Hydrogenated vegetable oil or butter?

Well of course I'm generalizing, and I realize obesity and overindulgence exists in other countries as well.

However in my limited travels abroad, that include The UK and Ireland, you don't seem to have the same commercial LOVE of over indulgence.

Attitudes about eating seem different. In America, you have the Super Triple Bypass Burger...for Lunch...after you have had the Grand Slam Breakfast....

I've found portions to be more reasonable in most other places I've traveled.

My brother schooled in Denmark, and he said it took him a while to adjust to going out to dinner with other people, because their attitude about the experience was different. He found himself impatient for the food to arrive, where as he noticed that everyone elses attitude was more about the "social experience" of being out and dining together, where he had the "American" attitude of "Bring On The Grub!".

No the USA isn't the only country or place that deals with obesity and over indulgence. But we are damn good at it.

 

The americas lead the world if you eliminate pacific islanders US, Mexico,Canada, Chile, and Argentina lead the region. UK/Ireland and Australia/New Zealand though are right there with us.

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Weighty problem of obesity

They may not have the jack in the box bacon milkshake, but they do have the worlds fattest man. Most americans can make healthy choices and don't need to just follow the fast food. People in the UK work harder to secretly eat theirselves to the record books, but in many cases are outperforming us. Most places in europe don't have as many problems as UK/Ireland.

 

I'm also on Niaspan. 500 mg time-release niacin. They put me on 81 mg aspirin at the same time, to counteract the side-effects. I have noticed no side-effects, but I take the aspirin anyway because it's supposed to reduce the chances of heart attack. I'm also on 5 mg atorvastatin (generic Lipitor).

What side-effects did you get from the Niaspan? (Apart from wallet depletion, that is. The stuff is expensive.) I asked my doctor why I couldn't take over-the-counter vitamin B3, and he said it's because the Niaspan is timed release.

Cheese is very unhealthy. It's nearly pure fat, and milk fat is a very unhealthy fat. I eat pizza a few times a year. And at some of the hiking lodges I go to, the lunch selection is very slim and sometimes cheese is about the only thing to put on the bread. At last I'm burning a lot of calories walking up and down the sides of mountains all day.

It didn't used to be this way. When I was a kid, a typical breakfast was cereal with milk and juice, or a SMALL portion of bacon and eggs. (Unhealthy, but small portions). Nowadays, a lot of people's typical breakfast is Danish pastry with as many calories in breakfast alone (mostly from saturated fat) as people used to eat in a day.

At my favorite hiking lodge, they are too busy to make a proper breakfast on transfer days so they serve pastries. I skip breakfast on those days and make an extra sandwich for lunch instead. If I was running the place, I'd make a big pot of oatmeal, which is no more work than the pastries. It's healthy, it's filling, and it's easy. But that's just me. I love oatmeal. At home (when not hiking) I don't eat breakfast, so I sometimes eat oatmeal at lunch or supper.

 

That strikes me as odd. I don't mean this as a personal rebuke in any way, but I find it strange that someone as concerned with their health as you are would skip a meal, especially breakfast. Eat something healthful, absolutely, but not eating for such a long time doesn't sound like a good idea. Eating the same amount of food, spread out over more but smaller meals, will speed your metabolism. Starving your body will leave it with less energy, and simply encourage it to hang on to those calories longer. That's my theory, anyway.

edit: I'm disappointed to hear that your favourite hiking lodge doesn't have oatmeal for breakfast, along with copious amounts of fruit. It'd be a shame to have to pack in food to a luxury resort.

 

The supposed "importance" of breakfast is a myth, arising from a concerted propaganda effort by the breakfast cereal companies. Everyone's metabolism is different. My second step-father worked 14-hour days at a vigorous job which was constant heavy physical work. He did it on one meal a day, and was in such good health that when he climbed Machu Picchu and another hiker got sick, my step-father carried two packs up the mountain. Some people absolutely need food in the morning. Others absolutely cannot tolerate food in the morning. I am one of the latter. If I eat in the morning at home, I feel ill and hungry all day long, and I eat a third MORE in the course of the day than when I follow my body's individual needs and wait until noonish to eat. Not to mention that I cannot jog after eating and I don't like to jog first thing in the morning.

At the hiking lodge I do eat a small breakfast of oatmeal five days a week. Two days a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays, when the helicopter brings new guests and takes away departing guests) the small staff does not have time for a regular sit-down breakfast so they serve cinnamon rolls. I compensate with an extra sandwich for lunch.

I have never, in my entire life, seen any place as beautiful. You, who live in the province, have no doubt experienced more of it than I have. But I'll take B.C. over any place in the world, and Selkirk Mountain Experience is the best place I've seen in B.C.

Caveat: I've only been in a dozen or so places in the southeastern corner of the province and the southern Alberta Rockies. You may know of prettier places, but I'll bet none of them has a chalet with hot showers and real beds and meals. I know of another hiking lodge that's fancier and more expensive, but the hiking is not as good; and another with unacceptable accommodations and far fewer trails; and one I've never been to where you have to pack in all your gear, which my back is too weak for; and one other that looks nice but the hiking looks a bit less interesting, but which I'm going to visit this year for variety.

