Gluten Free

[ChrisL]

Well, maybe it doesn't effect everyone the same way it does you?

Everybody's metabolism works in his/her own way, but there are also truisms regarding how the body processes a given type of food.

Go ahead, live on potato chips and let us know how it works out.

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said, that doesn't apply with something like wheat. It's not a matter of "how much". It's a matter of what it DOES inside the body.

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

Sorry, could you repeat the question?

There was no question. I said Pogo is a bitch.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Everybody's metabolism works in his/her own way, but there are also truisms regarding how the body processes a given type of food.

Go ahead, live on potato chips and let us know how it works out.

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

And as I said, that doesn't apply with something like wheat. It's not a matter of "how much". It's a matter of what it DOES inside the body.

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

Sorry, could you repeat the question?

There was no question. I said Pogo is a bitch.

Oh okay, a mega

 

[ChrisL]

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

Sorry, could you repeat the question?

There was no question. I said Pogo is a bitch.

Oh okay, a mega

I'm just kidding around. I like Pogo, but he . . . can be annoying sometimes. Lol.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

Sorry, could you repeat the question?

There was no question. I said Pogo is a bitch.

Oh okay, a mega

I'm just kidding around. I like Pogo, but he . . . can be annoying sometimes. Lol.

I'm glad you just like Pogo, because I love Pogo....and I don't want you starting trouble about this

 

[Pogo]

That's definitely NOT all there is to it. Again, when I cut out wheat, my total food intake went UP, not down, and I dropped 40 pounds. That's because of what the wheat was doing. So it very much IS what you eat.

Guess what would happen if you cut down to one meal a day, but the meal was made entirely of pop tarts?

Well, maybe it doesn't effect everyone the same way it does you?

Everybody's metabolism works in his/her own way, but there are also truisms regarding how the body processes a given type of food.

Go ahead, live on potato chips and let us know how it works out.

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

Everybody's metabolism works in his/her own way, but there are also truisms regarding how the body processes a given type of food.

Go ahead, live on potato chips and let us know how it works out.

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said, that doesn't apply with something like wheat. It's not a matter of "how much". It's a matter of what it DOES inside the body.

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

 

[gallantwarrior]

There is a significant difference between GF and GMO. While GF labeling may be required, the companies that profit from GMOs are fighting tooth and nail to prevent label identification of their un-tested, mutant abominations.

That's absolutely true. The comment was about labeling, not intended to imply a comparison between GF and GMO. But the point on the latter is well taken.

Interesting that gluten is considered such a threat that foodstuffs must be labeled and GMOs are not. IMO, GMOs are a far greater threat to public health than gluten. As a matter of fact, the increased sensitivity of many people to gluten might be a result of GMOs being introduced into the food chain. Many people don't realize that GMOs have been part of our diet for around 30 years already. While comprehensive testing of the affects of GMOs on people and animals have been severely curtailed, anecdotal evidence would tend to implicate GMOs in many of the health issues that have skyrocketed in the past 20-30 years. Go figure!

Yes indeedy. That's sort of, in a broad sense, the implication in this article:

>> So how—and when—did this ancient grain become such a serious health threat? Author and preventive cardiologist William Davis, MD, says it was when big agriculture stepped in decades ago to develop a higher-yielding crop. Today's "wheat," he says, isn't even wheat, thanks to some of the most intense crossbreeding efforts ever seen. "The wheat products sold to you today are nothing like the wheat products of our grandmother's age, very different from the wheat of the early 20th century, and completely transformed from the wheat of the Bible and earlier," he says.

Plant breeders changed wheat in dramatic ways. Once more than four feet tall, modern wheat—the type grown in 99 percent of wheat fields around the world—is now a stocky two-foot-tall plant with an unusually large seed head. Dr. Davis says accomplishing this involved crossing wheat with non-wheat grasses to introduce altogether new genes, using techniques like irradiation of wheat seeds and embryos with chemicals, gamma rays, and high-dose x-rays to induce mutations. (See how your brain heals when you start eliminating grains.)

Clearfield Wheat, a variety grown on nearly 1 million acres in the Pacific Northwest and sold by BASF Corporation—the world's largest chemical manufacturer—was created in a geneticist's lab by exposing wheat seeds and embryos to the mutation-inducing industrial toxin sodium azide, a substance poisonous to humans and known for exploding when mishandled, says Dr. Davis. This hybridized wheat doesn't survive in the wild, and most farmers rely on toxic chemical fertilizers and pesticides to keep it alive when growing it as a crop. (It's important to note, however, that the intensive breeding efforts that have so dramatically transformed wheat should not to be confused with genetic engineering of food, or GMOs. This type of technology has its own set of problems, though.) <<​

That's why I've started using some of the "ancient grains" available, like amaranth, spelt, and quinoa. Spelt has worked out well, but be aware that the lack of gluten will affect bread and such. I'm thinking I might try to grow amaranth up here once I get some land cleared.

