Eat This Newsletter 105: junk science
Hello
There seems to be a dearth of interesting news about food these days. Maybe that’s a summer lull, which would reflect my northern hemisphere bias. Maybe it is just that I keep seeing the same old same old. No matter the reason, here’s what I’ve found. And there is one piece of news that I hope will be of genuine interest. The podcast will return next Monday, 12 August.
Two diet hacks
I’m firmly of the opinion that actual diets where you eat 50g of this now and 100g of that then and everything will change for the better are not worth much. The best dietary advice I know of is Colin Tudge’s prescription from 1980:
Plenty of plants, not much meat, and maximum variety.
What to do, though, if you are stuck in a place that just won’t let you get there? A recovering “food addict” – his term, not mine – offers two radical obesity interventions. I’m not recommending either one, but the reasoning appeals to me and might be of interest. I should add that if you are into photography, Mike Johnston’s site is a gold mine.
Junk science
And if you’re wondering how it is that people become food addicts, part of the reason may be staring us in the face: Junk food encourages overeating. Say it isn’t so!
And, regardless of what I think, it would be remiss of me not to link to a couple of other items on the subject: In defence of ‘ultra-processed’ foods and Food processing: The Advantages of Processed Foods. Read them, see the connections to Big Food, and draw your own conclusions.
The first one came via Robert Shewfelt, who prompted my most recent writings about ultra-processed food. Here’s one of my takeaways from that piece. The authors say that:
Ultra-processed foods may play a part in an unhealthy lifestyle, but cannot be considered the main contributor. In fact, there is a stronger association in the United States between obesity rates and income inequality than there is between obesity rates and ultra-processed foods.
What that suggests to me is that poor people buy cheap calories; that those calories are formulated in such a way as to make them more enticing only adds to the problems. Maybe the real issue here is income inequality.
Really, authentically real
Is it really almost three years since Amatrice was obliterated by an earthquake? Yes. At which point, I could list all the different interpretations of pasta all’Amatriciana and its history, if it weren’t for the fact that hot air about the only proper way to prepare anything leaves me cold. However, Stephen Hall’s hunt for the real pasta all’Amatriciana is, in my opinion, the exception that proves the rule. It is full of insight, understanding and appreciation of the place and its eponymous pasta sauce. If I didn’t think I’d be trampled underfoot, I’d be making plans to go to the revived Sagra dell’Amatriciana at the end of the month.
That’s all for now. Thanks to everyone who recommended this newsletter to a friend. I’ll be back next Monday with a fresh episode of Eat This Podcast
All the best,
Jeremy