Are Americans eating healthier?

For those questions and discussions on the McDougall program that don’t seem to fit in any other forum.

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby Ejeff » Mon Jun 25, 2018 6:57 am

Geo, loved your rant. Such a good reminder to keep this as simple as possible and focus on those 5 things. And I agree when we cannot even convince our closest loved ones to eat for health it is disappointing. Personally, I’m just going to keep focusing on my own health and live the best life I can. :D
"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don't swim upstream."
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby openmind » Mon Jun 25, 2018 8:56 am

geo wrote:<rant>
Evey year we express hope that things are changing and all we really see is more people getting sick, despite medicine continueing with their new "breakthroughs" in treatments and medicines. And yet they still can't see the forest because they only want to climb the highest tree. And now we have the retirement of the greatest single voice in fighting this scruge we call the SAD.

Sorry, but I'm no longer hopefull that things will change. People are far to addicted to their manufactured foods, their hyper-palatable c.r.a.p. and the sodium, fat and sugar that make it so. Food manufacturers don't give a damn because its about the money and no one is buying truly healthy WFPB. The moneys not there and I doubt it ever will be. And those that claim they know what is truly healthy are still just pushing crap.

</rant>

I've given up worrying up what other people are doing. I only worry about myself, my wife and my daughter. Focusing energy on anyone else not only does not help those other people, it risks getting me off track too.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:17 am

geo wrote:<rant>

Sadly, its been almost a decade since this thead was started and we seem to be no better or more realistically worse than we were back then. Yet another decade lost. Chronic diseases rampant and continueing to increase. Everywhere you hear and see "plant-based" being talked about. We have another new generation of Doctors that undestand whats needed and yes we have an even bigger new set of Doctors that believe in the old Atkins mantra. One step forward, 2 steps back. And we are dieing sooner than before.

Evey year we express hope that things are changing and all we really see is more people getting sick, despite medicine continueing with their new "breakthroughs" in treatments and medicines. And yet they still can't see the forest because they only want to climb the highest tree. And now we have the retirement of the greatest single voice in fighting this scruge we call the SAD.

Sorry, but I'm no longer hopefull that things will change. People are far to addicted to their manufactured foods, their hyper-palatable c.r.a.p. and the sodium, fat and sugar that make it so. Food manufacturers don't give a damn because its about the money and no one is buying truly healthy WFPB. The moneys not there and I doubt it ever will be. And those that claim they know what is truly healthy are still just pushing crap.

Nope, I dont see things changing anymore. We are fighting a losing battle because those who truly care AND understand proper human nutrition are rare indeed and the wannabe's are quickly crowding them out. The cadre of McDougallers that understand and embrace the science is small and just seems to get smaller. We know the truth, and once we achieve that truth we no longer need to be here because new adventures in life open up. We "get a life" as it were. And no matter how many of us succeed in this woe...no one else cares.

They see our health and they just don't care. They have no interest in what they see as giving up what makes their lives enjoyable. It is unthinkable. They don't see what they can gain by just making a few changes in what they eat. Its too hard (when it really isn't). Lifes not worth living without (pick your favorite food). Food and my social life IS the only thing important and I just can't do that on this program. I'd rather be sick and die early in horible agony, than give up my food. The mantra of the deniers are many and just seem to increase with each passing year.

And in many cases we give up on them as well. Just take it slow, make a little change here and there, take baby steps, etc... We know deep down these things don't really work for most and never will. We struggle to figure out what will make people understand and change, but thats really just not going to happen. When people deny their sickness and where it comes from they will never change. Hell, even those of us that have succeeded took decades of convincing in most cases. And we are in the vast minority. Many of us that have succeeded can't even get our own closest loved ones to understand, let alone change.

So if I feel this way, why am I here? I don't know anymore. The science doesn't seem to convince anyone anymore. The program is just too hard... when all it amounts to is to eat starches, veggies and fruit, drink water and exercise a little. We make up all these rules about what to do, but fail to do whats really important. We worry about the minutia to the point of paralysis. We cant follow the program until we get every last piece of proper cookware/machine/gadget/special ingredient/superfood/etc... Excuses abound and everyday we just make more excuses for why we fail or just can't do it.

Starches, veggies, fruits, water, exercise...5 simple words. Nothing else needed to know. If its not one of those things, don't eat it, drink it, or do it. Whatever you stick in your mouth, is it one of those? If not then don't put it in your mouth. What exercise to do? It don't matter, just get
off your ass and move...30 mins a day. End of story. And yet even these most simple 5 words are seemingly impossible for people to follow or understand. They aren't really, but we make endless excuses that make them seem as if they are. Even to the point of letting yourself get sick and die early. We are truly curious creatures but I don't believe we are as intelligent as we think.

