12 ms·

I don't think it's even about low carb vs. high protein to begin with. Many countries and regions in the world are fine with a high-carb diet, and people there

by sdo72 8mo ago

I don't think it's even about low carb vs. high protein to begin with. Many countries and regions in the world are fine with a high-carb diet, and people there live long, healthy lives. Americans eat so much processed food simply because it is much cheaper than fresh food. Processed food is made to get consumers addicted (through convenience, taste, etc.) and encourage them to consume much more. Fresh food is almost the opposite. I grew up in a country where freshly made food is actually cheaper than processed food, even to this day. People who stick to a traditional diet are mostly thin, while those who stick to a processed food diet gain a lot of weight.

sallveburrpi 8mo ago
This should be top comment When I was visiting the US I was shocked how much more expensive “real” food is. Here I am spending more if I eat out or processed food versus cooking my own food at home. In the US it was basically the inverse, didn’t make any sense to me. (N=1 and 10 year old experience, but it seems to have only gotten more extreme since)
- MrMember 8mo ago
  I don't see this at all. Staple foods are cheap and abundant. Fruits and vegetables don't cost much at all. Some animal proteins can get a bit pricy (beef mostly) but chicken and pork aren't that expensive. Eggs are like $2 a dozen. I love my meat but if I switched to a vegetarian diet it would be trivial to make varied, delicious meals at $1.50-$2 a portion.
  - iteria 8mo ago
    Where? It's $4 for a dozen eggs where I am and I think that's pretty cheap. It's $5 for a bag of shitty apples. And then another $5 for a bag of oranges, so my kid can have fruit for the week. I cook from nothing but fresh and my kid gets one bag of chips or cookies a week. I buy 2lbs of meat for us both. I still spend over 100 dollars. I guess we could have beans and rice every day, but I don't think it's a lot to give my kid a varied diet based on what's in season. Out of season is awful and that's how I ended up spending $15 on berries my kid wanted. When people talk about these cheap meals, I wonder if they just expect everyone to eat the same thing every day at the lowest quality. I can go to a budget grocery store and get $3 eggs. That's true, but I feel like the local national chain should ve a good enough yard stick.
    - MrMember 8mo ago
      I do most of my grocery shopping at Target. In my large Midwestern city 12 large eggs are $2. A 3 lb bag of apples is $4. A 3 lb bag of oranges is $4.29. >When people talk about these cheap meals, I wonder if they just expect everyone to eat the same thing every day at the lowest quality. Eating cheap doesn't have to mean eating the same shit meal every day. I like to have a framework to work from where I have some structure but can vary it a lot based on what I want to eat. Rice+vegetable(s)+protein has endless variations. One week I might do a taco style rice bowl. The next maybe I do an Asian bowl. Stews are also great for this. By varying the ingredients a bit and using different spices I can get stews with very different flavor profiles that taste great.
    - liveoneggs 8mo ago
      I bought 12 eggs from trader joe's yesterday for $2, organics were $5 I get 18 eggs from another grocery store for about $5 and kroger has them really cheap too. Even Whole Foods has 18 for $5-ish in one brand and much more $$ in another. Publix is the egg-gouger around me (and just overpriced in general) IMHO the same cheap whole food meals are healthier than a variety of $2 frozen dinners. You can hit a middle-ground with some frozen stuff to save a little time and money a few days per week too.
poemxo 8mo ago
The messaging on the website pretty much agrees with you, then.
- tensor 8mo ago
  Except for the incredibly wrong and bad advice that Americans, who already eat too much meat, should eat even more meat, sure.
AstroBen 8mo ago
> Americans eat so much processed food simply because it is much cheaper than fresh food. I don't understand how people come to this conclusion Beans/grains/legumes are cheap Frozen veg is dirt cheap (and retains its nutrition as good as, or better than fresh). In-season fruit and veg Which foods are more expensive? People are door-dashing their salaries away and complaining about the price of fresh food... Convenience and addiction makes more sense, certainly not price
- tensor 8mo ago
  Yes, but look at the comments. Americans are obsessed with meat. They actively believe that mostly meat diets are somehow much more healthy than mostly carb and vegetable diets. None of them want to eat only grains and vegetables, and meat is both the most expensive food and also the most damaging to the environment, which I guess is a second thing Americans seem not to care about.
  - AstroBen 8mo ago
    Yeah you're right. Influencers have more, well, influence than scientists these days unfortunately
    - frutiger 8mo ago
      Scientists have never really had that much influence. See: high priests, religion, politics, &c.
  - __MatrixMan__ 8mo ago
    Something like 15% of the Americans I know are vegetarian or vegan. Though you've characterized the others well. I think we need more education around glycemic index. Protein and fats burn slowly enough that they're not going to spike your blood sugar. Many Americans think that they're the only nutrients with that property.
- jasonlotito 8mo ago
  > I don't understand how people come to this conclusion Then maybe you shouldn't speak on it until you understand how they came to this conclusion. Knowing you have opinions based on ignorance and refusing to change isn't a good way to live.