So the lack of a healthy breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays at S.M.E. is the smallest of defects, not even worth noticing IMO, especially since the only reason I eat breakfast at all is that they insist, and I burn a LOT of calories in a full day's hiking.

 

And I'm one of the former. We can be different; that's OK. We've each found what works best for us, which is good.

Nope. I've never stayed in a chalet. Perhaps strangely, I feel almost uncomfortable being pampered. I'm perfectly happy in the middle of nowhere all by myself. I go for the scenery, even if I have to get up before dawn, return to camp after dark, and can barely walk the next day. Hot showers and soft beds are what home is for.

Thinking about other places you may enjoy, without going the masochistic route, I'd suggest Whistler, Jasper, and Banff. Each of these areas have spectacular scenery, are relatively easy to get to, have luxury accommodations nearby, and have lifts that will carry you up the mountain and back down again. I'm sure helicopter tours are available in season, though the hotels are usually at the bottom, rather than the top.

 

I didn't mean that you might know nicer chalets. I meant that, not being tied to the comforts of a chalet or hotel, you might know nicer places that are only accessible by backpacking. I just don't enjoy sleeping on the ground or going to bed dirty or bathing in ice-cold streams.

Like you, I go for the scenery. But I need the comforts at the end of the day. S.M.E. is in the most beautiful location I've ever seen, and happens to have a very comfortable chalet. Of course, that's no accident. Ruedi selected the location, a few decades ago, after scouting many thousands of hectares and carefully considering which would be ideal. He then built the chalet himself, in the Swiss style, since he is Swiss.

I've never been to Whistler. Sounds like it might be worth a look. I've hiked extensively in Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff, Waterton, Yoho, and the area south of Canmore. In addition to Selkirk, near Revelstoke, which is my favorite, I've been many times to Purcell Mountain Lodge near Golden, B.C., and I went to Assinniboine once, but judged it unacceptable for the unpleasantness of my room and the fact that they do not offer guided hikes on the three transfer days (guides only 4 days a week) and the guides have to return to the lodge in time to work in the kitchen on supper preparation, so the guided hikes are a lot shorter than at the other places.

I don't object to lodges where access to the lodge is by helicopter, but I have no interest in heli-hiking or helicopter tours. I go to the mountains to walk. And once I arrive at the lodge, I want to walk, not ride in a helicopter. I did once take a gondola down after hiking up a mountain. We hiked up 5,500 feet, then back down 2,200 feet, and then took the gondola the last 3,300 feet down. I would not have been able to do 5,500 vertical feet if I'd had to hike the whole way down again.

 

Butter, but only if there's nothing else on the bread. Fat is for sandwiches with bad fillings.

 

I'm on 40 mg Lipitor (since it was approved to be used as a Generic, they filled it with brand name vs actual generic). I had a previous doctor want me on the 81mg aspirin, Niaspan, and Vytorin. My dad was 300+ lbs, high BP, high Cholesterol and died of a heart attack at 49. So my doctor felt a need to start all those when, IMO, only the cholesterol stuff was necessary. My BP was normal until just this year, where it's just a little high so now I get 10mg Amlodipine.

The Niaspan caused itching and flushing within a week, so I stopped taking it. I took 3 benadryl that night and after about 3 hours it started to wear off. Not knowing what that happened, I went to the 24 hour walk-in place to be safe. The doctor said that aspirin would have helped, despite the fact that I'd been taking it and it still happened. I found a new DR the next year, mostly because the old one was always 30-60 mins behind your appointment time and wasn't that convenient for me.

Interestingly, you can buy Niacin supplements. I think if I were to still take that, I'd get a supplement and space taking them out with meals. Essentially a manual time-release in a sense. No doctor since that first one feels that I need to worry about that aspect much, since my Trigs are my biggest issue. Now that I started a Lipitor (statin), I make sure to take 2-3 100mg Co-Q10 supplements also. Supposedly statins can reduce levels of what that helps replace. Lipitor replaced Fenofibrate, because I was one of the lucky 2% that got elevated creatinine levels from it (this will be fully confirmed with the next blood work). I've also started taking a Flax Seed Oil supplement as well to get the Omegas.

 

You say they're still selling you brand name Lipitor even though the generic atorvastatin is now available? It's exactly the same stuff, and oddly, is being made by the same company, but the generic is cheaper.

I had elevated liver enzymes on 10 mg Lipitor, so they cut me to 5 mg. Ten mg is the smallest tablet, so I have to split them, which you can do with Lipitor and the identical atorvastatin.

Fortunately for me, I tolerate Nisapan, and moderately elevated cholesterol is my only heart issue, other than a family history of heart disease. I fully expect to drop dead of a heart attack without warning one day; maybe today, maybe in ten years, or any time in between.

 

Butter for me, but I there's not much I eat that uses a spread. Occasional popcorn, baked cookies, or bread, but rarely.

I eat straight coconut oil though. And use the coconut oil to lightly grease the pan before making scrambled eggs.

