I don’t have any sources or knowledge to back it up but I did have this interesting conversation with a friend that preservatives might be a reason there’s so many obesity cases in the west. Thinking about it sort of makes sense to me since preservatives slow microbes from eating the food and if it can slow microbes why shouldn’t it slow your body from burning it?

Of course that’s no excuse for being fat but anything that helps the matter can’t be good.

I remember there being talks about hormone enriched meat getting the credit for causing obesity in people in the states. Hormones were being pumped into the cattle to make them bigger, ergo, more meatier and those hormones then get transferred into the people who are eating it.

Then again, there's so much stuff and chemicals that we're exposing ourselves to today, that we weren't 100 years ago, that I wouldn't be surprised if one day we'd experience a devastating breakdown in our genetics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation#Salt [en.wikipedia.org]

All of these have a pretty clear reason why they should stop working the moment they mix with about every thing else in your stomach.

da_kasha
I don’t have any sources or knowledge to back it up but I did have this interesting conversation with a friend that preservatives might be a reason there’s so many obesity cases in the west.

I just read this week's cover story in Time about the real cost of cheap food. According to this report, which I've read scattered in other sources, is that it is our reliance on cheap corn that has inadvertently led to obesity. Cheap corn makes large animal farms possible, and the health and environmental effects are enormous.

The most interesting statistic I saw was what $1.00 can buy: it can buy 170 calories of fresh fruit, 250 calories of fresh vegetables, 875 calories of soda, and 1200 calories of potato chips. Eating fresh food (and eating organic for that matter) costs a lot more than eating junk food. To me, that seems a much simpler explanation for obesity.

arteestx

da_kasha
I don’t have any sources or knowledge to back it up but I did have this interesting conversation with a friend that preservatives might be a reason there’s so many obesity cases in the west.

I just read this week's cover story in Time about the real cost of cheap food. According to this report, which I've read scattered in other sources, is that it is our reliance on cheap corn that has inadvertently led to obesity. Cheap corn makes large animal farms possible, and the health and environmental effects are enormous.

The most interesting statistic I saw was what $1.00 can buy: it can buy 170 calories of fresh fruit, 250 calories of fresh vegetables, 875 calories of soda, and 1200 calories of potato chips. Eating fresh food (and eating organic for that matter) costs a lot more than eating junk food. To me, that seems a much simpler explanation for obesity.

Yap, people always say that it's about American mentality that people are sooner fat there. I think it's more that Europe has very tight food regulations and in the US companies are more free to do as they like (Free market)

Also, you realize that 'calories' is just a marketing name right that has no real meaning? a calorie is a unit of energy. If I'm not mistaken the amount of energy required to heat a kg of water one degree Celsius (Or Kelvin) up. How much energy is in food is largely irrelevant, it's the type of material it's composed of. Your body does different things with different chemical bonds, the optimum is the most energy in the least fattening substances. And in theory, you could pay your electricity bill at the end of the month in calories.

Better ignore calories, because companies are often pressured to make it as low as possible so they can put it on the label, which usually just means it has zero nutritional value.

qqq
Also, you realize that 'calories' is just a marketing name right that has no real meaning?

Not really, the terms and meanings are better explained here [betterhealth.vic.gov.au]. And as explained there, "kilojoule" s really the proper term these days.

There are common, popularly understood meanings for these things, which is why the cruder measure of "calorie" persists in the public conciousness, but that doesn't mean that all understanding of the concept is crude.

ozoneocean

qqq
Also, you realize that 'calories' is just a marketing name right that has no real meaning?

Not really, the terms and meanings are better explained here [betterhealth.vic.gov.au]. And as explained there, "kilojoule" s really the proper term these days.

There are common, popularly understood meanings for these things, which is why the cruder measure of "calorie" persists in the public conciousness, but that doesn't mean that all understanding of the concept is crude.

Indeed, it's simply a unit of energy. But advertisments and marketing agencies always use the term 'calorie' and not 'Joule' or attoelectronvolt or whatever because 'calorie' is believed by the population at large to simply be unit of 'how fat it makes you'.

arteestx

da_kasha
I don’t have any sources or knowledge to back it up but I did have this interesting conversation with a friend that preservatives might be a reason there’s so many obesity cases in the west.

I just read this week's cover story in Time about the real cost of cheap food. According to this report, which I've read scattered in other sources, is that it is our reliance on cheap corn that has inadvertently led to obesity. Cheap corn makes large animal farms possible, and the health and environmental effects are enormous.

The most interesting statistic I saw was what $1.00 can buy: it can buy 170 calories of fresh fruit, 250 calories of fresh vegetables, 875 calories of soda, and 1200 calories of potato chips. Eating fresh food (and eating organic for that matter) costs a lot more than eating junk food. To me, that seems a much simpler explanation for obesity.

yep. people are getting more intake with less nutrition and as a result eating more to less result and getting fatter. the 420 calories worth of fruits and veggies are going to have a LOT more nutrition that the 1200 calories of crisps.

not as salty, too.

Essentially, energy in food can be broken down into three types: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Each gram of carbohydrate and protein contains 4 calories, and each gram of fat contains 9 calories. Most preservatives aren't classified as a carbohydrate, fat, or protein so they won't directly cause you to gain weight. However, preservatives in the form of salts can cause the blood to thicken and consequently high blood pressure. Also, most foods with preservatives have excess amounts of saturated fats and simple sugars which can lead to weight gain.

humorman
Essentially, energy in food can be broken down into three types: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Each gram of carbohydrate and protein contains 4 calories, and each gram of fat contains 9 calories. Most preservatives aren't classified as a carbohydrate, fat, or protein so they won't directly cause you to gain weight. However, preservatives in the form of salts can cause the blood to thicken and consequently high blood pressure. Also, most foods with preservatives have excess amounts of saturated fats and simple sugars which can lead to weight gain.

Energy then again does not make one gain weight on itself. Ones body does different things with different organic molecules, which all contain energy. And it's largely unrelated to the amount of energy they contain. Proteins are hardly fattening, fats can be fattening obviously, but not all fats. And then there's different body types, the point is that carbonhydrates (glucose) release their energy in an optimum if they are burned slowly, fats however are best used for explosive force. That's why sitting around and eating nothing won't let you lose weight, you'll burn glucose then, not fat, sports helps for burning fat. However people have different metabolisms and those people who just can't get fat no matter how much they eat tend to rely a lot more on their explosive metabolism and of course there's a grey area in between so to pay attention to the amount of energy some thing contains for weight control is useless, it depends on your body type and what's inside it. There's also fat to fry things like chips in that for most people actually reduces weight problems but still contains a lot of energy.

Product Placement
I remember there being talks about hormone enriched meat getting the credit for causing obesity in people in the states. Hormones were being pumped into the cattle to make them bigger, ergo, more meatier and those hormones then get transferred into the people who are eating it.

Then again, there's so much stuff and chemicals that we're exposing ourselves to today, that we weren't 100 years ago, that I wouldn't be surprised if one day we'd experience a devastating breakdown in our genetics.

i could see that too.im not sure if it's just the preservatives, but i notice when i eat or drink alot of things like that, i ussually break out.could be the sugars too though i suppose.if you're body isnt properly balanced, ya can get fat or pimply or whatever,so i could see it changing us down the line since so many of us consume these things on a pretty constant basis. there HAS to be some kinda change that happens.

This thread is probably teaching me more than school. qqq, I like what you're saying.