Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by LaMuse 10 years, 2 months ago
    Here goes - hoping to add another point to my profile. I was suspicious when reading this, as I always am when reading studies conducted on mice that vilify food additives, especially mice that already have a genetic predisposition to immune disorders. Perhaps that fact in and of itself contributed to the results obtained. Cause and effect has not been proven at all. Once I got to the part about "Big Bad Monsanto", my suspicions were confirmed. Really, the people who are getting fat, developing diabetes, having stomach problems, etc. are getting that way because of the food additives, not the junk food itself? If you eat a box of twinkles every day, are you going to blame the additives for the weight gain and not the calories? One more thing - I hate it when articles try to tie one thing, in this case inflammation, to every malady - especially cancer! Cancer is complex and not caused by one thing. If it were, we would figure it out and stop doing that one thing. Ok - off of soapbox.
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    • Posted by H2ungar123 10 years, 2 months ago
      Off OF soapbox?? Why the "of"? Why not
      'the'? Couldn't resist = great article!
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      • Posted by LaMuse 10 years, 2 months ago
        Thank you, I guess I should have said "Off of the soapbox" haha!
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        • Posted by plusaf 10 years, 2 months ago
          Many grammarians say that it's the "OF" that's the superfluous word there... Off The Soapbox, by itself, conveys the message well. I tend to agree, but that plus some amount of money can buy you a coffee, right?

          I WAS waiting for someone to ask you if the original spelling of your 'handle' was l'amuse... a bit funnier that way, eh? :)

          Now, to the original post and topic, I tend to bristle when ANY reference makes wonderfully specific cause-and-effect assertions.

          Mice with genetic 'defects' may very well be useful because they're MORE specifically sensitive to certain influences. And some of the conclusions of the studies might actually be worth noting! I'd just like to see more vetting of the experimental process and more controlled experiments done before the "obvious conclusions" are drawn and the "obvious solutions" are implemented...

          But, maybe that's just me... :)
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  • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 2 months ago
    Interesting experiment, and looks well done (the accounted for cage placement and showed actual Histo sections of the gut). I don't subscribe to Nature, so I could not read the full article. The emulsifiers apparently did not change the mucosal lining of the wild type mice, but evidently just altering the intestinal flora was sufficient to produce irritable bowel syndrome. I have sent the link to the abstract on to a number of people - thanks for posting this UncommonSense.

    Jan
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  • Posted by Herb7734 10 years, 2 months ago
    Sorry guys, I was raised on deliciousness. So far, I have been forced (yes, Forced is the right word) to give up alcohol, caffeine, sugar and other stuff I like. A certain doctor wants me to give up sex because of my heart. (I spit in his coffee when he wasn't looking). I know that foods fried in fat are campfire fodder, but screw it. Can you picture me on my deathbed saying "I sure wish I had that last chili dog?" I'm too old for self denial. Besides, the "healthiest guy I know (make that knew) kicked it last year and he was a year younger than me.
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    • Posted by JoleneMartens1982 10 years, 2 months ago
      Herb7734, I think you and I would get along great. I try really hard to be healthy and serve healthy meals to my family but the second we are out all day running errands or on a long trip, i am the first one to suggest a bacon cheese burger at Sonic. Ugh, sometimes I wish Rome would fall, so I can relocate my cute little waistline under this spare tire...
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      • Posted by Herb7734 10 years, 2 months ago
        There's a certain point beyond which you do not want to go. Like when it's too hard to get up and enjoy your life. But if you're functioning OK, WTH, enjoy your life. I used to travel once a year between Florida and San Diego. I can tell you every good hamburger joint (and rest stop) along US10. With the exception of In and Out Burger in Cal. most are family owned.
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        • Posted by JoleneMartens1982 10 years, 2 months ago
          Ya, I found that point. I gained about 60 lbs in the last 5 years from a combination of terrible fast food diet and desk jobs. I have been working to turn it around for a year now, and I am starting to see results. I love my grease ball burgers, but I have found I feel so much better when I only allow myself junk food one day a week. The rest of the week I really try to eat healthy and I now work out daily. I have seen an amazing turn around in my energy level and flexibility. I have also lost an inch or so around my waist. So I am doing my personal best to be better. Lots of hard work ahead this summer so I am sure its only a matter of time before I drop some of it, and then I am sure I'll really have to work off that last 10 or 20 lbs. It is what it is. I'll get there. I'm not gonna obsess over it.
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  • Posted by Esceptico 10 years, 2 months ago
    I am sure it is the political additives we are fed daily that contributes so much to not only our discomfort, but the constant spewing of crap from politicians.
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    • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 2 months ago
      Ha! Yes - it is the rhetorical emulsifiers that turn actual data into mental grey goo that are the real danger.

      Thanks for the morning-coffee-chuckle.