Fats allowed in my house are coconut oil, fermented cod liver oil, flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, butter, olive oil, egg yolks, and animal fats.

Banished are any hydrogenated oils, margarines, trans-fats, canola oil and soybean oil.

Back when I was in high school and my parents stocked margarine I tested with a cholesterol of 240. One year later after I went to college and ate what I wanted to my count had dropped 100 points.

 

Heres a site that claims there are 92 health hazards in consuming aspartame.
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html

I stay away from it if at all possible. Stevia is great it doesn't raise your glucose level and Splenda is called a sugar alcohol and can raise your glucose level.

 

Brand name was allowed as to be sold at the generic prices as of November, I believe. I'm sure once that ends, it'll be generic all the way. In fact, I know it will be, because I'm not going to pay for Pfizer to charge what they'll charge.

 

Coconut oil is one of the most unhealthy of all vegetable oils. Coconut and palm kernel oil, I think are the two that should be avoided.

Of course, all fats are fattening, so unless you need to gain weight, or you are climbing Mt. Everest or trekking in the arctic, fats should be taken in moderation. Most Americans eat far more fat than is healthy, even if they were to limit themselves to "healthy" fats only.

Anything with "detox" in the title is guaranteed bullshit. Splenda may raise your glucose level if you eat enough of it, but since it's about 1,000 times as sweet as sucrose, you just never eat enough of it to make a difference.

However, Splenda is something that doesn't normally occur in nature, so may have effects we are unsure of. I fault nobody for avoiding it.

Aspartame is two amino acids, and since it, too, is used in extremely small amounts, it is far less damaging than the sugar it replaces. Of course, a better strategy is to ween yourself off of sweets entirely.

I didn't know that. At my pharmacy they're not doing that. But since the generic is identical, and even made by the same company, the only difference is the price.

I wish Niaspan had a generic. That stuff is expensive. I consider myself very fortunate that I can afford it.

 

Daniel, I thought Splenda was Sucralose? I heard it was refined sugar as opposed to artificial? I tend to use it vs the others (equal / sweet-n-low / etc) right now. I do have Truvia packets at home, which will get used once the Splenda packets are done.

As for the Lipitor, I'm not sure how long that exception was granted for. I'm guessing it was a short term thing, until more generics come online in June.

Niaspan's first patent expires next year. You'll probably see generics for it by 4Q13 unless something changes. I still question the extended-release being a major reason not to take a supplement.

 

You seem to be very opinionated about some things with out any research. Coconut oil is fine in moderation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?pagewanted=all

 

Competing brands snatched from here:
B-3-50
B3-500-Gr
Endur-Acin
Niacor
Niacor B3
Niaspan
Nicolar
Slo-Niacin

The drug is Niacin, also called Nicotinic Acid. Not to be confused with nicotinamide, which is an ineffective health 'supplement.'

I buy extended release Niacin at Costco
Costco - Slo-Niacin® 500 mg
Regular cost is $15-16 for 150 tablets of 500 mg, but twice a year a coupon drops the cost to about $12 IIRC. Most people take 1 - 2 grams a day, so with a bit of smart shopping, the drug costs $5 - $10 dollars a month.

 

It's chloronated sugar. In a reaction, some of sucrose's hydrogen atoms are replaced with chlorine. Supposed to be safe, but the same was said of trans fats.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splenda]Splenda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

If you value your health at all, you need to re-evaluate with a skeptical mind every thing that the medical and food industry have told us for the past 40 years.

Obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes have only gotten WORSE since Americans have embraced the low-saturated fat, high carb diet.

Regarding sugar, our bodies are meant to run on glucose.

I'm not going to enter the discussion on aspartame and saccharin. I've heard some bad things about them, but the only thing I know for certain is that I spontaneously vomit within 30 minutes of accidental consumption of aspartame. And that's all I need to know about how healthy that stuff is.

This is an *extremely* informative discussion about sugar, fat, and glucose versus methanol versus fructose.

Fat on the body doesn't come from fat. It comes from carbs. The information that you have stored away is bad data from flawed research that was adopted without proper scientific peer evaluation. Watch, listen, and learn.


Sugar: The Bitter Truth Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [7/2009] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16717]

 

It is hard to digest, so they think its safe in small quantities, but.... that is part of the problem with transfats. When you can't digest it normally what abnormal uses will your body find for it. Biggest problems are with large quantities. A duke has found splenda kills some of the good bacteria in your gut even at quaities the FDA thinks are safe. That duke study also had rats get fat.

Nutrasweet is a protein which means no problems with digestion. It provides about 1/500 of the calories of sugar for similar sweetness. It does deform under heat, and you should not cook or leave it out in hot places. Some people have phenylketonuria and can not process the protein component. It also brakes down into formaldahyde and formic acid, but at what is normally a safe rate. Some fruit juice also contains quantities of these. Leave diet coke out in the hot sun for hours though, and these toxins will hit your body faster. Again in moderation its probably fine, but over do it and it gets nasty.
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylketonuria"][/ame]