When I saw Russ’ was advertising a new low-carb menu, I decided that this trend has officially gone way too far. I read a book a while back (called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating) which said that one reason that the food pyramid emphasizes eating low-fat foods, rather than distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy fats, is because the people who made it thought that Americans were too dumb to understand that concept.
At first I was annoyed, the concept didn’t seem too difficult to me. I thought Americans could hack it. But now I’m beginning to worry that not only can Americans not grasp the idea of different kinds of fats, they are only able to focus on one nutrient at a time. The prevailing mode of dieting over the last 2.5 decades seems to have been to cut out one of the three basic nutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates). In last couple of decades everyone tried to eliminate fat, now it’s carbs. Simple indeed, but not very healthy.
I liked the above-mentioned book because it admits that we don’t really know much about what foods are healthy because it requires long-term studies to determine lifelong health effects of different types of diets, which are only now starting to be available. Also, it says that many of my favorite foods are good for me after all. However, many of the recipes included in the book don’t sound particularly appetizing (asparagus, tofu, shiitake, and cashew stir-fry), and call for ingredients that normal people can’t afford, and don’t know where to shop for. Ah well, can’t have everything.
I am sick and tired of the low-carb mania as well. I think the reason that diet fads always focus on eliminating one “bad” thing from people’s eating habits is that Americans want to lose weight without actually having to work hard. God forbid that people who are trying to lose weight feel HUNGRY sometimes or have to EXERCISE. It’s much more fun just to eat a lot of bacon and watch the pounds melt away.
Oh, no! Even Russ’ has a low-carb menu? Well, I guess I can live with that–provided they leave their fried chicken on the menu.
We recently had a visit from some friends who’d just been on a four-day “health retreat” at an exclusive resort. While there they were encouraged to stop consuming all of the following: meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, fats, wheat and all other flour products, caffeine, certain fruits, and cooked vegetables. They were basically left with raw vegetables, a few fruits, nuts, and seeds.
I can only conclude that the basic concept here is that, while eating like this may not actually lengthen your life, your life will just SEEM longer.
I have a revolutionary idea: Why don’t we just try a thing called MODERATION?
Debby