raw foodist" many, many years ago. There were deeper problems with her...just my opinion, but following these crazy diets indicates some sort of mental instability.

 

[Evo]

I had a sister-in-law who was always following these crackpot diets. She was a "raw foodist" many, many years ago. There were deeper problems with her...just my opinion, but following these crazy diets indicates some sort of mental instability.

These people are definitely obsessed. And they go around giving lectures as if they have scientifically valid information and they don't, what they are pushing is potentially dangerous. And these suckers in the audience are just eating it up. There should be a law against this. Or maybe they are all potential candidates for Darwin Awards.

 

[OmCheeto]

Widely-known American equivalent: "You are what you eat."

So, don't eat garbage.

I had a sister-in-law who was always following these crackpot diets. She was a "raw foodist" many, many years ago. There were deeper problems with her...just my opinion, but following these crazy diets indicates some sort of mental instability.

I was discussing this with some friends from Russia yesterday. They said a staple in the winter was pork fat and bread. mmmmm... Anyone who ever watched Emeril knows the importance of pork fat in your diet. Unfortunately, sitting in downtown New Orleans probably burns off a little bit less fat than working outside of Moscow in the winter.

Garbage is a matter of situation I think. We've had one of the coldest winters I can remember over the last two months. I think I've eaten about 6 pints of sour cream in that time. Normally I'll eat that much in about 3 years.

Another friend of mine was diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of years ago. I dragged him to a couple of lectures at work regarding the disease. He even switched doctors upon my suggestion. Another mutual acquaintance of ours told him that it was a result of his diet. I freaked out when I saw what he ended up eating: rice cakes, air pies, and celery.
"Um... Bill? If the cancer doesn't kill you, this diet surely will", I told him.
"Oh, but statistics say that consuming dairy products increases your likelihood of prostate cancer."
"Um... Bill? You already have the cancer."
"Hmmm... Ok. Then what should I eat?"
"Eat what you crave. Listen, and I mean LISTEN!, to your body."

He now eats plenty of dairy products, along with everything else the book told him not to eat, which was just about everything.

He seems to be doing just fine.

ps. Lisa! I just ran across one of your posts and almost wet myself. I could have used http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/youare" about 10²³ times over the last couple of years. I need a time machine. Or more realistically, could we turn that flash into a greeting card that we could send to people who write fad diet books?

 

[turbo]

How many forests have been devastated so that idiots could spread their wrong-headed "rules" about what we should and should not eat? Let's see... based on what I know from older people around me it's OK to cook with lard, bacon is not a killer, eggs are a healthy source of protein, it's OK to have butter on your toast and cream on your cereal... did I miss out on any other fatal food choices?

My grandfather had cream on his cereal every morning, butter on his toast (my grandmother made butter at least twice a week), and had a big bowl of ice cream almost every night before bed-time. He was over 6' 5", and was rangy at about 200#, and had hands the size of dinner-plates. He was a heavy-equipment mechanic with a private wrecker/hauling business and I never knew him to miss a single day of work, apart from a special day when my grandmother insisted.

 

[Holocene]

I live on fast food. 5'8", 138lbs. I just can't gain weight.

 

[lisab]

ps. Lisa! I just ran across one of your posts and almost wet myself. I could have used http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/youare" about 10²³ times over the last couple of years. I need a time machine. Or more realistically, could we turn that flash into a greeting card that we could send to people who write fad diet books?

Om, I forgot all about that post! Best site on the innerwebs!

*ducks dangerous item thrown by Evo*

 

[OmCheeto]

I live on fast food. 5'8", 138lbs. I just can't gain weight.

How old are you? Where do you live? Where did the your ancestors live for the last 5000 years? What do you do for a living? How many miles a day do you walk? Do you fidget?

People often hear from their elders, "Stop fidgeting!"

Yet studies have shown that fidgeting is a calorie burner and is actually good for your body.

Then again, you may have a tape worm.

or, for us fatty's:

 

[Evo]

Om, I forgot all about that post! Best site on the innerwebs!