by sdo72 8mo ago

sallveburrpi 8mo ago

This should be top comment When I was visiting the US I was shocked how much more expensive “real” food is. Here I am spending more if I eat out or processed food versus cooking my own food at home. In the US it was basically the inverse, didn’t make any sense to me. (N=1 and 10 year old experience, but it seems to have only gotten more extreme since)

MrMember 8mo ago
I don't see this at all. Staple foods are cheap and abundant. Fruits and vegetables don't cost much at all. Some animal proteins can get a bit pricy (beef mostly) but chicken and pork aren't that expensive. Eggs are like $2 a dozen. I love my meat but if I switched to a vegetarian diet it would be trivial to make varied, delicious meals at $1.50-$2 a portion.
- iteria 8mo ago
  Where? It's $4 for a dozen eggs where I am and I think that's pretty cheap. It's $5 for a bag of shitty apples. And then another $5 for a bag of oranges, so my kid can have fruit for the week. I cook from nothing but fresh and my kid gets one bag of chips or cookies a week. I buy 2lbs of meat for us both. I still spend over 100 dollars. I guess we could have beans and rice every day, but I don't think it's a lot to give my kid a varied diet based on what's in season. Out of season is awful and that's how I ended up spending $15 on berries my kid wanted. When people talk about these cheap meals, I wonder if they just expect everyone to eat the same thing every day at the lowest quality. I can go to a budget grocery store and get $3 eggs. That's true, but I feel like the local national chain should ve a good enough yard stick.
  - MrMember 8mo ago
    I do most of my grocery shopping at Target. In my large Midwestern city 12 large eggs are $2. A 3 lb bag of apples is $4. A 3 lb bag of oranges is $4.29. >When people talk about these cheap meals, I wonder if they just expect everyone to eat the same thing every day at the lowest quality. Eating cheap doesn't have to mean eating the same shit meal every day. I like to have a framework to work from where I have some structure but can vary it a lot based on what I want to eat. Rice+vegetable(s)+protein has endless variations. One week I might do a taco style rice bowl. The next maybe I do an Asian bowl. Stews are also great for this. By varying the ingredients a bit and using different spices I can get stews with very different flavor profiles that taste great.
  - liveoneggs 8mo ago
    I bought 12 eggs from trader joe's yesterday for $2, organics were $5 I get 18 eggs from another grocery store for about $5 and kroger has them really cheap too. Even Whole Foods has 18 for $5-ish in one brand and much more $$ in another. Publix is the egg-gouger around me (and just overpriced in general) IMHO the same cheap whole food meals are healthier than a variety of $2 frozen dinners. You can hit a middle-ground with some frozen stuff to save a little time and money a few days per week too.

poemxo 8mo ago

The messaging on the website pretty much agrees with you, then.

tensor 8mo ago
Except for the incredibly wrong and bad advice that Americans, who already eat too much meat, should eat even more meat, sure.

AstroBen 8mo ago

> Americans eat so much processed food simply because it is much cheaper than fresh food. I don't understand how people come to this conclusion Beans/grains/legumes are cheap Frozen veg is dirt cheap (and retains its nutrition as good as, or better than fresh). In-season fruit and veg Which foods are more expensive? People are door-dashing their salaries away and complaining about the price of fresh food... Convenience and addiction makes more sense, certainly not price

tensor 8mo ago
Yes, but look at the comments. Americans are obsessed with meat. They actively believe that mostly meat diets are somehow much more healthy than mostly carb and vegetable diets. None of them want to eat only grains and vegetables, and meat is both the most expensive food and also the most damaging to the environment, which I guess is a second thing Americans seem not to care about.
- AstroBen 8mo ago
  Yeah you're right. Influencers have more, well, influence than scientists these days unfortunately
  - frutiger 8mo ago
    Scientists have never really had that much influence. See: high priests, religion, politics, &c.
- __MatrixMan__ 8mo ago
  Something like 15% of the Americans I know are vegetarian or vegan. Though you've characterized the others well. I think we need more education around glycemic index. Protein and fats burn slowly enough that they're not going to spike your blood sugar. Many Americans think that they're the only nutrients with that property.
jasonlotito 8mo ago
> I don't understand how people come to this conclusion Then maybe you shouldn't speak on it until you understand how they came to this conclusion. Knowing you have opinions based on ignorance and refusing to change isn't a good way to live.