Thursday, June 07, 2007

Why do they do this?

"Scientists in Indiana are reporting progress toward development of low glycemic and slowly digestible starch, a form of starch that would be less apt to cause the spike in blood sugar - and perhaps sharp hunger pangs - that many individuals experience after eating bread, baked goods, and other high-carbohydrate foods."

The rest of the summary can be read here.

My only question is why?

I can understand the need for people to consume healthier foods - particularly than those listed in the quote above. But what if we just ate less of that food and more fruits and vegetables, healthier meats and drank more water? What if we just ate grains as they grow in the field?

Look in your pantry. Foods in plastic bags and carboard boxes are loaded with things that used to be good, healthy foods. Take enriched white flour for example. Out in the field, its a perfectly healthy and natural food.

To end up as a cake, bread or other food, it gets processed. The problem with processing is that it removes the good stuff, mainly the fiber, vitamins and minerals. As the end-product food stuff, it's a plain-old, bland, quickly digesting starch.

Now, based on the objectives of these scientists, a new, more slowly digesting starch is being manufactured. And they're making progress. I don't know if I should jump for joy or just ask the question: "What is wrong with this picture?"

If we have a perfectly healthy food, process it and turn it into something that is not good for our digestive system, why do we want to further alter it so that it is better for our digestive system? Before you answer, think about the steps being taken to make the food better.

Is this coming full circle or am I just missing something completely obvious here? Please enlighten me!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree 100% That is why in my opinion America is becoming obese. Instead of making "better starches" how bout people explore fast and slow burning foods as well as how to maintain a proper diet.
I tell people all the time- 3500 calories is 1 lb. Remove 500 calories a day from your diet and in a week you have lost 1 lb. 500 calories isn't to much when you think about it a slice of cheese is anywhere between 45-90 calories depending on size and a bagel can run 360-400 calories alone. For many just subtracting the extra slices or extra beer is enough and while I'm ranting what's so wrong with eating half the portion at the restaurant and taking the rest of it home to enjoy later? Yeah enjoy your 3 or 4 refills of Dr. Pepper and stuff yourself while eating out, that wont put on the lbs.

Finally I leave with a question. Do you believe the majority of Americans know when the stomach is "full" That would be an intersting survey question. To me being full is no longer feeling hungry.

Chris

brian said...

Thanks for your comment and thanks for reading.

It's certainly a big part of why Westernized civilizations are becoming obese, the other is the general lack of physical activity.

I believe most people would know when they are full. Problem is, our perceptions are such that we are so busy our actions spill over to the dinner table. We eat in such a hurry that we don't realize we're full - until we've overeaten.

Liquid said...

Was just surfing the net and found your blog. Very interesting!

brian said...

Thank you, liquid. Please surf your way by more frequently :-)