“You Are What You Eat” Is Just A Subtle Form Of Thinspiration
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Pinterest is funny: On one end of the recipe board spectrum, you’ve got foodies and health nerds pinning kale and chia seed salads alongside artisanal granola bars and gluten-free truffle muffins. On the other, the general aesthetic seems to be “creative ways to assemble processed food.” As the holiday season escalates, Pinterest seems more full than ever of gross recipes. More
In a study that compared USDA nutritional guidelines with what Americans are actually eating each day, researchers determined that here in the good old US of A, we basically eat like crap. This certainly isn’t news, but it’s still disheartening. More
Let’s stop this America, yeah? Because, frankly, the rate at which type-2 diabetes is taking over this country — a new report shows cases doubled in most states over a 16-year period — is embarrassing, not to mention opening us up for a whole slew of future health disasters. And we’re just letting it happen. Why? More
Look, I know it’s popular during election season to paint Republicans and Democrats as totally different species, but this takes the (mutually enjoyed by left and right) cake. In “Divided by Politics, United by Food,” it’s clear USA Today really, really, reallllly wanted to be able to tell you that the folks in “red states” and “blue states” enjoy vastly different cuisines. But – alas! – the facts don’t support this, so instead made a great big interactive infographic highlighting the very few, very small differences it found. Rest assured that we now know red state residents eat 2% more beans with dinner that blue state adults. More
We’re relentlessly bombarded with how poor the standard American diet is, so it may come as a bit of a surprise that most Americans do get enough vitamins and nutrients. A report published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found only about 10% of the population have nutritional deficiencies. More
So market research company NPD Group released its latest on what’s in America’s kitchens. It’s designed as a tool for food companies and appliance manufacturers, but the results are also an interesting snapshot of what we eat and keep ‘on hand’—including a lot of dairy and eggs (sometimes I forget how many places in America one in five people isn’t vegan) and some more surprising staples, like soy sauce and canned pumpkin. When we talk about the Standard American Diet, here’s what we’re actually talking about. More
There’s a saying that if you change behaviors, hearts and minds will follow. There’s another that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Both of these came to my mind when reading this much-crowed-about recent study from food research firm Tectonic which found that while American’s talk of wanting healthier fast food options, we still routinely choose burgers over salads at the restaurant counter (and, yes, we want fries with that). But far from showing how hopeless the healthy eating situation in America is, I think it’s more of an indication of why ‘healthy’ fast food is the wrong route to push. More
Since writing Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan has become the poster boy for politically-correct eating, and with the release of his newest book, Food Rules, he’s even become something of a demi-god in the world of modern nutrition. So I was thrilled to find that the New York Times had convinced him to answer readers’ questions in last weekend’s Food & Drink issue of T Magazine, but when I excitedly peeled it open to pore over his latest scriptures, I felt flatly disappointed by his advice. It turns out, Michael Pollan’s probably not the savior who can save America from obesity. More
A little good news on the nutrition front: Americans are more aware of the health benefits of specific foods than they were a decade ago, according to a survey released yesterday by the International Food Information Council, with nine out of 10 able to name a food and its related health benefit (up from about three-quarters of those surveyed in 1998). But it also seems we’re becoming increasingly delusional about our health and diets, too. More
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You are what you eat might be one of the most overused health cliches, but Mark Menjivar has given it a new spin with his portrait series of the same name. His subjects faces and bodies don’t figure into the photos at all; instead, he photographs their uncensored refrigerators; surprisingly interesting stuff. More
High in veggies, fish-based Omega 3’s and good fats, the so-called ‘Mediterranean Diet’ is often held up as the holy grail of healthy eating—so why are Mediterranean residents getting bigger? More
Journey back with me, to a time when butter was considered one of the “basic seven” food groups, housewives cowered in fear of exploding ketchup bottles, ‘Aunt Sammy’ broadcast radio recipes dreamed up by the Bureau of Home Economics, and 80 percent of the population lived under bans on yellow margarine (pink margarine was okay). More
Normally, our Flashback Friday posts gives us a chance to laugh about the ridiculous products, exercises, and health habits of yesterday, but today, a post on NPR’s health blog, Shots, made us stop laughing and start thinking about the problems hiding behind all those funny ads. NPR’s Scott Hensley took his own trip down memory lane; his gallery of old-fashioned advertising included a variety of outlandish slogans and products; our favorites were the Obesity Soap from 1903 and a 1940′s ad for Bile Beans, above. His interest in the ads was inspired by a panel discussion at the Library of Congress on obesity and weight loss in modern times, which seemed to indicate that America’s concerns with weight and health began much earlier than we thought. More