Starches, veggies, fruits, water, exercise... Why is this so hard to understand or believe or even accomplish?

</rant>


I think you understand the perspective I have and the positions I take.

This thread may document 10 years of data but in our modern era, it goes back almost 70 years to Kempner, about 40 to McDougall, Ornish and Pritikin, about 15 to the China–Cornell–Oxford Project about 7 to FOK.

In spite of all the money, efforts, corporate support, etc, even the Global Health Starts Here program at WFM only lasted about 7 years.

Human nature is not changing and social media is great at exploiting it, which in my mind, has made figuring out the truth about all this (and doing it) harder, not easier.

Just don't give up on yourself out of the frustration of the choices others make, or give up on the rare one or two who may come to you and ask for info.

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby geo » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:37 am

Now that I'm over my rant. Let me make this a bit more constructive. According to the CDC, a male needs to eat:

2 servings of fruit and 3 1/2 servings of Veggies

Thats a day, not a meal! And yet virtually no one does this. How hard is it really? Well a pic is worth a thousand words they say:

Image

That is 3+ servings of fruit and 4 servings of veggies.

Thats more than the CDC recommends. And it costs less than $2. Pretty much the same as a small McDonalds hamburger and small fries. Its lower in calories, higher in fiber, higher in micronutrients, higher in phytonutrients, higher in minerals, tastes better, doesn't even need to be cooked if you dont want, contains no added salt, fat, sugar, no processed food, no animal products, no gluten, etc... Oh and you dont have to leave your house, burn up gas, be bothered by traffic and crazy drivers, wait in line, or worry about the foods cleanliness. As for variety, you can see from the pic it contains broccoli, sugar snap peas, red pepper, mushrooms, green beans, carrots, celery, onions...thats 8 veggies (yes I know shrooms aren't veggies). And remember, thats MORE than the CDC recommends for fruit and veggies in a day. Its simply a 12oz bag of frozen veggies and a large mango. Oh and yes its more filling as well.

So how difficult is it really to get your fruits and veggies?

Is it really that hard? Or is it that people just don't give a damn? Its not about money and its not about convienence either. Its not about being rich or poor or having no place to shop either. It is simply a matter of doing the right thing and NOT MAKING EXCUSES for why you just can't.
geo

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My March 2013 Star McDougaller Story
Some Random Thoughts on Successful McDougalling
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:51 pm

While it seems like a no-brainer to us, to the average person, they hear the news that they aren't consuming enough fruits and vegetables and then see that latest version of Premium CRAP being marketed and advertised to them every which way they turn. Premium CRAP is the same old CRAP but in a newer fancier packaging implying it is even better for you then the real food itself.

For instance, look at this product.

Image

Image

The highlighted comments actually imply that it as good (or even better) for you then eating the real food.

I mean why eat the cup of blueberries and the cup of oatmeal, the cup of spinach, the carrot juice, the tomato juice when you can just eat these "healthy" oreo cookies.

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby Ern2Win » Mon Jun 25, 2018 1:18 pm

Amen, Brother Geo!

What makes this all so frustrating, is when someone in your family is literally eating themselves to death. My sister-in-law, who is obese, has been fighting sarcoma for over 2 years. They originally found it in her thigh irradiated and excised it. Two years later it metastasized to her lung. During the time of the original tumor, my wife and I thought we had made some progress towards getting her to healthy eating...not! On this latest go-round, she has been treated with chemo and radiation to shrink the tumor away from the lung wall. It appears to have been somewhat successful as they now feel they can remove the lung and tumor. But the doctors killed any chance of getting her to forego meat and dairy. They told her NOT to lose weight (she is obese mind you) and to eat plenty of protein. So she still eats steak and drinks cow milk. Did not lose an ounce of weight...probably gained. Oh, she doesn't like this and doesn't like that...generally, if its good for you she doesn't like it.

So her immediate prognosis is fair, but long term she has done nothing to change the conditions that made her sick in the first place. All she and her husband say in response to our efforts to educate: no one else eats like that and the doctors say to eat a lot of protein (translation: meat/dairy).

So in the end, we have to have gratitude that we found this way of eating as it provides us health and vitality for our retirement years. At 68 years, we look and live much healthier than my wife's siblings in their 40's and 50's. She has already lost three siblings, two at 50 (liver cancer and disease) and one in her 60's (multi-myeloma). So fortunate to have found this way of eating and cannot thank enough T. Colin Campbell, Dr. McDougall, Dr. Esselstyn, and Jeff Novick.

