I enjoyed reading this food for thought. Thanks.
34
And, on top of worries about specific foods, there's the overarching concern about the unsustainability of the planet to support increasing population and species collapse. What will my grandchildren do ??? That's what I think about when I am standing at the deli counter in the grocery store. I like to focus on the REALLY BIG problems while waiting for my liverwurst.
19
This article seems to appear every other month, and it's gotten old. Yes, we know that we're all going to die. Yes, the hysterical, "deadly menace in your sock drawer," articles that the press trots out are ridiculous. We know.
We know that journalists are innumerate. We know that people love to make fun of health obsessives. We know that people don't want to hear that their favorite foods and habits are doing their minds and bodies no favors. We also know that smoking is likely to shorten your life and to condemn you to a nasty, premature death; that lack of exercise and lousy food are likely to make you fat, wheezy, and unattractive; that heavy drinking is likely to get you into bad trouble, and that nothing in this world comes without a bill.
And we also know, that no matter how funny you think you are, the facts of life are not mocked.
We know that journalists are innumerate. We know that people love to make fun of health obsessives. We know that people don't want to hear that their favorite foods and habits are doing their minds and bodies no favors. We also know that smoking is likely to shorten your life and to condemn you to a nasty, premature death; that lack of exercise and lousy food are likely to make you fat, wheezy, and unattractive; that heavy drinking is likely to get you into bad trouble, and that nothing in this world comes without a bill.
And we also know, that no matter how funny you think you are, the facts of life are not mocked.
27
hebrew national hot dogs are the perfect food, and that's all there is to it!
24
It's not about avoiding bologna and cheese completely out of your life. It's about being aware and being flexible about food. Don't go out to buy bologna and cheese for dinner but if someone makes you a nice bologna and cheese sandwich, enjoy it and eat better food tomorrow. Enjoy life before worrying about what's inside the bologna.
40
I have been cynical about the dangers of food since growing up through the whiplash of whether eggs were good or bad for you in the late 80s. That was followed by the butter-margarine debate. What I realized, once I took research design courses in university, was that media sources were often using studies inappropriately. (Cynical me assumed it was because "The new dangers of drinking water!!" got more viewers to tune in--now to click--than reporting actual medical and scientific research, which is rarely sensational and therefore rarely interesting to a general audience.) For example, one study would report dramatic results. Never mind that the 600 studies that preceded it showed the opposite, or only modest effects. The dramatic was what was reported because the dramatic got people to tune in. And worry. And tune in again to find out what else they were doing wrong.
Of course, people lapped it up. It is worse now that much of our information access happens online, where people are likely to be even less scrupulous in what they share as "good information." Studies have shown an astounding number of Internet users cannot distinguish, for example, between actual and sponsored content.
Fear-mongering over food calls for stronger science literacy but also stronger information and media literacy. Forget the bologna.
Of course, people lapped it up. It is worse now that much of our information access happens online, where people are likely to be even less scrupulous in what they share as "good information." Studies have shown an astounding number of Internet users cannot distinguish, for example, between actual and sponsored content.
Fear-mongering over food calls for stronger science literacy but also stronger information and media literacy. Forget the bologna.
34
And try to avoid the spam!
10
Of course eating dirt is good for you. Ask anybody who grew up on a farm. Studies in Scandinavia have shown that rural kids there have next to no allergies and don't get sick nearly as often as urban dwellers in allegedly sanitary environments. Can't think that dirt there is all that different from dirt here.
As a lifelong outdoor bum and retired teacher, I will tell you that I got sick every school year (though less often as my immune system turned to cast iron), but never got sick in the outdoors. One of my students once taught me, "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt!" He was right.
As a lifelong outdoor bum and retired teacher, I will tell you that I got sick every school year (though less often as my immune system turned to cast iron), but never got sick in the outdoors. One of my students once taught me, "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt!" He was right.
16
OMG, would eat dirt in Scandinavia no problem. Here in the US? no way. Not after what big agra has done to it.
24
I miss the 70s and early 80s and their innocence. I'm exhausted by information overload, nagging overload, and having all these bright shining examples of lifestyles that I'm supposed to adopt and follow.
Of course nobody mentions another culprit in how we eat: work. We're just over scheduled and cooking seems tiresome to many people/families. Slow down, we'll all live better.
Of course nobody mentions another culprit in how we eat: work. We're just over scheduled and cooking seems tiresome to many people/families. Slow down, we'll all live better.
89
eat whatever you want. if you're under 40, you can bank on tech figuring out how to get you to 120 years pretty easily.
