Maniacal Rant: "Part of this balanced breakfast!"

The only real option for a balanced breakfast is a burrito, because one can hold it in the middle and balance it. Maybe a breakfast sandwich can work but the oblong shape of a burrito really helps with balancing. It's sort of like balancing a checkbook by holding it in the middle.

 

I like MC rant so much I did some micro-googling

"The problem with associations is that the concept of a "complete breakfast" varies from country for country — many unthinkable breakfast ingredients in the West are norms elsewhere around the world. In Japan, for example, the traditional breakfast includes rice, fish, miso soup, sticky soy beans, and nori seaweed, while in Cambodia, a rice noodle soup with meat and vegetables called kuy teav is common. In Indonesia, meanwhile, fried rice is a breakfast dish and in parts of India, roti with lentil soup is common morning fare.

The modern Western notion of breakfast is unique in its own way, varying from region to region, and has changed over time. What is accepted as an average breakfast today is unrecognizable, historically. Take Medieval Europe, where a typical breakfast for the well-off would have included alcohol and veal. "A standard breakfast for the Medieval period was bread, ale, and either cold meats or eggs for breakfast, depending on the time of year and day of the week," says food historian Caroline Yeldham. "Elizabeth I ate quite a large breakfast — chicken, mutton, rabbit, veal, and beef — usually served at 8 a.m."

How the So-Called

 

I think we should go back to alcohol and veal.:yumyum:

I also would like you to imagine my emoticon, which is my smiley guy chowing down on a bowl of cereal. I know Maniac can make that happen.

Here's the thing, the biggest disappointment of my entire career is that nutrition isn't nearly as much about eating as you might think. It's a biochemistry discussion. But we can't talk about biochemistry because nobody freakin understands biochemistry. So we say carbs are bad (no offense Maniac) or X is good, only organic, no gluten, blah blah blah. Eating in USA is a cultural lifestyle question - not a nutrition/health question.

Here's the other thing, people suffer from lifestyle diseases more than ever (obesity, heart disease, and some cancers) HOWEVER, our lifespan is up, so that's a win. We can't be sad when someone with high cholesterol and excessive body weight dies at 65. He did great. 65 is great. 65 BEATS his ancestors. I know this thread is about 12 seconds away from devolving into a question of people being a burden on society, and I'm not going there.

EDIT: lifespan chart http://demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html

 

For the first time in generations, life expectancy is expected to decrease among Americans. I just saw a report on the news yesterday, but can't find corresponding articles. There is just some stuff from last year and earlier this year. We've known this was a possibility for a while because the obesity problem has become so widespread. Obesity among children was not as much of a problem nearly 20 years ago. That Berkeley chart only goes up to 1998. Substance abuse is also a factor. A CDC report from 2015 says that life expectancy has remained unchanged for three straight years.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/increase-us-life-expectancy-stalled-cdc-report-confirms-190959290.html?ref=gs

There was also an analysis that found that the life expectancy for white women has decreased.

White Women Suffered Biggest Drop In Life Expectancy In The U.S.

 

As a kid, I ate almost that exact breakfast every morning, but I was outside, running around and getting exercise all day, so I burned it right off. Kids these days finish their bowl of sugar disguised as cereal, then retreat to their computer, X-Box, or phone to sit around all day. That's why I kick my kids out of the house when the weather is nice, even just to take the dog for a walk around the neighborhood.

You're also dead-on (dead...get it?) about drug related deaths. Fatal OD's involving heroin, Fentanyl, and other opiates are off the charts, and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

 

I used to drink quite a lot of fruit juice, thinking it was good for me. I got up to 200. Now I'm 160. Maybe giving up alcohol and no longer being a pork-eating infidel had something to do with that,too. (No religious reasons, I assure you.)

I'm 73 now - and hope to be a burden on society for quite a while to come. Damn, I'm good at being a burden! Ask my kids! :smile:

J.

 

I grew up in the 90s before everyone had a computer with Internet service and smartphones. Even though my cousins, who lived nearby, had a video game system, we all spent hours playing outside. It didn't matter if it was 100+ degrees outside. We used to ride our bikes, jump rope, play tag, use the Skip It toy, etc. Now that I think about it, as an adult, I rarely see kids outside. It's summer, and there are a lot of families in my apartment complex, but I don't see any kids running around. I'm also noticing that the fancy gym at my new apartment complex appears to always be empty.

 

Yes, you're correct.
Earlier infant extreme life saving measures combined with extreme end of life saving measures have widened the range incredibly. To that add medicines that manage or cure previously incurable disease (type 1 diabetics, cancer, etc.). None of that has anything to do with food.
Eating in the USA is all about culture... which is why we can sell food using marketing - which is why we have fine dining restaurants, which is why we have Food Network, which is why we have food magazines, which is why chefs are on tv (and frankly, why "chef" is even a job). Food is about feelings, relationships, celebrations, pleasure, etc.
Nutrition in the USA is all about affluence and perception of the healthy lifestyle. Blk water anyone? Does Wholefoods accept food stamps?

 

That's a good Maniac.

 

I've been on the Mediterranean diet since before I knew that's what my style of eating was called. I only eat whole grains. I eat very little dairy. I almost never eat red meat. Before I started down this path I was fat. I was always the fat kid. I have fond memories of my mother forcing me to eat Pop Tarts on my way out the door to go to school from my earliest days.

I used to drink soda regularly. During my first year in the Navy I drank soda with breakfast (orange Fanta in Europe is like Pellegrino Clementine in the U.S.), lunch and dinner. Woke up thirsty in the middle of the night? Kill a can of Coca Cola. Now I have processed sugar maybe once a month and it usually comes in the form of a snickers which still pales in comparison to the sugar content of a can of soda.

Overall I found myself looking and feeling much healthier once I "balanced" my diet by eating actual food instead of processed garbage.