*ducks dangerous item thrown by Evo*

INTERWEBS! Hmmmmmpf! <removes one GOOBF card from Lisab>

 

[NeoDevin]

eggs are a healthy source of protein

As a matter of fact, they are.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

One thing that I find strange is the raw milk craze.

Pasteurization, since its adoption in the early 1900s, has been credited with dramatically reducing illness and death caused by contaminated milk. But today, some people are passing up pasteurized milk for what they claim is tastier and healthier "raw milk."

Public health officials couldn't disagree more...

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/504_milk.html

But getting back to Evo's point about supplements; I've known two women who were devoted to a regimen of supplements for decades. They both ended up having all sorts of strange health problems that no one could diagnose. One died a short time ago - apparently due to mad cow disease [she didn't eat meat], and the other one has been sick for about ten years. I don't know if their diets or supplements were in any way related to their health problems, but they certainly weren't healthy.

 

[OmCheeto]

INTERWEBS! Hmmmmmpf! <removes one GOOBF card from Lisab>

Actually, after listening to it for about 30 seconds, I determined that that video is what was played prior to my return from hell for about 6 years before my 87th reincarnation.

ps. can anyone tell I've been playing J.M.'s Dog Eat Dog for the last week?
I always thought it was such a period piece.
But it has survived the test of time, and now seems like the bible, telling the story of humanity, in just 40 minutes.

Only with a better beat of course.

 

[mcknia07]

There is nothing wrong with being a Vegan. I was one for like 8-10 years of my life, and I'm thinking about going back to it, but not being a total Vegan. As a younger person, I was lactose intolerent, too. So, it was a hard and strict diet to life by. I did gain a few pounds when we were vegetarians, though. Not that I'm fat, or ever was, I just need to lose a few now, I think. (5' 6" and about 120 lbs.) Perhaps just tone up...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There is nothing wrong with being a Vegan. I was one for like 8-10 years of my life, and I'm thinking about going back to it, but not being a total Vegan. As a younger person, I was lactose intolerent, too. So, it was a hard and strict diet to life by. I did gain a few pounds when we were vegetarians, though. Not that I'm fat, or ever was, I just need to lose a few now, I think. (5' 6" and about 120 lbs.) Perhaps just tone up...

I have dual citizenship as a Steakan and a Nachovian.

 

[mcknia07]

Ewww, steak is yuuuuuuuuuuucky!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ewww, steak is yuuuuuuuuuuucky!

Hah, you've never had one of mine!

 

[Hurkyl]

Wait a minute... I thought the four food groups were Pizza, Pasta, Cheeseburgers, and Sweets. Don't people believe in the four food groups anymore?

 

[mcknia07]

Hah, you've never had one of mine!

Well, I guess I could always give it a try. Send one my way, and I'll try it...maybe...

 

[mcknia07]

Wait a minute... I thought the four food groups were Pizza, Pasta, Cheeseburgers, and Sweets. Don't people believe in the four food groups anymore?

Oh, I had the best pizza from a place called California Kitchen. It was awesome, and a total veggie pizza, with some honey wheat crust. Oh it was to die for!

 

[Hurkyl]

Oh, I had the best pizza from a place called California Kitchen. It was awesome, and a total veggie pizza, with some honey wheat crust. Oh it was to die for!

Calling that a pizza is like calling tofu turkey.

 

[mcknia07]

It was amaizing...

Hey hey hey, don't knock it 'til you have tried it.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Seriously though, there have been times when I feel so much better after eating a big piece of quality beef. I do limit my intake of meat, but as long as I don't eat too much, an occasional steak literally makes me feel... healthier.

While I'm BBQing I've even noticed that my canine teeth get longer and I start to growl.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well, I guess I could always give it a try. Send one my way, and I'll try it...maybe...

Hmmm, can't do. They have to be eaten within minutes of preparation [seriously]. Wait any longer and it won't melt in your mouth.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Wait a minute... I thought the four food groups were Pizza, Pasta, Cheeseburgers, and Sweets. Don't people believe in the four food groups anymore?

I thought it was steak, nachos, coffee, and chocolate...

 

[Monique]

About the comment on dairy products: a large population on Earth is lactose-intolerant. Eating dairy products is a mutant phenotype and has only evolved recently. The most important thing with any diet/eating habit is variety, don't go overboard with only eating a single type of product. Everything is good for you, as long as you use moderation.