That's great. But I believe spelt is still wheat.

True, but wheat pre-GMO... or other more traditional modification. Google, or use some other search engine...spelt is on of the "ancient" grains. It may not produce like modern red or white wheat, but it is certainly more "natural".

 

[gallantwarrior]

Kudos to some posters here...good to see that there are people who don't fall for the hype.
Gluten, for normal people who are not allergic/intolerant of it - is not unhealthy. Complete garbage.

Yeah unfortunately the set of "normal people who are not intolerant of it" is fast disappearing, whether that's attributable to the gluten specifically or to the degradation of wheat.

Like a great many other I'm not intolerant to gluten, but selecting "Gluten Free" food automatically means "Wheat Free". That's why I do it.

I haven't seen anyone make the claim that "gluten is eeebil". People simply make choices to filter out the kind of foods that will act detrimentally. There's nothing "hype" about that --- it's simple self-preservation.

What's wrong with wheat? I eat wheat bread all the time.

Nothing, really. But lots of people have been sold a bill of goods, and others are victims of the GMO culture of ignorance of unintended consequences.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Kudos to some posters here...good to see that there are people who don't fall for the hype.
Gluten, for normal people who are not allergic/intolerant of it - is not unhealthy. Complete garbage.

Yeah unfortunately the set of "normal people who are not intolerant of it" is fast disappearing, whether that's attributable to the gluten specifically or to the degradation of wheat.

Like a great many other I'm not intolerant to gluten, but selecting "Gluten Free" food automatically means "Wheat Free". That's why I do it.

I haven't seen anyone make the claim that "gluten is eeebil". People simply make choices to filter out the kind of foods that will act detrimentally. There's nothing "hype" about that --- it's simple self-preservation.

What's wrong with wheat? I eat wheat bread all the time.

I used to do that too. If I went back to it I'd weigh three hundred pounds. Word to the wise...

First time this dawned on me, I cut wheat out from my diet, and made no other changes. My food volume intake actually went up as I shifted from sandwiches to salads. And just by doing that -- eliminating wheat -- I dropped 40 pounds. It's insidious. And I've given this advice to others who have confirmed the same result.

Wheat is not what it used to be. I wish it were, food would be a lot easier. See my link in 47 for the gory details.

Ah, yes...removing processed, (probably GMO) wheat from you diet is a very wise choice. I have also lost a lot of weight by removing over-processed, GMO grains from my diet. You should look into corn.

 

[Pogo]

Kudos to some posters here...good to see that there are people who don't fall for the hype.
Gluten, for normal people who are not allergic/intolerant of it - is not unhealthy. Complete garbage.

Yeah unfortunately the set of "normal people who are not intolerant of it" is fast disappearing, whether that's attributable to the gluten specifically or to the degradation of wheat.

Like a great many other I'm not intolerant to gluten, but selecting "Gluten Free" food automatically means "Wheat Free". That's why I do it.

I haven't seen anyone make the claim that "gluten is eeebil". People simply make choices to filter out the kind of foods that will act detrimentally. There's nothing "hype" about that --- it's simple self-preservation.

What's wrong with wheat? I eat wheat bread all the time.

I used to do that too. If I went back to it I'd weigh three hundred pounds. Word to the wise...

First time this dawned on me, I cut wheat out from my diet, and made no other changes. My food volume intake actually went up as I shifted from sandwiches to salads. And just by doing that -- eliminating wheat -- I dropped 40 pounds. It's insidious. And I've given this advice to others who have confirmed the same result.

Wheat is not what it used to be. I wish it were, food would be a lot easier. See my link in 47 for the gory details.

Ah, yes...removing processed, (probably GMO) wheat from you diet is a very wise choice. I have also lost a lot of weight by removing over-processed, GMO grains from my diet. You should look into corn.

You ARE joking, right?

Onliest time I get anywhere near corn is when it's organic, since that's one of the most Frankenfooded grains there is. Can't say I miss it, although there's nothing like eating it right off the stalk in the field.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Kudos to some posters here...good to see that there are people who don't fall for the hype.
Gluten, for normal people who are not allergic/intolerant of it - is not unhealthy. Complete garbage.