Cheers!
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby f00die » Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:25 pm

well, one issue is the packaging.
despite my knowing about the cookies
i'm still tempted to "check them out at least once"
because of the nutrition claims
i feel reassured: it has the goods.
and the label tells me what the goods are
the bag of veggies is essentially silent
tells me nothing. no nutrition claims
at least on the box of oreos i can point to this or that
as justification.
its like the story of the students and the the map
where the students who got the map did the behavior more
the package of oreos has a map. this way to nutritional nirvana
yup, vit a, fiber yup, vit c yup. (how much do blueberries cost again?)
vs.
whats in a mango?
um, theyre yellow?
maybe a claim on the bag of veggies like:
"as much vit c as 3 pkgs of oreos"
might make choices easier
or even something simply telling me the bag
fulfills my daily servings of veggies
so i can figure things out
and know to eat one a day
etc.
make it easy, easier
real one-a-days
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:39 am

The proportion of older US adults w/poor diet quality significantly increased 51% to 61% &the proportion w/intermediate diet quality significantly decreased 49% to 39%; the proportion of older US adults with ideal diet quality remained consistently low

Original Investigation Nutrition, Obesity, and Exercise
March 11, 2022

Trends in Diet Quality Among Older US Adults From 2001 to 2018
JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(3):e221880. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.1880

Key Points

Question What are the national trends in overall diet quality and in individual dietary components among older US adults between 2001 and 2018?

Findings In this cross-sectional study of 10 837 adults aged 65 years or older in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the mean primary American Heart Association score had a significant 8% decrease. The proportion of older US adults with poor diet quality significantly increased from 51% to 61%, and the proportion with intermediate diet quality significantly decreased from 49% to 39%; the proportion of older US adults with ideal diet quality remained consistently low.

Meaning These findings suggest that diet quality decreased among older US adults from 2001 to 2018.

Abstract
Importance Poor diet is a major risk factor for chronic diseases, disability, and death in the US. As older adults comprise the fastest-growing population segment in the US, it is crucial to describe dietary trends among older adults to identify opportunities and challenges for improving health in old age.

Objective To characterize trends in overall dietary quality and key food components and nutrients among older US adults by age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, educational level, and income.

Design, Setting, and Participants This serial cross-sectional study used 24-hour dietary recall data from 10 837 adults aged 65 years or older in 9 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles (2001-2002 to 2017-2018). Statistical analysis was conducted from June 1 to October 1, 2021.

Exposures Calendar year and sociodemographic subgroups.

Main Outcomes and Measures Survey-weighted, energy-adjusted mean diet scores and proportions of older US adults with poor, intermediate, or ideal diet scores based on the American Heart Association (AHA) 2020 Strategic Impact Goals for diet. Additional outcomes included the AHA secondary score and the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)–2015 score.

Results A total of 10 837 individuals (5423 women [50.0%]; 6339 White participants [58.5%]; mean [SD] age, 73.9 [0.1] years) were analyzed. Overall dietary quality deteriorated from 2001 to 2018 among older adults. The mean primary AHA score (total = 50 points) decreased from 19.84 (95% CI, 19.40-20.29) to 18.28 (95% CI, 17.84-18.73; a decrease of 7.9%; P < .001 for trend). The mean secondary AHA score (total = 80 points) decreased from 34.75 (95% CI, 34.11-35.39) to 31.83 (95% CI, 31.17-32.48; a decrease of 8.4%; P < .001 for trend). The mean HEI-2015 score (total = 100 points) decreased from 47.82 (95% CI, 47.11-48.52) to 45.25 (95% CI, 44.53-45.98; a decrease of 5.4%; P < .001 for trend). Based on the primary AHA score, the proportion of US older adults with a poor diet quality significantly increased from 50.9% to 60.9%, the proportion with an intermediate diet quality significantly decreased from 48.6% to 38.7%, and the proportion with ideal diet quality remained consistently low (0.4% in both 2001-2002 and 2017-2018). Dietary variations were identified by sociodemographic subgroups. We found a significant decreasing trend in diet scores among both sexes and all age groups except for those aged 75 to 79 years.

Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that dietary quality worsened for most dietary components among older US adults between 2001 and 2018. Despite improvement in some dietary components, more than half of older US adults still have poor dietary quality.
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Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby cluwal894 » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:50 pm

It's just an illusion.

Very few people are making the change. I don't see any of the fast-food restaurants going out of business. Pizza is probably the most popular food, especially among the young.

In my circle of family and friends, about thirty people – I keep getting the same compliments, how well I look at age 96. And not one has made the connection . . . it's the food, as Dr. McDougall likes to say.