(if you're over 40, eat whatever you want because you're pretty much dead anyway)
im in the latter :(
(if you're over 40, eat whatever you want because you're pretty much dead anyway)
im in the latter :(
80
There is no mention -- in this otherwise somewhat amusing piece -- of Monsanto's toxic brew Roundup, which is used routinely to protect crops from hungry bugs. Already banned in some countries (and likely to be banned completely in the EU by years' end), we now are ingesting a glyphosate brew that recent tests indicate are hugely toxic. I, too, ate Wonder Bread as a child; but that is a far cry from the serious crisis that now may poison young children -- in utero and throughout their perhaps chemically-shortened lives. One more reason to consider two things: Read your labels carefully, and/or eat organic foods whenever possible. [Oh, and don't look to the FDA for help; Monsanto appears to have influence there.]
35
well, at this point given everything is breaking down it really doesn't matter anymore. Eat up!
11
because media is full of information about the dangers of food, we should just eat whatever is easy and feels good? i don't agree. if one is responsible for their health and well being they ought to monitor what they eat and how if affects them, starting with the mainstays that civilizations were built upon: beans, corn, wheat, rice, meat, eggs, milk products, etc. for most people they have much more good than bad in them. yes, we all die, however, we can strive for healthy well-being while we are here
7
Soylent Green is people!! :)
11
I have always trusted what my mom said: everything in moderation my dear. And she was right. Sixty eight years old now and going strong.
40
Yes!! My mother said the same thing and I repeat it often . I agree
10
This author does a great job of capturing the essential nonsense published as nutrition-related 'science.'
I see the problem underlying reporting on nominally and minimally scientific nutritional studies as a problem of educational failure of journalism schools and higher education in general. Journalists, in my opinion, seem to be taught to write, and, many write well. However, many, if not most, do not seem to have more than a cursory understanding of the subject matter about which they are writing.
Inadequate understanding of the subject matter of nutrition, gives journalists a hobsons' choice:either learn the subject matter or resort to misrepresentation of that subject matter by resorting to sensationalized (and frequently incorrect) reporting.
Knowledgeable reporting would obviate the need for the excellent satire of this article, while simultaneously enlightening the reading public.
A good Statistics 101 course of descriptive statistics, taken to heart, would probably suffice to enlighten the journalists sufficiently concerning honest/proper interpretation of results of most descriptive studies but a thourough understanding of nutritional science would make simple-minded reporting a thing of the past.
I see the problem underlying reporting on nominally and minimally scientific nutritional studies as a problem of educational failure of journalism schools and higher education in general. Journalists, in my opinion, seem to be taught to write, and, many write well. However, many, if not most, do not seem to have more than a cursory understanding of the subject matter about which they are writing.
Inadequate understanding of the subject matter of nutrition, gives journalists a hobsons' choice:either learn the subject matter or resort to misrepresentation of that subject matter by resorting to sensationalized (and frequently incorrect) reporting.
Knowledgeable reporting would obviate the need for the excellent satire of this article, while simultaneously enlightening the reading public.
A good Statistics 101 course of descriptive statistics, taken to heart, would probably suffice to enlighten the journalists sufficiently concerning honest/proper interpretation of results of most descriptive studies but a thourough understanding of nutritional science would make simple-minded reporting a thing of the past.
20
Eloquently, accurately and insight-fully stated. Thank you.
5
another totally pointless NYT article. you're like the Bill Rhoden of the food world.
6
You forgot the mayo.
13
Cleverly written article, with enough cynicism to make me chuckle. However, the red meat- heart attack- stroke thing is real. What's also troubling is that it takes about 30 percent of the land on this planet just to feed the cattle, that provides that red meat. So, yes, you can dispute the food gurus and keep to your bologna sandwich habits- but its not just your life and death anymore; its about everyones life and death and the conservation of this planet we call home.
15
Ya, if you listen to every new food warning it will make your head spin, not to mention make you starve. Just wash all fruits and vegetables and anything you put in your mouth that is washable. Food poisoning kills and sickens more people than any fluffernutter could.
5
This article is so incredibly ignorant its scary. Health information comes out for us to work towards a change and exercise our rights as consumers, so that we are no longer in the dark about what we put in our bodies. Return to ignorance and passivity, to the old days of "bologna and cheese" for the sake of satire? Disappointing.
12
We should all decide as early in our lives as is feasible whether to 'Eat to live' or 'Live to eat'. The latter is so very attractive. Whatever the future holds, we will die. And as Montagne, the philosopher, said: 'Every man should be booted and spurred, ever ready for the longest journey'. And to survive that journey you will need food & so it goes on. Live to eat has to be the winner?
