So not everyone is as voracious a reader as I am... I mean, I am an English teacher, right? And to be honest, not many people even like reading, especially "serious" or non-fiction reading. So I am going to give a summary of the most important aspects of a book I just read (in the past hour) called Food Matters. Why am I doing this, one may ask? Simple. You're life depends on it.
Caveat: I usually think most of this stuff is fad. This, I don't.
Now, before I start, all English teachers should tell you to take everything with a grain of salt--be a critical reader, and take into consideration that pretty much everything, even non-fiction, is opinionated. But a lot of what I read here is true based on a lot of studies I've read, friends who have told me the same thing way back in college and have practiced what they preached and experienced stellar results, and articles in health magazines. So, since I think it's vastly true and very little propaganda (it seems as though Mr. Bittman has very little to gain from writing this book), I am going to give you everything you need to know, (and destroy what you thought you knew) in bullet points. (All of this comes from the book)
*You are more likely to lose weight from changing your diet than from exercise.
1. America is second to last in longevity among industrialized nations--Latvia is last. Which means, of allllll the industrialized nations in the world, Americans are most likely to die younger, next to Latvians. Now that's SCARY.
2. Most of what you think is healthy isn't, and the reason you think it's healthy is because of a media blitz paid for by your own government (American government).
3. Almost all funded, PUBLISHED studies about food are funded by the companies who produce the food--therefore, they almost always show positive results for that food, whether it's true or not.
4. Raising livestock that produces our meat, poultry, and dairy products cause more pollution than transportation.
5. Overeating meat (Americans eat 10x more meat than any other country on the planet) has led to our being overweight/obese, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and possibly cancer.
*Thinking that you need protein is false. First, our government writes that we need 1/3 of a gram of our body weight in protein (ex. 150 lbs needs 50 grams). Many studies in other countries argue that this is too high. AND the kicker: Most Americans exceed that 1/3 gram of body weight rule by 30%! So most regular gym goers (non-Olympic athletes) who add protein to their diet don't need it because most of us are getting it in excess anyway.
* Also, the government has used media ads and studies to say that meat is where we get our protein. Not always true. Cooked spinach has twice as much protein as a cheeseburger (remember, cheese is touted as having protein as well!) and lentils have 1/3 more than meatloaf with gravy.
*More protein than the recommended rule stated above causes calcium loss, increases your need for fluids, and makes your kidneys work harder. Might also cause food allergies. Golden rule: everything in moderation.
6. Almost all meat that we consume is less nutritious than it used to be--we overproduce it, shoot it up with antibiotics (which in turn is making us immune to antibiotics that we need in case we get sick!), we feed the livestock food that their stomachs can't digest (corn, soybean, and animal parts instead of grass), we spray everything they eat with dangerous fertilizers, and many times, growth hormone is added to the mix. Oh good.
* Combat this by eating less meat, locally grown meat (more expensive, yes, but MUCH better and greener), and by looking for grass fed (which still has issues, but infinitely better for you than normal grocery store meat).
7. 60 billion animals are raised each year for food: that's 10 for every human on earth. 10 a year.
8. 40 calories of fossil fuel are required to produce 1 calorie of beef protein. Which means, that if we ate the equivalent of 3 fewer cheeseburgers a week, we'd cancel out the effects of ALL of the SUVs in the country. Wow. Or, another way: Eating a typical family of 4 steak dinner is almost equal to driving around in an SUV for 3 hours while leaving all of the lights on at home. Or, a third way, just to drive it home, a typical steer consumes the equivalent of 135 gallons of gas in its lifetime--enough to drive from Los Angeles to NY and back in a hybrid. (Each cow consumes 7 barrels of crude oil). That's how bad it is for the environment because we're overproducing the animals.
9. Meat consumption would have to fall to 3 oz a day to stabilize greenhouse gases produced by livestock.
10. America kills 9 billion chickens, 100 million pigs, 250 million turkeys, and 36 million cows a year for food.
11. 1 billion people in the world are chronically hungry. 1 billion people are overweight. Basically, "world agriculture produces 17% MORE calories PER PERSON than it did 30 years ago" --2,720 calories per person, per day. 1 Big Mac is equivalent (in terms of grain produced and used to feed animals) to 5 loaves of bread. But we don't feed the hungry, we give it to people in wealthier countries who are already overweight.
