3 ms·

I don't know where you're from so apologies if I'm making an incorrect assumption, but I will always be puzzled with Americans' with pasta being considered unhe

by smcl 3y ago

I don't know where you're from so apologies if I'm making an incorrect assumption, but I will always be puzzled with Americans' with pasta being considered unhealthy. I frequently see pasta/bread being lambasted as unhealthy, and cheese being described as "a good source of protein". Admittedly bread=bad is more prevalent in the "carnivore diet" community (they're bonkers for other reasons, like thinking vegetables should be avoided for being unhealthy) but "pasta=bad, cheese=good" is pretty widespread.

LinuxBender 3y ago
In my opinion the devil's in the details. American pastas are more often than not highly processed components that have lost their nutritional value then have been enriched with low quality multi-vitamins. My understanding is that this is less common in say Italy where it is more likely to find things made from scratch.
- bobthepanda 3y ago
  american bread is also very, very sugary compared to European bread. A lot of America is not getting regular bread from bakeries but from the supermarket. the typical american bread is white sandwich bread which also does not help.
  - dangerwill 3y ago
    This is true, and as a recent convert, I would like to recommend that other Americans check out their local farmers market to see if there is a baker that sets up shop. The difference between even "fancy" grocery store packaged bread and actual fresh bread is enough that I now consider grocery store bread to be essentially a different (worse) food
- NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
  >American pastas are more often than not highly processed components that have lost their nutritional value then have been enriched with low quality multi-vitamins. What's the source of that claim? America's most popular pasta brand is Barilla (also probably Italy's most popular brand), and that's made with exactly the same ingredients, process and machinery in the US as it is in Italy.
  - LinuxBender 3y ago
    An unbiased double-blind peer reviewed paid study? I doubt it exists. That said there is no denying that the EU bans food additives that are not scientifically proven to be safe for human consumption whereas the US allows food additives unless they are proven unsafe which runs into its own issues with conflicts of interest in the FDA but that is a discussion in and of itself. Many artificial additives and preservatives are added to US food for the sake of flavor and product shelf life, not nutritional value.
    - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
      No, I mean, literally "where did you even read that?" or is it just something you assumed to be true - i.e. you made it up?
      - LinuxBender 3y ago
        No, I mean, literally "where did you even read that?" or is it just something you assumed to be true - i.e. you made it up? I have followed health and fitness sites, nutrition sites and discussions by scientists and doctors for the better part of the last couple decades in response to my own medical issues that doctors could not help with. As I state in my profile I do not provide links. If a topic is interesting to you then I would suggest researching it so that you can decide for yourself which sources are bribed and which are legit. All of the information is well within reach. nih.gov, healthline, even youtube have a handful of decent scientists and doctors to follow. If you are suggesting I am not telling the truth then it is not possible for us to have a good faith discussion on this topic.
        mastermedo 3y ago
        This is not how discussions work. A: I think X. B: Interesting, why do you think that? A: I have 10 years of thinking about it. B: I have 10 years of thinking about it and have the opposite opinion. A: If you're suggesting I'm not telling the truth then it's not possible for us to have a good faith discussion on this topic. I might've made a fallacy, but this is what popped to mind when I read this comment.
dotnet00 3y ago
I get lectured by my mom if I tell her I made pasta more often than she thinks is healthy. It's kinda hilarious, particularly since like 70% of it ends up being veggies and tomatoes and yet that's obviously fine.
abtinf 3y ago
What is puzzling about this? Do you believe pasta is "healthy"? If so, why?
- smcl 3y ago
  What's puzzling is the idea that pasta is treated as if it's some hardcore fat-gainer, and cheese as if it's the cornerstone of a healthy diet. It's additionally puzzling because the USA stands head and shoulders above Europe, where this belief is not prevalent, in rates of obesity.
throwway120385 3y ago
When my wife was pregnant the OB gave her a list of foods to eat during the first trimester nausea and ice cream was listed because it's a good source of protein. So there's definitely some aspect of judging by a single metric. I've busted my butt making semolina pasta before and eaten way less than if I buy a box of barilla because it was a lot more pains-taking.
- smcl 3y ago
  It's a source of protein. But my issue is that it's not exactly something you should eat a great deal of if your intent is to lead a healthy lifestyle.
nonameiguess 3y ago
Frankly, pasta itself is almost certainly fine most of the time, but likely a lot of people's experience of pasta is something like Kraft instant mac and there's a thing about portion sizes, too. My recall of something like basic spaghetti and meatballs as a kid is it tends to be a lot and eat all you want, which ends up being a lot. Whereas if you stick to meat and vegetables, it's very hard to overeat even if enough food is available that you could. I think some of this ends up being the basis of something like the raw food diet, or the way The Rock has said he eats, which is to never eat anything he actually likes except on cheat days. Enjoyable and cooked foods aren't bad, but if you otherwise can't control yourself, one way to do it is only eat stuff you either don't like or is hard to eat. Even that is largely conflating looking like a model with "health" when they aren't the same thing. When The Rock was a pro wrestler and not an actor, he was noticeably fatter but not to the point that I think it was making any difference in terms of health rather than in terms of his ability to land lead roles in action movies that want you to look like a bodybuilder.