14
I have known for years that eating right and exercising won't really make you live longer. It just seems that way. But I'm hedging my bets. When I hit 85, I am going to start eating all the bread and cheese and cheesecake that I've been avoiding all these years. If I die a week or two sooner, that's OK.
25
Eat right, exercise, die anyway--though it might be a less excruciating death. But once you get up there in years, you might as well eat dessert first.
1
Love this - such a witty article. It does a good job of capturing of cultural shifts of regarding food and eating what is "good for you." Maybe some of the commentators are too young to remember the white bread and baloney days?
14
Ugh...and if my father helped prepare lunch, he'd put mayonnaise on it, too. I can barely stomach mayonnaise since.
1
That balogna sandwich sounds good.
16
On the other hand, aren't incidences of cancer, diabetes, etc. on the rise. There are many studies that link these to modern food we eat. Perhaps inadequate exercise is also a culprit. But to rule out the effect of food (which is the only input to our bodies) may be a little too naive!
8
I think Hippocrates (to whom all doctors take an oath) got it right "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". I'll add balance and moderation. That is how nature works and last time I look, mankind (clinging on by our finger nails) is still a part of nature ... though a poor partner at best.
11
Bugs, dirt and worms are supposed to be in charge of our present excretions and future remains.
6
I heard this on Car Talk once:
The Japanese eat less fat, and drink less alcohol, but live longer, than British and Americans. Conversely, the French eat more fat and drink more alcohol than British and Americans. What does this mean?
You can eat and drink whatever you want, its the English that's killing you.
The Japanese eat less fat, and drink less alcohol, but live longer, than British and Americans. Conversely, the French eat more fat and drink more alcohol than British and Americans. What does this mean?
You can eat and drink whatever you want, its the English that's killing you.
102
Very clever! You get right at the concept of too much contradictory evidence and too many people telling us to not eat this and not eat that--what are we supposed to eat?!
3
Bugs, worms and dirt—still better than Soylent Green (or the new-fangled Soylent for that matter).
Eat everything in moderation and have an active life style. That's all.
6
Sounds like Dr. Strangelove - I learned to stop worrying a few years back when I read that we simply don't eat or drink ANYTHING that was not available in that form in 1878. Works like a charm!
4
While we are talking about things that are going to kill us, remember that 100% of people who die BREATHED AIR and DRANK WATER.
7
Love it! Obviously a lot of people on the Internet don't get satire but I thought this was a clever way to highlight the over-abundance of contradictory nutritional information being constantly thrown at us. I get you, sir.
46
As Phil Collins sang, on one of my favorite B-sides, "Everything Gives You Cancer."
4
Wasn't that Joe Jackson?
2
From the Joe Jackson album "Night and Day."
1
To be honest, the easiest solution I've found is follow the cultures that live the longest, healthiest lives. For example, search Okinawan diet.
The reason you're feeling this way is because of the terrible media in America. It overwhelms people and prevents them from getting the right information. It becomes harder and harder to sort through the noise, which leads to people giving up and going back to bologna and cheese. Of course there are theories saying fish is too high in mercury, lettuce is not good for the environment, blah blah blah. It's all noise. Sure we should find way to improve our processes so we don't use 1.1 gallons of water on a single almond, but it doesn't change the fact that it's healthy for you.
Point: Knowing what to eat is easy if not for mainstream American media and biased research papers (i.e. Coca Cola sponsored research).
The reason you're feeling this way is because of the terrible media in America. It overwhelms people and prevents them from getting the right information. It becomes harder and harder to sort through the noise, which leads to people giving up and going back to bologna and cheese. Of course there are theories saying fish is too high in mercury, lettuce is not good for the environment, blah blah blah. It's all noise. Sure we should find way to improve our processes so we don't use 1.1 gallons of water on a single almond, but it doesn't change the fact that it's healthy for you.
Point: Knowing what to eat is easy if not for mainstream American media and biased research papers (i.e. Coca Cola sponsored research).
2
Thank you for this. I've long been a believer that stress will kill you just as fast as anything else and way too many people seem to stress out about food. For most of us it should be fairly simple...stay away from fast food and processed food (including soda). Eat real food in sensible portions.
9
Good one. However due to feverish human activity the quality of food, both plants n animals, have deteriorated. Earlier there were definitely very less chemicals as compared to now. But may be they are not as lethal as they are considered because our bodies have adapted.
1
Don't even waste your time reading this article. Sure, he makes an interesting point, but he allows his own cynicism to run wild and indulge in a fruitless mockery of food. His claims only serve to belittle the adverse impact of poor nutrition. Incorporating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into your diet is essential for maintaining health. For example, did you know that cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and kale, have phytochemicals which serve to fight cancer? There is even evidence suggesting that this cancer-preventing effect begins prenatally via Mom's diet. It can be confusing hearing so many health and nutrition claims in the media, especially when fad diets and the science behind them are always changing, but one thing I can say for certain is that a diet of bologna and cheese is not going to cut it.
