Why is there an epidemic of fat in the U.S.? Possible answer

[kcredden]

An interesting article, that you may want to read. Why is there an epidemic of fat in the U.S.? it's here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007/1969924.htm

You know. Since I was Rxed with diabeties, I've been very sensitive to ingredients and read labels religiously, and I've seen the same thing too. Every single 'low-fat' product, has more carbs. For example, in my diabetic safe cheesecake recipe I posted here awile back (http://www.maysvillekybbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7238&highlight=cheesecake), I mentioned that read the labels for it seems the lower-fat it is, the more carbs?

I've looked at processed meats for the family and friends. It's the same way. One brand 'John Morell' has almost 3x more carbs than Oscar Myer. What's bad is that although John Morell is cheaper, your paying for less meat, and mostly fillers. Lots of foods are like that. Your waisting money, as well as making yourself fatter.

Look at a couple of lines that caught my eye from the article;

they actually know that by putting fructose into the foods that we eat, for instance pretzels -- why do you need fructose in pretzels, why do we need fructose in hamburger buns?

Agreed! I'm seeing more and more foods sweetened. It seems more and more I look, I can't eat it for the carb count is though the roof.
One time I went to a resturant, and had to return deviled eggs, and green beans because they was so sweet, I thought the eggs alone was coated in yellow frosting, and the beans was sugar cane. This isn't counting the amount of salt, and fat in other resturant dishes too.

Robert Lustig: Well in fact fat-free doesn't help, if anything as the fat content of our foods has gone down, and it has gone down, it's gone from 40% to 30%, in fact our obesity prevalence has gone way up. So that's not the answer.

Norman Swan: This is because they're adding carbohydrates and sugars to it to replace the fat.

That's born out from simply looking at the labels.

Thankfully I make my own dinners and cook for myself anymore. But I'm strongly believing this article. The food industry is slowly poisoning us, for their profits.

[Foxy]

There is an epidemic, because the LARGE Diet Coke, DOES NOT cancel out the 3 freakin twinkies and large fry!!!!

[TheMan]

That works for me...

[Flame]

There is an epidemic, because the LARGE Diet Coke, DOES NOT cancel out the 3 freakin twinkies and large fry!!!!

The problem is I don't like the taste of regular coke anymore. But the large frys and the cinnabites I do still like. That is why it is so hard for me to lose these pounds even though I walk.

[kdown]

The answer is simple. FAT TASTES GOOD. We, as a nation, don't worry about it until we have a reason to worry. Years ago I went on a NO FAT diet like the doctor said. In no time at all I went from 176 pounds to 153 pounds. Dang near starved. Quit it. Gained the weight back and then had a heart attack, by-pass, etc. Somehow we never learn.

[Rebelyell]

There is an epidemic, because the LARGE Diet Coke, DOES NOT cancel out the 3 freakin twinkies and large fry!!!!

Foxy,

There is evidence that the Diet Coke is bad for you in and of itself.

The sweetness of the Diet Coke causes your insulin to increase in anticipation of the arrival of sugar, which never comes. The increase in insulin causes a low-sugar crash, which makes you hungry and also causes your metabolisim to slow down. Also, your the constant consumption of fake sweets causes your mind and body to lose the ability to judge how much sugar is enough.

The Diet Coke is probably worse for you than a real Coke.

[Rebelyell]

An interesting article, that you may want to read. Why is there an epidemic of fat in the U.S.? it's here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007/1969924.htm

You know. Since I was Rxed with diabeties, I've been very sensitive to ingredients and read labels religiously, and I've seen the same thing too. Every single 'low-fat' product, has more carbs. For example, in my diabetic safe cheesecake recipe I posted here awile back (http://www.maysvillekybbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7238&highlight=cheesecake), I mentioned that read the labels for it seems the lower-fat it is, the more carbs?

I've looked at processed meats for the family and friends. It's the same way. One brand 'John Morell' has almost 3x more carbs than Oscar Myer. What's bad is that although John Morell is cheaper, your paying for less meat, and mostly fillers. Lots of foods are like that. Your waisting money, as well as making yourself fatter.

Look at a couple of lines that caught my eye from the article;

they actually know that by putting fructose into the foods that we eat, for instance pretzels -- why do you need fructose in pretzels, why do we need fructose in hamburger buns?

Agreed! I'm seeing more and more foods sweetened. It seems more and more I look, I can't eat it for the carb count is though the roof.
One time I went to a resturant, and had to return deviled eggs, and green beans because they was so sweet, I thought the eggs alone was coated in yellow frosting, and the beans was sugar cane. This isn't counting the amount of salt, and fat in other resturant dishes too.

