Is that Granola Bar Really Healthy? Nutritionists Say No!
Healthy eating and “eating clean” is all the rage among health conscious consumers. So-called Super Foods like blueberries, kale, Swiss chard and quinoa supposedly supercharge the body, cleans the colon and all around make people healthier. A recent New York Times article explores the misconceptions people have about healthy eating and how what constitutes healthy foods differs from nutritionist and the public.
For instance, granola and granola bars are considered a healthy go-to snack by most people. Seventy-one percent of the public consider granola bars healthy, while 80 percent consider granola healthy. This view is not shared by nutritionists. Only 28 percent of nutritionists believe granola bars are healthy, while 47 percent view granola favorably.
About half the public (47 percent) view Slimfast shakes a healthy diet meal replacement, compared to less than half that (21 percent) of nutritionists. Two-thirds of Americans consider frozen yogurt to be healthy – double the rate of nutritionists.
Something health food nuts (no bias here) think is wonderful is coconut oil. Nearly three-quarters of Americans view coconut oil as healthy. But only 37 percent of nutritionists do. Only half of Americans say sushi is healthy, a proportion that rises to three-quarters of nutritionists. Less than half of Americans believe pork chops and popcorn are healthy. Yet, nutritionists tend to rate them much higher.
An article in today’s NYT about steps individuals can take to minimize their risk of getting cancer and other diseases offered four criteria which qualified one as part of the lowest risk population. They are (1) never smoked or quit at least five years ago, (2) limit alcohol consumption to no more than one drink per day for women and two per day for men, (3) maintain a normal weight defined as a BMI between 18.5 and 27.5, and (4) get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intensive exercise. It didn’t speak to diet where there apparently isn’t much of a consensus around what’s healthy and what isn’t. The four criteria listed above are much more precisely definable and not that hard to achieve for most people.
If you look at the New York Times article, about 25% of nutritionists identify beer as healthy, while 70% identify wine as healthy. Both would have similar alcohol contents. Although there are theories that red wine is healthy, a beer in moderation is probably not much less healthy.
There is nothing wrong with kale, popcorn or most vegetables if they are smothered in melted butter.
Bacon Bacon and more Bacon
Only something like 12% of nutritionists believe bacon to be healthy while double that proportion of the public does. Some people complain about nitrites in bacon, but lean (uncured) bacon that doesn’t have too much sodium should be fine in my opinion. Just slap it on a burger with a slice of American cheese and pour yourself a beer… All four of those unhealthy items probably balance each other out.
The propaganda is getting pretty deep. I enrolled a woman yesterday that was paying $1,460 a month for COBRA after she was fired for just $343 a month with a STM PPO with an itty-bitty-little deductible of $2,500 per person.
I told her to buy my STM and save enough money to buy 4 new cars.
I didn’t tell her that the Obama Administration Health Care Dictator at HHS is outlawing STM as we speak and the Nation’s media isn’t saying a word, figures. Trust me, $1,100 a month savings on a PPO or forced into a dangerous over-priced HMO on the Florida Obamacare Exchange that pays NOTHING if the mother took a sick child to MD Anderson Cancer Hospitals in TEXAS so the poor bald headed child might live.
Better health insurance flew right over her head but this stingy female consumer needed to save the $1,100 a month, in her cherry-picking mind, that it was a pretty easy sale.
I’m sure Lee would have sold her an additional $1 million dollars of life insurance, with living benefits, on each parent for an additional $100 a month. The parents were only 30-years-old. Then Lee would have earned an additional $1,800. But I didn’t do it for the money I helped her because I just like helping uninformed brain washed consumers. As long as I can, that is.
Lee would have told her to open a tax-free HSA and save more but I didn’t say a word about going tax free, why would I? It’s like stealing from the government.
We need to pass a regulation for bacon fat to be mandatory as a fuel additive to drop the price of oil.