LET'S CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!

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Thank God......I hate skimmed milk.

bob
 
OMG This is just the latest in a long series of pronouncements. The real answer is: everything in moderation and minimal processed food. I do agree that dairy products and eggs are not the villains that they have been labelled - as long as consumed in moderation.

Even the Mediterranean diet that people toute so highly forgets that half the reason it works so well is that people in Italy, Greece, etc. who live a long life are generally living in small villages and getting substantially more exercise than Americans. Anyone who has spent time in the area, like I have, soon recognizes that the locals walk everywhere and constantly walking up the steep streets of an average Italian or Greek rural town is very strenuous work. Gee, do they take that into account?? I'm going to pour myself another glass of red wine. :):):)
 
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Love butter.

:cool:
 
DougA said:
Even the Mediterranean diet that people toute so highly forgets that half the reason it works so well is that people in Italy, Greece, etc. who live a long life are generally living in small villages and getting substantially more exercise than Americans. Anyone who has spent time in the area, like I have, soon recognizes that the locals walk everywhere and constantly walking up the steep streets of an average Italian or Greek rural town is very strenuous work. Gee, do they take that into account?? I'm going to pour myself another glass of red wine. :):):)
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That is part of it, but the Mediterranean diet research includes city folks in those regions too. Besides more often eating fresh local foods they don't eat snack foods.
 
In my lifetime bacon, whole milk (which isn't really "whole" just adjusted to the Fed minimum limit to be called that (they aren't fools that butterfat is valuable), eggs, chocolate, booze et. al. were to be avoided because studies said they will kill you. Fortunately I didn't stop consuming any of them in the time it took for new studies to discover that they all will make you live forever. >> Now if they would just come out with that one that says cigarettes extend your life...

Food doesn't kick your ass near as much as genes do. You can change your jeans, but you can't change your genes.

Edit to add: Dad, who I seem to be just like physically, ate everything that is supposed to kill you. Died at 86 from falling backward on a concrete floor and busting his brain. I try to avoid concrete.
 
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Beer & George Dickel form the base of my food triangle. Do they still have a food triangle?
 
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Since the kids were small a decade ago, we all drink whole milk, cook with plenty of butter, cheese and/or bacon fat in most of our dishes. The two kids were taught to eat until they were full and stop...they do, and are basically thin as rails, as mom and dad were in the 70s. In my family, we avoid trans-fats (used to be hard, now its easy) and artificial sweeteners (the science on them says they lead to higher calorie consumption and obesity) and don't keep soda in the house. We eat sweets in moderation (its called dessert, ice cream is put in very small dishes).

The science on this has been pretty clear for 10-15 years, and is why the wife and I eat the way we do. Just took that long for the career folks in the gov to get settled. Indeed, it is likely that the low fat advice handed out decades ago largely CAUSED the obesity and diabetes epidemics in the US. How many lives degraded and lost?

The sad part about this, is that there are plenty of people who have been eating (now judged unhealthy) low-fat, high-carb diets for decades who are not going to stop now. Too much ego-involvement.
 
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Thought I would update this thread since I have just returned from another 2 weeks in Italy. I was thinking about this thread - believe it or not - as we drove a few thousand kms. around rural Italy plus spent 2 days in Rome. What struck me upon landing in Rome and especially upon returning to Toronto was the enormous difference in weight between the typical Italian and the typical North American. Almost all Italians we saw are slender. Yes, there are a few moderately hefty ones, but that was rare. What struck me even more was that Italians wear very tight fitting pants. Italians have always been very fashion conscious and skin tight pants (especially leather) on women greatly distracted me from viewing the sights of Rome. :confused: You can easily pick out the American tourists by their size and their clothing.

Most North Americans misunderstand the Mediterranean diet. It's not just better quality, less processed food, but also far less of all food. The portion sizes are significantly smaller, with the emphasis on fresh, natural tastes and far less use of salt & spices than we are accustomed to. You almost never see french fries or hamburgers on a menu and McDonalds puts the emphasis on McCafe not burgers. Meat portions in particular are half or less than we see in American restaurants.

The average Italian walks a lot more than we do. Even in large cities, walking briskly to/from cars or transit is normal. At home, I pass almost everyone when walking. In Italy, I had to step up my pace to be average. Actually, they do everything faster especially driving. It's the same phenomena we notice when going the the Caribbean, where everything slows down significantly. In Italy, the pace speeds up compared to our normal. It's also not just walking but a ton of steps and steep inclines. Rome was built on hills, Venice is full of bridges, rural towns are almost always on the tops of mountains and everywhere you go, you're climbing.