2
The perfect meal: steak at a steakhouse (they know how to cook it), some kind of potatoes, your choice of vegetables. Erase all negative attributes of each item by drinking red wine. If you feel the need for further purification, drink more red wine.
When you leave, do not drive.
When you leave, do not drive.
62
This kind of flippant "backlash" article gives common sense a bad name.
Nutrition and health are serious subjects.
Nutrition and health are serious subjects.
4
Jim,
Imagine eating your butter bologna sandwich (with many many more preservatives than in past decades) and washing it down with a 20oz. bottle of soda sweetened with corn syrup instead of a 12oz can of soda sweetened with sugar sitting down in front of a flat screen watching netflix or playing video games. Now multiply that times all the years of your childhood.
Imagine eating your butter bologna sandwich (with many many more preservatives than in past decades) and washing it down with a 20oz. bottle of soda sweetened with corn syrup instead of a 12oz can of soda sweetened with sugar sitting down in front of a flat screen watching netflix or playing video games. Now multiply that times all the years of your childhood.
8
Amen, brother.
My personal opinion is that the stress involved in worrying about eating the "right" foods far outweighs any benefit you might get from them. Stress is toxic too, didn't you hear?
It's very simple: you can eat whatever you like, just don't eat too much of it. This is not rocket science, people!
My personal opinion is that the stress involved in worrying about eating the "right" foods far outweighs any benefit you might get from them. Stress is toxic too, didn't you hear?
It's very simple: you can eat whatever you like, just don't eat too much of it. This is not rocket science, people!
10
1. Grow your own vegetables or become part of a local coop, and eat them
2. Drink when you are thirsty
3. Drink 1 glass of red wine a day
4. Never buy a prepared meal - and don't go to restaurants that get their food frozen (that would be 90% of them)
5. Cut the cheese from main courses and appetizers
6. Don't add salt
7. If you can read, you can cook
2. Drink when you are thirsty
3. Drink 1 glass of red wine a day
4. Never buy a prepared meal - and don't go to restaurants that get their food frozen (that would be 90% of them)
5. Cut the cheese from main courses and appetizers
6. Don't add salt
7. If you can read, you can cook
4
You start off ok on this list, but 'don't add salt'? Yes, eat salt. Put it on your food, unless you don't want it to taste good. Your body needs it, your taste buds want it, it won't kill you. Seriously.
17
The list is good in general, but cheese is just not that bad for you. Look at the French, for example. Not huge amounts, but it's good stuff. I eat it and in my 70s my cholesterol levels are enviable.
9
I do t drink alcohol and asked my doctor if I should add a glass of red wine. He immediately told me no. Apparently, it's better to drink red wine than other alcoholic beverages, but not drinking alcohol is also acceptable.
1
I don't know when Mr. Windolf grew up in New Jersey, but I learned decades ago that people who eat food die. It just takes us longer.
6
I'd rather die at the pinnacle of gastronomy than with a mouthful of grubs. Bring on the butter! Fry up the Reuben sandwich and pour the beer. I'm going to die HAPPY!
47
I couldn't make it past the first few paragraphs. Yes, there are questionable studies about the health benefits/hazards about many foods. Gathering headlines that get the most press and conflating them is questionable at best, or just plain dishonest. If this was just written for a laugh that would be one thing, but that's clearly not the author's intent.
4
I'm awaiting the headline: Living Linked to Dying" ...
113
Everyone who ate tomatoes before 1850 died!!
7
Nutritional "science" (much of which is just correlation) as reported in the press, and even codified by our government, has been wildly contradictory in my 45 years of healthy life. They revised the food pyramid a bunch of times and then did away with it altogether after it lost all credibility. When will we stop believing this stuff? In a year when gluten-free was at its peak in my city, a vegan friend from Germany came to visit, and she ate more pasta and bread than I have ever seen one person eat. And she ate all day long. I almost wanted to set up a dinner with her and one of my carb-phobic friends to see what would happen. Everyone's so convinced they're right, and that any other choice would be disaster! It's hard not to laugh, & it's all so deadly serious, "what I put in my body!" (Forget air & water, food is the only thing I directly control so I'm going to micromanage it!)
7
It's satire.
Not a very common genre, but it's not meant to be a scientific analysis of diet.
Not a very common genre, but it's not meant to be a scientific analysis of diet.
