<p>This creation of separate menus or presence of dishes one needs to specifically request is actually a common practice at many Chinatown/Chinese restaurants as well. </p>
<p>This is mainly done to cater to Western tastes in Europe/US without driving away the native-born Chinese/Chinese-Americans who want the real deal. This practice was especially common in the recent past when most Americans’ idea of Chinese food was Chop Suey and fortune cookies…both of which were actually created in the US and aren’t served natively in China/Taiwan unless the restaurant’s theme is serving Americanized Chinese food.</p>
<p>As for the protein debate…I am surprised at assertions by some commuters here that Americans don’t eat enough protein. </p>
<p>That’d be news to most nutritionists/doctors I know who feel most Americans consume too much protein…especially in the form of red meat. </p>
<p>I mean…the portions of meat in an average restaurant are usually so much…sometimes as much as 30 ounces that I would usually only eat 1/3 at the restaurant and doggybag the other 2/3s with a topping off of the sides for 2-4 delectable subsequent meals. </p>
<p>On the other hand, most other American friends and fellow diners have no problems finishing it all off. </p>
<p>Moreover, at many steakhouses…the meat to grain/vegetable ratio tends to be extremely lopsided in favor of meat.</p>
<p>emerald,
Sorry to hear about your osteoporosis, do you trust them though? if you did not loose height, how is it possible that you have this desease?<br>
I cannot imagine falling as hard as I did last time and not breaking anything if I had a desease. My elbow was in really bad shape, multiple muscles were sour and something in my lower back that felt like I did break. I am so afraid to go on blades now, but I know that eventually I will, cannot resist the fun.<br>
Anyway, I made sure for past 3 decades to do heavy weights in gym, much heavier than all muscled up and fit HS girls that I see there. I also made sure to be outside in any weather in daylight for at least one hour. I have no plans to measure my density, since I have no plans to take any drugs, so it will be waste of test.<br>
In regard to protein / calcium intake, since my calcium intake might not be adequate, here is another reason for me not to push meat, which I do not care much about to begin with. I do not care much about milk products either and frankly keep forgetting having them in my diet.<br>
I believe that this discussion calls for customised approach in every person situation. All these studies, except for historical evidence over very long time, depend much on who is sponsoring them. Money is power, including power to manipulate scientific research, happens all the time. Just need to watch how you personally feel and what affects you. If you do not like certain food, do not push it on yourself, they say, trust your own body and I trust this statement the most.</p>
<p>USA is a big place, and diet varies regionally. I know there are steakhouses here, but I havent been to one for 40 years.
We also don’t go to national chain restaurants. I have grilled steak several times this summer, which was great ( i make steak salad ) but we really don’t even eat beef once a month the rest of the year. We aren’t vegetarians, but eat vegetarian meals about half the time with fish /poultry the other half.
My MIL would probably be horrified. She thinks a meal is meat, with a starch and a vegetable. So did my H when I met him.</p>
<p>As for my Dexa scan, I don’t see any reason not to trust the test. I have changed my diet to be mostly gluten free ( better late than never) and I am now taking calcium & magnesium.I practiced extended breasfeeding, possibly without drinking enough milk, and I also had a vitamin D deficiency. I also wonder if my hormones were wonky. I had very irregular periods for years until I became about twenty lbs overweight. ( im still about ten lbs overweight) As a child I also didn’t drink milk often, because my mother mixed it with powdered milk to save money, which just made the whole thing taste nasty. :p</p>
<p>I know at least one person who posts here who was able to fix her bone density in a year without taking drugs by changing her exercise routine. You might still want to get tested and then talk to someone about alternatives to drugs. MiamiDAP, you may be doing enough, but you might not.</p>
<p>I agree restaurant proportions of meat are completely whacky, but I get plenty of protein from a very varied diet. Generally I have three to six ounces of meat or fish and an egg almost every day. I often have a vegetarian lunch (usually with beans). This summer I’m part of a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture) so I’m eating a lot of vegetables!</p>
<p>When we go to a Chinese restaurant, my wife usually talks to the waiter or cook (if he comes out) and they speak in Chinese and she just tells them what she wants.</p>
<p>^My favorite Chinese restaurant in town did this with everyone. If you insisted on a menu you got lousy food, but the owner came out asked you what sort of food you liked and then cooked something wonderful. Sadly it didn’t last too long.</p>
<p>It’s funny we now have an Italian restaurant that has exactly the same plan (except they don’t have menus at all) and it’s doing booming business.</p>
<p>I haven’t read all of the posts, but I have just two quick thoughts.</p>
