I see two kinds of silly food fights. One takes place in children and teenager school lunch rooms with flying rolls and biscuits.
The other takes place in serious research laboratories across the globe. It’s the latter that prompted this column’s heading because conflicting food and dietary research findings are regularly foisted off on us “eaters.” It happens so often that it’s just plain silly.
So, I’ve got some personal advice about following advice about what constitutes a healthful diet. Here’s my advice: You’ll never be right and you’ll never be wrong. That’s becuz scientific dietary research changes about as often as a person blinks. I’ll boil it down to this observation: If you’ve got enuf money to fund some dietary research, you’ll be happy with the results.
In recent years, the government’s official dietary guidelines have fluctuated all over the spectrum. For instance, red meat was once a no-no, then it became back in vogue as an excellent protein source. Not long ago, eggs were non-grata, but now are also back in vogue. High-carb diets have been in and out. Same with Paleo diets.
For years, a Mediterranean diet with lots of olive oil wuz highly recommended — until research put its benefits into question.
Recently, I talked about the silly food fight over raw milk versus pasteurized milk. Well, this week I ran across a new dietary research finding that calls into question the food value of cheeses and all dairy products.
So, now a silly food fight is brewing about how much dairy foods are good for you. The story I read said that a storm of controversy is swirling over the humble glass of milk. It goes on that multiple servings of milk, cheese or yogurt have long been a staple of American nutrition advice, but now a growing number of researchers and doctors say you need less dairy than you think, and maybe even none at all.
The U.S. government, which recommends that adults eat three servings of dairy a day, is taking a fresh look at its guidance. A hallowed committee of scientific advisers is analyzing diets with lower amounts of dairy to study what happens to people’s nutrient levels. Other countries already recommend less dairy than the U.S. does. The problem? Conflicting results.
Dairy-rich diets have been linked to increased risks of heart disease and certain cancers in some studies. Foods like ice cream, full-fat cheese and pizza are high in calories and saturated fat. However, the research isn’t clear-cut. Some studies link dairy foods to a lower risk of heart disease, some cancers and Type 2 diabetes.
The story I read says that when it comes to milk, scientists can’t agree on whether full fat or skim is better. One reason we don’t have definitive answers on dairy: Many studies are observational, meaning scientists ask people what they eat and look at their health over time. Always keep in mind the dairy industry funds some of the research. But, so do many other entities.
Still, some useful findings have emerged. There is evidence that a diet high in dairy may lower the risk of colon cancer. The calcium and vitamin D seem to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the colon. Certain fatty acids in dairy may also have an anti-inflammatory effect, which can reduce cancer risk. By contrast, dairy consumption also is linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer. Dairy foods may increase the level of insulin-like growth factor, a hormone that may fuel prostate cancer growth.
So, how am I personally responding to all the conflicting pseudo-research about dairy foods. Well, I’m one of America’s premier cheese eaters. I like about every kind that’s made — hard and soft, sharp and mild, sliced and bulk, and cottage. In addition, I use Half-And-Half every day and I eat yogurt regularly.
So, my advice. Eat all the cheese you want. Eventually, some new dietary research will make your choice a good one — based on science.
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Talking of food, at this morning’s Old Geezers’ Coffee Klatch the subject for some reason got sidetracked onto what I call “ugh or yuck” foods. The ages of the klatch members range from 70 to 90, so collectively we’ve seen a lot of unappetizing food history.
Our history goes back to our early years when putting food on the family table three times a day wuz a challenge our families met by not wasting sources of food. Our memories turned to such “delectables” as head cheese, blood pudding, pickled pigs feet, sweet breads and other meat animal internal organs like tongue, heart, liver, gizzards, chicken feet, and using cleaned intestines for stuffing with sausage.
When it came to edible wild game, our memories ran the gamut from quail, pheasant, doves, wild turkeys, ducks, geese, venison, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, beaver tails, and every kind of fish that could be harvested by hook or crook.
Eating all those “yummy” foods must have not hurt us. We’ve all lived to ripe old ages.
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Speaking of ripe old ages, Nevah and I finally reached the official date of our 60th wedding anniversary — Aug. 16. And, do you know what? That’s the very day she decided to leave me — for eight days — while she vamoosed on a long-ago planned river cruise with her best friend Diane.
They will meet in Nashville, Tenn., and cruise the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers down to Memphis. Their travel agenda includes attending the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville and various interesting ports-of-call along the way.
So, I’m entering an 8-day stint of bachelorhood cooking for myself, working in the garden, and keeping the foxtail lawn mown short. Who knows, I might even decide to take a short trip myself.
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My words of wisdom for the week: The biggest joke on mankind is that computers have begun asking humans to prove they aren’t a robot.
Have a good ‘un.