by smcl 3y ago

LinuxBender 3y ago

In my opinion the devil's in the details. American pastas are more often than not highly processed components that have lost their nutritional value then have been enriched with low quality multi-vitamins. My understanding is that this is less common in say Italy where it is more likely to find things made from scratch.

bobthepanda 3y ago
american bread is also very, very sugary compared to European bread. A lot of America is not getting regular bread from bakeries but from the supermarket. the typical american bread is white sandwich bread which also does not help.
- dangerwill 3y ago
  This is true, and as a recent convert, I would like to recommend that other Americans check out their local farmers market to see if there is a baker that sets up shop. The difference between even "fancy" grocery store packaged bread and actual fresh bread is enough that I now consider grocery store bread to be essentially a different (worse) food
NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
>American pastas are more often than not highly processed components that have lost their nutritional value then have been enriched with low quality multi-vitamins. What's the source of that claim? America's most popular pasta brand is Barilla (also probably Italy's most popular brand), and that's made with exactly the same ingredients, process and machinery in the US as it is in Italy.
- LinuxBender 3y ago
  An unbiased double-blind peer reviewed paid study? I doubt it exists. That said there is no denying that the EU bans food additives that are not scientifically proven to be safe for human consumption whereas the US allows food additives unless they are proven unsafe which runs into its own issues with conflicts of interest in the FDA but that is a discussion in and of itself. Many artificial additives and preservatives are added to US food for the sake of flavor and product shelf life, not nutritional value.
  - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
    No, I mean, literally "where did you even read that?" or is it just something you assumed to be true - i.e. you made it up?
    - LinuxBender 3y ago
      No, I mean, literally "where did you even read that?" or is it just something you assumed to be true - i.e. you made it up? I have followed health and fitness sites, nutrition sites and discussions by scientists and doctors for the better part of the last couple decades in response to my own medical issues that doctors could not help with. As I state in my profile I do not provide links. If a topic is interesting to you then I would suggest researching it so that you can decide for yourself which sources are bribed and which are legit. All of the information is well within reach. nih.gov, healthline, even youtube have a handful of decent scientists and doctors to follow. If you are suggesting I am not telling the truth then it is not possible for us to have a good faith discussion on this topic.
      - mastermedo 3y ago
        This is not how discussions work. A: I think X. B: Interesting, why do you think that? A: I have 10 years of thinking about it. B: I have 10 years of thinking about it and have the opposite opinion. A: If you're suggesting I'm not telling the truth then it's not possible for us to have a good faith discussion on this topic. I might've made a fallacy, but this is what popped to mind when I read this comment.

dotnet00 3y ago

I get lectured by my mom if I tell her I made pasta more often than she thinks is healthy. It's kinda hilarious, particularly since like 70% of it ends up being veggies and tomatoes and yet that's obviously fine.

abtinf 3y ago

What is puzzling about this? Do you believe pasta is "healthy"? If so, why?

smcl 3y ago
What's puzzling is the idea that pasta is treated as if it's some hardcore fat-gainer, and cheese as if it's the cornerstone of a healthy diet. It's additionally puzzling because the USA stands head and shoulders above Europe, where this belief is not prevalent, in rates of obesity.

throwway120385 3y ago

When my wife was pregnant the OB gave her a list of foods to eat during the first trimester nausea and ice cream was listed because it's a good source of protein. So there's definitely some aspect of judging by a single metric. I've busted my butt making semolina pasta before and eaten way less than if I buy a box of barilla because it was a lot more pains-taking.

smcl 3y ago
It's a source of protein. But my issue is that it's not exactly something you should eat a great deal of if your intent is to lead a healthy lifestyle.

nonameiguess 3y ago

Frankly, pasta itself is almost certainly fine most of the time, but likely a lot of people's experience of pasta is something like Kraft instant mac and there's a thing about portion sizes, too. My recall of something like basic spaghetti and meatballs as a kid is it tends to be a lot and eat all you want, which ends up being a lot. Whereas if you stick to meat and vegetables, it's very hard to overeat even if enough food is available that you could. I think some of this ends up being the basis of something like the raw food diet, or the way The Rock has said he eats, which is to never eat anything he actually likes except on cheat days. Enjoyable and cooked foods aren't bad, but if you otherwise can't control yourself, one way to do it is only eat stuff you either don't like or is hard to eat. Even that is largely conflating looking like a model with "health" when they aren't the same thing. When The Rock was a pro wrestler and not an actor, he was noticeably fatter but not to the point that I think it was making any difference in terms of health rather than in terms of his ability to land lead roles in action movies that want you to look like a bodybuilder.