I hold no hope for humans, especially Americans – there will be a mass extinction and then all animals can live in peace.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby f1jim » Thu Mar 17, 2022 4:50 am

The really important take home message is Jeff's.
Don't let the inaction and half hearted efforts of the public at large influence the changes you have made. Don't let the media messages think the consumer market has provided the nutrition we need in everyday items marketed as healthy.
The real nutrition is still up and down the produce aisles and a few other select cubby holes in the supermarket and the vast majority of "food products" sold are generally worthless. It's much easier to give up and follow the crowd, but thats a well worn path to sickness and disease.
Be the odd man out and be proud of it. You will be rewarded with a quality of life benefit that escapes many.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Thu Mar 17, 2022 6:07 am

f1jim wrote:The really important take home message is Jeff's.
Don't let the inaction and half hearted efforts of the public at large influence the changes you have made. Don't let the media messages think the consumer market has provided the nutrition we need in everyday items marketed as healthy.
The real nutrition is still up and down the produce aisles and a few other select cubby holes in the supermarket and the vast majority of "food products" sold are generally worthless. It's much easier to give up and follow the crowd, but thats a well worn path to sickness and disease.
Be the odd man out and be proud of it. You will be rewarded with a quality of life benefit that escapes many.
f1jim



“Based on the primary AHA score, the proportion of US older adults with a poor diet quality significantly increased from 50.9% to 60.9%,”

And the food industry has made it super easy for this category to include many on vegan and PB diets. Just look at the abundance of vegan and PB junk food available that is marketed as healthy.


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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby Taggart » Fri Mar 18, 2022 4:09 am

I'm not American, but I know at 72 that I'm eating healthier than I did just over twenty years ago. At that time after an annual checkup my MD said "I don't know what lifestyle you're on, but if you don't improve, one day you're going to need a pacemaker." That smartened me up. I'm a slow learner, and it's been a long journey, but still no pacemaker.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby pundit999 » Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:51 am

“Based on the primary AHA score, the proportion of US older adults with a poor diet quality significantly increased from 50.9% to 60.9%,”[/i]

And the food industry has made it super easy for this category to include many on vegan and PB diets. Just look at the abundance of vegan and PB junk food available that is marketed as healthy.

Jeff


Unfortunate but i am thankful for vegan and vegetarian choices available in restaurants and grocery stores. 25 years ago, you could not get anything vegan in restaurants. Now most restaurants have at least one reasonable choice. And grocery stores have many.

When I visited the Disney World 8 years ago, one choice, among the only 5 on menus, was a veggie burger. Not 100% compliant but much better than having to eat buns and fries :-)

Also, it is not best that the vegan popular culture is moving towards fake foods such as the Impossible or the Beyond Meat. But even that is much better for the environment and better to eat even for us in remote areas etc.

I think there is much to be hopeful of.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:28 am

I have been doing the Label Reading lecture for over 30 years. It was one of the first classes I did. I update it 1-2x a year with new current products. I would say it is harder today than 30 years ago In both the supermarket, the health food store and the restaurants. We had less of the abundance of UHP/CRAP that is marketed as healthy. these days. It is a trend now, and all based on gourmet salts, sugars and unhealthy oils/fats and protein. In regard to restaurants today, yes there are more vegan and vegetarian choices but few if any are healthy.

Restaurant food quality
https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=60642&p=612318&#p612318


This came out today. It is part of the problem, people have no clue how unhealthy they eat.

June 14, 2022
Americans Think They Eat Healthier Than They Really Do
https://healthlibrary.brighamandwomens.org/RelatedItems/6,1657469878

"For the study, the researchers asked participants to rate their diet as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor. Folks also completed 24-hour food questionnaires. Then, the researchers compared answers to see how well responses to the two exercises matched up.

In short: They didn't.

Of more than 9,700 people, roughly 85% were off base when asked to rate the quality of their diet, and almost all overestimated how healthy it was.

"They perceived their diet as very good when in fact their diet was poor,".
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby f1jim » Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:06 am

Jeff I saw this report this morning. Anyone eating a truly healthy diet knows the general public overrates their diet significantly. A lot of this is the human trait that we remember our great healthy choices and minimize our poor ones.
We have to first start out with knowing what is a healthy diet. Since most western countries don't really have a clue it would be near impossible for their residents to properly evaluate their own diet.
Even among those of us that have been taught what is healthy, it's hard to be really objective when thinking back on our own choices.
We all need the constant reminders to stay on track. Multiple times a day we make choices that impact our health. Yet, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday. It's a struggle to stay on track in this crazy world today. It really helps to hhave like minded people around us.
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