Robert Lustig: Well in fact fat-free doesn't help, if anything as the fat content of our foods has gone down, and it has gone down, it's gone from 40% to 30%, in fact our obesity prevalence has gone way up. So that's not the answer.

Norman Swan: This is because they're adding carbohydrates and sugars to it to replace the fat.

That's born out from simply looking at the labels.

Thankfully I make my own dinners and cook for myself anymore. But I'm strongly believing this article. The food industry is slowly poisoning us, for their profits.


Kevin,

I don't know you, but have a lot of questions.

Are you able to control the diabetes through diet?

Are you overweight right now? Have you had your heart checked out?

A friend of mine who is 52 let his get out of control and ended up having to have quadruple bypass surgery. He's fine now. He really wasn't that overweight, but he's got his weight down and in fact doesn't have to take any medication at all as his diabetes is completely under control by his reduced weight.

I've been working to watch my weight since the first of the year and have been pretty darn successful (I want high carb, low fat, though). I get really frustrated at how hard it is to order healthy food at restaurants.

Back to your original post. These food companies know high fructose corn syrup is highly dangerous. They know it doesn't generate a leptin response like glucose (sugar). Yet they put it in their products because it saves a few pennies. I think they are setting themselves up for a tobacco-type lawsuit, and I hope they get it.

[Flame]

Foxy,

There is evidence that the Diet Coke is bad for you in and of itself.

The sweetness of the Diet Coke causes your insulin to increase in anticipation of the arrival of sugar, which never comes. The increase in insulin causes a low-sugar crash, which makes you hungry and also causes your metabolisim to slow down. Also, your the constant consumption of fake sweets causes your mind and body to lose the ability to judge how much sugar is enough.

The Diet Coke is probably worse for you than a real Coke.

Rebelyell,
We will have to agree to disagree on this subject. Your body releases insulin due to sugars, starches etc that has been injested. There is a scant amount released in response to smell and sight of food but should not be enough to cause a low-sugar crash.If it does then there could be an overproduction of insulin going on. Your body releases small amounts of insulin throughout the day called a basal rate, then when you eat your body releases a bolus to cover the food you ate.

Diet Coke or regular coke is both bad for you as they can eat battery acid off of battery cables. HMMMM. What is it doing to the lining of your stomach.

[Rebelyell]

Rebelyell,
We will have to agree to disagree on this subject. Your body releases insulin due to sugars, starches etc that has been injested. There is a scant amount released in response to smell and sight of food but should not be enough to cause a low-sugar crash.If it does then there could be an overproduction of insulin going on. Your body releases small amounts of insulin throughout the day called a basal rate, then when you eat your body releases a bolus to cover the food you ate.

Diet Coke or regular coke is both bad for you as they can eat battery acid off of battery cables. HMMMM. What is it doing to the lining of your stomach.

Flame,

Even if I am wrong (and I do agree it is only a slight increase in insulin), part two of my argument was that the constant consumption of fake sugar causes one to be unable to regulate real sugar consumption, and perhaps other food consumption. You get used to consuming mass quantities of fake sugar, and thus over-consume the real thing when it becomes available.

[bubbysgarage]

I for one just want to thank KC for bringing this up. I think it was a wonderful article and thats my 2 cents worth. (for now).

[kcredden]

There may be one cause to this, although I haven't seen this; Caffene. This is a known raiser of blood sugars, and I've seen it in my own body. But I haven't seen a crash yet. It seems to make my BG stubborn, and takes a lot more exercise to bring it down.

- Kc

Rebelyell,
We will have to agree to disagree on this subject. Your body releases insulin due to sugars, starches etc that has been injested. There is a scant amount released in response to smell and sight of food but should not be enough to cause a low-sugar crash.If it does then there could be an overproduction of insulin going on. Your body releases small amounts of insulin throughout the day called a basal rate, then when you eat your body releases a bolus to cover the food you ate.

Diet Coke or regular coke is both bad for you as they can eat battery acid off of battery cables. HMMMM. What is it doing to the lining of your stomach.

[kcredden]

Rebelyell:

Thanks for asking, and go ahead and ask more:

Yes I'm able to totally control it though exercise, and diet. Dr. Eagan said he could have put me on a ton of medications, but when I was Rxed, I immedately grabbed this by the horns.

