Posted on 02/15/2005 8:19:45 AM PST by stainlessbanner
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) -- Amid a national obesity epidemic and the South's infamous distinction as the "Stroke Belt," health officials have been trying to get diners to flinch, at least a little, at the region's trademark fried and fatty foods.
But nutritionists have found it's hard to teach an old region new tricks. How can Southerners give up delicious staples fried chicken, fried seafood, fried green tomatoes and cornbread slathered in butter?
Even at the Atlanta headquarters of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leader of the nation's anti-obesity campaign, the cafeteria serves up such artery-clogging regional favorites as biscuits and gravy.
CDC nutritionist Annie Carr said the agency is working to get its house in order by pushing the cafeteria to serve popular foods in healthy ways. The broader goals of the anti-obesity campaign are to educate people to cook with less fat and sugar and to promote the idea of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
And for the South, that doesn't mean vegetables and greens flavored with bacon and meat drippings.
"I don't think anything is wrong with the kind of vegetables we eat in the South - it's the way they are prepared," said former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, the interim president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, who grew up eating traditional Southern staples on a farm in Alabama. "We need more fruits and vegetables in our diet."
When Becky Cleaveland is out with her girlfriends, they all pick at salads except for the petite Atlanta woman. She tackles "The Hamdog."
The dish, a specialty of Mulligan's, a suburban bar, is a hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that's deep fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah, it's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries.
"The owner says I'm the only girl who can eat a whole one without flinching," Cleaveland said proudly.
Health officials' concerns with healthy eating in the South date back to 1962, when the CDC noted a large concentration of counties with high stroke death rates in the coastal states of North and South Carolina and Georgia. More than three decades later, the high stroke rates in that region seem to have shifted west to counties along the Mississippi River Delta.
Health officials have spent thousands of dollars on grants to promote healthy eating, including sending nutritionists into community centers and churches. The food experts introduce healthier cooking practices, such as alternatives to frying and methods that reduce the fat in gravy and sauces. But those efforts have found resistance from some cooks who say the healthier recipes alter the taste of their dishes.
"Flavor is a big issue - when you modify Southern cooking, then you lose a lot of the flavor," said Laurita Burley, a clinical nutrition instructor at the Morehouse School of Medicine. "The reputation of the Southern cook is at risk when you begin to modify it."
Much of the South's traditional foods date back to the days of slavery. Frying was preferable in the region's hot climate, since it didn't take as long as baking and didn't heat up a house as much. Plus, Burley said, workers didn't have all day to prepare meals; they had to get back into the fields to work. Lard was also plentiful. Today, frying still is popular, especially in poor areas of the South, because it is also inexpensive.
While it's quick, easy and adds flavor, frying loads ordinarily healthy foods with calories and fat.
"One of the common things in the South is that you fry everything," said Dr. Nicholas Lang, chief of staff of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock. "It's a major grease-transport mechanism - there's no idea how much calories you get when you get that."
Other research has found that frying, grilling and smoking certain foods can cause chemical reactions within the food that can increase the risk of cancer.
"The best advice is to fry less and to eat their meat medium rather than well-done - and do like their momma said and add vegetables," said Lang, also a professor of surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Back at Mulligan's in Decatur, owner Chandler Goff is quick to point out that the bar also offers healthy alternatives, such as salads and sandwiches that aren't deep-fried.
But he acknowledged that the "Hamdog" and the "Luther Burger," a bacon-cheeseburger served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut bun, are what draw attention.
As for Cleaveland, she says she doesn't think about cholesterol. "I probably should, but I do not. I'm only 25, maybe later." For now, she's able to maintain her 5-foot-7, 115-pound physique without regular exercise.
Regardless of age, Lang doesn't recommend the Hamdog, even as a one-time snack.
"If you choke that down, you might as well find a heart surgeon because you are going to need one."
They forgot to mention fried apple or peach pies. :) They are the best.
I can remember back in the 60's, the local supermarket often had mullet for 9 cents per pound. Mother could tell if it was fresh by looking at the eyes. Really a tasty fish. Perhaps the best of them all if deep fried properly.
and i'm getting ready to open slim fast....after reading all these posts, i'm starving. just talked to my mom in mobile - her best friend is visiting from DC and she's fixing fried chicken, collards and butter beans with corn bread!
bookmark for the Ham-Dog (I gotta try that).
damned straight........ LOL!!
We should do a commercial for our fellow citizens who do not get our way of life:
"Does your spouse call you anal retentive?
Have you spent countless of dollars in countless of hours of therapy, to no avail?
What to do?
Be like Bubba. Eat grease. When bubba sits at the throne, he can git'er done."
Man, I have way too much time on my hands today.
collards and corn bread - bring out the pot lickor
Rudy is just modest. He'll go to Heaven.
A vegetarian?....That ain't food! That's what FOOD eats!
Or my DP! and they've gotta be salted peanuts!
Home grown tomatoes,
Ripe on the vine and still warm from the sun...
In a sammich with mayo and white bread.
LOL.
Commercial #2: at the theatre Mama says: "Have you taken your fiber today?"
Lady next isle taps her shoulder and hands her a jar: "Not to worry, this here grease'l do the trick."
break away to couple all smiles.
Round here (near the ocean and several rivers) fried fish, shrimp etc are served with grits.
Fried shrimp, cheese grits and stewed tomatoes 'ill make ya slap yer mama!
No tomatoes for that sammich:
Slice the vidallia onion and slap it between two pieces of white bread with lots of DUKES mayo.
Dukes is the ONLY mayo!
cute tag line. Is your tile saw a water saw or manual?
Last one...
Got grease?
lol...
you got the last one.
Oh! Fried pies! They have all the major food groups--grease, starch and sugar. ;-D
Sometimes I just line plain old fried apples or peaches, tho...
Yes, I caught that. It doesn't sound good to me.
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