      Jan
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  • Posted by wiggys 10 years, 2 months ago
    Just think all of these additives approved by the fda are causing harm to us humans, but it takes awhile for the additives to build up in our system to cause damage. now if you are of my generation you probably haven't consumed so mouch to cause damage until you are old. BUT if you are of the younger generation you will be consuming these additives for a long time to have a damaging effect so you will not have a chance to get old even if you take ANTI AGING PILLS, The above was rwritten for the benefit of Jan.
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    • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 2 months ago
      Thank you, wiggys. Mental game: What is the equivalent of 'Roman lead' in modern time? There are a lot of candidates!

      Jan, chomp-chomp on nutesups
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      • Posted by wiggys 10 years, 2 months ago
        I confess that I do not know what roman lead is if it is different than other lead.
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        • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 2 months ago
          'Roman lead' is shorthand for the problem faced by the Empire due to the use of lead in the water lines (for connections and corners - the main part was ceramic). Lead is a slow poison, which is cumulative over generations. Of course, the patricians were more likely to have lead-supplimented pipes providing indoor plumbing for them, so it was the ruling class that was increasingly subject to mental and physical deformities due to lead toxicity.

          It is my conceit that all civilizations have their own version of 'Roman lead'. There is a long list of contenders for what substance future archeologists will identify as the equivalent of 'Roman lead' for Western Civilization of the 20th C.

          My adherence to this conceit is because I think it is a corollary of Murphy's Law. We are so complex a civilization that we are swimming in unintended consequences.

          Jan, would be happy to be proved wrong
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          • Posted by plusaf 10 years, 2 months ago
            And I believe there is veracity to the theory/observation that led DOES Accumulate in the body with repeated exposure...

            But Wiggy's assertion that 'additives' in today's food do, too, .... well... link? Data? Experiments?

            Some years back, I saw inflammatory ads about how "x number of pounds of undigested meat are putrefying in everyone's intestinal tract!"

            Problems were: putrefaction tends to be aerobic and there ain't much "aer" in the digestive tract to support that claim.
            Second 'problem': if you took current numbers for 'average meat consumption by Americans' PLUS the fact that "your digestive system is maybe 3-4 "days long" from start to finish, the combination immediately tells you that, yes, several pounds of meat products probably DO exist in your digestive tract... on average, for Everyone in the US.

            Funny we don't have mass die-offs as a result, eh? So the ads' "solution" of doing Purges and Detoxifications to "cure the problem" struck me as pure marketing bullshit with the sole purpose of selling some kind of other BS to gullible customers.

            I'm a serious skeptic, that way... :)
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  • Posted by $ blarman 10 years, 2 months ago
    Home-cooked is the way to go, people. I'm lucky in that my wife makes outstanding lasagna and chicken pot pie - just to name a few.
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  • Posted by Aristotle 10 years, 2 months ago
    I definitely enjoy staying abreast of the latest findings in health and nutrition. I believe that most of our mental problems and also the ruin of our civilization is due to poor diet. Check out 'Grain Brain' by David Perlmutter and 'Keto Clarity' by Jimmy Moore.
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    • Posted by UncommonSense 10 years, 2 months ago
      I agree with your comment on the mental probs. I have colleagues of mine who have come back from Spain who told me while they were living in there, they were full of energy the whole time. But several months after returning to the U.S., they complained about becoming lethargic, even after ingesting coffee to 'get going', it seemed the energy they had while living in Spain (a couple of years) had left.

      I found that to be intriguing. That said: to my International Gulchers, have any of you experienced the same thing?
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      • Posted by Aristotle 10 years, 2 months ago
        What part of Spain were they staying and what was their diet like? Most of Western Europe and the Far East is now consuming the SAD (Standard American Diet) which is way too much carbs and not nearly enough saturated fat.
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        • Posted by UncommonSense 10 years, 2 months ago
          I don't know. I never bothered to ask. Sorry. I'm all for every single SOVEREIGN nation (the elites HATE that word) to REJECT the diet that the FDA prescribes (did they run that by you?) to Americans.
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          • Posted by Aristotle 10 years, 2 months ago
            It can be difficult for a person to reject food that has been designed and processed to be addictive. The food manufacturers can sell what ever they want. It's a problem when they solicit the help of the FDA to tell us that the junk they're selling us is good for us. Try reading 'The Big Fat Surprise' by Nina Teicholz http://thebigfatsurprise.com/
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  • Posted by RobertFl 10 years, 2 months ago
    I believe I've gotten all the processed food out of my life. I have some canned soup to burn through.
    I ordered an All American Pressure Canner the other day which will be delivered today, so I'll be making my own "Convenience foods".
    The money I save goes to buying real organic food and I can honestly say, my monthly food purchaser are not any higher and I'm eating much better.

    Let the sheep eat soylent green.

