One of the worst exports from the US is its food culture. Namely ultra-processed beige foods that contain all manner of addictive chemicals.  This SAD diet (standard American diet) is slowly killing America. 

70 percent of the population is overweight or obese, and 40 percent have metabolic syndrome, which means they suffer from obesity, bad cholesterol, or elevated blood sugar. Seventy-three thousand limbs are amputated every year in the US because of diabetes. 

This British public look like they are heading in the same direction. According to the journalist Boudicca Fox-Leonard back in 1950, 1 percent of the UK population was obese. Today it’s 28 percent. The corresponding figure is in the teens in Spain, Italy, and France – although they are arguably on the same trajectory, just a little bit behind us. McDonald’s is now France’s biggest restaurant group.

The consequences of eating like this aren’t just limited to the physical. A recent study showed a correlation with those consuming more than one serving of fried food per day had a 12% higher risk of anxiety and a 7% higher risk for depression than non-consumers. Although the study didn’t say differentiate between people who ate fried food because they were depressed or if they were depressed because they ate fried food, the conclusion was that things like French fries, hash browns, and bacon should be limited to once a month!

But the problem isn’t about willpower. These kinds of food are typically calorie-dense, low in soluble fiber, and high in sugar and fat. The very foods we have evolved to seek out and prize above others because, evolutionary speaking, they were rare. Now they are everywhere, and our physiology hasn’t caught up yet.

 I see this with my children. Health influencers say that children will copy their parents and all you have to be is a good role model…err…I’m pretty sure the people who say that don’t have children. My kids will sacrifice their left arms for some sugary treats and a cookie, whereas trying to get them to eat a plate of vegetables is almost impossible. By contrast, all they see me eat is home-prepared whole foods…so what gives? It’s the addictive nature of the food plus our culture. If the kids had never eaten white bread, cookies, and sugary drinks and only stuck with unprocessed, whole foods, I might have had a chance…but birthday cake and grandparents’ treats abound; it’s a losing battle right from the start.

 So what can we do about it? 

The pharmaceutical companies are positioning themselves as knights in shining armor by creating the first generation of anti-obesity drugs. A pill may help people who are unable to break the addiction by other means, but something doesn’t sit well with me when we have to use a manmade drug to solve a manmade problem when nature already has the answer. 

Whole foods, regular exercise, quality sleep, good stress management strategies, and a strong community are all things that will help us keep healthy. They can help us avoid the slippery slope of eating ultra-processed beige foods and ending up another statistic. 

 Do you struggle with food addictions, let me know in the comments below.

 Sources:

 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fried-foods-french-fries-linked-to-anxiety-depression#Implications

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/30/britains-obesity-epidemic-crushing-nhs/

I recently attended a course on lifestyle coaching for high performers (#hintsa) and studied a module on nutrition. I had someone analyze what I eat, and they recommended increasing my protein! 

We constantly hear in the news about how there is too much protein in the Western diet and how ‘we’ generally overeat it.

However, protein is essential for health, and so are fats for that matter but carbs…well…we can live perfectly happily without carbs, so they are not essential for health.

But here’s the thing, when a person is trying to lose weight, they generally cut down on portion sizes across the board. I.e., a little less fat, carbs, protein, and smaller meals. This can be a good strategy, but protein should not be considered a percentage of your diet. It’s a set amount. For example, the British Heart Foundation suggests, 

 “Most adults need around 0.75g of protein per kilo of body weight per day (for the average woman, this is 45g, or 55g for men). That’s about two daily portions of meat, fish, nuts, or tofu. As a guide, a protein portion should fit into the palm of your hand.”

 As we age, our ability to absorb protein decreases, so our consumption should go up a little to about 1g per kilo.

Interestingly if you are looking to put on muscle, the number goes up again with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance recommending that:

• Physically active people take in 1.2 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight or 0.5 to 0.9 grams per pound of body weight, whether endurance or strength athletes.

This means that if you want to eat a smaller meal, the amount of protein you eat should not change; it’s a set amount. You should just alter the amount of fat or carbs you eat. 

If you are one of the large majority of people who eat some cereal in the morning, pasta for lunch, and then a larger meal with a beer or glass of wine in the evening, it’s easy to see how you would be not getting enough protein but overdoing the carbs. 

 In my case, I was eating only fruit in the mornings, a small portion of fish with a large portion of veggies at lunch, and then in the evenings, a bowl of soup (I’ve found that I sleep better when I don’t have a large meal in the evenings). But I’m also 45 and very active….I was not meeting my protein requirements and was remaining skinny and lightweight. 

After working through the Hintsa course, I’ve adopted a two-breakfast approach, my first consists of fruit, and my second usually consists of some carbs, fat, and a good protein source, like eggs, fish, or chicken. I also try and combine vegetable proteins into my evening soups. 

Now I know that whether or not I’m doing my endurance-type exercises or strength training, I’ll have enough protein in my diet to cover all my needs. 

This becomes all the more important as I age because a loss of lean muscle mass is associated with a shorter life, whereas the opposite is also true, the more muscle you have and the stronger you are has been shown to add healthy years to your life.