Monday, March 17, 2008

There Ought to Be a Law Against These Sacred Cows For Breakfast......


AND YOU THOUGHT GLOBAL WARMING WAS CONTROVERSIAL: FOOD FIGHTS ARE CENTURIES OLDER AND EVEN MORE POLARIZED. TRILLIONS SPENT ON THE DEBATE.

These kinds of foods for breakfast, or anytime of day, in my opinion, sets us up with high blood sugar and insulin levels all day and night. It sets us up for sugar/starch cravings and huge blood sugar drops later in the morning, or other times of day. It sets us up for attention deficit, depression, Alzheimers, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, yeast infections, stroke and a myriad of other health and energy problems as we age.

Oh yes it does. Oh yes it does, if we live on these routines on a daily basis. Why would you listen to what the government is telling you about the way you should eat? The cereal and oatmeal industry is almost as bad as the tobacco lobby.

The current food pyramid---as promulgated by our federal government---is a monumental joke. It needs to stick to national defense and bringing back the dollar.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

LOL. Actually, there should be a law against dangerous frauds like Gary Taubes, but with people like Matthew Lesko running around selling his book to unsuspecting people, I guess they'll let everybody get away with it.

I'm picturing Taubes in a question mark suit now as I write.

Webutante said...

Tom, I think you should actually read Taubes book before you take it to task. He merely reports studies dating back 200 years in England and France that other doctors and health authorities have come up with. Taubes, when he started, was not a believer in all this low carb stuff, but as he delved deeper, he began to understand.

This is not Taubes original work or theory. He is merely doing a masterful job at reporting and reseach. If you're interested in diet and nutrition, then you owe it to yourself to read his book.

Again, I know much of what Taubes is reporting is true for me because of my own body. And I'm a believer as a result and for the most part.

Anonymous said...

...and I was a believer in this kind of diet long, long before I ever heard of Gary Taubes.

Anonymous said...

"The oatmeal industry"? I've lived in DC on and off since 1994, and I must confess, I've never heard a word about the all-powerful oatmeal industry.

All I know about oatmeal is this: my kids love it on cold days. With very little bit of brown sugar and some 2% milk, it keeps their tummies full and happy. Compared to some of the awful sugar cereals out there, I'll take oatmeal for my kids (unfortunately, I'm allergic to it so I stay away).

What's your take on yogurt? I eat it every day for a variety of reasons, and I swear by its health benefits.

Anonymous said...

Vienna, I can't disagree with steel cut, long cooking oats, as opposed to instant oatmeal, occasionally on cold days and when I'm going out to do vigorous exercise. I too love oatmeal, but eat it sparingly.

I think plain, real yogurt is fine as long as you leave out the sugary jam in most. I personally prefer a several good goat cheeses for the same reasons. But I can't quarrel with plain and unsweetened yogut at all.

I also think a really good peanut butter on whole grain toast--without the jellies--is great for kids in the morning.

Unknown said...

Web:

Whoops. I see you're not in the mood to laugh this morning. But I was "bananas" yesterday!! ;-)

I'm interested in keeping this conversation very light-hearted, Jane, and my criticisms directed squarely on Taubes, not you. I don't care if I irritate liberals, but I do care if I irritate you. :-)

Trust me. I've read enough about Gary Taubes to know exactly what he's all about. Someone who picks and chooses his data and distorts and misrepresents the facts to promote his agenda.

Bananas and now Orange Juice is evil but more saturated fat isn't? Don't forget what your parents taught you. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

I think an even better analogy than using Matthew Lesko would be to compare him to scientists in the ongoing Global Warming/Climate Change scam...but the Lesko comparison does fit to a certain extent. They both like to make money off of unsuspecting folks. I had a similar experience with a book on exercise. I learned my lesson and moved on.

All forthcoming in my essay. I'll be providing detailed links from Taubes himself, and of course, from the other (the "dark") side. ;-)

I don't expect you to believe it though, because I think you're in so deep you're never coming back. At least you'll see the other side (or at least the opportunity to) and see that I've read his point of view. That's what I really hope to accomplish.

You should really follow your own advice, by the way. If you actually believe the MyPyramid Plan promotes a processed stack of pancakes with an avalanche of butter and syrup to go along with it, then I would suggest you actually read it before you take it to task. It doesn't promote processed food of any kind--it promotes whole foods.

