5 ms·

I wonder if the industrialization of food and agriculture and the increase in processed foods is part of the reason

tosser0001 7y ago
I can only speak from what I saw all around me growing up in the US, but people were eating some comically terrible stuff back then. People grew up on white Wonder bread and shoveling raw sugar out of the bowl onto their cornflakes, etc. I don't think it's the industrialization so much as the quantity.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  I remember the 90's "part of this complete breakfast" was cereal, toast, and a glass of orange juice, and my parents thought they were eating healthy. I think people are just more aware now.
  - planteen 7y ago
    I mean a bowl of Cheerios, whole wheat toast, orange juice, and a banana is what I had every morning before school. I would consider it a pretty healthy breakfast, even by today's standards. I guarantee you most people eat much worse than that.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
      That's big old pile of carbs. There's no fat and little proteins, only in the milk, which will have even more sugar.
    - okmokmz 7y ago
      It's definitely better than pop tarts and chocolate milk but I still wouldn't consider that healthy. Switch the juice for water and cheerios for a source of protein and it would be much better > bowl of Cheerios carbs and added sugar >whole wheat toast better but still carbs >orange juice glass of sugar without fiber >a banana better than juice and added sugar, but still natural sugars.
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  Is raw sugar at least marginally more healthy than processed additives like HFCS?
  - Liquix 7y ago
    At present, we believe that the following conclusions are warranted. First, there is no unique relationship between HFCS and obesity. Second, there is broad scientific consensus that there are no significant metabolic or endocrine response differences or differences in health-related effects between HFCS and sucrose. [0] As others have said, it's an issue of quantity. Consuming 10-30 grams of sugar daily - table sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or otherwise - does not cause obesity and health problems. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 10% of one's daily calories come from sugar. [1] The average American consumes ! 125 ! grams of sugar a day, with empty carbs accounting for up to 40% of caloric intake [2]. This 40% includes the simple, 'empty' carbohydrates found in processed breads, cereals, condiments, drinks - which are converted to glucose by the digestive system in minutes. The amount - not the quality - of sugars in our diet is the problem. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649104/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649104/ [1] https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/ https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars... [2] https://www.thediabetescouncil.com/45-alarming-statistics-on-americans-sugar-consumption-and-the-effects-of-sugar-on-americans-health/ https://www.thediabetescouncil.com/45-alarming-statistics-on...
  - ska 7y ago
    The problem with HFCS seems to be it's ubiquity and low cost, not its chemical makeup.
    - Gibbon1 7y ago
      My current understanding is sucrose gets converted to glucose and fructose pretty much instantly once it hits your stomach[1]. The difference is, no one dumps a dozen teaspoons of sugar per serving in home prepared food and drink. Where drink and processed food manufacturers carefully buffer their recipes to accommodate the equivalent amount of HFCS. [1] Read though that low end processed foods and drinks often contain very high levels of fructose.
DanBC 7y ago
Portion sizes have massively increased. https://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/06/supersize-biggest-sodas-mcdonalds-big-gulp-chart/ https://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/06/supersize-biggest-...
magashna 7y ago
It's hard to notice when you've grown up here, but any Euro who visits the US will tell you how sweet our milk, bread, and other basics are. You can think you're eating healthy and still be having lots of sugars in your diet.
- nitrogen 7y ago
  I am from the US, and I often wish I could find half-sweet (or less) versions of things, even things I only eat rarely as a treat.
  - xur17 7y ago
    Maybe they should replace all of the "low fat" items with "low sugar" (and just reduce the sugar rather than replacing it with artificial sugar).
    - nitrogen 7y ago
      and just reduce the sugar rather than replacing it with artificial sugar That's the key. I have a low-sugar protein powder but rarely use it because it's too sickly sweet with sucralose and I have to bury it in a ton of other ingredients.
- lazypenguin 7y ago
  Yeah but just walk around Hamburg or London and you'll see equally as many overweight people. Hell, if you look carefully in a lot of developing countries you'll see more overweight people than you expect. I'd suspect it's slowly becoming a global phenomenon.
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  Anecdotally, Asian pastries, even local versions of western desserts, taste less sweet and rich for whatever reason.
- jobigoud 7y ago
  I was surprised to learn than 50% of Europeans are also overweight (vs 75% or so in the US). It doesn't feel that way. It's crazy. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Overweight_and_obesity_-_BMI_statistics#Obesity_by_age_group https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

