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Your foreign friends were onto it; the problem is that those carb-rich foods in the US are by and large CRAMMED with sugar, which doubles down the effect; carbs
by FussyZeus 9y ago
Your foreign friends were onto it; the problem is that those carb-rich foods in the US are by and large CRAMMED with sugar, which doubles down the effect; carbs to trigger the insulin response, and sugar that the body can convert extremely efficiently to fat. Homemade pasta is incredibly healthy; you still should meter your intake of course, but for the most part it's very good for you (especially if you're doing a lot of exercise). Look at the ingredients in most box pasta sold in the US, however, and you see so much added sugar and corn syrup.
It's not One Big Thing. It's several fairly big things, most of which are concentrated heavily in the USA.
- cyxxon 9y agoHow do you add sugar or corn syrup to pasta in the US? Shouldn't it basically be just wheat? Or do you mean the sauce you eat with the pasta? Honest question!
- maxxxxx 9y agoI don't know about pasta but with bread you will find d that even whole wheat breads are sweetened. No way they would do this in Germany or France. And sauces have a ton of added sugar too.
- maxxxxx 9y agoOn average the standard US food is of very low quality but this gets compensated by increasing quantity. It really saddens me to see what kind of crap food a lot of children are growing up with and are getting conditioned for.
- kd0amg 9y agoLook at the ingredients in most box pasta sold in the US Do you have an example? All I have on hand says 1 gram of sugar per 2oz of dry pasta, with no sugar or corn syrup in the ingredients list.
- ashark 9y agoNews to me too. I don't think I've ever seen pasta with added sugar.
- philipkglass 9y agoI was more questioning statements like The average consumer is not even remotely prepared in a fight against a food industry with thousands of PhD's working to make the food as addictive as possible -- food from the laboratories of Chef Boyardee is not alluring for people who haven't already acquired the taste. If you're not conditioned to it, it's repulsive to eat otherwise-bland food that's sweet and salty. I find much prepared American food unappealing-to-disgusting and I've lived here all my life. But obesity rates are rising in America and across the world, and many people obviously have a hard time giving up this lousy food. So it seems like there's a fairly complicated feedback loop around how people acquire/retain tastes for foods and what they find "irresistible." I love garlic bread, french fries, and popcorn but I eat them only a few times a month and don't feel deprived on days that I don't. Pancakes with syrup: yuck, I'd rather go hungry for breakfast. I don't know why I don't experience carb-cravings or have to exercise any particular willpower to avoid sweets while others struggle mightily.
- FussyZeus 9y ago> food from the laboratories of Chef Boyardee is not alluring for people who haven't already acquired the taste. And that's the most insidious part (and why obesity tends to paradoxically trend up toward lower income households). This cheap, shitty food is extremely attractive to the people most vulnerable to the addictive behaviors; people who already lack most luxuries, are often short on extra time or energy (i.e. working two jobs), and people who work with children in the household (often too tired or want time/energy to devote to their children) and don't cook. You can call it irresponsible or what have you (as many do) but I mean, you go out and work a 12 hour day and then go home and spend an hour prepping a healthy meal. Then do it tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day.