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When I was a kid in the '50s the ads on TV promoted protein and dairy products for good health. When they discovered that more money could be made growing wheat on an acre of land than grazing cattle, the food pyramid suddenly changed to promoting more grains in the diet and less meat. Interesting coincidence, huh?
I'm cooking dinner now. It's a vegan dumpling stew, so I'm using white potatoes and flour. I try to use sweet potatoes as much as possible, but they wouldn't be right with this. And instead of enjoying it, I'm feeling guilty about it being a high glycemic dish. Thinking "there goes my blood sugar!" and "I'm adding five pounds to my hips!"
But then I began to wonder what has changed. A well balanced, nutritious meal was considered to include white potatoes and bread, like a roll. And there were less diabetics and overweight people back in the day when people ate like this.
So---what changed?????
Potatoes aren't in the same carb category as bread.
Think about this: I'm not an advocate of the Atkins Diet--tried it a few years back and was craving mashed potatoes after a week. However, he makes a great point in his book that for jillions of years human beings ate meat and animal fat, along with plant food, but did not start eating refined white sugar and flour until about 100 years ago or so. And cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc., has skyrocketed.
Of course, one could make the argument that people are now living long enough to get those disease because they aren't dying from diphtheria or the consumption.
A lot has changed over the years. The main thing is that people have become more sedentary. They are not burning off the food they have consumed during the day like we have in the past. Then refined foods came along and turned complex carbs into simple carbs. Combine those with a sedentary lifestyle and its a recipe for disaster. Also people do not seem to cook real food anymore from 'scratch'. We use a lot of sodium and sugar laced boxed ingredients when we do cook. Anything to cut the time it takes to make anything. Then of course fast food joints and pizza places with stuffed crust and dipping sauce and put it all together and you have an obesity epidemic.
A. portion size
B. As others have said, TOTAL simple carbs in the diet - potatoes PLUS sugary drinks
C. Simple Carbs PLUS other dietary issues
D. Amount of activity
E. There was SOME obesity and diabetes in the past. Its the frequency of it in the population that has increased, which I suspect is due to A - D
Think about this: I'm not an advocate of the Atkins Diet--tried it a few years back and was craving mashed potatoes after a week. However, he makes a great point in his book that for jillions of years human beings ate meat and animal fat,
mostly in lower amounts - plus animals had different amounts of fat and sat fat. IIUC corn fed animals are worse on those measures than grass fed, and wild (hunted) animals are better than even grass fed.
When I was a kid in the '50s the ads on TV promoted protein and dairy products for good health. When they discovered that more money could be made growing wheat on an acre of land than grazing cattle, the food pyramid suddenly changed to promoting more grains in the diet and less meat. Interesting coincidence, huh?
what makes more money per acre depends on local climate and soil conditions. There has been no point in the modern history of the US when we didnt have lots of farmers raising animals for meat and dairy. The change to promote more WHOLE grains was due to new studies.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22
I'm cooking dinner now. It's a vegan dumpling stew, so I'm using white potatoes and flour. I try to use sweet potatoes as much as possible, but they wouldn't be right with this. And instead of enjoying it, I'm feeling guilty about it being a high glycemic dish. Thinking "there goes my blood sugar!" and "I'm adding five pounds to my hips!"
But then I began to wonder what has changed. A well balanced, nutritious meal was considered to include white potatoes and bread, like a roll. And there were less diabetics and overweight people back in the day when people ate like this.
Meh, I still don't really buy into that whole carb hype. I think it's primarily calories in vs calories out. I couldn't live without my carbs, especially considering I'm not a huge fan of meat or fish, I eat a lot of carbs and dairy - well, a lot meaning in proportion to my intake, but I don't eat much overall, generally 1000-1500 calories. I don't starve myself, in fact I can't handle larger meals as I start feeling sick, I eat when I'm hungry and allow myself to have anything I'm craving, like sweets or baked goods which are my downfall, just in very moderate amounts - a couple squares of chocolate, not a whole bar, or if I feel like having some cake or a donut, I'll pass on the pasta or potatoes at dinner and just have some chicken with salad or soup instead. So far this allows me to stay at a weight of 110-115 lbs at 5'5 without constantly feeling like I'm depriving myself.
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