I don't know anyone who is on a raw-food diet, but the first thing I would tell them is they are not absorbing the majority of their nutrients, that diet makes no sense to me (a cow has multiple stomachs to digest their food and regurgitates its food to re-chew it, we're not cows). The problem I have is with people going on a diet, losing weight, and then going back to their old eating habits.. resulting in an immediate weight gain. The only thing that works is changing your lifestyle, but apparently that is not obvious to them.

 

[runner]

In the field of nutrition, we should beware of making broad generalizations. Por ejemplo, here's what this study finds about raw vs. cooked broccoli.

Raw broccoli best for anti-cancer potential: study

By Stephen Daniells, 28-Oct-2008


Consuming cooked or processed broccoli may result in less of the potential anti-cancer compounds being available for absorption, suggests a new study from TNO Quality of Life.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Publications/Food-Beverage-Nutrition/NutraIngredients/Research/Raw-broccoli-best-for-anti-cancer-potential-study/?c=bpkob8%2FvwKg0khoRhb9Tww%3D%3D"

 

[WhoWee]

The only way we can attempt healthy eating in my house is to NEVER take 3 of our 4 kids (and definitely not their friends) or their grandfather to the store. My definition/goal of healthy here is a mix of fruit, vegetables, meat and bread...balanced.

Our 16 year old twins would live on (boy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and girl white stuff like pasta, potatoes, popcorn, rice and bread). Our 14 year old girl loves to cook and prefers balanced meals (and she's a pretty good shopper overall). Unfortunately, our 10 year old girl has spent far too much time shopping and eating with her diabetic grandfather...her idea of a balanced meal is popsicles, fruit-roll ups, ANYTHING from Dairy Queen, all of the extra sweet cereals and pickles.

If we could somehow coordinate preparation of 2-3 balanced meals per day and sit down together as a family...it might be possible to eat properly. But the reality is we're fortunate to have 1 family meal per week...usually Sunday.

Last Spring, I traveled on average 4 days per week. While on the road I stuck to an all you can eat system of (lots of water and NO CARBS) but equal amounts of fruit, vegetables and protein. This included opting for apples, oranges and hard boiled eggs at the hotel, celery, carrots and shrimp or turkey (buy a pound of either at a time at the grocery/deli) chocolate flavor soy milk. At dinner time, I either took food back to the hotel or visited an all you can eat buffet with lots of choices and stuck to my program.

When I returned home on Friday (through Sunday) I ate normal...the net result was a loss of 41 pounds.

I find that if your choices are limited to good choices only...you ca only make the right choice. If all you have to choose from is junk...you'll eat the junk.

Good eating habits start at the grocery store.

 

[The Dagda]

My diet isn't too bad usually, but our kitchen was out of action so we're eating take out lots. Thursday: Curry for dinner, Large Indian meal for 3; next day left overs and side dishes we couldn't eat for dinner; yesterday Pizza; today, pastie and chips and beans. Now that's what I call unhealthy eating.

Oh I forgot I had leftover leftover curry for lunch on pizza day too.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I don't know anyone who is on a raw-food diet, but the first thing I would tell them is they are not absorbing the majority of their nutrients, that diet makes no sense to me (a cow has multiple stomachs to digest their food and regurgitates its food to re-chew it, we're not cows).

What are your thoughts on "juicing"? Some people swear by it.

 

[Monique]

In the field of nutrition, we should beware of making broad generalizations. Por ejemplo, here's what this study finds about raw vs. cooked broccoli.

I agree, and stating that you should only eat raw foods is a broad generalization. Variety and moderation are key to a balanced diet. You should always look at the individual product and see how you can get the most out of it (for instance, lycopene in tomatoes is much more readily available in processed tomato products).

What are your thoughts on "juicing"? Some people swear by it.

I think it is an excellent way to boost your intake of fruits and vegetables, I wouldn't base a diet on it. To be fair, I tried to find studies on the long-term effect of a raw food diet, but there are very few studies on them. If you're juicing you should also eat the pulp, otherwise you are throwing away all the fibers that are beneficial for your digestive system.

