What I Eat. Around the World in 80 Diets

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This is a book written by Peter Menzel and his wife, Faith D'Aluisio.

They were interviewed on NPR today, and it was facinating.

It's a story in pictures of the typical diets of 80 people, from different cultures around the world.

It might be no surprise that a woman from the Maasai gets by on 800 calories a day, but, if you look at the slide show attached to this link, and listen to the interview, you might be very surprised to discover who eats 5,400 calories a day.

When asked where they experienced their best meal, Faith answered, "no question, Iran"

I'm going to get this book for sure.

here's the link...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2010/08/10/129107806/whatieat

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oh....what stood out to me the most was the obvious lack of fruits and vegetables in the slideshow....very heavy on the grains, which makes sense to me.

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interesting!

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There's also a series of shots which show the contents of a family's home, usually spread out in the yard, on the roof, or in the driveway (includes family members).

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@chai2,

Exactly! Donuts are made from grain.

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Proof that whole grains and real fats do not make you fat. Butter tea anyone?

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You might be interested in the other NPR article about their book called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005952

It not only delineates what is eaten, but the cost of that food.

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@Butrflynet,

Both Overseas Adventure Travel/Grand Circle and Vantage World Travel includes home-hosted meals in many of their trips around the world. This happens to be one of the favorite activities for many who love to travel; to eat with the people of the country we are visiting, and be able to get some ideas about what they eat and what their homes look like. The people who host these dinners are usually well traveled themselves, and the majority speak good English - with an American accent.

On my recent trip to Turkey and Greece, a family living on one of the Greek islands was our host for dinner. They have a very beautiful home that is open throughout the living area with very nice views of the open land surrounding their home. Their two grown children were attending university on the mainland.

On my recent trip to the Peru Amazon, we sat on the floor to eat, and they served fish that was wrapped in leaf and cooked, wild boar jerky, grub, and a fruit drink. One gentleman in our group ate most of the grub that was served.
I didn't try it, but ate the wild boar jerky.

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I once ate in NYC, a place called Nathan's, it must have been very popular as their was a line and customers either sat down on the sidewalk or just stood around smearing then wiping the mustard, ketchup and kraut. I'm pretty sure it was very international cuisine. I thrive on Frito Pie; Lots of people think of me as a foodie.

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@Green Witch,

Green Witch wrote:

Proof that whole grains and real fats do not make you fat. Butter tea anyone?

When I was listening to this part, I thought about how when I was a young Chai, my mother would give us tea with a spoonful of butter in it when we were sick.

That was a spoonful of butter in a mug of tea, not like the monk was drinking, a spoonful of tea in a mug of butter. Shocked

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@chai2,

I've had real butter tea and it is mostly melted butter (usually from a Yak or maybe Water Buffalo). I find it too salty and actually rather icky, but maybe it's a diet remedy since I've never seen a fat Tibetan.

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@cicerone imposter,

I learned to LOVE toasted locusts when I was in Africa. They have a nutty almost pistachio-like taste. Is amazing what ya get used to and actually relish.
The first time I ate raw clams I nearly gagged, Now I have to stop myself from eating the damn things only because of the possible pathogens. I love the tatse of raw clams and "arsters"

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@Green Witch,

You know, this has got me thinking about calories, and our need for specific amounts.

The monk consumes 4900 calories on a "typical day" is 5'5" 158 lbs
The Maasai woman consumes 800 calories on a "typical day", also 5'5", weighs 103 lbs.
The Japanese gymnast consumes 1700 calories on a "typical day" is 5'2" 99 lbs.

None of these peope are overweight.
I would guess all are more or less equally active.

Why then, is the monk 50% heavier than the Maasai woman, but consumes more than 6 times the number of calories?
Ok, men have more muscle mass, but...

Between the 2 women, one consumes half as much as the other, but, inch for inch, their weight is almost identical.

The ability of a humans metabolism to adjust to the environment is amazing.

What would happen is suddenly the Maasai woman had access to twice and much food, and the monk suddenly found himself with just a little butter available to him?

The woman would eat more, and the man, although he would eat more of other foods, would undoubtedly eat less calories.

