What is the worst possible thing you can eat?

[chipwhich]

Butter is healthier than Smart Balance, if you think otherwise you are an example of what I am talking about.  Smart Balance keeps changing their mix of unhealthy ingredients each time something in their elixir gets called out.  I wouldn't put that crap in my body.  The margarine fat free sillyness is almost over.  Eat healthy, a little butter in your diet won't kill you.  If smart balance is so healthy for ya, why do they have to keep changing the recipe?

It's always better to eat natural than processed.  Always.

 

I never had a childhood parkay.  Grew up in a farming family.  My great grandmother would taste the sausage she seasoned to make sure it was seasoned properly.  That would be raw pork as the hog was slaughtered.  Butter, Pork, Scrapple, garden food, home made meals.  Nothing processed.

 

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/there-is-nothing-smart-about-smart-balance/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2946617/Butter-ISN-T-bad-Major-study-says-80s-advice-dairy-fats-flawed.html

http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/03/smart-balance-versus-butter/

http://foodbabe.com/2014/01/20/is-butter-secretly-ruining-your-health/

http://authoritynutrition.com/7-reasons-why-butter-is-good-for-you/

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/saturated_fat/Butter.php

 

Peter, to your cholesterol argument. My experience was that diet and exercise does help cholesterol levels.

 

Most Americans wont do what you did.  Congrats.

[Springfield]

Thanks Chip.

It wasn't easy, the weight loss. It isn't a diet either. It's a lifestyle change. If you go into it thinking that you're just going to lose weight and then go back to what you used to eat then chances are that the weight comes back.

I still enjoy the foods that I used to but I just don't enjoy them as frequently. Hence that calzone that made me want to pop a few aspirin to prevent a heart attack.

Fruit is a godsend. I love fruit so much. Especially blueberries, strawberries and pineapple.

[Kosher Ham]

Wait...

 

[PeterMP]

Peter, to your cholesterol argument. My experience was that diet and exercise does help cholesterol levels.

In September of 2012, I had my blood drawn and was not happy with the results. I started walking 2 miles or more every work day, playing hockey twice a week and changed my diet. Result is that I lost about 30 lbs. I also quit smoking somewhere along the lines.

My readings in September 2012 were:

Total cholesterol: 261

HDL: 46

LDL: 167

My readings in January 2014 were:

Total cholesterol: 225

HDL: 76

LDL: 128

I had readings in January of 2015 that were similar to 2014. I feel like the combination of diet, exercise and weight loss helped those numbers. I don't think that quitting smoking did much though.

 

I know I edited my last post, but my edit was well before your post:

 

"the main causes of high cholesterol are genetics, obesity, and lack of exercise."

 

It isn't so much what you eat, but how much (though as I've also said, omega 3s and fiber can help some, but that's more of a ratio affect).

 

And the post before that said:

 

"Bad dietary habits is kind of vague. The number one issue for Americans that is related to HBP and cholesterol is obesity so if by bad eating habits, you mean over eating, then I agree."

 

Losing weight by most any mechanism = good for cholesterol.  Add in exercise and even better.

[Kosher Ham]

Springy, Pineapples give you canker sores.  

 

It's a difficult choice to make if you know what I am talking about.

[PeterMP]

Butter is healthier than Smart Balance, if you think otherwise you are an example of what I am talking about.  Smart Balance keeps changing their mix of unhealthy ingredients each time something in their elixir gets called out.  I wouldn't put that crap in my body.  The margarine fat free sillyness is almost over.  Eat healthy, a little butter in your diet won't kill you.  If smart balance is so healthy for ya, why do they have to keep changing the recipe?

It's always better to eat natural than processed.  Always.

 

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/there-is-nothing-smart-about-smart-balance/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2946617/Butter-ISN-T-bad-Major-study-says-80s-advice-dairy-fats-flawed.html

http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/03/smart-balance-versus-butter/

http://foodbabe.com/2014/01/20/is-butter-secretly-ruining-your-health/

http://authoritynutrition.com/7-reasons-why-butter-is-good-for-you/

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/saturated_fat/Butter.php

 

I missed a single study in there that addressed spreads like SmartBalance vs. butter.

 

It is all the same as you are saying.  My question is why?

 

There are plenty of "natural" things that are bad for you.  Try eating pokeberries, and then tell me they are good for you.

 

Nobody ever claimed a little butter would kill you or was even bad for you.

 

(I'll also point out, one of your links talking about telling people to eat more carbs.  I don't think this is really true.  I don't think the FDA and others actually ever told people to eat more carbs.)