 

[Red Rum]

If you want to lose weight I can highly recommend a dose of the current influenza virus that appears to have been first described in Brisbane. I lost 4 kg (that's 9 pounds to non metric people) in as many days. It's not a route I would choose to take however. I think I've regained about 2 kg by now.

As for food groups, eat everything in moderation and don't be afraid of comfort food when your body needs it (e.g. fatty bacon and bucketloads of buttered potatoes in winter), but if your body clearly doesn't respond well to a particular food, stay away from it. I eat less dairy than I used to (and I did all of my postgraduate work on fermented dairy products and worked on a dairy farm and in dairy processing for a few years) because I noticed that I had what amounted to mild allergic reactions to certain cheeses (the nicest ones, of course) and was more prone to annoying respitratory tract infections when I consumed a lot of cheese and yoghurt. I don't drink a lot of acidic fruit juices because I notice they corrode my teeth. But try as I might, I find it difficult to reduce my consumption of alcoholic beverages. I reckon my body just needs them too much in these recessionary times.

 

[Evo]

In the field of nutrition, we should beware of making broad generalizations. Por ejemplo, here's what this study finds about raw vs. cooked broccoli.

Many vegetables need to be cooked to release the vitamins so they can be used by humans. Collard greens is a good example, it has very little nutritional value raw, the cell walls cannot be broken down to release the vitamins unless it is cooked.

 

[mcknia07]

What are your thoughts on "juicing"? Some people swear by it.

Oh, as for juicing, it is really good. Take carrots, for example, ( we used to buy 50 lbs. at a time), they are awesome, and suprisingly sweet, too. Juicing is defantly a good way to get kids to eats their fruits and veggies and make them sweet, like a dessert, too.

I have just recently found out that our local grocery store carries a chain of health food products that are 100% organic and natural. Ohhh soooo goooood!

 

[NeoDevin]

I have just recently found out that our local grocery store carries a chain of health food products that are 100% organic and natural. Ohhh soooo goooood!

One health food myth that I've never been able to understand is people who think that "organic" or "natural" products are somehow better for you.

 

[cristo]

One health food myth that I've never been able to understand is people who think that "organic" or "natural" products are somehow better for you.

How is this a myth?

 

[runner]

If you're juicing you should also eat the pulp, otherwise you are throwing away all the fibers that are beneficial for your digestive system.

Within the fibers, commonly called the pulp, are the flavonoids. These are metabolites that perform antioxidant functions.

 

[NeoDevin]

How is this a myth?

How is it not?

 

[The Dagda]

I must say, I don't see how fruit grown with pesticides is going to magically absorb more nutrients either, surely this is just down to soil quality and weather? Weird the things even educated people will buy. Sounds like the crap face care products come out with about magically revitalising your skin and reducing the 23432 signs of ageing.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807082954.htm

Organic Food Has No More Nutritional Value Than Food Grown With Pesticides, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2008) — New research in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry’s (SCI) Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows there is no evidence to support the argument that organic food is better than food grown with the use of pesticides and chemicals.

Many people pay more than a third more for organic food in the belief that it has more nutritional content than food grown with pesticides and chemicals.

But the research by Dr Susanne Bügel and colleagues from the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, shows there is no clear evidence to back this up.

In the first study ever to look at retention of minerals and trace elements, animals were fed a diet consisting of crops grown using three different cultivation methods in two seasons.

The study looked at the following crops – carrots, kale, mature peas, apples and potatoes – staple ingredients that can be found in most families’ shopping list.

The first cultivation method consisted of growing the vegetables on soil which had a low input of nutrients using animal manure and no pesticides except for one organically approved product on kale only.

The second method involved applying a low input of nutrients using animal manure, combined with use of pesticides, as much as allowed by regulation.

Finally, the third method comprised a combination of a high input of nutrients through mineral fertilisers and pesticides as legally allowed.

The crops were grown on the same or similar soil on adjacent fields at the same time and so experienced the same weather conditions. All were harvested and treated at the same time. In the case of the organically grown vegetables, all were grown on established organic soil.

