Health and longevity

Mythreesons
Fri, 29 May 2009 09:31:26 +0000

I think this thread shows just how screwed up Americans are when it comes to food and health. Here you have a group of very intelligent adults, and everyone has a different idea of what is the key to eating healthy. Everying had read the “latest study” that shows something different that the last study. In areas like Asia and Europe, they have a food culture to draw on and don’t worry about the lastest “study.” We do not have that kind of tradition.

As a result, we’re always guilty. I remember reading that in France, if you mention chocolate cake, the average reaction is a celebration, whereas here, the average reaction is guilt. We get more and more obsessed with healthy eating, but we’re never sure what it is.

Personally, I find Michale Pollan a very intelligent voice on food. In his view, we have enough evidence showing that our diet and lifestyle are producing more heart disease and cancers than other industrial cultures, but we don’t know what it is about our diets that causes that. Is it the fat? The saturated fat? The processed carbohydrates? The portion sizes? The lack of exercise? The evidence simply isn’t clear yet.

His advice, ofter quoted, is to eat food (meaning as little processed food as possible), mostly plant and not too much.