Supersize mine
By By Craig Ziemba
Nov. 24, 2002
Craig Ziemba is a pilot who lives in Meridian. He can be heard on WMOX-AM 1010 this Monday from 7:15 a.m.- 9 a.m.
The FDA's food pyramid was turned on its head recently by a new study which shows that a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fat and protein may actually not be as healthful as we had previously been led to believe.
Surprised? Don't be. Every year some new, conflicting study is released showing that sugar, cholesterol, fat or red meat will either kill you or help you live to 100.
Each new clinical study spawns its own short-lived generation of "sky is falling nutritionists," diets and exercise fads. Click on the TV or log onto the Web and you will be bombarded by infomercials touting everything from magic pills that cause fat to congeal in your stomach (insert class action advertisement here) to fancy equipment that will make you as energetic and beautiful as the paid models jumping up and down on your screen.
In reality, the multibillion-dollar diet and health industry has been a colossal flop. Never has a nation been so consumed by what they consume and never has any society been as overweight as ours. As waistlines expand, pressure has been mounting to figure out who is responsible for America's weight problems and sue them.
McDonald's now faces a lawsuit for making people fat. That same searing logic could be used to sue network television for making people stupid. When will the blame shifting end? Under which food pyramid, the old one that has been discredited, or the latest that advocates the benefits of fat, and protein, will Ronald McDonald be tried?
A couple of months ago, McDonalds changed the oils in its deep fryers to reduce trans-fatty acids (whatever the heck those are) by 50 percent. Based on the newest study, it sounds like we consumers are being gypped out of an essential part of a nutritious meal. If I get too skinny, you can bet they'll be hearing from my lawyer.
The benefits of fat and cholesterol have been ignored by a diet and exercise industry bound and determined to have us live on granola and grapefruit. As I understand it, cholesterol builds up corrosion on the walls of your arteries and thereby restricts blood flow, which raises your blood pressure and makes your heart have to pump harder. Sounds like a great way to get cardiovascular exercise to me.
Seriously, though, isn't it time we Americans shifted our focus away from trendy diets, exercise equipment and legal scapegoats? When we need to lose weight, wouldn't it be much simpler to turn off the TV, turn down seconds and go for a walk?
The easiest things are sometimes the hardest to do. We always feel like we need to buy something, to join something or to reach for some unrealistic physical goal. As a result, we forego doing the simple things in favor of the complex and achieve nothing.
Nutritional theory comes and goes. The Soloflex I bought became an extra piece of furniture to hang clothes on. Last year's diet books are this year's yard sale giveaways. The only health formula that really stands the test of time is moderation and exercise, but that won't sell merchandise.
I had a grandfather who was a college athlete and was trim and fit before he died of a massive heart attack at 55. My other grandfather never exercised a day in his life, smeared bacon grease on his biscuits, ate Polish sausage and died in his sleep at 93. We may control the quality of our life through diet and exercise, but the quantity is out of our hands.
This holiday season I'm going to enjoy hearty meals with my family, relax and jog a little. Carpe diem (Latin for "supersize mine"), tomorrow we may be pushing up daisies.