Yeah unfortunately the set of "normal people who are not intolerant of it" is fast disappearing, whether that's attributable to the gluten specifically or to the degradation of wheat.

Like a great many other I'm not intolerant to gluten, but selecting "Gluten Free" food automatically means "Wheat Free". That's why I do it.

I haven't seen anyone make the claim that "gluten is eeebil". People simply make choices to filter out the kind of foods that will act detrimentally. There's nothing "hype" about that --- it's simple self-preservation.

What's wrong with wheat? I eat wheat bread all the time.

I used to do that too. If I went back to it I'd weigh three hundred pounds. Word to the wise...

First time this dawned on me, I cut wheat out from my diet, and made no other changes. My food volume intake actually went up as I shifted from sandwiches to salads. And just by doing that -- eliminating wheat -- I dropped 40 pounds. It's insidious. And I've given this advice to others who have confirmed the same result.

Wheat is not what it used to be. I wish it were, food would be a lot easier. See my link in 47 for the gory details.

Ah, yes...removing processed, (probably GMO) wheat from you diet is a very wise choice. I have also lost a lot of weight by removing over-processed, GMO grains from my diet. You should look into corn.

You ARE joking, right?

Onliest time I get anywhere near corn is when it's organic, since that's one of the most Frankenfooded grains there is. Can't say I miss it, although there's nothing like eating it right off the stalk in the field.

Corn, wheat, and rice are all GMO foods. So, corn is a most frankenfood. Unfortunately, corn is useful as fuel.

 

[ChrisL]

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

Sorry, could you repeat the question?

There was no question. I said Pogo is a bitch.

Oh okay, a mega

I'm just kidding around. I like Pogo, but he . . . can be annoying sometimes. Lol.

I'm glad you just like Pogo, because I love Pogo....and I don't want you starting trouble about this

If I want to give Pogo shit, I will. Don't be under the mistaken impression that you carry any weight around here with me, little one.

 

[ChrisL]

Well, maybe it doesn't effect everyone the same way it does you?

Everybody's metabolism works in his/her own way, but there are also truisms regarding how the body processes a given type of food.

Go ahead, live on potato chips and let us know how it works out.

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said, that doesn't apply with something like wheat. It's not a matter of "how much". It's a matter of what it DOES inside the body.

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

 

[Pogo]

Everybody's metabolism works in his/her own way, but there are also truisms regarding how the body processes a given type of food.

Go ahead, live on potato chips and let us know how it works out.

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

And as I said, that doesn't apply with something like wheat. It's not a matter of "how much". It's a matter of what it DOES inside the body.

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

 

[ChrisL]

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Medscape: Medscape Access

 

[ChrisL]

Like I said earlier, moderation. You don't have to cut things out of your diet completely, you just don't pig out on them!

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

I eat wheat products all the time, never had a problem with weight, AND I've had children.

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Everything in moderation, like I said.

 

[Pogo]

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Medscape: Medscape Access

You just linked to a website registration page.
Perhaps wheat is clouding your perceptive abilities.

 

[Pogo]

And as I said earlier --- dietary reactions to specific foods do not require "pigging out". Because as I also said earlier ... it's not how much, but what it does. In ANY amount.

Perhaps you have beans in your ears....

You are not "everybody". Is it not possible that other people metabolize differently?

Think about it.

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Everything in moderation, like I said.

And "moderation" is not all there is to it, as I said.

 

[ChrisL]

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Medscape: Medscape Access

You just linked to a website registration page.
Perhaps wheat is clouding your perceptive abilities.

No. I didn't. The site comes up if you just click on the link. Don't know how to use a computer either, eh?

It's Not Genes: People Are Fat Because They Eat Too Much
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD



Disclosures | May 27, 2014

• 468 comments

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
  Print

Hi. I am Art Caplan, from the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York.

Why are your patients fat? Why are people fat generally? Struggling with weight is a problem. I personally have done better with it lately, but it is a challenge. We all know we are in the middle of an obesity epidemic in the United States. Indeed, worldwide obesity is an increasing problem.

If you look at the medical literature, the answer is clear. The problem is in our genes. Again and again, in media reports and in articles that catch the attention of editors at the most prominent medical journals, the answer to why we are all fat is that we have bad genes.

Think about it. You go to a cocktail party. You are chatting with people and you start talking about weight. The person says, "I'm one of those high metabolizers (or low metabolizers)," hinting that there is a genetic or biological basis for their size. Or people will say to me, "I must have inherited bad genes. I just can't seem to keep weight off."

