Health dorks

[vash23n]

We crave fat because it is high in calories and stored easily in the body. Over many years of evolution the things that could sustain us the longest became the things we would crave. None of it is really "bad" for you if you eat the right amount and exercise.


If you were going to be doing some serious labor and food was scarce you would want the most bang for your buck, so to speak.

Now that we don't have to work nearly as hard (physically speaking) and food is abundant in most of the world people become unhealthy.

I read a book called The Hunter's Breath about working in the Antarctic. These researchers get to go "shopping" for food at the station before heading out and they pick a lot of junk food over veggies and fruits - "There were three prized food items that we bartered amongst ourselves for during the field season: 1. Cadbury chocolate bars, 2. Oreo cookies, 3. Pringle potato chips.... Consuming a single chocolate bar could bring your body out of a chill when working on the ice, and the candy bars were as coveted as a warm pair of mittens." The author talks about the importance of fat in food. I remember reading this and thinking it was so strange, but it makes sense if you think of blubbery seals and whales.

I wish I could eat healthier, but I find that the healthier you want to eat - and to successfully eat healthy you have to do it right, not just settle on a salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It just doesn't work - the more money you have to spend. I think in this country it is just cheaper to eat junk. This is why the majority of poor people are so malnourished. They can eat enough to be full, but the quality of the food is terrible.

As for replacing Dunkin Donuts with Raisin Bran Muffins, this reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about the other day. We miss when McNuggets used to come in both white and dark meat. You'd get them from McDonalds and find a dark meat nugget and get excited because they tasted so awesome. A few years ago, they switched them to all white meat. I remember thinking this was so stupid. You are still eating a lump of D grade meat that is battered and fried.

[gtmtnbiker]

Salt can be unhealthy without proper moderation, yet it's absolutely essential to the human diet. And accordingly, almost everyone on Earth craves at least some amount of salt. (Random aside - introduce salty foods to young children and they'll crave it for the rest of their life. Keep it away and they'll avoid saltier foods as adults.)

I don't think the issue is with someone using salt but rather eating processed food that has a lot of sodium. If you look at the nutrition label for some of the items you buy, you'll be surprised how a lot of processed food have high sodium levels (as a percentage of your recommeded daily allowance).

[Jrecee]

The thing about bran muffins reminded me of this list:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18549_8- ... th_p1.html

Haha, everything is bad for you.

[MrPopo]

As for replacing Dunkin Donuts with Raisin Bran Muffins, this reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about the other day. We miss when McNuggets used to come in both white and dark meat. You'd get them from McDonalds and find a dark meat nugget and get excited because they tasted so awesome. A few years ago, they switched them to all white meat. I remember thinking this was so stupid. You are still eating a lump of D grade meat that is battered and fried.

I disagree with your viewpoint. With the old nuggets I used to break them all open and separate out the dark from the white. I'd eat all the dark ones first since they weren't so good, then I'd switch to the delicious white ones.

[Limewater]

We crave fat because it is high in calories and stored easily in the body. Over many years of evolution the things that could sustain us the longest became the things we would crave. None of it is really "bad" for you if you eat the right amount and exercise.

Bah. Pseudoscience.

I wish I could eat healthier, but I find that the healthier you want to eat - and to successfully eat healthy you have to do it right, not just settle on a salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It just doesn't work - the more money you have to spend. I think in this country it is just cheaper to eat junk. This is why the majority of poor people are so malnourished. They can eat enough to be full, but the quality of the food is terrible.

This isn't true at all. An actual healthy diet is very cheap to maintain when compared with a diet of crap. The difference is knowledge and willingness to cook. It's not finances that keep poor people malnourished (at least in the U.S.). It's apathy and/or ignorance.

When I got serious about eating healthy a couple of years ago, my grocery bills actually went down. A big part of the difference was that I was buying "real" food instead of processed crap. Healthy food is often cheap. Highly processed healthy food is crazy expensive. Some pre-made fancy crap from Whole Foods will cost an arm and a leg. Lentils and Rice cost next to nothing.

[yomomma1]

It's expensive to maintain a healthy diet.
Rather than eat cheap food that barely holds the nutrition you need.

[SpaceBooger]

When I got serious about eating healthy a couple of years ago, my grocery bills actually went down. A big part of the difference was that I was buying "real" food instead of processed crap. Healthy food is often cheap. Highly processed healthy food is crazy expensive. Some pre-made fancy crap from Whole Foods will cost an arm and a leg. Lentils and Rice cost next to nothing.

And don't forget to eat healthier means proper portion sizes. Smaller portions cost less. Many people in the US would be healthier if they only ate proper sized portions.

[CRTGAMER]

Reason why drive thrus are called Fat er Fast Foods. "At least get outta da car and walk in ya slob!"

I digress, do once in a while break down and enjoy a bloody steak or enjoy a #3 combo at Los Panchos.
Yes I do get outta the car, only way to hit that salsa bar.

[vash23n]

As for replacing Dunkin Donuts with Raisin Bran Muffins, this reminds me of something my wife and I were talking about the other day. We miss when McNuggets used to come in both white and dark meat. You'd get them from McDonalds and find a dark meat nugget and get excited because they tasted so awesome. A few years ago, they switched them to all white meat. I remember thinking this was so stupid. You are still eating a lump of D grade meat that is battered and fried.

I disagree with your viewpoint. With the old nuggets I used to break them all open and separate out the dark from the white. I'd eat all the dark ones first since they weren't so good, then I'd switch to the delicious white ones.

Haha, if we ever got an old styrofoam carton of McNuggets, you could have all the white meat ones and I'd take the rest.

As for the expense of eating healthy, I see your point. We have a Whole Foods by us that all the yuppies go to while the rest of us are stuck with Acme. I think it is hard to discover healthy foods to make at a store like that. As I think about it, I don't know any healthy recipes so that could lead to me buying pre-made or boxed healthy stuff at places like Whole Foods. I guess that once you figure out routines and recipes, it becomes pretty easy.

[Anubis]

Personally, I found that eating healthy and eating cheap do not need to be exclusive. I recently started going to the gym regularly, and while doing so I've been searching for healthy foods that are cheap and help muscle growth. It wasn't that hard to do.

It's actually turned out to be really cheap to start eating much healthier.

Some canned chicken, diced apples, pickles, and spinach make for a killer chicken sandwich or chicken salad. Add in some decent wheat bread, and you have a lunch that is high in carbohydrates as well as protein.

Chicken and pasta are cheap, they are a great way to get a full. Also, since I've stopped eating junk food and drinking soda, I feel much better overall. I feel like my overall energy level has increased quite a bit.

Also, as someone else said, eating smaller portions is not only cheaper, but healthier. All it takes is the commitment to learn how to cook.