12. 50% of the antibiotics administered in the U.S. go to animals.
13. Agricultural subsidies cost tax payers $19 BILLION a year and benefit ONLY 3100 farmers!
14. We eat 25% more calories per day than we did in 1970. Consumption of meat=10% more, sugar=23% more. WOW.
SUMMARY: Meat production involves rampant antibiotic usage, contamination of local land and water by fertilizers used to produce feed, pesticides and herbicides impact our health, the world's forests are being chopped down to expand the industry--both more land for animal factories and more land for growing feed (especially in South America) like corn and soybean (most of which we would get sick if we ate), water usage, and greenhouse gases.
Beyond Meat:
Junkfood is also ridiculous in leading to pollution and obviously an unhealthy lifestyle. Note:
1. 7% of Americans' calories come from SODA.
2. In fact, the top 10 foods contributing to energy intake (where we get our calories) are: Soda at 7.1 The next is cake/doughnuts, sweet rolls, and pastries at 3.6 That's a huge drop. Followed by: hamburgers/cheeseburgers/meatloaf at 3, pizza at 4, potato/corn chips/popcorn at 5, rice at 6, rolls, buns, English muffins, bagels at 7, cheese or cheese spread at 8, beer at 9, and french fries at 10. Uhmm vegetables? Fruit? Yeah, not on the list.
3. It takes 2,200 calories to produce a 12oz can of diet soda.
4. Food manufacturers add or change ingredients to make their products appear healthier: they can then put the "healthy" ingredient on their label to mask all of the unhealthy ingredients the product actually contains. Smoke and mirrors.
5. Most marketing of food is aimed at children so they grow up with the idea of what is healthy, when it's really not. Think: "Beef, it's what's for dinner" or "Got Milk?"
6. The USDA (Department of Agriculture) has consistently favored individual and corporate profits over public health.
7. The single most destructive element in the American diet is sugar.
8. The type of fat we eat is far more important than the overall amount
9. The health industry promotes CONSUMPTION over Lifestyle Modification (acai is a miracle cure, for example.)
*Margarine/Shortening is bad (polyunsaturated fat AND hydrogenated=EVIL), avocado is good. Olive oil is good. Walnuts are good. (Monounsaturated fat)
SUMMARY: BEST ADVICE: Eat items that only have 1 ingredient. Ex. Bell pepper is only made of bell pepper. Banana is only made of banana. The more plants you eat, the less you eat of potentially damaging foods. The idea is to rely on foods that have relatively few calories by VOLUME. Eating every time you feel hungry is like sleeping every time you feel tired. (Ex. 100 grams of chocolate cake has 333 MORE calories than 100 grams of broccoli. In fact, 2 pounds of broccoli only has 309 calories, while 2 lbs of chocolate cake has 3,330 calories!)
Caloric density is where you divide the calories in a food by its weight. The lower the number, the lower the caloric density. But remember, high caloric density doesn't always mean a food is bad, it just means you should have a LOT less of it (like olive oil, with a caloric density of 8.8)
Based on caloric density, the best things to eat are (in order from lowest to highest):
water, tea, coffee, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, radishes, chard, spinach, summer squash, grapefruit, strawberries, button mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper, broth, vegetable soups (low sodium), nonfat milk, carrots, cantaloupe, papaya, peach, winter squash, sea greens, hearty greens, oranges, orange juice (homemade, not store bought), apples, blueberries, fat free cottage cheese, tofu, tuna in canned water, sweet potatoes, potatoes, pasta, most seafood, boneless turkey breast (That's up to 1.4)
Now, I already said we get too much protein. What about the other stuff?
1. Simple carbs are bad. Complex carbs are good. (Most "whole grain" bread is a hoax--it can say whole grain if it's only 20% whole grain!)