    Has anyone tried crickets? I'm very curious about them and would like to try them if anyone has a suggestion as to a safe producer.
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    • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 2 months ago
      You can find them online - I believe both canned and dried. I looked up the site once, but did not actually order any of the exotic offerings. Maybe you should send a recommendation to Consumers Digest that they do an article comparing edible cricket sources. :S

      Jan (I hope I did that sarcastic emoticon right.)
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    • Posted by Kittyhawk 10 years, 1 month ago
      If you want to try just a few flavored, dried crickets, check in the gift shop of a science center/museum near you. (Guess what my 6-year-old daughter picked for a souvenir.) They also had meal-worms. I think the choices were barbecue, or sour cream and onion. And then there were scorpion lollipops...
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      • Posted by $ Susanne 10 years, 1 month ago
        Crickets, breaded, with lemon and deep fried, are quite yummy... kind of like a super-crispy wild calamari. And Scorpions and Lobster are not that distantly related... ;-)
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        • Posted by Kittyhawk 10 years, 1 month ago
          Did you find a place to buy crickets, or did you hunt them yourself? Or were they served at a restaurant?

          I've had lobster, and my grandfather shared some chocolate-covered ants with me when I was a kid, but I've never tried crickets.
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          • Posted by $ Susanne 10 years, 1 month ago
            Not a fan of ants - wile they were quite spicy (I like hot food) they were rather bitter... strane combo.

            We used to set out cricket (grasshopper) traps when I was young to use as fish bait... on a dare I fried some up, and found them rather quite darned good. These were our local NW California golden stripers - not too big, not too small, not gooey, not mealy - I've wondered why, since then, they're not well accepted, as they're quite good (No wonder the golden browns and rainbows leap at them!)

            Lobster is, well, lobster. If it's right, it IS awesome, but it is more picky than black truffle... a friend of mine is from Maine, Lobster family, used to go back for a month for harvest every year... always wanted to go out on the boats with him, both because I found it fascinating and he was DD gorgeous..broke my heart when we were at an event, and I a 3rd party intro'd me to his wife (of like 20 years), so glad I didn't make a total fool of myself... she was also from the far NE, old family Lithuanian, and a truly awesome person. all in all, wonderful people, and I think of them often!
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            • Posted by Kittyhawk 10 years, 1 month ago
              Awesome stories! My family was more the eat-at-restaurants type, no hunting or fishing, but I'm fascinated by foraging and keep showing them weeds I've found in the area which are edible. My favorite foods growing up were pizza, lobster, and escargot -- but I think the latter two were because they were served drenched in butter.
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    • Posted by jimjamesjames 10 years, 2 months ago
      I don't know about producers of crickets, but when I was in grad school, a foreign student from Peru brought some fried crickets and ants to try. Not bad, would go very well with home brew ale.
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  • Posted by JoleneMartens1982 10 years, 2 months ago
    Our family has always eaten a lot of processed foods, mostly because the hubby and I were working. But we have drastically changed our diets since I quit my job to start the farm. It took us a while to get our gut bacteria back on track, but our Dr suggested Florijen and we've all been much better since. And its not a constant prescription, it is over the counter and contains more different types of bacteria so it is one of the better probiotics to use. Its been a gut saver around here, it is amazing how much a sick tummy can ruin your state of mind.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 10 years, 2 months ago
    So the food hoarders store to last a long time after the predicted socioeconomic collapse will get terminal tummy aches.
    We're all gonna die!
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  • Posted by khalling 10 years, 2 months ago
    what products are we eating (well not me-I eat no processed stuff except ...welll no processed food that I know of) that include these ingrediants. I didn't see anything in the article
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    • Posted by UncommonSense 10 years, 2 months ago
      Oh come now, you know you want to have more Fritos with your Mt. Dew. I'll trade you for a twinkie.

      (blech) Hey, the good thing about Fritos is, you can start a fire with them if you're in a situation in which you need to start one. Yep, and to think your stomach has to digest that stuff. Nasty.
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      • Posted by khalling 10 years, 2 months ago
        wow. haven't had a frito in ages. I kinda miss them
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        • Posted by RobertFl 10 years, 2 months ago
          Fritos are good for starting fires, you should keep a bag in you BOB, just in case.
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          • Posted by $ Susanne 10 years, 2 months ago
            I'm looking at a bag of the little jewels on my desk as I type this - made of "corn, corn oil, and salt" (and no emulsifiers), just a little greasy, a healthy dose of saturated fat, plenty of sodium - and they still taste just as good as they did when I was a kid.

            I'm surprised (and very glad) the dotgov hasn't regulated them out of business...
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            • Posted by $ puzzlelady 10 years, 2 months ago
              I'm with you, Susanne. And except for wondering if they're made with GMO corn, I consume them (Scoops) in reasonable quantities. Great with bean dip (also only safe ingredients). I'm a compulsive label reader.
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