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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10105
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I Will Bite You: A Rant
People love food, but they hate nutrition.
In other words, they love to eat, but the moment you start talking about macros and calories most people's eyes glaze over.
Well, we nutrition geeks don't do that, but the average person does... which might be why they're average.
But I do understand. For example, I'm an amateur chef, so I read a lot of cookbooks and magazines. The so-called "healthy" or "light" cookbooks and mags drive me up the frickin' wall. I just don't give a flying fart about how a certain food gives me 36.2% of the RDA of Vitamin C.
Screw the RDA. Does anyone really give a shit about that stuff? Like someone was really fucking worried about their Vitamin C intake?
When was the last case of scurvy? 1878? What are we, sea-going pirates? Do I need to pack the trunk of my car with limes in case I'm caught adrift?
Now, tell people that a certain food will help them lose fat, build muscle, look better naked, keep them full, allow them to get superior pumps in the gym, or combat catabolism... now, that stuff is interesting! And I think even the average person would rather hear about foods that help them to look good and live longer rather than how much flippin' Vitamin C it contains.
The problem is that these books and mags are written by textbook dietician drones, most of whom have only one definition of "healthy" and that's based on the amount of saturated fat something contains. Which is archaic and utter bullshit. Hell, I purposefully add saturated fat to my diet because it's good for me and my hormone levels! (Read: virgin coconut oil.)
Heard about those proposed government taxes on junk food? That might sound good since you're probably thinking, "Good, I don't eat that stuff anyway, and fatties are a burden on the healthcare system" but think about this: Who decides what's junk?
Well, "junk" is often based solely on how much saturated fat a food contains. So you may end up paying more for your meat and eggs while some flour-laden, sugary, chemical-filled food is deemed "healthy" because it's low fat. Scary, huh?
Dear government, if you want to help me:
1) Butt the fuck out of my life.
2) Get the fuck out of my way.
3) And if you really want to help me... stop trying to help me! "Help" is government-speak for "control."
4) Stay away from my dinner plate. I will fucking bite your chubby fingers and suck the saturated fat right out.
Nom nom nom.
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Brett295
Level 0
Join date: Jun 2008
Location: Illinois, USA
Posts: 275
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And to think some poeple are ready to hand over health care to these idiots. |
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Therizza
Level 4
Join date: May 2008
Location:
Posts: 2355
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Chris, you should post in my thread "Why fat people suck". I think it'd be hilarious. |
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dvandaele
Level 3
Join date: Jan 2007
Location: Illinois, USA
Posts: 20
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This is typical, people often come to me and ask how to "get lean", then once you tell them that you need to keep a food log, monitor your carb intake...they stop you before you finish and tell you that they read something in the checkout line at the super market while buying there snackwell cookies about the health benefits of adding more b-12 to there diets.
Add "low fat" to label and throw in some cheap vitamins and all of a sudden this previous cheat food has beome a diet food. When people are "dieting" they are always looking for the path of least resistance. When you do not tell people what they want to hear they stop listening.
Healthy is an abused term, just because your minute maid juice adds a litte acaia berry does not mean that is is a good choice of beverage.
PS I have never met a dietician who could not use to lose at least 15-20lbs...not trying to cast an all encompassing net, this is just my observation |
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10105
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dvandaele wrote:
Healthy is an abused term, just because your minute maid juice adds a litte acaia berry does not mean that is is a good choice of beverage.
PS I have never met a dietician who could not use to lose at least 15-20lbs...not trying to cast an all encompassing net, this is just my observation
Something I found earlier this week: I read Clean Eating mag. It's okay, some good meal ideas in there. But you can tell much of the philosophy comes from the "drone dietician" crowd whose only concern is getting all that horrible dietary fat out of the diet while packing in the sugar and carbs.
Example: On the cover is a recipe for ice cream sandwiches: basically ice cream packed between two cookies. The caption reads: "Indulge! Only 2 grams of saturated fat!"
Of course, it also has 33g of sugar and 50g carbs per tiny sandwich, but as long as we got rid of that horrible dietary fat, you can "Indulge!" right?
(Wrong.)
More fun with dietitians here:
http://www.tmuscle.com/...per_recipes&cr=
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BobParr
Level 3
Join date: Mar 2008
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 916
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What is it about Registered Dietitians that seems to cause all of them to unquestioningly spout the party line? As Dvandaele pointed out above, they all seem to be 15-25 pounds overweight, as well. At least if they all had ripped abs or something instead of muffintops, they could at least point to their personal experience as justification for their views.