<p>About almond milk: I checked this out a while ago, at at least the brand I looked at was mostly water. On the livestrong site, it lists a serving of almond milk as having 10 g of carb and 2 g of protein. </p>
<p>About meat and cancer (specifically colon cancer): H and I increased our consumption of meat a lot in the last year or so, and the studies showing a correlation did worry me a bit. The other thing to think about is that high-protein (in particular, protein from meat) often means low fiber. It makes sense to me that low fiber diets would be associated with colon cancer, so I try to make sure we eat a lot of fiber (including fiber supplements) as well as meat.</p>
<p>Miami- There are ways to improve bone density without drugs and there are other good calcium sources besides dairy products. I agreed to drugs for 2 years but have now stopped (with permission). However, all my docs are insistent that it is very important to take calcium/D supplements. I’m OK with doing that.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you got the idea that you have to lose (not “loose”) height if you have osteoporosis. That is simply incorrect. There are readings taken at your hip and spine. They indicate what level of bone density loss you have. One of mine is not yet osteoporosis (just osteopenia). Neither reading improved with the 2 years of drugs, but one stayed the same and one got a little worse. Dr. felt that was a victory since it could have declined a lot more just due to aging. </p>
<p>I bet you don’t wear a helmet when you rollerblade, so this all might be moot.</p>
<p>The combination of low protein consumption and little or no resistance strength training is a bad one-two punch for health and fitness as we age. The maintenance of lean muscle mass as we get older is key, not only to look and feel better, but to make it metabolically easier to avoid storing body fat.</p>
<p>The guideline I use for protein is to try to stay somewhere in the range of 1/2 gram to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. I’m generally about in the middle of that range. The one adjustment I would make for someone who is overweight is to use their target body weight rather than their actual body weight. In other words, if I had an extra 100 pounds of fat, I probably shouldn’t take that to mean an extra 100 g of protein each day!</p>
<p>I don’t think of tofu as a meat substitute - but I do enjoy it. It took me awhile to learn how to use it. I purchased several packages that sat in the refrigerator until past the expiration date and I had to toss. Finally, I experimented a little and found lots of ways to use it. </p>
<p>One of my favorite things is to make tofu scramble on a Sunday morning. I buy the small extra firm cubes, drain them very well and pat dry. I saute onions and peppers in a little oil and then I add the tofu and brown it with the other ingredients. Sometimes I roast fingerling potatoes and chop them up and add to scramble. I keep a mix of spices - cumin, coriander, tumeric, chipotle chile powder, etc. in a shaker and sprinkle over the scramble. I heat up a little salsa while this is cooking. I serve up the scramble with salsa and fresh cilantro.</p>
<p>“three to six ounces of meat or fish and an egg almost every day.”
I absolutely cannot do that. I do not like these foods enough to have that much every single day. I do not care for any milk products (except ice cream) / tofu / soy products enough either. I do not mind to have them sometime. Then I can appreciate these foods. I have nuts every day though and a tiny peice of cheese most of the days . I cannot force myself to eat what I do not like, at my age it is not even worthwhile to focus that much on things that are not fun. I stick to what I love and do not worry too much about the rest. Fun is everything at this stage. I hope that I can get over my fall to rollerblade again after that horrible fall. It is a great fun.</p>
<p>Typical protein intakes in the US are probably in the middle of that range. The low end is sufficient for the low activity majority; the high end is for those doing heavy resistance training. Of course, being low activity is not all that healthy, but the typical protein intake in the US is probably sufficient for a moderately active person.</p>
<p>Could easily never eat meat again. Do love fish, though. Could not live without salmon a couple times a week.</p>
<p>I’m always amazed by those who eat eggs at breakfast and a meat sandwich or burger at lunch, then go on to more meat at dinner. I just couldn’t handle it.</p>
<p>But I respect the concept that everyone has a unique metabolism and thrives on a unique diet. My son and DH are meat eaters. My DD and I are not. It’s okay. We peacefully co-exist.</p>
<p>While I would consider myself a proud carnivorous leaning omnivore, the heavy proportions of meat…especially red meat in many Americans’ average diets…especially from what I’ve seen of classmates from elementary school onwards with the exception of undergrad classmates is staggering. </p>
<p>Most classmates/friends outside of my undergrad environment can comfortably eat a 20-30 ounce steak for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with all sides and dessert without skipping a beat. Despite exercising more than most of them…I would need to doggybag 2/3s of that steak. </p>
<p>With that being said, I can be very happy with living on a diet of nothing but Spanish rice and beans without meet for weeks at a time and have actually done it at times when I was feeling too lazy and cheap for anything better.</p>
