Food discussion arising from: Nothing in a star's lunchbox

[corbie]

https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/index.xml?section

I have been on about this for years, ever since I lost all that weight just switching to real cane sugar!

[corbie]

http://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/will-the-antimony-in-polyester-fabric-hurt-me/

Not food, but fascinating. I was watching House and a couple of brothers were throwing up etc due to their polyester clothing.

Now House isn't a good place to actually diagnose illnesses but I looked it up. I have never been able to wear poly on my skin in any way. Not since it first came out. It makes a red rash, very nasty. I even learned how to sew since back in the 70's, early 80's it was almost impossible to find cotton clothes. And there were lots of fabric stores back then.

It always puzzled me as I can wear nylon and rayon. I have always been the canary in the coal mine about any kind of chemicals!

[corbie]

http://www.medpagetoday.com/AllergyImmunology/COPD/31060

Does not surprise me. When I quit the HFCS and I wasn't even drinking soda, just in regular food, my asthma went away.

[corbie]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57389119-83/antisec-dumps-monsanto-data-on-the-web/?tag=mncol

Yea! evil corporation and responsible for many illnesses.

Also the FDA has come out with a warning on the Statins about memory loss and confusion, liver damage etc.. Duh, I have known for years. There is also no evidence what so ever that cholesterol is actually a problem.

http://www.drcranton.com/nutrition/oiling.htm

http://newyorkcity.injuryboard.com/fda-and-prescription-drugs/fda-adds-memory-loss-and-diabetes-risk-warnings-to-statin-cholesterol-drugs-labeling.aspx?googleid=298718

[Dil Bert]

Autism may be linked to obesity during pregnancy

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.

It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Study women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children. They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

[...]

[corbie]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/27/us-usa-foodlobby-idUSBRE83Q0ED20120427

I don't think Republican care about anything but their pocketbooks.

When artificial sweeteners were first around, there was talk about them possibly causing brain birth defects. There had been some research which was repressed.

I knew a woman, did not like her at all, but she was in my social group. I was invited to her baby shower as she wanted as many gifties as possible. She was drinking diet soda. I, like an idiot, mentioned the research. Possibly rude on my part, but oh well, this was in the 80's and I was younger.

She said, well if the kid is deformed I will apologize. The kid, now an adult, is seriously autistic and is institutionalized..

Most obese people I know do use artificial sweeteners. So I am wondering if it is that rather than being just obese.

[Dil Bert]

Sugar Makes You Stupid, But Omega-3s Will Smarten You Back Up

"Researchers have just reported that among the list of bodily ills that fructose contributes to, it may also “make you dumb.” Luckily, eating a diet rich in the healthy omega-3 fatty acids seems to counteract this phenomenon."

Obviously best to avoid fructose as much as possible.

[corbie]

I thought about putting this one but have been concluding no one cares. Either people eat well, or they eat crap and won't change. Sigh. The guy who is working at the store part time now feeds his 4 year old soda and doughnuts for breakfast. The child is a whiny tantrum throwing mess. When I tried to talk to the father, he announced he refused to deny his child the best joys of childhood, soda and doughnuts and burgers.

The for lunch McDonald's for the toy, and dinner is Burger King.

Of course this is what the father eats and he is a depressed mess with serious health problems and he is only 27! And neither are happy in any way shape or form. 

[Dil Bert]

I thought about putting this one but have been concluding no one cares.

We both care.    And perhaps some people will come to the thread after a health scare and benefit from it.

How to stay sharp as one grows older:
http://growingbolder.com/media/health/aging/never-leave-the-playground-793777.html

[corbie]

Thanks!! I am so tired of watching people purposely eating themselves to major health problems. I will keep at it. I think I care too much. And if someone hadn't posted that article on HFCS and then cassia cinnamon on Reddit, I would maybe be dead now. Or in the clutches of the doctors, on disability and major drugs. 

So I will keep at it.

The bottom line is the unhealthy food is making the rich richer and the drug companies even more so.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/farm-bill_b_1553955.html

[corbie]

HAPPY! The guy has asked for my help in figuring out how to clean up his and his child's diet!!!!!!!!!!

[corbie]

http://www.alternet.org/food/155682/8_surprising_things_that_may_be_making_americans_fat?page=entire

If you are overweight it really may not be your fault!

[radhika s]

Has anyone read this book called "Skinny Bitch"

My mom read it while on travel this past week and now she's very interested in my vegan life-style, and she's choosing a lot more vegan options wherever possible

[Dil Bert]

^ I wonder if the book suggests cutting out wheat and sugar.

I cut out sugar a few weeks ago (cut out bread months ago).  It's tough, but it feels like the right decision.