46
It's SATIRE, people. Lighten up. Your overly serious attitude is probably doing more damage to your health than the occasional bologna sandwich.
And unless you happen to know for a fact that the author of this *humorous* (and on-point) piece is completely sedentary and weighs 400 pounds, you're jumping to an unfounded conclusion.
And unless you happen to know for a fact that the author of this *humorous* (and on-point) piece is completely sedentary and weighs 400 pounds, you're jumping to an unfounded conclusion.
58
The WORST thing is not just how they tell us everything is bad for us. It's how they are always CHANGING THEIR MINDS. One example: Saturated fat was the devil, and everyone should drink skim milk and eat more bread and pasta. Years later, after this kind of eating kicked off the obesity/diabetes epidemics and everyone is gluten intolerant from overdoing it, it's turning out there really was no solid evidence supporting the fat=bad theory.
My suggestion: don't read anymore articles about what is good or bad for you food-wise. Just read about what people eat in the various "blue" zones - regions around the world where people live unusually long, healthy lives. These are not government or special-interest funded studies. These are just people thriving the way their ancestors always have. The cool thing is the diff zones have diff diets, and they're all thriving! So take your pick. Almost everybody living in these places eats some meat, bread, legumes, vegetables, fruit, and dairy. No processed/junk food, of course. Granted, these people also have great social networks, sunshine and exercise as part of daily life, etc. So maybe their eating habits are not the main thing making them so healthy. But we can safely say these diets - based on family/regional traditions vs govt pyramids & hobby-horses of fitness gurus - don't do them any harm - and are very tasty!!!
My suggestion: don't read anymore articles about what is good or bad for you food-wise. Just read about what people eat in the various "blue" zones - regions around the world where people live unusually long, healthy lives. These are not government or special-interest funded studies. These are just people thriving the way their ancestors always have. The cool thing is the diff zones have diff diets, and they're all thriving! So take your pick. Almost everybody living in these places eats some meat, bread, legumes, vegetables, fruit, and dairy. No processed/junk food, of course. Granted, these people also have great social networks, sunshine and exercise as part of daily life, etc. So maybe their eating habits are not the main thing making them so healthy. But we can safely say these diets - based on family/regional traditions vs govt pyramids & hobby-horses of fitness gurus - don't do them any harm - and are very tasty!!!
41
And forget about trying to plan food for guests. In any given crowd one or more people don't eat meat, carbs, gluten, dairy, sugar, peanuts, or soy; or they eat only organic, raw, sprouted, whatever.
32
Eat right, exercise, and die anyway. Ain't it the truth!
5
On the surface, cute enough article. But the truth is that in the past 10 years even just the bread and bologna has become something different from what we ate in the 70's. It's true that even organic food is coming from our polluted environment but if you just eat real food, what you can get at a farmers market and not what you get at a convenience store, your should be OK! The problem is The Food Industry making a bunch of stuff for us to eat that we can't actually digest. But it's all pretty new--can you believe that when Twinkies first came out they had real cream in them?
39
Was that before or after Dan White employed 'The Twinkie Defense?'
3
This is definitely a much needed article. You can't eat anything anymore without someone putting in some sort of judgement involving a recent article they just read. When did our culture become so sterilized?
32
Obviously you've joined the crowd; a staggering number of them are grossly obese with all the hazardous baggage.
8
My bull terrier's are doing well on a diet similar to the bug diet described. And best of all: it's free. As for me my body is self-regulating. All the delicious and guilty pleasure food is being rejected on a semi-regular basis in accordance to age. At 40 - most cheeses out. At 45 - alcohol out (2 day hangovers). Now at 50 - pancakes (don't ask). If this keeps up I'll be fighting over worms with the terriers.
20
I dunno...terriers are very fast and very persistent when it comes to chowing on worms. Mine are experts. You will need to be on a par with them, and I hope you can handle it. And, we terrier folk of Norwich variety call it "worm jerky". A technical term.
3
I have heard they are working on feeding dirt to cattle. The only problem is that the only meat they can get from them is ground beef.
76
How did this PJ O'Rourke-level analysis get published?
7
"Running a marathon everyday could kill you. Well, I'm never doing any physical activity."
-The person who wrote this
-The person who wrote this
10
That's food for thought!
5
Great column. I too spend much too much time reading - and believing - the latest wave of expert thinking on nutrition. These experts have also taken over Facebook and conversations at the office. I now suffer from nutritional expert fatigue that only chocolate - with almonds - can alleviate.
33
You don't get it obviously: it's all about BALANCE. I don't see any ironies except in your way of apprehending things.
12
You know that, I believe that but the the authors of the articles seem to forget that or don't know that.
1
Alas, I want her genes.