Wednesday, February 22, 2006
The Best NYTimes Op-Ed Ever!
LAST week's reports that low-fat diets may not reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer have left Americans more confused than ever about what to eat. I'd like to make a radical suggestion: instead of wringing our hands over fat grams and calories, let's resolve to enjoy whatever food we eat.It turns out
In the 1970's, researchers fed two groups of women, one Swedish and one Thai, a spicy Thai meal. The Thai women ? who presumably liked the meal more than the Swedish women did ? absorbed almost 50 percent more iron from it than the Swedish women. When the meal was served as a mushy paste, the Thai women absorbed 70 percent less iron than they had before ? from the same food.I am truly tired of the food Nazis. Two reasons:
One, they really do take the fun out of life. There is no greater pleasure for me than a fine meal with fine company -- it's an art, to be savored. I'd rather die at 70 having enjoyed myself than live to 90 eating some of the stuff they try to foist on me.
Two, it seems to me they suffer from a severely warped sense of priority. Is it really that important to sue McDonald's for someone that eats too much?
Related Tags: food, happiness, fat, health, priorities