So IMHO, it's all about smaller portions, natural ingredients and a lot more exercise if you want a longer, more healthy life.
 
And moving your arms and hands more when you talk. >>
 
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DougA said:
Thought I would update this thread since I have just returned from another 2 weeks in Italy. I was thinking about this thread - believe it or not - as we drove a few thousand kms. around rural Italy plus spent 2 days in Rome. What struck me upon landing in Rome and especially upon returning to Toronto was the enormous difference in weight between the typical Italian and the typical North American. Almost all Italians we saw are slender. Yes, there are a few moderately hefty ones, but that was rare. What struck me even more was that Italians wear very tight fitting pants. Italians have always been very fashion conscious and skin tight pants (especially leather) on women greatly distracted me from viewing the sights of Rome. :confused: You can easily pick out the American tourists by their size and their clothing.

Most North Americans misunderstand the Mediterranean diet. It's not just better quality, less processed food, but also far less of all food. The portion sizes are significantly smaller, with the emphasis on fresh, natural tastes and far less use of salt & spices than we are accustomed to. You almost never see french fries or hamburgers on a menu and McDonalds puts the emphasis on McCafe not burgers. Meat portions in particular are half or less than we see in American restaurants.

The average Italian walks a lot more than we do. Even in large cities, walking briskly to/from cars or transit is normal. At home, I pass almost everyone when walking. In Italy, I had to step up my pace to be average. Actually, they do everything faster especially driving. It's the same phenomena we notice when going the the Caribbean, where everything slows down significantly. In Italy, the pace speeds up compared to our normal. It's also not just walking but a ton of steps and steep inclines. Rome was built on hills, Venice is full of bridges, rural towns are almost always on the tops of mountains and everywhere you go, you're climbing.

So IMHO, it's all about smaller portions, natural ingredients and a lot more exercise if you want a longer, more healthy life.
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I have been to Europe many times and have many of the same observations.

Some thoughts...
There is very little urban sprawl for many reasons. You will be driving through the middle of no where with zero homes and then you get to town and people are living 4 stories high and you have to pay for parking at the grocery store. It is easier to walk to places, but that doesn't mean they are doing it by choice. There is very little in the way of suburbs.

Businesses are designed to cater to being outdoors. This was one thing I loved about Europe. If there was a river in town, you're eating next to it. If there is a mountain view, you can see it from your table. If there is a busy modern street, you can be seated on the sidewalk. I love that.

Going out to eat is quite expensive. You always pay or water. There is no such thing as a free glass of tap water. You ask for water, it is bottled and 3-4 Euro.

They love to smoke and drink, but not necessarily to excess.
 
In the immortal words of John Gustafson Sr, the secret to long life is bacon for breakfast, bacon for lunch and whiskey for dinner !
 
sportbikerider78 said:
Going out to eat is quite expensive.
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It is in some countries but if you stay away from the tourist areas, your cost will go down 50%. We only had one meal that was higher in price than dining out locally. The rest were all much cheaper. One of our best meals was 40 Euros (US$43.) which was 5 courses, a litre of excellent 2009 wine, including all taxes and service (tip). Where can you dine at a great restaurant in the US for $43. for 2 people? Part of that answer is the minimal use of meat, which is the most expensive cost in the menu. We splurged on a platter of apps - actually 7 dishes of meat & cheese - and without that, our bill would have been 28 Euros. Remove the wine and tiramisu it would be 14. Now you're down to McD's prices.

Agree with they love cafes and being outdoors. One reason for that is smoking is prohibited indoors, so we saw lots sitting outside in winter coats so they could smoke. The trend is increasing for restaurants in North America to charge for water. Tap water is just so disgusting in many areas of America and destroys a great meal.

There is a big difference in $$ between tourist restaurants and where the locals eat. You don't see that over here. Three years ago, we had dinner on the Grand Canal in Venice. It is the only dinner I have ever returned to the kitchen in my whole life. I can put up with a lot of sh$t but that one went back.
 
We will be going to Prague and Italy in the spring- I think that as a tourist I will be gorging.

I've started being more careful about food and exercising- it's made a tremendous difference. Taking my family health history more seriously!

Eat less. Move more.
 
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