What I Eat. Around the World in 80 Diets

Yeah, those Japanese are a bunch of lard asses.

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP gets absorbed into the blood without having to be digested . Its like a saline drip (except its all sugar). The HFCS guys are killing us .
GET A ROPE!!!

But they do get bloated in Bhutan

I'm curious. but why would you think that it's the chemicals that make you fat? Putting on weight is a caloric imbalance ... it's a math issue ( i.e. when you take in more calories than you expend). Added fat makes this happen far quicker.

Chemicals may do other things to your body. I've seen no connection to chemicals causing weight gain, so perhaps you could explain?

I don't think it's chemicals so much as how our food is processed that is the problem. It's not just high calories but how we absorb the food. Highly processed food is easy for our metabolisms to turn into body fat. I think artificial fats and refined carbohydrates (coupled with lack of activity) are the thugs that turn us into waddling blobs. Cultures that eat a diet that is close to the land (both animal and vegetable) never suffer obesity, even when calories are very high. So eat your quinoa and wild boar, America, and use those Little Debbie Cakes as paper weights.

There's this health program on the radio I like to listen to.
This nutritionist was saying that all forms of sugar are parasites in the body.

Honey and such not so much since it's got more "oses"'s, being the lesser of two evils. Still, should be used in moderation.

Typical honey analysis.[24]
Fructose: 38.2%
Glucose: 31.3%
Sucrose: 1.3%
Maltose: 7.1%
Water: 17.2%
Higher sugars: 1.5%
Ash: 0.2%
Other/undetermined: 3.2%
Its glycemic index ranges from 31 to 78, depending on the variety


High fructose corn syrup on the other hand, crosses over from being a parasite to actually exploding out of your chest, right when everyone at the table has finished eating desert.

50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose

I agree with Green Witch; it's how our foods are processed that matters.

Well yeah, but when it's processed, chemicals are usually are part of that.

I discovered that I enjoy oat bran more than oatmeal, and I've been eating it often lately.

However, when I look at the ingredients section of oat groats it says "whole grain oats. On the steel cut oats, its says "whole grain oats". On the quick cooking oats it says....um...."whole grain oats.
On the oat bran ingredients, it says "oat bran", which is made from leftover krispy creme doughnuts.

The ingredients of "Craklin' Oat Bran", by Kelloggs (Shewolf, you should be ashamed) is
WHOLE OATS, WHEAT BRAN, BROWN SUGAR, PALM OIL, OAT BRAN, CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, COCONUT, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, CINNAMON, MALT SYRUP, BAKING SODA, SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL VANILLA FLAVOR, SALT, NIACINAMIDE, NUTMEG, REDUCED IRON, ZINC OXIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12 AND VITAMIN D, SOY LECITHIN.


In my mind, it's spliting hairs trying to differentiate between processing and adding/treating with chemicals.

Personally, I tend to agree about the points you make about nutritionally destructive food processing; however, if us fattening Americans got out of our cars and from behind the computer, there'd be a lot less health problems. The trend of the last 12-15 yrs is shocking...to all generations. Childhood obesity is rampant. . I fondly recall my generation of 50+-yr-olds as the jogging outdoors generation. now we're 20 lbs heavier and a lot less fit. This is not to be blamed alone on HFCS alone or added food processing. Those are contributing factors.

Remove the quadrupling in the diets of any sort of sugar, remove hydrogenated (or partially) oils, remove any hormone or insecticide treated food or feeds to animals, lower saturated fats....(mercifully ban Olestra), and eat raw or local organic foods. And as for veggies - grow your own, if you can. Or meet the person who grows your (possibly organic) veggies and ask if you can pick the veggies. You'll get exercise work and get to know your food source.

It helps to understand that (hyper-)activity and exercise are not the same thing. We are withering away to a generation of flab and an unfit society - as we rush around to our early graves.

chai wrote:

Thank you for my laugh for the day; it keeps me healthy.

Because it IS the processing of our foods yes, but the common chemicals that are added to food to boost flavor, add color and make it appear appealing are making us gain weight independent of the calories we take in.

a 200 calorie soda is NOT just a simple 200 calorie drink that you can run off. The stuff in sodas stops your liver, decreases your kidneys ability to filter your blood, effects your thyroid, your spleen, your blood sugar AND is addictive. It works out to almost twice the calorie intake then what is written on the can to be able to burn it off and use it. Besides that, because it is not food, and not something our body recognizes naturally, its turned to fat and stored immediately.

this link helps.
I have not had enough coffee yet to be able to discuss with out sounding 1/2 asleep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

I agree with your assessment about food intake. However, I will also say that a change in diet can change your metabolism and improve health.

Example: While in the service, I drank coke and beer on a regular basis, but didn't really gain weight until after I quit smoking in the mid-thirties when drinking coke was a rarity. Beer drinking was reduced to one-a-day with lunch while still in the work force.

Fast forward to today: I just had my blood lab test results, and most are within normal range. My glucose is 106 which is a little on the high side, but I still love candy and sweets. My wife and I eat more vegetables and fruits, and my weight dropped from a high of 160 down to around 153 (recent weight). I try to exercise regularly by working in my yard or walking at shopping centers.

I want to stay healthy, because I'm still pursuing those 80 diets around the world.

At 75, I feel pretty healthy. I had my physical last Monday, and my doc told me I'm doing good.

Tell us some stories about your experiences of these diets.

Where have you discovered the most delightful food?
Where have you personally experienced the most unsatisfying?

Biggest surprise of something you liked?

Where has it been most difficult to obtain a meal?

I love the food in Vietnam; it's nothing like the Pho restaurants found in the US. What one finds in Vietnam are a combination of Chinese, French, and Vietnamese food. It's not only the quality of the food, but the cost to Americans is very reasonable.
I was recently in Turkey and Greece. Although most of our food was included in the price of the tour, we had opportunities to eat on our own. I love Greek food, and the Greek salad is no exception with feta and Greek cheese. I also love their seafood including calamari, fish, and shrimp/prawns.


I would pick Vietnam - as explained above.



I'm willing to try almost anything that is served, but will not eat dog (Vietnamese, Chinese, and Koreans eat dog). I have eaten wild game in Africa that included giraffe, wildebeest, and crocodile. Otherwise, I have not really experienced "most unsatisfying" food.


Since I'm a lover of food and wine, I'm not difficult to please when it comes to food and wine. There's been minor disappointments, but they were all learning experiences.


Most of my trips are through travel companies and/or cruise companies. I have done independent travel in SE Asia and Europe (often) where food is abundant. Even in Africa and India, the food they serve may be much better than one can expect. In Africa, in tented camps, we have been served gourmet food. In India, we are served curry often, but they are usually buffets that allows one to pick and choose what to eat. I'll be going to South India in November for 26-days. Next month, in September, I'll be going on the Norwegian Coastal Cruise from Bergen up to the Arctic Circle. The cost of food in Norway is expensive (by our standards). It will cost about $85 (and up) for dinner, but thankfully, we'll be on our own for meals only about five or six times while in Norway.

You can visit my travelogues on travelpod.com. Look for me as c.i.222. I have about 70 trips posted.