3 ms·

It's the carbs.

by pfdietz 2y ago

It's the carbs.

gonzo41 2y ago
it's not carbs. It is inactivity and the volume of cheap easy calories eaten.
- lithocarpus 2y ago
  There's truth here, and, as I understand it, carbs with high glycemic index do have the effect of blood glucose and then insulin spikes which cause metabolic disease and lead to diabetes which is the primary thing that's deadly here.
jibbit 2y ago
is this true? If everyone prepared their own food from scratch, but still had as many carbs, outcomes wouldn't improve?
- bumby 2y ago
  If calories remained constant, I predict the problem would persist.
- dietr1ch 2y ago
  I don't think it's just the carbs, but they likely don't help in today's society. We became too efficient at packing carbs in our diet and at the same time too sedentary. Beyond macro-nutrients, what I think the true reason food in the US is bad is because of the other stuff. Many things banned in Europe (which is special because they use science for improving quality of life before profits) are not banned in the US, even though it's an advanced enough nation to be able to deal with the ban and look for better options. The problem in the US is that profits are of utmost importance. Anything that lowers your costs is good for business as long as it's hard to point at it (does colourant X cause cancer? maybe we need more studies, or just didn't know, we'll try better next time).
  - pfdietz 2y ago
    I wonder about micronutrients that aren't recognized as essential to life, but that have positive effects.
luizfzs 2y ago
With a side of car-centric city planning where shops are often far from where people live, so everyone just drive everywhere. Also, with a pinch of pedestrian-hostile design, where some places don't even have sidewalks.
- galangalalgol 2y ago
  Pretty much every neighborhood created between 1940 and 1990 has no sidewalks, and even after that the zoning is such that the only place you can walk is to other residences.
gigatree 2y ago
Japan, Vietnam, France, Italy, etc. would beg to differ. But they also don’t spray their wheat with roundup so it’s probably better to stay away from carbs in the US just on that basis.
- galangalalgol 2y ago
  Italy has the highest incidence of Celiac disease, so it isn't completely benign. But yeah, the portion sizes matter more.
lithocarpus 2y ago
I don't think it's carbs as such necessarily, but the glycemic index of the foods and their addictive qualities - i.e. how easy it is to way overdo the glucose spiking. Yes, if you cut the carbs the problem is solved, but there are different kinds of carbs and some kinds in moderation can be eaten regularly without causing big glucose spikes and metabolic disease. Personally I go for low carb to make it easier, but I still eat limited fruit and starchy vegetables and rice and beans. (Some kinds of fruit do spike glucose and I need to be careful with.)

It's the carbs.

gonzo41 2y ago

it's not carbs. It is inactivity and the volume of cheap easy calories eaten.

lithocarpus 2y ago
There's truth here, and, as I understand it, carbs with high glycemic index do have the effect of blood glucose and then insulin spikes which cause metabolic disease and lead to diabetes which is the primary thing that's deadly here.

jibbit 2y ago

is this true? If everyone prepared their own food from scratch, but still had as many carbs, outcomes wouldn't improve?

bumby 2y ago
If calories remained constant, I predict the problem would persist.
dietr1ch 2y ago
I don't think it's just the carbs, but they likely don't help in today's society. We became too efficient at packing carbs in our diet and at the same time too sedentary. Beyond macro-nutrients, what I think the true reason food in the US is bad is because of the other stuff. Many things banned in Europe (which is special because they use science for improving quality of life before profits) are not banned in the US, even though it's an advanced enough nation to be able to deal with the ban and look for better options. The problem in the US is that profits are of utmost importance. Anything that lowers your costs is good for business as long as it's hard to point at it (does colourant X cause cancer? maybe we need more studies, or just didn't know, we'll try better next time).
- pfdietz 2y ago
  I wonder about micronutrients that aren't recognized as essential to life, but that have positive effects.

luizfzs 2y ago

With a side of car-centric city planning where shops are often far from where people live, so everyone just drive everywhere. Also, with a pinch of pedestrian-hostile design, where some places don't even have sidewalks.

galangalalgol 2y ago
Pretty much every neighborhood created between 1940 and 1990 has no sidewalks, and even after that the zoning is such that the only place you can walk is to other residences.

gigatree 2y ago

Japan, Vietnam, France, Italy, etc. would beg to differ. But they also don’t spray their wheat with roundup so it’s probably better to stay away from carbs in the US just on that basis.

galangalalgol 2y ago
Italy has the highest incidence of Celiac disease, so it isn't completely benign. But yeah, the portion sizes matter more.

lithocarpus 2y ago

I don't think it's carbs as such necessarily, but the glycemic index of the foods and their addictive qualities - i.e. how easy it is to way overdo the glucose spiking. Yes, if you cut the carbs the problem is solved, but there are different kinds of carbs and some kinds in moderation can be eaten regularly without causing big glucose spikes and metabolic disease. Personally I go for low carb to make it easier, but I still eat limited fruit and starchy vegetables and rice and beans. (Some kinds of fruit do spike glucose and I need to be careful with.)