As for overweight, no. I was 100# overweight, but thanks to the low-carb diet and exercise, I lost it in 6 months. A bit TOO fast but it's gone. I'm now steady around 200#

Yikes...hope your friend will stay fine. Yes, they say exercise, and weight loss is the two best things for diabeties. Exercise makes the muscles more insulian sensitive, and it's true. I can lose 40 points or more by just an hour's walk.

I've been working to watch my weight since the first of the year and have been pretty darn successful (I want high carb, low fat, though). I get really frustrated at how hard it is to order healthy food at restaurants.

We all want high fat, and high carb I found. I can't walk past a krispy kreme box without someone holding me back :). But really if you continue to take in the sugar, it's just going to make you worse. So have to bite the bullet is all. With a low-carb (60g a day approximately), exercise, and weight loss, I keep my BGs between 90 - 120 most of the time. Rarely have hypos, unless I forget to snack during the evening when my insulian sensitive crashes, or just plain forget to eat. Then they're mild. I think the lowest reading I ever saw was 75.

Good luck!

- Kc

I don't know you, but have a lot of questions.

Are you able to control the diabetes through diet?

Are you overweight right now? Have you had your heart checked out?

A friend of mine who is 52 let his get out of control and ended up having to have quadruple bypass surgery. He's fine now. He really wasn't that overweight, but he's got his weight down and in fact doesn't have to take any medication at all as his diabetes is completely under control by his reduced weight.

I've been working to watch my weight since the first of the year and have been pretty darn successful (I want high carb, low fat, though). I get really frustrated at how hard it is to order healthy food at restaurants.

Back to your original post. These food companies know high fructose corn syrup is highly dangerous. They know it doesn't generate a leptin response like glucose (sugar). Yet they put it in their products because it saves a few pennies. I think they are setting themselves up for a tobacco-type lawsuit, and I hope they get it.

[Foxy]

Don't get me off the subject about the side effects of Saccharin and sweeteners alike. You know they recommend that children under the age of 13 should not be drinking Diet drinks or using artificial sweeteners?!?!
For years the FDA would not grant the right to allow soda companies to use it. But the "big guys" managed to finagle around them and get saccharin approved. Hmmmm and we wonder what has happened to the youths of today?

[Bengals_Mama]

I've never had a weight problem, but I think it's hereditary. My Dad is overweight, but my Mom has always been a healthy weight. My Mom was recently diagnosed with Diabetes, so I have been eating a lot less sugar & starches. My whole life I have just always eaten what I wanted, when I wanted, just in moderation. I can eat whatever I want, but I can't pig out on it! I try to eat small meals or snacks every couple of hours, and when I don't I get irritated...lol I've been blessed with a good metabolism, but I also don't over do it on the sweets. My weakness is carbs. I love bread, and I have started to eat more whole wheat bread than white. I have to have 1 Mt. Dew a day, but the rest of the day I try to drink watered down sweet tea, fat free milk, and watered down juice. I also switched from some things like jelly & syrup to fat free brands. Your taste buds adjust to it eventually. I also drink Diet Dr. Pepper sometimes. The bad thing with the artificial sweeteners is that they cause a chemical reaction in your belly, that's why you will get the belly aches sometimes when you drink it. I try to eat sensibly during the week, but dang it my weekends I am gonna eat what I like! Seems to work for me.

[chevy]

I know one thing. It is cheaper to buy fatty foods than it is to buy low fat or fat free foods. It is cheaper to buy regular sugar than it is to buy something like sweet and low or splenda. With the cost of gas and everything else going up, you cut costs where you can (at least that is what we tell ourselves:biggrin:).

[TheMan]

MY great grandpa smoked 3 packs of the filter-less cigs a day. Drank whiskey when he wanted.. ate all kinds of fatty foods.. and was a chocoholic. He lived to 92.
Grandpa.. ate healthy, never smoked, very low sugar intake and exercised regularly. He died at 52. So maybe it ain't so much about what you ingest as much as it is about when it's your time?

[Foxy]

Here is my take on exercise, you have a big fat elephant, doesn't run around much, rarely has it's heart rate up, doesn't exercise, and eats what it wants they live about 70 years.
Now you have a mouse, small, always running around, has an elevated heart rate. Does plenty of exercise and eats healthy. The mouse dies at about 6 years old,m usually of a heart attack.

I think I will stick to being a big fat long living elephant.