[Springfield]

I know I edited my last post, but my edit was well before your post:

"the main causes of high cholesterol are genetics, obesity, and lack of exercise."

It isn't so much what you eat, but how much (though as I've also said, omega 3s and fiber can help some, but that's more of a ratio affect).

And the post before that said:

"Bad dietary habits is kind of vague. The number one issue for Americans that is related to HBP and cholesterol is obesity so if by bad eating habits, you mean over eating, then I agree."

Losing weight by most any mechanism = good for cholesterol. Add in exercise and even better.

Then we are pretty much in agreement I suppose. My apologies.

[PeterMP]

With respect to chipwhich and SmartBalance.

 

I'm not claiming that SmartBalance is good for you.  It almost certainly has issues in that I suspect that it contains lot's of omega-6 and most Americans get too much Omega 6.  Some omega-6 is needed and good for you, but too much of anything is bad.

 

However, butter is high in saturated fat, and while saturated fat might not be as heavily associated with heart disease as once thought, there are various health issues with too much saturated fat, but some saturated fat is good for you and even necessary too.

 

Both have issues.  In most cases, it is a matter of moderation.  Is a little bit of butter going to kill you?  No.

 

But I seriously doubt a little bit of a spread like SmartBalance is going to kill you either.

 

And realistically, I have butter in my fridge and rotate between butter like spreads and mix them up.  If I'm cooking and something calls for margerine/butter, I'll actually frequently split it. 1/2 butter and 1/2 spread (as long as it isn't a spread that I suspect contains a lot of trans fats).

 

If you know you are getting a lot of omega 6 from other sources, it might make sense to lean towards butter (or even better, something that is high in omega 3).

 

One of the big issues in this area is that people say X is "bad" for you, but realistically, it isn't that X is bad for you, but that too much of X is bad for you.  And people run away from X to Y.

 

But that leads to the use of too much Y, which is also bad for you.

 

And we end up see sawing between different things.

[chipwhich]

It is all the same as you are saying.  My question is why?

 

Because it's a processed spread.  If it was such a Smart Balance, why do they have to keep taking out the bad stuff?  You know how many times they change their recipe to remove the latest bad ingredient?  You really defending an imitation spread?

 

I don't get American's propensity to eat margarine's or spreads.  They have proven to be unhealthy, including Smart Balance, who at least continues to try and earn up to it's name Smart.  I prefer to eat what I know, not what I don't know.  Just like American's propensity to drink diet soda.

 

I don't wonder why 2/3rds of Americans are overweight, 1/3rd have high blood pressure, 1/3rd have high cholesterol, and we are ranked amongst the most unhealthy eaters.

 

[PeterMP]

 

Because it's a processed spread.  If it was such a Smart Balance, why do they have to keep taking out the bad stuff?  You know how many times they change their recipe to remove the latest bad ingredient?  You really defending an imitation spread?

 

I don't get American's propensity to eat margarine's or spreads.  They have proven to be unhealthy, including Smart Balance, who at least continues to try and earn up to it's name Smart.  I prefer to eat what I know, not what I don't know.  Just like American's propensity to drink diet soda.

 

I don't wonder why 2/3rds of Americans are overweight, 1/3rd have high blood pressure, 1/3rd have high cholesterol, and we are ranked amongst the most unhealthy eaters.

 

We have the issues we have primarily because we eat too much and exercise too little.

 

(and this is one of the big issues with respect to comparing people today with your ancestors that were farmers- the amount of manual labor and therefore exercise the average American gets today vs. farmers in previous generations).

[chipwhich]

We have the issues we have primarily because we eat too much and exercise too little.

 

(and this is one of the big issues with respect to comparing people today with your ancestors that were farmers- the amount of manual labor and therefore exercise the average American gets today vs. farmers in previous generations).

 

Good point, and I agree to some extent.  Maybe my parents are just lucky to have good genetics.  White color jobs, eat bacon and fried eggs every morning, eat butter , and aren't on prescription meds.  They don't eat fast foods or chain restaurants too often.  Most meals are home cooked daily.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Was told it's real simple: if it's white, it'll kill you (mainly food)

[DButz65]

I didnt read through all 3 pages, did anyone say stanky pootang? lolz 

[Riggo-toni]

They have a different unusual meat every month too, ostrich for instance.

 

 

Ostrich and duck are my two favorite meats.  I will take ostrich or bison over beef any day!

[Riggo-toni]

 I don't think the FDA and others actually ever told people to eat more carbs.)

