The Skinny on Fat (The Truth About Obesity, Part 2)

Tech Central Station ^ | July 16, 2003 | Sandy Szwarc

[Timesink]

A host of sinful foods have been demonized as the root of obesity and poor health of American adults and children. Fast food restaurants have been sued, accused of contributing to customers' obesity because their food tastes too good and they tempt us by advertising. Taxes are being proposed on foods deemed fattening or bad for us, namely, anything with meat or fat, that is fried or processed or that is sweet.

[SamAdams76]

True. A 20oz bottle of Gatorade has 35 carbs while a 20oz bottle of Propel Vitamin Water has only 6. The Propel doesn't have the same "thirst-quenching" ability as Gatorade but it will do most of the time. On a really hot day, I will still reach for a Gatorade after the walk however, because it really hits the spot.

I wonder if Gatorade is marketing Propel for the low-carb crowd. They should. It's a pretty good drink.

[aruanan]

What is your take on the American Institute for Cancer Research and their recommendations for more plant foods in the diet?

Well, on the one hand, there are probably many chemicals in plants that are anti-carcinogenic; on the other hand, plants make unique insecticides and other poisons to protect themselves since they can't run away from attackers and so are likely to have many substances that would be, if administered in the right doses and in the right manner, potent carcinogens or mutagens. "Food" is just a smiley face label placed on chemical mixtures that happen to prolong life more often rather than to shorten it. I remember hearing some woman read the ingredients list on bread and then say "Ooooh, calcium propionate added to retard spoilage! I don't think I like that!" Yeah, lady, calcium propionate occurs naturally in Swiss cheese but you probably don't give it a second thought because it's called "cheese" and cheese isn't a chemical, why, it's a FOOD! If the calcium propionate is added it has to be called a preservative. If it naturally occurs in the same amount, it's not listed at all.

[aruanan]

That would be true except that, um, it's NOT. The carb cravings virtually disappear after a month.

Except that controlled studies demonstrate that after a year there's no statistical difference between a group of people who started out on the Atkins diet and those who did not.

[SamAdams76]

Thanks for the links and I did take a look at them. But what I was talking about was something on a much larger scale than a couple of websites preaching against the low-carb diet.

The fact that there are enemies of the low-carb plan does not surprise me. After all, it is the total opposite of the "food pyramid" scheme that the medical community has been pushing on us for the past few decades. But I say that if there was hard proof that the low-carb approach was harmful, we would be treated to screaming headlines all across America.

True, the low-carb plan can be taken to an extreme, and like all things taken to an extreme, it can be harmful to your health. I ensure that I get sufficient multivitamins and oxidants to supplement my diet and any reputable low-carb plan preaches the same. And I do have carbs! I just don't get my carbs from soda, pies, cakes, ice cream and cookies, etc., and I don't see anything wrong with that.

BTW, I don't care what Atkins or any of the other low-carb gurus say about vegetables and fruit. I eat plenty of them, regardless of carb content. I even drink beer and wine because they are made with real, natural ingredients. I just stay away from all the refined and processed supermarket crap.

[Xenalyte]

You've done Atkins for six years? According to some here, you must have no muscle mass at all, since your body burns muscle like fat. Or something. (I'm confused and wanting steak.)

[Xenalyte]

Propel is actually not bad. I'm gonna give it a shot when festival starts, although I'll have some Gatorade on hand just in case.

[najida]

Yeah,
I am just curious about his bone density though.

[najida]

BTW, I don't care what Atkins or any of the other low-carb gurus say about vegetables and fruit. I eat plenty of them, regardless of carb content. I even drink beer and wine because they are made with real, natural ingredients. I just stay away from all the refined and processed supermarket crap.

Then you are probably a lot closer to the moderate carb/protein, healthy diet that most of us professionals advocate.
Don't be afraid, come over to the dark side;)

[Myrddin]

I just lost a friend and co-worker in April. We had worked together since 1983. He was the fittest person you could imagine. He ran and rode his bike daily. His daily running journal showed just 16 days short of 6000 consecutive days of running over 10 miles per day in 1997. A volleyball game caused a sprained ankle that broke his consecutive running days. He was 44 years old. The day he died, he had just whipped an opposing team in "walleyball". The people who played with him on a regular basis said he was in fine form, good attitude, no complaints. At 2 AM on July 16th, his wife heard him gasping for breath. Thinking it was a bad dream, she tried to wake him. No success. She called 911. He died of a massive heart attack between his bed and the ambulance. Not what you would expect of a guy who was a top competitor on the corporate running team.

Since diet is the topic on this thread, I'll make note that my friend consistently chose breads, fruits and candies as staples in his diet. Guinness was a big favorite too. He could always burn off what he ate. I wonder if his dietary choice led to high levels of insulin. That could have been doing silent damage while he looked just fine on the outside. His father was a heavy smoker and died of cancer at age 53 in 1986.

[Sam Cree]

"the best overall "diet" is Ornish's veggie plan, but who wants to eat like that?"

I disagree, I think that diet is probably dangerous.

[PallMal]

Propel isn't bad at all. My son replaced Gatorade with Propel as his drink of choice, and he won't drink anything that doesn't taste sweet (except water on a hot day).

[null and void]

When I was a child, way back in the 50's, we probably had only one obese child in a class of 25.

That was me. How you been????

[Myrddin]

It was Ornish's "veggie plan" that I was following from January 1996 to June 1996. That and 10 miles of speedskating 7 days a week. I lost 1 pound per month. I switched to Barry Sears' Zone diet in June 1996 and dropped from 198 to 187 by November 1996. By April 1997 I was down to 173.

My metabolism remains hobbled after the cancer surgery in 1985. On 1200 calories per day with vigorous exercise, I only lose about 1 pound per week. Vigorous exercise has its limits too. Seven cases of pneumonia have limited the capability of my lungs. When I engage in speedskating at the limits of my lung capacity, I can turn out a 5 mile distance in about 21 minutes. I become hypoxic and dizzy if I push any harder.

[k omalley]

Did you live in Virginia? LOL!

[null and void]

Beautiful Beaufort by the sea, 23 miles from Yamasee...

[k omalley]

Well then, you couldn't possibly have been that one fat kid in my class. Anyway, she was a girl.

[Capriole]

You don't need to tell me how hard yard work can be--I'm a crazed gardener myself, and I plant trees and lay brick patios and haul rocks around, just like you. The trouble is, this isn't aerobic--that is, it doesn't raise your heart rate to 75% of its maximum capacity for a long time. In my case, for instance, I'd have to get my heart beating at something like 160 beats per minute and keep it there. Can't do that with yard work (or farm work, which is something else I do). "Huffing and puffing" ain't enough; you have to have this sustained heart rate, at whatever level is appropriate for your age. Yard work just gets you too tired to do aerobic exercise but it doesn't have all the great effects aerobic exercise does.

[King Prout]

you beat me to it. an advertising blurb is not science.

[King Prout]

Half a POUND???
Good Lord!

[Steve Eisenberg]

Of course, most Americans watch several hours of television a day also. Much of that mindless sitcoms and insipid reality shows.

Does this explain why people were thinner back in the days of Ed Sullivan and Gunsmoke? I do have to admit that I was.

(Just trying to get back to discussion of the IMHO on-target OP.)