[Maxwells]

My grandfather also smoked, ate redeye gravy, ole timers will know what that is..lol cooked in lard, had heavy homemade cream, butter...and lived to be 95

[Rebelyell]

My grandfather also smoked, ate redeye gravy, ole timers will know what that is..lol cooked in lard, had heavy homemade cream, butter...and lived to be 95

It turns out that lard isn't nearly as bad for you as hydroginated vegetable oil (which they thought was good for us!), and butter is actually good for you in limited quantities.

[bubbysgarage]

Limited quantities of most things are good for you but thats the key, limited quantities. There are just some people who haven't a clue as to what that is. One of those people is my grandfather. He learned real quick though after my dad found him passed out on a tractor with it still running. My grandfather is overweight and for the longest time he was the one who wanted the biggest piece of cake and the most icecream.

[Maxwells]

It turns out that lard isn't nearly as bad for you as hydroginated vegetable oil (which they thought was good for us!), and butter is actually good for you in limited quantities.

I used to cook with the Crisco that was in a can, I guess you would call it like a lard form. I think we are mislead alot of times of what is and what isn't good for us. And yes the quantity of intake does mean alot on consumption with different foods....I agree:)

[kdown]

Everytime I think about any heavy exercise I go lie down on the couch until the urge goes away

[kcredden]

That is indeed the key. Even with desserts, I can go for a tiny amount of things I use to like. Like say one of those cookie minis (Oreo, nuttybutter, etc) 1 quarter sized cookie every once in awile, then exercise, not the whole pack :) Or I can sample someone's birthday cake. In the meantime I eat 1 or 2 serving sized portons of my foods, not a whole can, or whole plate.

It's something you have to learn but if you do it right, make your own meals and after eating this way, you'll be stuffed.

The key is moderation. It's just we're programmed from birth to eat 5x more than normal.

Limited quantities of most things are good for you but thats the key, limited quantities. There are just some people who haven't a clue as to what that is. One of those people is my grandfather. He learned real quick though after my dad found him passed out on a tractor with it still running. My grandfather is overweight and for the longest time he was the one who wanted the biggest piece of cake and the most icecream.

[mark]

..................part of the reason is..............

Americans are just getting more lazy all the time.

When I was a kid in the early 70's, our parents sent us outside ( no problem with me, I didn't like indoors anyway ) to play & we didn't come home until dark set in. We had no computers or video games. In fact, all we had for TV was Channel 19 & the 3 Networks.....that's it. 4 channels was it instead of the 100's offered today.

These days, all kids wants to do is sit inside the house, eat junk food & play X boxes or computer games ALL day.

Not just a little while but actually ALL day long.

Hmmmm, & we all wonder why little Johnny is fat.

It's a no brainer..............see ya mark

[bubbysgarage]

Mark I agree with you and I'm glad my parents were the same way. Which I also grew up on a farm so there were chores to be done. I also lived out in the middle of nowhere in Adams county on a dead endroad so it wasn't hard to think of different things we could go on scavenger hunts for in our woods. As for the tv my parents were the same we had channel 19 and we got to watch cartoons on Sat mornings only, the other 3 were only for the news. I can remember my mom's excuse to get us out of the house "It's too nice outside to be inside, go find something to do." Growing up I didn't like that but now that I'm older and have kids of my own I realize what she was doing. Plus it kept us out of her hair. I could go on and on about how I grew up but I won't at least not in this thread.

[kcredden]

Got this several days ago, was in my 'sync' directory to send here, but you know how RL can be at times.:fear:

This I think is one of the major reasons for this thread, don't you think? :)

- Kc

[kcredden]

I think Mark's right. Everyone we hire to do work either does it poorly, or does it half-way. What's worse, if you give them the money before they're done, they skip town, and never finish the job.

To me, it's not done, till it's done. I keep my word, and it may take a bit longer, but I'm not lazy and I finish it. I know this. You renig on your word, no one hires you again, word gets around.

Guess people had better start watching out for my family and I. You'll sign a contract for even minor work, specifing when it has to be done, and exactly what has to be done, before you get paid in full!

..................part of the reason is..............

Americans are just getting more lazy all the time.

When I was a kid in the early 70's, our parents sent us outside ( no problem with me, I didn't like indoors anyway ) to play & we didn't come home until dark set in. We had no computers or video games. In fact, all we had for TV was Channel 19 & the 3 Networks.....that's it. 4 channels was it instead of the 100's offered today.

These days, all kids wants to do is sit inside the house, eat junk food & play X boxes or computer games ALL day.

Not just a little while but actually ALL day long.

Hmmmm, & we all wonder why little Johnny is fat.

It's a no brainer..............see ya mark