We love the genetic explanation. That is why it was so interesting to see a paper recently in the British Medical Journal[1] that looked in a very different, but I believe a more fertile, direction for understanding the obesity problem.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge conducted a very simple study. They wanted to know how many fast-food outlets are in Cambridgeshire, the county that includes Cambridge and the university. They also looked at where people commuted to work, and whether there was any association between going by these fast-food places and obesity and diabetes.

Bad Food, Not Bad Genes
Guess what they found? If you put a bucket of fried chicken out every half-mile along the route people take to work and back, they are fatter. There is a correlation between fast-food outlets and being diabetic or being fat.

The point is this: Genes certainly play a role in how people handle food, but if you live in a culture that overwhelms you with opportunities to eat junk food and fatty food, even the best genes can easily be overwhelmed.

We are that kind of country, too. We promote eating more food. I took a ride recently from Moosic, Pennsylvania, to Wilkes-Barre. Having read this article, I decided to count how many fast-food places I could see from the road in a relatively rural area. The distance was 13 miles. I counted 19 kings, arches, colonels, and so on. Fast food is ubiquitous. Bad food opportunities are everywhere.

If we are going to get a handle on the obesity epidemic, then we need to stop saying, "All you have to do is control your diet, and somehow manage the responsibility that your genes gave you." Telling people they have a genetic basis for obesity is kind of an excuse, or an easy way out.

 

[ChrisL]

And YOU are not "everybody"either, bitch.

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Everything in moderation, like I said.

And "moderation" is not all there is to it, as I said.

Sure, sure. I'll have three Big Macs and a DIET Coke.

 

[Pogo]

What I'm not is the wag sitting here claiming "it doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen at all".

Perhaps you missed the part of my post that said, "think about it".

Think about it.

Yes, you were the one saying it happens to you so it is a good idea to cut it out of your diet? Correct? I say that most people can eat a sandwich made with wheat bread and will NOT gain 20 pounds. MOST people who have a weight problem have a weight problem because they overdo it.

"MOST" huh?

Link?

Medscape: Medscape Access

You just linked to a website registration page.
Perhaps wheat is clouding your perceptive abilities.

No. I didn't. The site comes up if you just click on the link. Don't know how to use a computer either, eh?

It's Not Genes: People Are Fat Because They Eat Too Much
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD



Disclosures | May 27, 2014

• 468 comments

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
  Print

Hi. I am Art Caplan, from the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York.

Why are your patients fat? Why are people fat generally? Struggling with weight is a problem. I personally have done better with it lately, but it is a challenge. We all know we are in the middle of an obesity epidemic in the United States. Indeed, worldwide obesity is an increasing problem.

If you look at the medical literature, the answer is clear. The problem is in our genes. Again and again, in media reports and in articles that catch the attention of editors at the most prominent medical journals, the answer to why we are all fat is that we have bad genes.

Think about it. You go to a cocktail party. You are chatting with people and you start talking about weight. The person says, "I'm one of those high metabolizers (or low metabolizers)," hinting that there is a genetic or biological basis for their size. Or people will say to me, "I must have inherited bad genes. I just can't seem to keep weight off."

We love the genetic explanation. That is why it was so interesting to see a paper recently in the British Medical Journal[1] that looked in a very different, but I believe a more fertile, direction for understanding the obesity problem.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge conducted a very simple study. They wanted to know how many fast-food outlets are in Cambridgeshire, the county that includes Cambridge and the university. They also looked at where people commuted to work, and whether there was any association between going by these fast-food places and obesity and diabetes.

Bad Food, Not Bad Genes
Guess what they found? If you put a bucket of fried chicken out every half-mile along the route people take to work and back, they are fatter. There is a correlation between fast-food outlets and being diabetic or being fat.

The point is this: Genes certainly play a role in how people handle food, but if you live in a culture that overwhelms you with opportunities to eat junk food and fatty food, even the best genes can easily be overwhelmed.

We are that kind of country, too. We promote eating more food. I took a ride recently from Moosic, Pennsylvania, to Wilkes-Barre. Having read this article, I decided to count how many fast-food places I could see from the road in a relatively rural area. The distance was 13 miles. I counted 19 kings, arches, colonels, and so on. Fast food is ubiquitous. Bad food opportunities are everywhere.

If we are going to get a handle on the obesity epidemic, then we need to stop saying, "All you have to do is control your diet, and somehow manage the responsibility that your genes gave you." Telling people they have a genetic basis for obesity is kind of an excuse, or an easy way out.

Stuffed, Part 1

Stuffed, Part 2

And for those who were going when I linked it before being infatuated with their own voice:

The Dark side of "Healthy" Wheat