[Dil Bert]

Vegetarian diet and mental disorders: results from a representative community survey
http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/9/1/67/abstract

Results
Vegetarians displayed elevated prevalence rates for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders. Due to the matching procedure, the findings cannot be explained by socio-demographic characteristics of vegetarians (e.g. higher rates of females, predominant residency in urban areas, high proportion of singles). The analysis of the respective ages at adoption of a vegetarian diet and onset of a mental disorder showed that the onset of mental disorders tends to follow the adoption of the vegetarian diet.

[madil]

Vegetarian diet and mental disorders: results from a representative community survey
http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/9/1/67/abstract

Results
Vegetarians displayed elevated prevalence rates for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders. Due to the matching procedure, the findings cannot be explained by socio-demographic characteristics of vegetarians (e.g. higher rates of females, predominant residency in urban areas, high proportion of singles). The analysis of the respective ages at adoption of a vegetarian diet and onset of a mental disorder showed that the onset of mental disorders tends to follow the adoption of the vegetarian diet.

Interesting, the part that struck me was the conclusion:

Conclusions
Vegetarian diet is associated with an elevated risk of mental disorders. However, there was no evidence for a causal role of vegetarian diet in the etiology of mental disorders.

Which ties in with what i personally tend to think: that it is something to do with the type of person who becomes vegetarian in Western societies (and their state of mind at the point where they become vegetarian) that creates the association with an elevated risk of mental disorders. I would be interested to know about the prevelance of such disorders in societies where a vegetarian diet is the norm as a comparison.

Perhaps vegetarians should all eat lots of Marmite to get their B12 as I note they propose that vitamin B12 levels appear to be causally linked to major depressive disorders

My views are probably slanted by the fact that I am a 47-year old anxious, non-depressive vegetarian who has refused meat and fish since the age of 5  Hard to say whether I was less anxious prior to starting my veggie diet!

[Parallel_Worlds]

My family consists of many vegetarians and sometimes I think their anxiety level is indeed higher than a non-veg.

When in a restaurant they have to keep asking, ''does such and so contain egg'', ''no?'' ''are you sure?'' ''can you confirm with the kitchen?''
The choice then gets limited to one dish, it gets served, they eye it suspiciously, ''OMG is that gelatin I spot? ''

Definitely a 'recipe' for anxiety disorder...

[James]

I'm still laughing at your example, Parallel Worlds! I relate as a vegetarian myself.  

The thing that struck me about the abstract of the article was the wording: 'a' vegetarian diet. So many vegetarians eat vastly different diets that I would need to see more in the article about that before I could take it seriously. I recall when I first became vegetarian it was much more difficult to find veggie options in restaurants in the Toronto area and that led to some annoyance and feelings of isolation as outings with friends became more complicated and less frequent, though now there are so many options (even in steak houses and pubs!) that it's no longer an issue.

And it's ironic that it's precisely because vegetarianism is supposed to bring you greater health, physical and mental, that it's so recommended in Ayurveda, yet here it's being allegedly linked to mental disorder.

[corbie]

A lot of the vegetarians I know had mental issues before they started. So I think it is probably not a valid study. A lot of vegetarians don't. I was veg for two years before I got so sick. I don't think I had any mental issues. 

Yea, we eat out with a vegan couple and it does get funny watching them peer at the food suspiciously!  They have gotten cool however. Sister and I order meat and it doesn't upset them anymore.

[corbie]

http://m.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/neverseconds-shut-down/

Not just America that wants the people not healthy!

[corbie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18454800
new news!

[corbie]

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/8-alarmingly-unhealthy-snacks-to-avoid

I have to go back to reading how the food industry is trying to kill us while making a profit. And the government lets them. I can't watch or hear anymore Aurora for awhile.

[Dil Bert]

Hunter gatherer clue to obesity

"The idea that exercise is more important than diet in the fight against obesity has been contradicted by new research."

The article calls both sugar and fat as bad, but otherwise is worth reading.

[Dil Bert]

The last days of the low-fat diet fad
http://grist.org/scary-food/2011-03-04-low-fat-diet-fad/

This past December, the Los Angeles Times reported that excess carbohydrates and sugar, not fat, are responsible for America’s obesity and diabetes epidemics. One of the lead researchers in this field, Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said, “The country’s big low-fat message backfired. The overemphasis on reducing fat caused the consumption of carbohydrates and sugar in our diets to soar. That shift may be linked to the biggest health problems in America today.” Another expert, Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, declared flatly that “Fat is not the problem.”

[corbie]

I have known that for years now. People eat no fat and get sick. No fat foods also have no substance to them besides sugar and carbs and people end up eating way to much because they are still hungry.  Says she who had some Boulder potato chips with her dinner of buffalo, sauce, noodles and a chocolate covered banana. Not hungry now. Craving salt in this heat.

Salt is another issue. Most people need a lot more salt than they are eating! If you don't eat processed food, a person is in danger of getting sick from not enough salt.