Yet, I venture to guess their weights would stay more or less the same, within 10 pounds.
Natures way of maintaining equilibrium.

On the other hand, in this country (the U.S.) we can't seem to get our **** together whether we gorge ourselves, or self impose anorexia. We have to totally fucked ourselves up.

Goat Yogurt. That's the answer.

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@chai2,

I suspect the differences in altitude of their homelands makes a difference in how the bodies make use of the energy supplied by their caloric intake.

Quote:

The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang) Plateau (Chinese: 青藏高原; Pinyin: Qingzang Gaoyuan) is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia[1][2][3][4] covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in India-controlled Kashmir. It occupies an area of around 1,000 by 2,500 kilometers, and has an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. Sometimes called "the roof of the world," it is the highest and biggest plateau, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers (about four times the size of Texas or France).[5]

Quote:

Narok (sometimes referred to as Narok Town) is an old dusty town west of Nairobi that supports Kenya's economy in south-west Kenya, along the Great Rift Valley. Narok is the district capital of the Narok District and stands as the major center of commerce in the district. Narok has a population of around 40,000 people, mostly Maasai. The Maasai, natives of Narok district, refer to Narok as Enkare Narok (meaning: black water, or dark water) named after, Enkare Narok, the river flows through Narok town.[citation needed] [1] The elevation of Narok is 1827 meters (5,997 feet) in altitude. [2]

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@Butrflynet,

I also believe it's their diets, and how much natural exercise they get living in their environments without motorized vehicles.

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no.
natural fats and butters do not make you fat.

whats making people fat are the chemicals that are added to foods.

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

I also believe it's their diets, and how much natural exercise they get living in their environments without motorized vehicles.

That's why I said I think they all exercise approximately equally.

The monk and the maasai woman both do a lot of physical work, just in the course of their daily living. The Japanese girl, although she probably travels in vehicles, does a lot of physical training. I mean, the girl can support herself on one hand.

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@Butrflynet,

Butrflynet wrote:

I suspect the differences in altitude of their homelands makes a difference in how the bodies make use of the energy supplied by their caloric intake.

Quote:
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang) Plateau (Chinese: 青藏高原; Pinyin: Qingzang Gaoyuan) is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia[1][2][3][4] covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in India-controlled Kashmir. It occupies an area of around 1,000 by 2,500 kilometers, and has an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. Sometimes called "the roof of the world," it is the highest and biggest plateau, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers (about four times the size of Texas or France).[5]

Quote:
Narok (sometimes referred to as Narok Town) is an old dusty town west of Nairobi that supports Kenya's economy in south-west Kenya, along the Great Rift Valley. Narok is the district capital of the Narok District and stands as the major center of commerce in the district. Narok has a population of around 40,000 people, mostly Maasai. The Maasai, natives of Narok district, refer to Narok as Enkare Narok (meaning: black water, or dark water) named after, Enkare Narok, the river flows through Narok town.[citation needed] [1] The elevation of Narok is 1827 meters (5,997 feet) in altitude. [2]

You might have something there.

The Monk weighs about 2.4 pounds per inch. He burns 31 calories per pound per day. He lives at 4500 meters.

The Chinese girl (sorry thought it said Japanese, she's from Shanghai) weighs about 1.59 pounds per inch. She burns 17.17 calories per pound per day, She lives at 3200 meters

The Maasai woman weighs about 1.58 pounds per inch. She burns 7.76 calories per pound per day. She lives at 1827 meters

I gotta move to a higher altitude.

Very Happy

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@shewolfnm,

shewolfnm wrote:

no.
natural fats and butters do not make you fat.

whats making people fat are the chemicals that are added to foods.

Definately.

You know, I've been thinking about this. Looking at what all the various people have been eating and it's pretty obvious the connection is eating processed foods.

damn, I gotta order this book. thanks for reminding me.

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@chai2,

Since somebody corrected that it was a Chinese girl, I'm also prone to believe that it has to do with their culture (food) and environment. There aren't many chubby looking Chinese in China; most look thin and fit.

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What I Eat. Around the World in 80 Diets

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