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Modern science says our bodies change according to what we eat as well as how much. Not really immutable.
Agreed. Doorways in old buildings in Europe, going back to the 1500s, are SMALL. Seems like most people barely soared to the lofty heights of five feet. Modern day Germans, Dutch, and Scandinavian people are of above average height, and the result of that is major changes in diet and nutrition.
Compare the differences of Korean people between north and south to see how diet can affect an entire population in less than fifty years.
Burning fat for energy is a pretty basic function of animals for a billion years. I doubt that a fast food diet could reprogram your body that drastically.
Also one needs to define what exactly constitutes fast food. The meat in a McDonald's hamburger is 100% beef, and a quarter pounder is cooked at order time. It's ground beef. Okay possibly there's some growth hormones or antibiotics or other chemicals in the cattle, so it's not totally natural meat, I'll grant you that. If you eat the bread (I mostly don't) you are getting some artificial stuff but no more artificial than, say, a commercially baked bread from the grocery store.
We've been concentrating the discussion on ultra-processed food.
And, in fact, such foods as well as changes in eating habits, such as frequency of meals, does, indeed reprogram the body that drastically...for instance, not burning fat for energy and using hormonal changes to drive dietary urges to maintain the "no fats burned" situation.
A grilled chicken breast fillet is a grilled chicken breast fillet, no matter where it's grilled. And if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line, you'd know darned well there's no such thing as "in-season" vegetables from late November til mid-April. Winter is out of season for fruits and vegetables in the north. Meanwhile down here in the south, the idea of "home cooking" is barbeque pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, pimiento cheese (shredded cheddar with pimiento peppers and mayonnaise), and ranch dressing on - pretty much everything. there's nothing nourishing or healthy about any of that, but according to you, as long as it's made in someone's residential kitchen it's nourishing?
Gimme a McDonald's cheeseburger and small fry with a bottle of water and I'll be better nourished than if I ate at Jim-bob's dining room table.
And yet, my grocery stores have fresh vegs and fruit 12 months of the year, 24 hours a day. It often comes from South American countries where "winter" is only a myth. Pineapples from Hawaii, mangoes from Mexico.....The only thing that's hysterical is some of these crazy posts.
And no, a chicken breast is not a chicken breast. We know now that a lot of food in fast food joints is sourced from prison forced labor. If you like to support that, go for it. Many animals that they serve up are housed in inhumane and filthy conditions, and fed antibiotics and grains that are grown w/ toxic pesticides on them. Obviously, this gets passed along to whoever eats them. Fast food fryers are very dirty, I used to service them. The oil is the cheapest and lowest quality they can get. These foods in fast food places are frozen, and almost always have a high sodium content due to that. So it's a perfect storm of bad foods that equals bad health.
This stuff ain't rocket science. Buy organic whenever you can, only eat wild caught fish, only Gulf shrimp, avoid eating any animal that is fed toxic substances that you and your loved ones WILL be eating too, never eat farm raised fish, etc. Much of what is in grocery stores and almost ALL the food in fast food restaurants is unhealthy. You have to be smart and forage wisely, or the universe will give you a crash course on cause and effect.
I have a relative who literally lives on fast food, all of it delivered to him because he is disabled by obesity, chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and a dose of mental illness. He does have a bag of frozen carrots in his freezer, it’s been chillin’ there since he moved five years ago.
But a situation like that goes beyond someone being lazy and unhealthy. There's probably a lot of shame and guilt and inertia in his life. He's self-medicating with hyper-palatable processed food. With DoorDash and other services, you could get salad and grilled chicken delivered, but that's not going to soothe the mental beast and calm his demons the same way french fries will.
I'm sure that lifestyle is now far more common than you think, even among those with no such justifications. I'm curious, though; assuming your relative is officially disabled, do his benefits pay for the fast food delivery?
He spends about half of his $2800/mo SSDI on deliveries of junk food, and the rest goes for lot rent, utilities, etc. We have it set up with two bank accounts so his mandatory expenses are paid up front, and whatever remains is discretionary income, an allowance of sorts. Financially, he has the mentality of a 12-year-old, and in the past he would often spend his entire monthly income in the first two weeks. We’ve tried to change his bad eating habits to no avail.
But a situation like that goes beyond someone being lazy and unhealthy. There's probably a lot of shame and guilt and inertia in his life. He's self-medicating with hyper-palatable processed food. With DoorDash and other services, you could get salad and grilled chicken delivered, but that's not going to soothe the mental beast and calm his demons the same way french fries will.
Yes, he has a terrible self-image and (IMO) suffers OCD. He lives in a wonderful community with lots of activities and friendly neighbors, but he is a recluse. We appealed to his doctor to try and get him into some kind of psychological counseling, and the PCP ignored us. He foolishly elected for a Medicare Advantage health plan, and now he’s stuck with it. In theory they should provide counseling, but Aetna apparently has written him off.
You can eat anything and have it as part of a balanced diet, it’s just about moderation.
Thoughts?
Personally, I don't care what people decide they want to eat. My issue with fast food isn't that it is unhealthy (a pan-fried burger and deep fried chips made at home is just as bad for you), it's that it doesn't taste that great for the price you pay for it. The last couple of times I ate it, the burger was OK but the fries were cold and gross. As far as pizza goes, I have yet to try a pizza joint that makes a pie as good as my wife can. YMMV.
A grilled chicken breast fillet is a grilled chicken breast fillet, no matter where it's grilled. And if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line, you'd know darned well there's no such thing as "in-season" vegetables from late November til mid-April. Winter is out of season for fruits and vegetables in the north. Meanwhile down here in the south, the idea of "home cooking" is barbeque pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, pimiento cheese (shredded cheddar with pimiento peppers and mayonnaise), and ranch dressing on - pretty much everything. there's nothing nourishing or healthy about any of that, but according to you, as long as it's made in someone's residential kitchen it's nourishing?
Gimme a McDonald's cheeseburger and small fry with a bottle of water and I'll be better nourished than if I ate at Jim-bob's dining room table.
Ghaati - what do you base your "down here in the South" on?
He spends about half of his $2800/mo SSDI on deliveries of junk food, and the rest goes for lot rent, utilities, etc.
Doesn't he receive food stamps, rent subsidies, help with utilities, etc.? A lot of other benefits are available; they don't get ONLY the SSDI check. I was just curious if food delivery was covered/included.
Ghaati - what do you base your "down here in the South" on?
I'm curious as well. I grew up on 1/2 southern diet, 1/2 Ohio diet. We ate a lot of greens with pepper vinegar, rice and beans out the wazoo, kielbasa in sauerkraut with dumplings, ham.. We occasionally ate fried chicken but rarely. in fact we rarely had deep fried food. NC sausage was always in the freezer, and nothing beats that! I was subjected to the occasional mid-western casserole like tuna casserole etc.. That I hated. Peas and canned tuna in some gooo was not a family favorite. At times I wanted to intercept my mothers Womans Day magazines and toss them, lol.
But there were always veggies on the plate. In fact we grow all manner of greens and either can or freeze them.
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