How did we get it so wrong?

Mod. Edit. This post and subsequent 4 replies have been copied (but not removed) from another thread as they are more relevant here.

Well now, you see, this taps in to the whole discussion about the almost straight dichotomy that there is between that which is nice and that which is healthy.

I have often mentioned here the problem I have with dishes that I would like to make but have the difficulty that my wife will object to them on the grounds of them being unhealthy. It might then be a surprise, a contradiction, a little slice of human reality for me to record, that when I cook sausages I tend to grill them. It is my wife who objects to how dry they are when you grill them and insists on pan frying them.

But if you do grill them, have you seen just how much fat runs off them – even if you don’t prick them first? And the truth is, if you fry them, you are eating all of that fat.

Ah but get this, you are bringing back a memory from my days as an apprentice. Working for Beloit Walmsley at their training school in the Denvale Mill on Union Road. Okay, quick tangent. Union Road in Bolton. There is a famous Gracie Fields film which finishes with her gustily singing a song as crowds gather around her. As the end titles roll, the camera retreats skywards to show you the size of this crowd around her as Gracie soars to the high finish. That scene was shot on Union Road in Bolton.

So, what has this got to do with sausages? Well, during my apprenticeship days in the Denvale Mill, we, all too often, would walk along Union Road at lunch time to a chip shop that served the most delicious sausages and chips you have ever eaten. It was later pointed out to me just why those sausages were so good. Chip Shop? Yup, They deep fried them. All I can say is. probably the only reason I got away with it is precisely because I was just sixteen years old at the time.
 
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Ken Natton said:
Well now, you see, this taps in to the whole discussion about the almost straight dichotomy that there is between that which is nice and that which is healthy.

I have often mentioned here the problem I have with dishes that I would like to make but have the difficulty that my wife will object to them on the grounds of them being unhealthy. It might then be a surprise, a contradiction, a little slice of human reality for me to record, that when I cook sausages I tend to grill them. It is my wife who objects to how dry they are when you grill them and insists on pan frying them.

But if you do grill them, have you seen just how much fat runs off them – even if you don’t prick them first? And the truth is, if you fry them, you are eating all of that fat.

Ah but get this, you are bringing back a memory from my days as an apprentice. Working for Beloit Walmsley at their training school in the Denvale Mill on Union Road. Okay, quick tangent. Union Road in Bolton. There is a famous Gracie Fields film which finishes with her gustily singing a song as crowds gather around her. As the end titles roll, the camera retreats skywards to show you the size of this crowd around her as Gracie soars to the high finish. That scene was shot on Union Road in Bolton.

So, what has this got to do with sausages? Well, during my apprenticeship days in the Denvale Mill, we, all too often, would walk along Union Road at lunch time to a chip shop that served the most delicious sausages and chips you have ever eaten. It was later pointed out to me just why those sausages were so good. Chip Shop? Yup, They deep fried them. All I can say is. probably the only reason I got away with it is precisely because I was just sixteen years old at the time.
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Ah, @Ken Natton, you presuppose that fat is bad for you. I would urge you, as an engineer and frustrated scientist, to examine the flawed evidence behind the demonisation of fat. Start with Ancil Keys. There is a thread about it on here somewhere. It frustrates and saddens me that so many otherwise intelligent people blindly follow the 'fat is bad for you' mantra whilst turning a blind eye to the staggering amounts of refined sugars they consume, hidden away in processed 'healthy' foods.
 
epicuric said:
Ah, @Ken Natton, you presuppose that fat is bad for you. I would urge you, as an engineer and frustrated scientist, to examine the flawed evidence behind the demonisation of fat. Start with Ancil Keys. There is a thread about it on here somewhere. It frustrates and saddens me that so many otherwise intelligent people blindly follow the 'fat is bad for you' mantra whilst turning a blind eye to the staggering amounts of refined sugars they consume, hidden away in processed 'healthy' foods.
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Yes its a fascinating subject. So much nutritional health advice is based on flawed (and rather dated) studies. The problem is that its virtually impossible to conduct controlled nutritional studies in humans without locking large numbers of people up and monitoring everything they eat over a period of many, many years! The same goes for salt. There is almost no solid evidence that it affects blood pressure - but the NHS still promote the idea.
 
epicuric said:
Ah, @Ken Natton, you presuppose that fat is bad for you. I would urge you, as an engineer and frustrated scientist, to examine the flawed evidence behind the demonisation of fat. Start with Ancil Keys. There is a thread about it on here somewhere. It frustrates and saddens me that so many otherwise intelligent people blindly follow the 'fat is bad for you' mantra whilst turning a blind eye to the staggering amounts of refined sugars they consume, hidden away in processed 'healthy' foods.
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Yes, I am aware that the very devil is free sugar. And yes, I understand that fat is not necessarily as bad as it was once thought to be. But still, the point about saturated fats and their tendency to fur up the arteries does remain the truth. You maybe shouldn't hold up a crucifix to an occasional good, hearty cooked breakfast, but on the other hand, excessive amounts of fat and too little exercise are a bad combination. The connection between the diet and the high incidence of heart disease in Scotland is not about sugar.
 
I have fairly recently done two different nutrition courses, and they both contradict each other regarding some foods and medications, but not where sugar is concerned. One of my medications contains four sweeteners (two natural, two artificial). I have been taking this for two years now, and must take it for at least another three years, if not another eight years. Although the amount of sweeteners in the medication is quite small, I hate to think how much this all adds up to. To counteract the side effects, they recommend you take statins, which I do. I have noticed, though, that if I eat anything sweet, I feel quite ill, and I can only assume that it is because of the sweeteners in these tablets. They are like horse pills, and you have to chew them, and even that makes me feel nauseous. I haven't taken sugar for years and have always avoided foods that have a lot of sugar in them (although I do enjoy the occasional piece of cake), so you can imagine the effects these tablets have on my system.
 
morning glory said:
The Mail just picks up on news releases - I expect it was covered in other papers too. The Mail, for all its very considerable faults carries a lot of articles on nutrition.
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The article on eye problems and vision mentioned at the end of that article is good too. Unfortunately it only covers one of the eye problems I have (cataracts).
 
Cinisajoy said:
Congratulations.
Now on the food industry, it seems producer of X hires a "scientist" to prove X is good but Y is bad. Of course Y hires a different scientist to prove X is bad.
Note: there is not one meat industry but 3 main ones. Beef, pork and chicken. In years past all three have come out with studies showing their product is best.
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This. So much this.

I listen to a few podcasts when I'm driving & one I listened to recently was about the sugar industry and how much misinformation they contributed to the fat vs sugar debate. In the United States especially big business and government are in each other's pockets to a massive extent and we are often misinformed. The commonly excepted truth that "artificial sweeteners" are cancer causing is another load of BS promoted by the sugar industry.


I wrote a paper for a class a few years ago that had me reading loads of nutrition papers... so much conflicting info out there, you always need to follow the money and see not only who did the research but who funded it.
 
Frizz1974 said:
This. So much this.

I listen to a few podcasts when I'm driving & one I listened to recently was about the sugar industry and how much misinformation they contributed to the fat vs sugar debate. In the United States especially big business and government are in each other's pockets to a massive extent and we are often misinformed. The commonly excepted truth that "artificial sweeteners" are cancer causing is another load of BS promoted by the sugar industry.


I wrote a paper for a class a few years ago that had me reading loads of nutrition papers... so much conflicting info out there, you always need to follow the money and see not only who did the research but who funded it.
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Well now if you feed a rat its weight in artificial sweetners, it can and will develop health problems.
 
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