Are Americans eating too much starch?

[ducks4you]

I saw a story today about auctioning off celebrity clothing. DD commented on how small the jacket for Elvis Presley and the one for Paul McCartney were--about 30-40 years old at this point. You know we talk A LOT of growing food here (how redundant a statement ). What do YOU think about this food pyramid which tells us to base our diet on bread?

DH came back from the doctor last month with a new diet to combat (possibly) pre-diabetes. His doctor wanted him to cut out starches and, instead, eat meat, (non-starchy) vegetables and fruit, with minimum milk products. I've been making meals to accomodate this, and I can tell you I feel much better without the bread! I always have felt better when I cut out the bread! DO you think that THIS is the reason we have an obesity problem in this country?
Tell me what you think. Thanks!

 

[journey11]

I don't think bread itself is so bad, in moderation, and particularly if it's whole grain (complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly and whole grain provides valuable nutrients and fiber). I think Americans are overweight primarily because of sugar. It's empty calories that are digested quickly (rapidly surging your blood sugar and taxing your body's production of insulin) and it has no nutritive value other than the burst of energy supplied by the calories. And I think the big-gulp is our problem as well. Too much soda. We eat sugar, drink sugar, crave sugar and just generally consume too much sugar. You add sugar to refined white flour (simple carbohydrate) and there you go. They have to add vitamins and minerals ("enriched") to it, because it's just junk. Just about the most unhealthy kind of food you can eat. Then go and dip it in hydrogenated oils...oh boy. Think donuts and other preprocessed, packaged sweets! They do nothing good for your body at all.

You would not believe the battle I had with my husband and my MIL when we first got married over boxed cereals. My husband still today gets out his Jethro-bowl when he eats cereal. We got into it because I do all the grocery shopping and I refused to buy him sugary kid's cereals (to which he ADDS MORE sugar). His dad and his grandpa have diabetes and my mom's side has diabetes, so I've been very conscious of our sugar consumption from the start. Anyhow, I wouldn't buy him anything but healthy cereals....so his mom went behind my back and bought cereal for him!!! I still have to get after her about the treats she brings my toddler. She just has no concept of what's healthy. I've told her time and time again that Ava would rather have fresh fruit than cookies anyday. I'm trying to train her taste buds early. I don't add sugar to anything she eats. My husband on the other hand will wipe out my sugar canister before I get around to planning to bake something. He adds sugar to his (now healthy) cereal too. If I run out of sugar, he'll go after honey. I've even seen him put 4 packets of stevia on his cereal out of desperation. I'm like--you're crazy, it's sweet enough already!

I'd like to have him around for a long time and as the one who does all the shopping and cooking, I have a huge effect on his overall health (although I can't stop him from buying junk food at the convenience store on the way home). I'll bake pies and stuff, but only for special occasions or once in awhile. Just the way he grew up and how his parents are--if there's something tasty in the house, he'll wipe it out quick.

My dad is very self-moderated and healthy, but my mom is also the same way, so I've inherited a poor relationship with food too. When we were kids my mom used to send us every Friday night down the road to the convenience store with $20 to buy junk food for "Friday Night Party Night". I have had to work very hard, studying to understand nutrition and breaking old habits in order to get my own health where it needs to be. I am bound an determined to teach my daughter how to eat right and not out of indulgence or emotions. I never want her to have to battle with her weight. I want her to build up her body on the good stuff and be healthy and vibrant. That's another reason why I like to garden, to provide my family with loads of the healthiest, freshest food available.

You know, I don't think I've ever had to use the "rant" emoticon on here before! This is something I feel very strongly about. I want my family to be healthy!

 

[simple life]

No, I think its because of all the pre fab, heat and serve, processed foods and fast food the country eats.
There are so many commercials on for these heat and serve meals like chicken fingers and french fries, hot pockets and stuff like that aimed at busy parents and they buy into it and serve their kids stuff like this on a regular basis.

If you look back a few decades to where we didn't have the obesity and health problems we do today I think you will find that its because people ate food they actually had to make from scratch with food they bought locally from farmers, fruit and vegetable stands or grew themselves.

Then there is all the garbage that manufacturers add to the most basic of many food staples.
High fructose corn syrup, MSG, and alot of other junk is added to foods that you would not suspect unless you read the labels and many do not.
They will not do your bodies any good, eat that stuff long enough and your body will not function, burn calories or build muscle as it should.
These foods do not satisfy your body's needs, many times they also don't satisfy your appetite for long and then you will eat more of the same foods again.