Uh, seriously? Have you ever looked at the USDA's food pyramid?  It has grains and cereals as being more important than fruits and veggies.  Of course, that's what happens when you let the gov't dept in charge of marketing for farmers tell people what to eat.  An accurate pyramid would have vegetables on the bottom, fruit next, then wild caught fish, oils low in saturated and polyunsatured fats (olive, macadamia, and hazelnut) and lean meats, with breads and cereals and such at the top to be used the most sparingly.

[drtdrums]

I don't know a single person who has gone grain free, increased their good fats (grass fed butter, coconut oil, avocado), eliminated all soy and vegetable oil, and cut out refined sugars/processed foods who hasn't said the following:

1. It's hard as hell at first.

2. They'd never go back.

I had a terrible soda habit and ate a ton of what I thought were "good" grains. Oh. My. God. What a difference it made to eliminate those things.

[elkabong82]

 Smartest thing I do with my diet is cook a bunch of chicken and fish at once. That makes meals convenient to make the rest of the week, which prevents any laziness striking of not wanting to make a meal and possibly going out to get something. Processed food is murder on the stomach now. 

 

Craziest thing is, I used to get some disagreement with lactose, just sometimes an upset stomach. But since eating clean I have whole milk and greek yogurt each day (3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup yogurt) and have no problems at all with it, though those are the only 2 dairy items I consume. Don't even eat cheese anymore.

[chipwhich]

Uh, seriously? Have you ever looked at the USDA's food pyramid?  It has grains and cereals as being more important than fruits and veggies.  Of course, that's what happens when you let the gov't dept in charge of marketing for farmers tell people what to eat.  An accurate pyramid would have vegetables on the bottom, fruit next, then wild caught fish, oils low in saturated and polyunsatured fats (olive, macadamia, and hazelnut) and lean meats, with breads and cereals and such at the top to be used the most sparingly.

 

The USFDA was promoting margarine with trans fats for years.  You can't make this stuff up.  Americans were happy to oblige.

[sacase]

I actually believe the same about antacids. Why take the pill. Stop eating the junk that makes your body unhappy.

i had heart burn really bad. Then i got married the wife cooks everything from scratch. No processed food, only fresh. Heartburn went away. Wife went to go see family for two months. I started eating poorly. Heartburn came back.

[twa]

Ostrich and duck are my two favorite meats.  I will take ostrich or bison over beef any day!

 

ever try beefalo?

my step-brother raises them and bison

[mistertim]

I love how chipwhich and PeterMP are essentially having an IRL Butter Battle Book.

[Slateman]

Imma go with bleach

[PeterMP]

Uh, seriously? Have you ever looked at the USDA's food pyramid?  It has grains and cereals as being more important than fruits and veggies.  Of course, that's what happens when you let the gov't dept in charge of marketing for farmers tell people what to eat.  An accurate pyramid would have vegetables on the bottom, fruit next, then wild caught fish, oils low in saturated and polyunsatured fats (olive, macadamia, and hazelnut) and lean meats, with breads and cereals and such at the top to be used the most sparingly.

 

That would be the USDA, which is not the FDA.

 

I also don't think the problem is really grain containing food for most people, which can be can high in fiber, which is good for most people.

 

The problem is the amount of sugar (in many cases in the context HFCS) added to most of our grain food (including bread and cereals).

 

I can eat bread and cereal and not get the carbs (in the context of the sugars) that are in most cereals and breads today.

 

Things like sugar (carbs (through HFCS in most cases)) in cereal have gone up over time.  Telling people to eat cereal is not the same as telling them to eat cereal with a lot of added sugar, especially as industry has added in sugar.

 

Realistically, fruits and veggies are high in carbs too.  A food pyramid with them at the base is high in carbs too.  The problem with cereals, breads, etc. isn't the fiber carb from the grain.  It is the added sugar carb, which don't have to be there.

 

You can eat the food pyramid and be okay I suspect.  If your grain foods don't have a lot of added extra added sugar.

 

Even the USDA never said this:

 

 

 

was a good idea.

 

Or this:

 

[Springfield]

I love carbs. That's my main problem.

Pasta, bread, pizza, etc are all of my favorite foods.

[PeterMP]

The USFDA was promoting margarine with trans fats for years.  You can't make this stuff up.  Americans were happy to oblige.

 

This is one of those things that isn't really true.  When there was a lag behind the science on saturated fat (butter) and trans fat (margarine) where the argument could be made that margerine was better for you than butter.

 

But it certainly didn't get to the point of the FDA promoting mergerine.  The margerine industry pretty much right away promoted itself as the healthy alternative (e.g. made from the vegtables), but that's much different than the FDA.