Posted on 01/02/2011 3:16:05 PM PST by neverdem
Another year ends, and still the war drags on. In the final salvo of 2010, the combatants are lobbing fruit.
Not literally, of course, though they might like to: The long war of the weight-loss diets has aroused passions just about as overheated as those of any military conflict.
How is a person best advised to lose extra weight and retreat from diabetes and heart disease? Count calories, cut fat and fill up on fruits and vegetables? Or turn instead to a high-protein, high-fat...
--snip--
In the opposite corner we have Gary Taubes, the science journalist who has thrown in his lot with the high-fat, high-protein crowd, arguing in his new book that the overweight should just put down their apples and walk away: “If we’re predisposed to put on fat, it’s a good bet that most fruit will make the problem worse, not better.”
But those who are curious about the science behind it all could do worse than to pick up Mr. Taubes’s book “Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.”
--snip--
And the only one of these hormones under even a smidgen of voluntary control is insulin. At this point Mr. Taubes merges onto the narrative highway traveled by all low-carb advocates: The body’s insulin levels are largely determined by ingested carbohydrates, and for some people the high-carb foods that stimulate insulin secretion and cravings for more high-carb foods are, in this worldview, just so much poison.
So that apple — a filling package of fiber and vitamins to the Weight Watchers folks — is just a serving of fructose to Mr. Taubes. Fructose is the problematic sugar our bodies turn to fat the most readily, and if you are programmed to be fat, an apple will make you that much fatter...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
How about bacon infused vodka?
I used to feed my dogs raw, but now I just feed Evo.
I have to eat pretty much what’s available.
I don’t have cats, but it amazes me that anyone would feed grain to cats. They are true carnivores!
Thanks for your links.
I’d try bacon infused vodka, if someone else were buying. :) Hate to get stuck with a full bottle if it is truly awful.
Would one drink it neat or with a mix of some type? I’m not keen on Bloody Mary’s but it sounds kind of good in theory, sort of a B (minus the L) T. I guess the celery would be a good ‘L’ substitute. Maybe next New Year’s Eve!
My simplification of the obesity issue does not advocate a "government program" as solution. In fact, any government program to combat obesity is doomed to failure - just like almost any other government program.
I have some empirical evidence to backup what I am saying. I have been obese most of my life and was only able to overcome it by taking on a rigid program of diet and exercise. In fact, I found that I had to walk briskly 7-10 miles per day, every day, in conjunction with reduction of caloric intake to lose weight and indeed I lost over 100 pounds during the 2003-2004 period. Since then, I have observed that as soon as I reduce my exercise or increase my food intake, the weight very quickly comes back on again.
Additional empirical evidence. I visit my father's farm in Alabama on a regular basis. There is a very large obesity problem there. Now my father grew up there during the 1930s and 1940s and all those old family pictures show everybody as thin as rails. Now these people would be pretty much outdoors from sunup to sundown doing various farm chores and there was not always plenty to eat. Hunger was a way of life. In fact, I think few people in the U.S. today have ever experienced true hunger.
These days, on the same farm, I have observed family members driving to the end of their driveway to collect their mail. Some of them have not walked a full mile since they were children. They spend most of their time in their air-conditioned homes, sitting on the couch with their satellite TVs. Food is cheap and plentiful at the Wal-Mart superstore in town and they eat enormous amounts of it. Almost all of them are over 100 pounds overweight and three of my relatives have had gastric bypass surgery.
This is not an issue of "genetics" or "metabolism". It is simply a function of too much food and too little physical activity. I do not condemn these people as I am one of them myself. If not for my now well-established routine of walking briskly several miles each day and forcing myself to eat less, I too would still be well over 100 pounds overweight.
“Root cause of most obesity is an overabundance of food and lack of physical activity.”
I will be *so* glad when that cliche is finally debunked.
I spent 13 months on daily interferon and ribavirin, which—you may have heard—kills your appetite.
I put on weight.
When I was a kid we ate *more* and what we ate was less “healthy” than what you see today. Still, obesity was a rare thing. Childhood obesity is now popping up in China and Japan. I predict they will ultimately discover that too much food and too little exercise is the sole cause of about 5% of obesity.
OK. Beets work really well for me. I wonder what’s in them because when I eat them, I actually feel better, not just don’t react, but actually seem to have my symptoms diminish.
First time that’s happened in a long time.
Needless to say, they’re going on the seed order.
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1 Prepare one pound of bacon until it’s very crisp but not burned.
2 Place bacon in an airtight container and pour 2 fifths of your favorite vodka over the bacon. If the bacon tries to float you’ll want to weigh it down so it stays submerged. Try placing a few table knives across the bacon.
3 Cover it up and place it in a cool place, but not necessarily the refrigerator. Shake the container gently at least once every day.
4 My experience tells me that there is no set “rule” about how long to let this all sit to infuse the vodka with flavor, but I’m told that the longer it sits, the stronger the flavor. I would advise to let it infuse for between one and two weeks.
5 Once it has infused, open up the container and strain the liquid through a cheesecloth so there are no particles left in the vodka. Unless you like particles, and in that case you can even leave all the bacon in there too. After straining, return the vodka to it’s original bottle or to a more decorative one.
6 Now you’re ready to make a crazy martini or the best darn Bloody Mary the world has ever known.
Read more: How to Make Bacon Infused Vodka | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4706818_bacon-infused-vodka.html#ixzz19vznsSRf
I still feed them raw with grain-free salmon for breakfast, but I do feel no grains and nothing with chicken has been great for my dogs.
Wowza! That does sound mighty good. Bacon and vodka are two of my favorite food groups. :)
Thanks for taking the time to post the recipe. I’ll be printing it out. Yum.
Why not heated Olive oil? I use olive oil for cooking - not a good idea?
“I have some empirical evidence to backup what I am saying. I have been obese most of my life and was only able to overcome it by taking on a rigid program of diet and exercise. In fact, I found that I had to walk briskly 7-10 miles per day, every day, in conjunction with reduction of caloric intake to lose weight”
But that empirical evidence, which matches my own, **contradicts** your conclusion.
A normal person getting a **normal** amount of exercise and consuming a **normal** diet should maintain a normal weight.
When you have to take heroic measures to lose weight and keep it off—as in my case—something is wrong (I really wanted to capitalize those last three words).
Several microorganisms that cause obesity in laboratory animals have been identified. One can mention carnitine deficiency. But very few people are even researching other causes because the “you eat like a pig and are lazy” answer is so satisfying. It reminds me of the “South Park” episode on hybrid cars.
You're confusing the term cliche with scientific fact. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy consumed in foods and energy burned by metabolic processes and physical activity.Same as it ever was. Same as it will always be.
When I was a kid we ate *more* and what we ate was less “healthy” than what you see today. Still, obesity was a rare thing.
Yeah, the sedentary lifestyle today is a killer. Michael Phelps consumes 12,000 calories a day when he's in training and his body fat is only about 5%. Kids today don't get enough exercise.
Childhood obesity is now popping up in China and Japan.
Yup. A predictable result when you combine a high energy diet with a sedentary lifestyle.
I predict they will ultimately discover that too much food and too little exercise is the sole cause of about 5% of obesity.
I hope you don't back your predictions with money.
Olive oil has a very low flash point - does not take to heat at all. Grapeseed oil or coconut oil is better for cooking.
Beets? Hmm, well, I like beets, but that’s kind of odd. Your magic food!
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