I think you will find that most obese people are not paying any attention to any food pyramid.
If you eat meat, fruit, veggies and some grains as your regular diet I doubt anyone is going to get obese unless you actually have a medical reason.

Its all common sense but many people don't have it when it comes to making good food choices, they believe what they see advertised instead of actively educating themselves about what they are putting in their bodies.

 

[bid]

No, I think its because of all the pre fab, heat and serve, processed foods and fast food the country eats.
There are so many commercials on for these heat and serve meals like chicken fingers and french fries, hot pockets and stuff like that aimed at busy parents and they buy into it and serve their kids stuff like this on a regular basis.

I agree with that! I think it is also a age/lifestyle change. You can "get away" with eating a lot of foods depending on your age and how active you are. If you get little to no exercise (or physical work) and you eat anything and everything you want, then you are probably going to have some weight/health issues at some point. But as we age, we have to change certain things in our diet, even if that is only portion size. I know I am not nearly as active as I was at age 20 and have adjusted accordingly. I also eat a bit healthier. Everything in moderation and some type of exercise and I think that's about the best you can do. Don't get me started on all the "energy drinks" on the market nowadays. Those just can't be good for you!

 

[journey11]

So many facets to it, all very true.

It is soooo important to learn how to read labels. Anybody here listen to Dr. Oz? I think he is so smart. He says if any of the first four ingredients contain: white flour, sugar, hydrogenized oil (or partially hydrogenized), or high-fructose corn syrup -- steer clear of it! Those are the things that will eventually kill you. Of course sodium (usually found much further down the list) and fat content are an issue too, but there are "good" fats, so there's a little more to it than that.

Just because the front of the box says "light", "low fat", "no trans-fat", "low-sugar", etc doesn't mean it's a good choice. You have to look further to see what else might be in there and if it has any nutritive value besides (vitamins, iron, other trace minerals, fiber, protein, so on).

 

[ducks4you]

Yes, I eat popcorn plain!

 

[simple life]

Journey, I typed my post and thought I hit send, then I left to go do something, when I got back and checked the forum I realized the post never got sent so I hit send.
Then I saw your post, which I also agree with but didn't want it to appear that I disagreed with what you wrote.
So this is just for clarity, I was responding to the original post when I typed my response.

 

[ninnymary]

I think it's all of the junk food and processed food that we eat today. I am fortunate that I work from home (have a daycare/preschool) so I was always able to cook from scratch for my family. I seldom bought junk food or processed because it cost money that I really didn't have. My kids never ate pizza or soda growing up. I just didn't buy it. Now they are all grown and none of us are obsese. My husband and I are in our mid-50's and we do watch our bread intake. It is so hard, especially when we go out. The bread at resturaunts is sooo... good.

I am always trying to educate people on healthy eating. It is something that I constantly teach to my preschoolers and they get it! I just wish adults did.

Journey11 - Good for you on constantly watching your husband with the sugar intake!

Mary

 

[curly_kate]

I have to agree with the other posts. Too much artificial stuff, too little exercise, too many GIANT sized portions all add up. I run an after school group for girls, and one of the things we talk about is portion size. They have to serve themselves what they think is a portion size & compare it what is actually correct. We also do some detective work with the packaging & figure out actually how many servings come in those "king size" packages. I don't lecture them about "good food" and "bad food," but just help them figure out things out themselves. Plus, I don't think it helps to demonize junk food - hey, I enjoy a Coke or some Cheetos every once in a while!

I heard a story a while back about how, in the 50s when companies started making processed foods, those companies had to work really hard to convince moms that they should serve that stuff to their families. At that time, many moms prided themselves on the meals that they cooked. Like ninnymary, my mom still cooked everything from scratch, primarily because it was a lot cheaper that way. Soft drink was a treat, and if she brought home a box of Ho-Hos, you had to grab yours because there were 6 in our family, and everyone only got one. Journey - my DH is like yours. He grew up on junk food, and now is the only one in his family who hasn't had his stomach stapled. He works hard to exercise & eat right, but it's an uphill battle.

 

[simple life]

Have you guys seen all those commercials touting high fructose corn syrup?
They made commercials with the fake moms telling another fake mom that "there is nothing wrong with corn syrup, its no worse than sugar".
I couldn't believe what they are saying.
The thing is alot of people will believe it.