Just the other night, I was helping to quiz a family member for an upcoming nursing exam. Wouldn't you know that one of the questions was about how, per RD recommendations, a proper nutrition plan for bedridden patients should include 8-11 servings of starchy carbs per day. (Well, in fairness, I think it said wholegrain products, not starchy carbs - same difference.) Now we're talking about a hospitalized population here. Their most strenuous activity might be pushing a call button or operating a TV remote. But I guess they need to keep those glycogen stores fully stocked, just in case they need to press the call button multiple times, right? |
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10105
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BobParr wrote:
What is it about Registered Dietitians that seems to cause all of them to unquestioningly spout the party line? As Dvandaele pointed out above, they all seem to be 15-25 pounds overweight, as well. At least if they all had ripped abs or something instead of muffintops, they could at least point to their personal experience as justification for their views.
This is definitely true with most of them, but in all fairness most of our nutrition experts on this site are also registered dietitians, along with having a host of other degrees, PhDs etc.
So a few are able to escape the Stepford Wife effect. And I'm sure many did the old "hold your nose and fill in the answer they want" trick, even though they disagreed with the "correct" answer.
Here's a pattern I've noticed though: The more the dietician is personally into all of this (diet, training, performance, bodybuilding etc.) the less likely he is to spout the party line.
But for many dietitians, this isn't a lifestyle for them. They went to school, got a job at a nursing home designing meal plans and that's it. They don't train or make much of an effort to eat well. Sorta like the gym employee who doesn't even workout. It's just a job.
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ghost87
Level 2
Join date: Jul 2005
Location:
Posts: 308
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Totally agree with the premise of the posting. I also scan for good recipes constantly and could care less about the % RDA. It's all about % of carbs, good fats and protein. (by the way, I'm also on the lookout for added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, etc)
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10105
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ghost87 wrote:
Totally agree with the premise of the posting. I also scan for good recipes constantly and could care less about the % RDA. It's all about % of carbs, good fats and protein. (by the way, I'm also on the lookout for added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, etc)
For me, these days, it's all about the ingredient list. The truth lies in the ingredient list, not on the label.
Then I'll look at the macros, overall calorie count, servings size etc.
The LAST place to look for good info, as you know, is the label. Labels lie; ingredient lists don't.... though they do try to fib sometimes with all their alternative or "natural" names for sugar. |
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Magister Ludi
Level 4
Join date: Jul 2004
Location: California, USA
Posts: 162
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To quote Ronald Reagan: "The nine scariest words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.'" |
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PublickStews
Level 3
Join date: Jan 2005
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 505
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Brett295 wrote:
And to think some poeple are ready to hand over health care to these idiots.
Exactly. The government can't be trusted to run anything. Which is why we should disband the armed forces entirely and turn national security over to the only thing that works: the free market. Once we privatize the military we'll be in much better shape. Do you realize how much money we spend on defense? All of it goes to inefficient bureaucrats who can't do anything right. Anything run by the government is SOCIALIST so therefore the armed forces are against freedom. |
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Lift or die
Level 0
Join date: Jun 2009
Location: British Columbia, CAN
Posts: 192
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Magister Ludi wrote:
To quote Ronald Reagan: "The nine scariest words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.'"
lol |
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Therizza
Level 4
Join date: May 2008
Location:
Posts: 2355
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PublickStews wrote:
Exactly. The government can't be trusted to run anything. Which is why we should disband the armed forces entirely and turn national security over to the only thing that works: the free market. Once we privatize the military we'll be in much better shape. Do you realize how much money we spend on defense? All of it goes to inefficient bureaucrats who can't do anything right. Anything run by the government is SOCIALIST so therefore the armed forces are against freedom.
Is this serious, or an attempt at sarcasm? Enlighten me good sir. |
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BobParr
Level 3
Join date: Mar 2008
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 916
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Chris Shugart wrote:
ghost87 wrote:
Totally agree with the premise of the posting. I also scan for good recipes constantly and could care less about the % RDA. It's all about % of carbs, good fats and protein. (by the way, I'm also on the lookout for added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, etc)
For me, these days, it's all about the ingredient list. The truth lies in the ingredient list, not on the label.
Then I'll look at the macros, overall calorie count, servings size etc.
The LAST place to look for good info, as you know, is the label. Labels lie; ingredient lists don't.... though they do try to fib sometimes with all their alternative or "natural" names for sugar.
A perfect example of lying on labels concerns trans fats. Now that just about everyone knows that trans fat are just plain bad for you (unlike saturated fats, I don't think these man-made fats will ever be vindicated) - they've virtually disappeared off of labels. It's really amusing when you see partially hydrogenated oil on the ingredients list, but the label says zero trans fat. How did they pull that off?
