Weekend Rant:Government and Butter
May 12th 2007 13:49
We certainly live in the era of the expert-someone who claims to know significantly more about something than we do and to whom we should give not only attention but down right obedience when we venture into that area. When this expert is attached to the power of government we get an enforced orthodoxy on everything. I am always amazed when the atheist crowd descries an orthodoxy by some religious group and then turns to government to enforce an orthodoxy about any and everything.
Nutrition and health have now become largely the domain of government in the US. By declaring some foods bad and others good and by doing the same with drugs etc the government applies its monopoly on coercion to these areas and confines the population to conducting its health as the government permits. While they love to tout their devotion to independence and self-sufficiency, the American people are very quick to squeal for the government to solve whatever problems arise and quite as willing to subscribe to its dictates. Thus in the US the popping of pills and
nutritional content of food is the domain of politicians and the experts they employ to dictate to the masses.
The efficacy of this system is rarely questioned,even though there are plenty of examples where government coerced orthodoxy has proven not only not productive,but detrimental. That is certainly true in nutrition. Years ago the experts were all over fat in foods. They did not make a distinction about the nature of fats,as has become the case today. They simply opined that eating fats was bad, particularly animal fats. The government hopped on the bandwagon and soon eating butter became analagous to smoking. Millions of people were now religiously totaling the fat grams on whatever they ate, using the convenient labels demanded by the government. The hero was the person who ate the least fat and certainly avoided animal fats.
Now we find ourselves in a future in which diabetes is epidemic and so is the mental deterioration of the elderly. The new experts are telling us that the margarine we used so conscientiously instead of butter has this stuff called partially hydrogenated soybean oil in it and that this stuff is a free radical factory in a plastic container. Years of eating that crap and catching our breath in awe stuck disbelief when we heard that there were people who still ate butter and we are the fattest population there has ever been.
We are also being reminded now that the once evil fat is absolutely vital for the health of our brains. Understand this. We were told to avoid fats and thus relied on diets that were carbohydrate heavy. This created a host of insulin related problems not the least of which was, ironically, elevated triglycerides and cholesterol. Now we discover that the elderly are afflicted with brain problems. Now we are told that fat has something good to do with maintaining mental acuity. But we are now on statin drugs for the triglyceride problem carb eating helps create and these approved drugs may be robbing our brain of this useful fat, or so we are starting to be told.
The whole fat thing was a myth. Some fats are bad,but many are good. Trying to rid your body of harmful fats by eating none is stupid. Eating the good fats and not the bad is the way it has to be. The whole high carb thing is a malevolent myth as well. Eating starchy stuff and feeling good because it says reduced fat on the label is suicide for the body and the brain. I suggest that, like everything else, relying on the experts that the government approves is not a very effective way to accomplish anything and that especially good nutrition and health. You are in charge of your fitness and health.Your servant, as always.
US Government:Guns but not butter?
nutritional content of food is the domain of politicians and the experts they employ to dictate to the masses.
The efficacy of this system is rarely questioned,even though there are plenty of examples where government coerced orthodoxy has proven not only not productive,but detrimental. That is certainly true in nutrition. Years ago the experts were all over fat in foods. They did not make a distinction about the nature of fats,as has become the case today. They simply opined that eating fats was bad, particularly animal fats. The government hopped on the bandwagon and soon eating butter became analagous to smoking. Millions of people were now religiously totaling the fat grams on whatever they ate, using the convenient labels demanded by the government. The hero was the person who ate the least fat and certainly avoided animal fats.
Now we find ourselves in a future in which diabetes is epidemic and so is the mental deterioration of the elderly. The new experts are telling us that the margarine we used so conscientiously instead of butter has this stuff called partially hydrogenated soybean oil in it and that this stuff is a free radical factory in a plastic container. Years of eating that crap and catching our breath in awe stuck disbelief when we heard that there were people who still ate butter and we are the fattest population there has ever been.
We are also being reminded now that the once evil fat is absolutely vital for the health of our brains. Understand this. We were told to avoid fats and thus relied on diets that were carbohydrate heavy. This created a host of insulin related problems not the least of which was, ironically, elevated triglycerides and cholesterol. Now we discover that the elderly are afflicted with brain problems. Now we are told that fat has something good to do with maintaining mental acuity. But we are now on statin drugs for the triglyceride problem carb eating helps create and these approved drugs may be robbing our brain of this useful fat, or so we are starting to be told.
The whole fat thing was a myth. Some fats are bad,but many are good. Trying to rid your body of harmful fats by eating none is stupid. Eating the good fats and not the bad is the way it has to be. The whole high carb thing is a malevolent myth as well. Eating starchy stuff and feeling good because it says reduced fat on the label is suicide for the body and the brain. I suggest that, like everything else, relying on the experts that the government approves is not a very effective way to accomplish anything and that especially good nutrition and health. You are in charge of your fitness and health.Your servant, as always.
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