2. If you eat too much sugar, the liver converts it to FAT. But even worse than that, large amounts of fructose (like high fructose corn syrup in soda) seem to stimulate hepatic lipogenesis (the liver's ability to make fat) and the more fructose you eat, the better your live becomes at turning sugar into fat. Wow! Plus, the more fructose you eat, the hungrier you feel. Also messes with testosterone and estrogen levels, causing acne, infertility, ovarian cysts, cardiovascular disease, and uterine cancer.
3. Each American eats 1 CUP of sugar PER DAY! (600 calories) That's scary. Especially since it gets turned into fat.
4. Most Americans only get 15 grams of dietary fiber--half the recommended amount. There are 2 types: soluble fiber in oats and barley (not wheat), and soybeans and kidney beans and citrus fruits clear the body of fat and regulate the way sugars are burned and stored. Also makes you feel full and satisfied after eating. Insoluble fiber is good for constipation and is found in most vegetables, fruits, most legumes, nuts and seeds. So eat that quinoa!
As for Fats...
1. Once you limit processed foods, refined carbs (white bread, pizza, sandwiches, muffins, bagels, cake) and animal products, fat is a non-issue.
2. Your brain is 2/3 fat. The problem is, we avoid foods that we think contain fat, but we're getting fat because our liver is turning refined carbs/sugar into fat for us!
3. We need fats from PLANTS. Not from animals. We want monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fatty acids, like in salmon and walnuts. (Animals contain saturated fats, which are ok in moderation--they raise good cholesterol and bad cholesterol equally. Trans fats in processed foods are EVIL)
So why is America so bad? Well, Mediterranean, Indian, Middle Eastern, North African, French, and most traditional Asian diets all contain far fewer animal products and refined carbohydrates than ours.
Suggestions for your Nutrition
1. Eat fewer animal products than average (1-2 pounds each week--better to eat oily fish like salmon any day). Smaller amounts of eggs and dairy foods--they're treats, not staples. Milk in cereal or cream in coffee is ok--it's moderation.
2. Eat all the plants you can manage. (Try less starchy ones--don't eat all potatoes)
3. Make legumes part of your life--beans have a lot of protein and replace animals.
4. Whole grains are so much better than refined carbs. Again, refined carbs are treats, it at all.
5. Snack on nuts/olives--higher in calories but good fats
6. When it comes to fats, olive oil is king! Peanut/Grapeseed oil for frying, butter when flavor absolutely matters, dark sesame or nut oil for extra flavor. Don't go drinking it, it's not the best for you, but those are the suggested ones.
7. Everything else is a treat--alcohol, snack food, refined carbs (sandwich bread included!), and sweets of all kinds.
Eat your veggies first!
Carry HOMEMADE Snacks so you won't be tempted to eat the other stuff--fruit, nuts, hummus and Wasa crackers, cut up veggies, olives, PB sandwich, granola, soup, fresh popcorn
If you buy meat, and you don't want antibiotics or hormones, you have to go organic. More money, fewer health problems.
Wild fish is organic. Farmed fish has the same antibiotics and nastiness. Stay away.
Avoid anything with more than 5 familiar ingredients.
By the way, non-organic store bought meat, if it listed ingredients, would HAVE to include: alfalfa cubes, barley silage, dried cattle manure, blood meal, coffee grounds, chicken fat, corn and cob meal, ammonium sulfate (fertilizer), hydrolyzed feather meal, ground limestone, cooked municipal garbage, linseed meal solvent, oat straw, potato waste, dried poultry manure, soybeans, wheat, antibiotics, and any pesticides/herbicides used to grow the corn/soybean. Perhaps even more depending on where it's from.
Frozen dinners are evil. Definitely more than 5 ingredients and wayyy too much sodium.
Organic means:
1. No nonorganic pesticides/fertilizers were used
2. No antibiotics or hormones were used
3. No genetically modified crops were used at any stage of production
Ok, now that you know WHY you should eat better, I'm going to tell you HOW to eat better... Recipes, Ingredients, etc. But not today... So to be continued!