First, the FDA (always looking out for us consumers) told them that anything less than 1 gram can be counted as zero. So 0.9 grams (900 mg) is zero. Then, the food company just manipulates what they consider the serving size of the product down slightly so as to get just below 1 g per phony serving. Bingo - no more trans fat! By this reasoning, I suppose if I had $900,000 in the bank, I wouldn't be almost a millionaire - I'd be flat broke! |
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flanker6
Level 3
Join date: Jun 2004
Location: Alberta, CAN
Posts: 61
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Therizza wrote:
PublickStews wrote:
Exactly. The government can't be trusted to run anything. Which is why we should disband the armed forces entirely and turn national security over to the only thing that works: the free market. Once we privatize the military we'll be in much better shape. Do you realize how much money we spend on defense? All of it goes to inefficient bureaucrats who can't do anything right. Anything run by the government is SOCIALIST so therefore the armed forces are against freedom.
Is this serious, or an attempt at sarcasm? Enlighten me good sir.
I was wondering the same thing. How exactly would you privatize national defence? As far as the glory of unregulated capitalism you only need to look to the past unregulated mortgage industry to realize why some government regulation is necessary. |
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10105
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flanker6 wrote:
Therizza wrote:
PublickStews wrote:
Exactly. The government can't be trusted to run anything. Which is why we should disband the armed forces entirely and turn national security over to the only thing that works: the free market. Once we privatize the military we'll be in much better shape. Do you realize how much money we spend on defense? All of it goes to inefficient bureaucrats who can't do anything right. Anything run by the government is SOCIALIST so therefore the armed forces are against freedom.
Is this serious, or an attempt at sarcasm? Enlighten me good sir.
I was wondering the same thing. How exactly would you privatize national defence? As far as the glory of unregulated capitalism you only need to look to the past unregulated mortgage industry to realize why some government regulation is necessary.
Guys, that poster is a bit of a troll. Our mods have had to delete a few of his posts. You know the rule: don't feed the troll.
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10105
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BobParr wrote:
A perfect example of lying on labels concerns trans fats. Now that just about everyone knows that trans fat are just plain bad for you (unlike saturated fats, I don't think these man-made fats will ever be vindicated) - they've virtually disappeared off of labels. It's really amusing when you see partially hydrogenated oil on the ingredients list, but the label says zero trans fat. How did they pull that off?
First, the FDA (always looking out for us consumers) told them that anything less than 1 gram can be counted as zero. So 0.9 grams (900 mg) is zero. Then, the food company just manipulates what they consider the serving size of the product down slightly so as to get just below 1 g per phony serving. Bingo - no more trans fat! By this reasoning, I suppose if I had $900,000 in the bank, I wouldn't be almost a millionaire - I'd be flat broke!
You nailed it, Bob. Couldn't have said it better myself.
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CCJDilla
Level 0
Join date: Jun 2009
Location: Ontario, CAN
Posts: 249
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We could get into a big flaring debate about what the government should control, but, in reality, what it is now, is what it should stay as... We aren't dieing just yet are we? So it's somewhat acceptable.
But, the junk food tax is dumb, like you said, there are different assessments a sto what is junk food. |
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MizzouDawg
Level 4
Join date: Jun 2003
Location: Missouri, USA
Posts: 118
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Dear government, if you want to help me:
1) Butt the fuck out of my life.
2) Get the fuck out of my way.
3) And if you really want to help me... stop trying to help me! "Help" is government-speak for "control."
4) Stay away from my dinner plate. I will fucking bite your chubby fingers and suck the saturated fat right out.
Friggin' hilarious. I wish I would have used numbers one through three on my GMAT essay about whether or not the government should control the healthcare system. Good stuff.
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james392
Level 3
Join date: Jun 2009
Location:
Posts: 2
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Chris,
looking through all the other replies to your post, all I'm seeing is unabashed praise for your wit and insight. I DO think you are an intelligent guy but it makes me annoyed to see 20 men line up and feed your ego and not one other guy on here challenging your post and offering an opposing opinion.
I do think you make a valid point, but lets be real here. Before you worry about your precious coconut oil, any taxing or restriction on junk food is first and foremost going to go the foods that are undisputable as complete junk.
Trans fat, enriched breads, processed simple carbs, I'm quite positive these foods would be first on the governments list of targets before foods that just have higher amounts of saturated fats. Let's be real, we know a lot more about nutrition than we did 15 years ago and almost everybody I know understands that fat is an important part of a healthy well rounded diet.
Not to mention the universal recognition of how healthy and safe low carb diets can be (a diet which would look at saturated fat as a health food). I think that you need to relax. Your self induced paranoia might be beneficial to you, but it's pretty lame that you would be willing to pull the ladder up because you know better, even though there's an obese 15 year old kid who has no clue what is technically healthy or not because he's had no one to show him.
I don't understand why you are so caught up on verbally attacking President Obama. Maybe you think that going against public opinion strictly for its own sake makes you a more interesting and complex person. He won in a landslide and inherited a country that was in shambles when Bush left.
He's in the process of reversing a catastrophe and it will take time. McCain wouldn't have fixed the problem any quick either. |
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Shugart's Hammer
