I say eat what you like, but in moderation. In a joking manner I tell folks that hotdogs are the safest food you can eat, simply because there is not enough of any one thing in them that can kill you.
My stepdaughter doesn't eat meat, but will eat cheese and eggs. She says she simply doesn't like the taste of meat. I can buy that. I don't care for the taste of celery either, but I do like my fish cooked and my steaks blood rare.
I suspect there are people who are better suited for eating meat and others who are better off not. I was reading in a recent issue of Fortune (isn't that the best place for nutrition information) that metabolic rates are vastly different between people, so while the federal guidelines for caloric intake vs body mass might be great averages, there are plenty of people outside the norms. So what really was needed was a way to derive individual resting metabolic rates.
I'm sure this is also true for digestive systems and dietary needs. I drink about 1/2 gallon of skim milk every day. My wife can hardly stand ice cream or other dairy products. The very same is true with my grandmother.
Then there is my grandmother's aunt (is that my great great aunt?) 102 years old last fall, mind sharp as a tack, but she really can't walk anymore, so she's in the nursing home giving the staff heck. She wants black coffee and bacon for breakfast.
When I'm 102 and I want black coffee and bacon or a steak for breakfast, I better darn well get it. Don't you think I've earned the privelege of choosing my food after a century of life, LOL?
I will agree with the notion that we eat too many prepared or convenience foods, and certainly too much fat and sugar. However, I don't agree that a particular food itself is bad for you, but only when foods are overweighted in your diet do they become a problem.
There is one thing wrong with the argument that we have to spend a lot on the healthcare of the fat. Seems we will have to spend a lot on the healthcare of everybody at the end of their life. Also, living healthy is no guarantee you won't be sick.
I had a very healthy lifestile right up to the point when I was diagnosed with cancer. I worked out 6 days a week, ate a pretty balanced diet that avoided most junk and fast foods. (Although hotwings and beer were enjoyed on occassion.) Still I had to undergo a couple of operations and chemotherapy.
I guess my point is we are all different, and what works for one may not work for another. So find what works for you instead of trusting those selling you what they have. This includes those who sell foods, snacks, books or diets.
TB
37, Balding, my last prescription medication was chemoterapy drugs in Oct 1994. No prescriptions prior to that either other than pain killers, which I never took.
PS, No cavities yet either.
