Fat people and education

In the middle of an informal gathering, I joined a conversation about the concept of fat tax, junk food tax, or whatever.  The current food demon is sugar, and this particular conversation was about a proposed sugar tax in New Zealand. Still, wherever you are, you have had something similar in the distant past.

The conversation centered on how taxing any particular food is government over-intervention. They all agreed the effort was another way to get people to eat "healthier." Most felt an aura of moral obligation; it was a well-meaning conversation about improving people's general eating habits. We all agreed that foods have varying levels of usefulness, nutrition, and substance for every person. Food has absolutely no moral value. It is not good or bad; it is just food.

A repeated suggestion was to "educate" people about food and its origins. Poor people, in particular, need this education.  That is crap. Wealthy investors want to continue to use any means to increase the profits of the genetic foods they produce.  That includes slave labor and abuse.

All people already understand food.  Let me give you an example.

As I drive each morning to go to work, I pass a Domino's pizza franchise.  The other day, I noticed a poster for a meat-lovers pizza in their window. The calorie count was in a font twice the size of the price of the actual pizza. A third of the page was taken up with the calorie count.  It is deemed more important to tell people how many calories are in a pizza than the price of that pizza.  Who actually thinks that anyone likely to buy a meat-lover pizza is either ignorant or cares about the calorie count?  Either you're buying it because it's dirt-cheap and will fill the bellies of a hungry family, or you just want a greasy pizza and care about calories. You could put the calories in a big scary font with flames coming out of it saying that you'll go to hell for eating it, and people would still buy it because they want it or because they have no other option that suits their needs.

I really do have a problem with the concept of educating people about food. Particularly when it's aimed at poor people, who are statistically the biggest consumers of fast/processed food.  This is because fast/processed food is CHEAP.   The attitude that poor people need to be educated about food is classism.  It almost always comes from the wealthy.

A poor person knows about food and its value better than any affluent person. As someone who has lived through poverty, I can tell you we know EVERY single thing about the food we are spending the tiny bit of money we have to fill our stomachs. I would spend so much time looking at a price, not nutritional.  I wanted the most filling, calorie-loaded food that would last the longest for the least amount of money possible.  Poor people aren't ignorant. They're poor. They're not choosing fast food because they don't know any better; they're; they're it because it's cheap, easy, filling, and available.

One person said fat people are ignorant about food; do they know which foods are "good" and which are "bad."  I am ."fat man.  I can tell you the approximate calorie count of pretty much any food.  I can probably tell you how many Weight Watchers points it is, whether or not it is allowed on the Atkins diet, what crabs are in it, how many grams of fat, and in most cases, what the key ingredients are.  I have been forcefully "educated" about food since I was young and am now 52.  I have spent decades calculating every little fact about food because I have spent decades dieting and with disordered eating habits.   I bet I am not in the minority of fat people who have been forcefully "educated" about food their whole lives, too.  Fat people are the least ignorant people about the nutritional information of food.  Poor people are the least ignorant people about the nutritional information about food. 

We must make it cheap to help people eat more nutritious, fresh food. First, people need a living wage.  If we pay the fast food restaurant worker a living wage, the price may equal that of healthy food.  Imagine if you've worked a 16-hour d16-hour to cover your rent and bills, you need more time to shop for prepatovegetables. You have kids you have hardly seen, who are hungry, and very little money to feed them; you need something quick, hot, and filling available now.  That is the highly processed and inexpensive food where they just worked 16 hours daily.

Enough ranting.  Seriously, it is time for me to be more concerned about being a fat man. My biggest issue is the addictive chemical; the low-cost food is designed to keep me coming back for more.  Withdrawal symptoms, here we come!

Carry on…

Valentines day 2015

I have never been much of a human who celebrates special days. A birthday, holiday, or other event has always been another day. That is how I was raised, and unfortunately, a trait I carried onward to my son. I learned so many things after the fact, and I wish I had taught my son to appreciate and cherish special days with more heart. Just another regret!

This is the first year I have had no choice but to ignore this special day. Yesterday, I fell ill, which was the worst flu / cold I have ever experienced. I had extreme trouble breathing, couldn't stand without difficulty, and if I ate, it flowed through my body at rapid speed. It could be a better way to get out of the required/desired Valentine's Day activities, but this year, I unintentionally avoided the mad rush to celebrate a special day.

Every day should be Valentine's Day. My life would have been so different had I had the patience and heart to live each day as a special day and carry that effort forward to all I meet. Oh well, just one more regret?

I need to rush to the restroom!  Carry on, my friends!

Wheat Belly

In my opinion, Wheat Belly is a fascinating book. I recently read it and am in the process of reading it a second time. I was drawn to the book after years of frustration with eating a morsel and gaining a pound. I have also been looking at the correlation between weight gain and, obesity and depression.

I learned over the years that many clinical studies have shown obesity and depression tend to be co-morbid. That means they tend to occur together without necessarily having a cause-and-effect relationship. Scientists naturally want to explore how they are connected when conditions tend to occur together. Does obesity cause depression? Does depression cause obesity? Could there be a third factor that is driving both conditions? These are essential questions because we can better direct our research and treatment efforts once we know the answers.

I happen to believe that both obesity and depression are often driven by a third factor—our modern Western diet. It is now clear that excessive fructose, mainly from sugar and high fructose corn syrup, is the driving force behind insulin resistance and central obesity. When you have insulin resistance, it takes more insulin to drive glucose into your cells, and high insulin levels tend to trap fat inside of cells that can't be used for energy. Recent evidence suggests excessive fructose can alter gut bacteria flora, contributing to metabolic syndrome and obesity.

