A friend passed this article along to me today and although the information and the concept of SAD aren’t new to me, the data included to back it up still managed to shock and awe. Here’s the list:
- Total sugar intake has skyrocketed in the past 160 years
- Consumption of soda and fruit juice has increased dramatically
- Calorie intake has increased by around 400 calories per day
- People have abandoned traditional fats in favor of processed vegetable oils
- People have replaced heart-healthy butter with trans-fat laden margarine
- Soybean oil has become a major source of calories
- Modern wheat is less nutritious than older varieties of wheat
- Egg consumption has decreased
- People are eating more processed foods than ever before
- Increased vegetable oil consumption has changed the fatty acid composition of our bodies
- USDA’s Low-Fat Dietary Guidelines were published around the same time the obesity epidemic started
The irony is that the solution to this seemly complex problem is actually quite simple. Two Michael Pollan quotes that provide wonderful advice come to mind,
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
I think it’s time for all of us to go dig out the old family recipes.
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