After harvest, results showed that there were no differences in the levels of major and trace contents in the fruit and vegetables grown using the three different methods.

Produce from the organically and conventionally grown crops were then fed to animals over a two year period and intake and excretion of various minerals and trace elements were measured. Once again, the results showed there was no difference in retention of the elements regardless of how the crops were grown.

Dr Bügel says: ‘No systematic differences between cultivation systems representing organic and conventional production methods were found across the five crops so the study does not support the belief that organically grown foodstuffs generally contain more major and trace elements than conventionally grown foodstuffs.’

Can anyone suggest a mechanism as to why the same varieties grown in the same areas with or without pesticides might effect yield?

Not that I have anything against it, but people should be buying the stuff for the right reasons.

 

[JasonRox]

My grandmother lived to be 94 years old, most women in my family live to be 100 or older. They ate normal food.

Don't put your hopes up. Normal food 50 years ago is nowhere near normal food today.

 

[cristo]

How is it not?

Put it this way, I'd rather ingest food that has never had pesticides or other chemicals on it, than food that has had such products washed off.

 

[turbo]

Put it this way, I'd rather ingest food that has never had pesticides or other chemicals on it, than food that has had such products washed off.

You have to have a lot of faith in agri-businesses... faith that the chemical companies who make pesticides, fungicides, etc have actually done relevant safety testing, faith that their "safe application" guidelines are actually reasonable, faith that the producer is applying the chemicals judiciously, faith that the processors are washing off residues thoroughly...

Given recent outbreaks of e coli and questions about sanitation in handling and processing, it's tough to have faith that these agri-businesses are not cutting corners here and there.

Every bit of non-organic produce that comes into this house (and you have no choice sometimes) is washed and washed before we even start food-prep. We also have to make other decisions. For instance, we always prepare our home-grown carrots with the skins on, but we wash and peel non-organic carrots just to reduce the chance of ingesting fungicides.

 

[Evo]

You have to have a lot of faith in agri-businesses... faith that the chemical companies who make pesticides, fungicides, etc have actually done relevant safety testing, faith that their "safe application" guidelines are actually reasonable, faith that the producer is applying the chemicals judiciously, faith that the processors are washing off residues thoroughly...

Given recent outbreaks of e coli and questions about sanitation in handling and processing, it's tough to have faith that these agri-businesses are not cutting corners here and there.

Every bit of non-organic produce that comes into this house (and you have no choice sometimes) is washed and washed before we even start food-prep. We also have to make other decisions. For instance, we always prepare our home-grown carrots with the skins on, but we wash and peel non-organic carrots just to reduce the chance of ingesting fungicides.

The significant outbreaks of e-coli last year were from organic farms due to feces contamination.

 

[runner]

Many vegetables need to be cooked to release the vitamins so they can be used by humans. Collard greens is a good example, it has very little nutritional value raw, the cell walls cannot be broken down to release the vitamins unless it is cooked.

True, and when cooking veggies, I've read that the best method for retention of micronutrients is steaming, next is boiling, and the worst is frying.

 

[runner]

I'm watching a show on people that have decided to make serious changes to their diet, thinking it's healthy. Instead it's so extreme, it's likely to be unhealthy. One guy is 6 feet tall and weighs 118 pounds. He looks terrible. He's on a "calorie restricted" diet for longevity.

This just out on caloric restriction and anti-aging.

ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2009) — If you are a mouse on the chubby side, then eating less may help you live longer.


For lean mice – and possibly for lean humans, the authors of a new study predict – the anti-aging strategy known as caloric restriction may be a pointless, frustrating and even dangerous exercise.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090123101224.htm"

 

[mcknia07]

One health food myth that I've never been able to understand is people who think that "organic" or "natural" products are somehow better for you.

They're better for you because, there are no harmful chemicals used in the process to grow them.

 

[turbo]

The significant outbreaks of e-coli last year were from organic farms due to feces contamination.

I'd like to see your sources, because many of the infections were linked to Dole brand packaged spinach - a company not known for close cooperation with organic producers. Please provide links to relevant references - the FDA back-tracks that I have found show no such connections.

Starting point:

http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2006/september/consumeradvice.htm