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Surely it sounds healthier than the staple diet of my area, which was based on potatoes, polenta and butter. And some soup in the evening, that one was practically compulsory.
About Mediterranean diet, I would say that the healthy one was the staple diet of the coastal areas before the arrival of the "working class", when the most of people still lived with the vegetables of their fields, fishing on their own and so on. Their diet was characterized by a lot of vegetables, eaten in the right season, followed by pasta and bread, olive oil as condiment and few proteins (mostly introduced with fish). In general they had a lifestyle that involved much more physical activity than our, and they ate less than us too. (The pasta and bread part probably doesn't apply to the other Mediterranean country)
Anyway, I'm not surprised to hear that Baltic sea traditional diet was healthy too, apart the pasta part it doesn't sound too different. What about asian diets (for example Japanese) instead? I'm quite sure they are more into fish than meat too.
I wouldn't say that, as both in Northern Italy and Finland people ate what they could get their hands on. You ate polenta, we ate porridge. And alcohol was equally important. In Northern Europe people drank beer and mead, in Southern Europe wine. Alcohol is cheap, keeps the hunger away and fills you with cheap calories. It was not uncommon that young children drunk beer for breakfast.
The real enemy here in the North was salt. As salt was the only known method of conservation, we ate a lot of it.
It is usually not the meat that makes people fat. The most common reasons for obesity are sugar (especially soft drinks, sweets and processed foods) and wrong fats (cheap cheese, oils, mayonaise, deep fried food etc). Meat is completeley fine. High protein, low carb. Vegetarians are only slimmer in many cases because they do care about what they eat and rather consume less junkfood. Skipping meat and then drinking a bottle of coke per day and eat french fries, cakes and donuts won't result in any better shape.
That is correct, except we're going to have to disagree a bit about mayonnaise. Of course eating too much of it will make you fat due to its high caloric content, but true mayonnaise is high in monounsaturated fats which are heart friendly.
Anyway, my response was more directed to the OP who did a terrible job of veiling his jab at American obesity. I don't notice much difference in the waistlines of typical Americans versus typical central Europeans. What we do have here are more cases of 500+ pounders, but they are quite rare and more of a carnival sideshow than a representation of anything American.
That is correct, except we're going to have to disagree a bit about mayonnaise. Of course eating too much of it will make you fat due to its high caloric content, but true mayonnaise is high in monounsaturated fats which are heart friendly.
Anyway, my response was more directed to the OP who did a terrible job of veiling his jab at American obesity. I don't notice much difference in the waistlines of typical Americans versus typical central Europeans. What we do have here are more cases of 500+ pounders, but they are quite rare and more of a carnival sideshow than a representation of anything American.
Okay, I see... but what I have to say that America is much more obesity friendly. You don't have that 1/2 gallon jar of soft drinks or free refills in Europe. Also you don't have those scooters for fat people to cruise around walmart. Some Europeans tend to get their impression of America on peopleofwalmart.com Overall it is very true that Europe has many fat people too, especially Germany, UK etc.
Americans eat way too much meat, especially red meat. And cheese and whole milk. That's what makes most people fat, besides eating too much food in general and not getting any exercise.
Europeans eat lots of cheese and use whole milk more than we do. Dairy fat does not cause obesity the same way that carbs and sugars do. Personally, dairy turns me off after getting a fix while carbs leave me always wanting more. Look south of the border. Every time I travel to Latin America, it amazes me how fat they have gotten in just one generation and they do not a lot of red meat in comparison to us. They do eat lots of sugar, rice and corn products though.
Okay, I see... but what I have to say that America is much more obesity friendly. You don't have that 1/2 gallon jar of soft drinks or free refills in Europe. Also you don't have those scooters for fat people to cruise around walmart. Some Europeans tend to get their impression of America on peopleofwalmart.com Overall it is very true that Europe has many fat people too, especially Germany, UK etc.
Oh yes. This is what causes people to go from being overweight to becoming humongous. If they actually had to walk around the grocery store, they would not go over the tipping point.
.It is a reality that in USA there are many people with morbid fat and in italy France and Spain very few and although the people obese are increasing with their fat in these 3 countries their fat is not yet morbid, as in USA.-
In Central Europe is eaten more and more American and for this so there is more people obese today because that to this is added their traditional food that abound in meat and alcohol,beer and butter in quantity .-
In the countries of the first world, today no country they eaten badly for lack of money but for lack for in your culture and your custom of the search of the exquisite gastronomy .-
Your tradition is not to seek the exquisite,Do not Know to enjoy the food and the drink,and the eat is only it is for to feed.
However This is an irrevocable pleasure at least 3 times a day in the mediterranean countries,.
In Usa many eat at gas stations refuel cars and they also they repost.That is inconceivable in the Mediterranean countries .-
In my opinion in Mediterranean it is not eaten to feed it self but to enjoy the food and the drink
that is a an unrenounceable pleasure at least 3 times a day and with enough time to socialize.-
In spain there are regions where there are multitude of men of all professions in many gastronomic Clubs where after work they are going to cook striving to make the more exquisite dishes of food every day.-
i think because of this in Spain france and Italy there are very few vegetarians ,because that is to stop enjoying exquisite dishes that are also very healthy because they are varied and with many fish ,food missing in other countries besides knowing to drink without getting drunk ,.-
Note,.We are talking about the masses of population .In USA there are minorities who eat very well and
very interested in the exquisite food.-
Vegetarians and vegans in America are lucky because probably no other country has the variety of produce that the States does. You can get almost anything there. Try being a vegetarian in some other places and there's a chance you'll starve.
I don't agree with your last sentence. You can be vegetarian without a huge variety of produce. There are 3x more vegetarians in Sweden than in the US. Indians surely don't have all the variety of perfect looking food either, and there are 10x more vegetarians.
Everywhere, in every country you can buy fruit and veggies. Basic and locally grown is usually cheap, in many places meat is much cheaper than in the US.
Except of some famine ridden extremely poor countries, there are no places where vegetarians would starve because of lack of food. Its always easier and cheaper to get access to produce than meat.
BTW: almost all fruits and veggies you can buy in the US are also available in other developed countries.
1)Because they flee from the typical american junk food which produces so many people with fat morbid there.
2)Because they have not enjoyed, the vast majority of american people the delicious mediterrean cuisine that it is also very healthy and your tradition is not enjoy with food already that USA have origin historical in UK
that does not have historically good gastronomy.-
3)Or for other reasons .-
3) Because the American factory farming practices/treatment of farm animals appalls some people so much that they choose not to eat animals as a conscious way of not contributing to suffering.
The majority of vegetarians are vegetarian for moral and/or environmental reasons. On average, western countries with educated people have higher rates of vegetarianism.
Eggzactly. Carbs make us fat, meat does not. Corn products and high fructose corn syrup are killers. Refined wheat is not far behind.
Perfectly said and sugar. The body burns sugar before it burns fat so if sugar intake is high, fat is not burned.
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