I can only speak from what I saw all around me growing up in the US, but people were eating some comically terrible stuff back then. People grew up on white Wonder bread and shoveling raw sugar out of the bowl onto their cornflakes, etc. I don't think it's the industrialization so much as the quantity.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
I remember the 90's "part of this complete breakfast" was cereal, toast, and a glass of orange juice, and my parents thought they were eating healthy. I think people are just more aware now.
- planteen 7y ago
  I mean a bowl of Cheerios, whole wheat toast, orange juice, and a banana is what I had every morning before school. I would consider it a pretty healthy breakfast, even by today's standards. I guarantee you most people eat much worse than that.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
    That's big old pile of carbs. There's no fat and little proteins, only in the milk, which will have even more sugar.
  - okmokmz 7y ago
    It's definitely better than pop tarts and chocolate milk but I still wouldn't consider that healthy. Switch the juice for water and cheerios for a source of protein and it would be much better > bowl of Cheerios carbs and added sugar >whole wheat toast better but still carbs >orange juice glass of sugar without fiber >a banana better than juice and added sugar, but still natural sugars.
Apocryphon 7y ago
Is raw sugar at least marginally more healthy than processed additives like HFCS?
- Liquix 7y ago
  At present, we believe that the following conclusions are warranted. First, there is no unique relationship between HFCS and obesity. Second, there is broad scientific consensus that there are no significant metabolic or endocrine response differences or differences in health-related effects between HFCS and sucrose. [0] As others have said, it's an issue of quantity. Consuming 10-30 grams of sugar daily - table sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or otherwise - does not cause obesity and health problems. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 10% of one's daily calories come from sugar. [1] The average American consumes ! 125 ! grams of sugar a day, with empty carbs accounting for up to 40% of caloric intake [2]. This 40% includes the simple, 'empty' carbohydrates found in processed breads, cereals, condiments, drinks - which are converted to glucose by the digestive system in minutes. The amount - not the quality - of sugars in our diet is the problem. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649104/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649104/ [1] https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/ https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars... [2] https://www.thediabetescouncil.com/45-alarming-statistics-on-americans-sugar-consumption-and-the-effects-of-sugar-on-americans-health/ https://www.thediabetescouncil.com/45-alarming-statistics-on...
- ska 7y ago
  The problem with HFCS seems to be it's ubiquity and low cost, not its chemical makeup.
  - Gibbon1 7y ago
    My current understanding is sucrose gets converted to glucose and fructose pretty much instantly once it hits your stomach[1]. The difference is, no one dumps a dozen teaspoons of sugar per serving in home prepared food and drink. Where drink and processed food manufacturers carefully buffer their recipes to accommodate the equivalent amount of HFCS. [1] Read though that low end processed foods and drinks often contain very high levels of fructose.

DanBC 7y ago

Portion sizes have massively increased. https://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/06/supersize-biggest-sodas-mcdonalds-big-gulp-chart/ https://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/06/supersize-biggest-...

magashna 7y ago

It's hard to notice when you've grown up here, but any Euro who visits the US will tell you how sweet our milk, bread, and other basics are. You can think you're eating healthy and still be having lots of sugars in your diet.

nitrogen 7y ago
I am from the US, and I often wish I could find half-sweet (or less) versions of things, even things I only eat rarely as a treat.
- xur17 7y ago
  Maybe they should replace all of the "low fat" items with "low sugar" (and just reduce the sugar rather than replacing it with artificial sugar).
  - nitrogen 7y ago
    and just reduce the sugar rather than replacing it with artificial sugar That's the key. I have a low-sugar protein powder but rarely use it because it's too sickly sweet with sucralose and I have to bury it in a ton of other ingredients.
lazypenguin 7y ago
Yeah but just walk around Hamburg or London and you'll see equally as many overweight people. Hell, if you look carefully in a lot of developing countries you'll see more overweight people than you expect. I'd suspect it's slowly becoming a global phenomenon.
Apocryphon 7y ago
Anecdotally, Asian pastries, even local versions of western desserts, taste less sweet and rich for whatever reason.
jobigoud 7y ago
I was surprised to learn than 50% of Europeans are also overweight (vs 75% or so in the US). It doesn't feel that way. It's crazy. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Overweight_and_obesity_-_BMI_statistics#Obesity_by_age_group https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...