Serious question--out of simple curiosity, no ulterior motives here--why did you buy Taubes' book if you were already sold on this kind of diet prior to hearing about his book?

I read your comments from your previous post--the Perfect Breakfast one--and there are a lot of foods that we both consume. We have a lot more in common on this topic than our comments on it would suggest.

Have a good morning Web. :-)

Anonymous said...

Well, not suprisingly, I don't eat plain yogurt. I tend to the raspberry or mixed berry kinds.

Peanut butter is not a fave in our house - I'm also allergic to that -but the kids do eat whole wheat toast or bagels with a touch of butter. Combine that with a bowl of cheerios and 2% milk and a glass of juice....a healthy breakfast in my book. If I gave them a breakfast of asparagus, leeks and cabbage, I'd never hear the end of the complaining. :)

I think the one thing that sets my kids apart from others their ages is they drink no sodas. Milk, juice (orange, apple or cranberry) and water is what they drink. I've seen kids their age down 1-2 sodas per day. it's bad enough for adults to drink them... but kids? Not for mine, thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Tom. Don't worry, a couple of bananas will never get in the way of a good friendship. Sorry the double entendre joke flew over my head....I was thinking about getting together with my former husband yesterday and also taxes, so I was a bit preoccupied.

Vienna, I'm sure you give your boys the best. And if that ever changes, then you can always try new things.

These are my choices from long standing health issues and they very much work for me. And the jury is still out....after all I'm just 39....

Anonymous said...

"after all I'm just 39...."

Hey, you're just a few years older than me! How come your kids are so much older?? :)

Anonymous said...

immaculate conception.....next question....

Unknown said...

"immaculate conception.....next question...."

LOL! Then how do you explain your ability to use your wiles and "seduce" me into breaking my Lenten promise, and commenting on your blog before Easter?

You...you...temptress! ;-)

That's right--it's all your fault. Not mine at all. It's a vast (insert random blame here) conspiracy.

Anonymous said...

I don't know how these things happened...but I'll be praying for you and me both.

Is there any way I can make it up to you...like perhaps sending you or your church a gift box of bananas...??

Unknown said...

"Is there any way I can make it up to you...like perhaps sending you or your church a gift box of bananas...??"

HA! Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. I'll consume your allotment of bananas and orange juice (I'm "bananas" over these two items) if you agree to consume my allotment of coffee. It occasionally stirs up my very mild form of PVC (interesting read), and I only notice it after consuming coffee, so I only indulge in a mocha once every 6 months or so.

I get my caffeine fix from a few of the Lipton Green Tea products, which has about 20% of the caffeine coffee contains.

Anonymous said...

Good deal, Tom, as long as it's organic, black and half decaf and half leaded. I'm not as big on coffee except in the mornings as I used to be. I prefer mellow as I slide into the evening hours.

This has been fun, as always.

And it's always fun with Vienna too. I'm off to work on Groom's dinner invitations...

Ellen said...

The cereal and oatmeal industry is almost as bad as the tobacco lobby.



I agree, as is the drug company lobby.

I find it a fascinating study in hypocrisy when you pan the tobacco lobby... yet support this same lobby that forms the basis of the global warming denialist movement. Groups like George C. Marshall Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hudson Institute, National Center for Policy Analysis, National Center for Public Policy Research all have received tobacco industry money in an effort to "prove" second hand smoke not harmful and tobacco not addictive or carcinogenic... these are precisely the same groups that are spearheading the global warming denialist movement. Great and credible movement you have there. Ethical too! Frederick Seitz who died last week, was the kingpin of the denialist movement. Google him sometime.

Unknown said...

Ellen:

Count me as a proud "denialist". Science by consensus isn't science. The Climate Change scientific community will never be able to use the testing and experimentation phase of the Scientific Method. That's far too important of a phase to leave out and then declare, with complete assurance, that the hypothesis in question is supported. Google the Scientific Method sometime.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming--the topic was on nutrition. Your broad swipe at conservative institutions and global warming "deniers" has nothing to do with that. Could you at least please recite your pre-scripted talking points on that topic alone?

Anonymous said...

Tom beat me to the punch, Ellen. While both of us are global warming denialists, that was not the topic of this post and therefore is for another day.

Any further comments on food and nutrition are fair game.