When you have insulin resistance and consume rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, especially from grains, you have unstable glucose levels and magnified glucose spikes. Over time, these glucose spikes can cause damage to your nerve cells because, unlike most cells in your body, neurons don't have an insulin gate. That's why diabetics tend to lose their nerve function and develop neuropathy long before other organs in their body are damaged.

Over time, these toxic glucose spikes can trigger a form of diffuse brain dysfunction, causing your brain to no longer function as intended. The first symptom you experience when this happens is a craving for sweet and starchy food, pushing you to consume more food and frying your brain. You can also develop mild brain dysfunction symptoms like I have experienced for a few years now.  This is fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, and poor sleep. At this stage of brain dysfunction, you don't yet have a disease because the symptoms are mild and variable. 

I have learned there are really two types of obesity. The most common type is associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type II diabetes. The second type (MINE) of obesity is when a person has excessive body fat without these adverse metabolic markers. This type of obesity is seen when a person or lab animal is over-fed healthy food. If you give enough nutritious food to any animal, they will eventually develop this type of obesity.

The type of obesity associated with sugar, HFCS, and grain-based carbohydrates is not dependent on calories or over-feeding. People with this form of obesity, like me, have excessive body fat, especially in the abdominal region.

After reading Wheat Belly, I looked at the correlation between both types of obesity and depression. I wanted to know about the connection between depression and people with "metabolic obesity" and those who were obese but metabolically healthy. As it turns out, people with metabolic issues were at an increased risk of later developing depression. In contrast, those who were obese without metabolic matters were not at an increased risk of developing depression.

How does this information apply to me? I would rather not be obese or depressed. If insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are the gateway to most cases of obesity and many instances of depression, the best strategy would be to prevent metabolic problems or treat them. The best way to limit my intake of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome dietary triggers is by using sugar, HFCS, and high glycemic carbohydrates, especially from grains.

Of course, this describes most processed foods that form the core of the modern American diet. I am trying hard to learn to eat real food, including meat, fowl, fish, seafood, vegetables, and fruit. I'm not a big fan of milk because of its sugar content, but a reasonable amount of cheese is acceptable. I also limit my intake of legumes because of their anti-nutrient content. Some would recognize this as a Paleo-style diet. I simply call it a healthy diet.

If I learn to eat this way, I should go a long way toward preventing the metabolic problems that seem to lead to my obesity and depression.

I know Wheat is also attributed to ADHD, PTSD, Anxiety disorders, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Irritable bowel syndrome.  I think that it's exciting, and I believe there is a connection between food and these common disorders. Think about it. Would I rather take handfuls of pills for the rest of my life, living in a daze, or simply change my diet?

This important study clearly shows the relationship between consuming certain foods and depression. In the years ahead, we will see more studies looking at the impact of diet on common chronic diseases. My next read will be Gary Taube's "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "Why We Get Fat."

I need to get a hold of this life, as the past year has been far from enjoyable.

Carry on, my friends!

R.I.P. again

In my last post, I spoke about the passing of Steve Wilkinson.  I have had three friends die in the first 34 days of 2015.  Not been a good start to 2015.

Most recently, Aaron Buffington, a fellow in my profession as well as a lover of long-distance runs, lost his battle with cancer.  I first met Aaron in work functions.  Then, I was shocked to see him at the Superior 100; I think it was in 2011.  Through 2011 and 2013, our paths crossed regularly.  It was about when his child was born, and we lost touch.  I have not seen him for a few years, but I still consider him a friend and was saddened by the news.

I did make the visitation and shared in the funeral for Steve Wilkinson last weekend.  It was a day of tears.  What amazed me most was that I met his daughters for the first time.  I was shocked when I said my name, and they instantly said, "It is nice to meet you; my dad spoke highly of your work ethic and dedication to the task being greater than anyone he knew." It floored me as I had no clue all my effort was recognized by one of the greatest human I ever met.  Steve was the best at reading people, and he knew I did not need praise to do my best; I just got it done.

It's hard to believe he's gone. What really got me was when Neal Hagberg spoke at the funeral. (The Funeral is on YouTube here.) His words were simple and very true. Steve was the eternal optimist. When I listen to the "Psychology of Winning," I think of his attitude toward life. I only wish I had not spent so much time on my career and more on a family.  

Even when Steve encountered the world's biggest jerk, he would smile, find a good thing about them, and try to promote the good in everyone.  Here is what Neil read:           

Before Steve

I did not know that an ego could be tamed with one prayer

I did not realize that fear could be conquered with a smiley-faced racket

I did not know that winning could mean losing 0-6 0-6

Or losing could mean winning 6-0 6-0

Before Steve

I did not know that simply saying a name could be the key to unlocking someone's soul.

I did not know that "thank you" was as important as "I love you."

I did not realize that having a vision meant not everyone would like you

I did not know that silence might be the best advice a person can give

Before Steve

I did not know that driving a ten-year-old car and living in the same modest house for forty years could make you rich in what matters.

I did not know that Rol-Dri-ing a court - properly - could make one old guy so happy.

I did not know that "I could" if I thought I could

Before Steve

I did not know that grief could press you down onto your mattress for hours.

And only love could make you get back up again.

And I did not know that lifting one person up could make everyone around you fly.

Including yourself.

Before Steve

I did not know that the face of life and the face of death are the same:

A smile and a high-five

What he should have added is after Steve.  That is impossible.  Everyone will move on, but for this overweight, arrogant, and aging friend, I will never forget.

Carry on, my friends, Carry on…