Originally Posted by Veleta (Post 9191543)

Sorry if this one has already been addressed, but I don't have time to read thro' 100+ posts.

I heard that extra virgin olive oil is fab for you when poured over salads or just consumed at normal temperature.

However, when you heat it up it converts into a saturated fat making it baaaad stuff. I've asked OH and a few other Spaniards about this and of course they all defend their precious product to the death. How can olive oil possibly be bad? It adds 10 years to your life ya know.

Anybody know if this is true or not?

Originally Posted by jimenato (Post 9191575)

What about rice? Billions of people all over the world eat it every day. Are you saying that is unhealthy?

Originally Posted by jimenato (Post 9191575)

What about rice? Billions of people all over the world eat it every day. Are you saying that is unhealthy?

Originally Posted by jimenato (Post 9191595)

I've often wondered if the whole Olive Oil/Mediterranean Diet thing is a myth - possibly like all good myths one with a grain of truth somewhere.

Originally Posted by jimenato (Post 9191668)

What about pasta then? The point I am trying to make is that most of the world's staple diet is cereal based in the form of rice, bread, pasta and so on and has been for thousands of years.

The average lifespan in the developed world has, up until now at least, been getting longer and longer so there can't be that much wrong with what we have been eating for the last few decades which has obviously included cereal based foods and red meat.

Originally Posted by bil (Post 9191644)

It was suggested that it also had to do with the level of family support such people had.

Originally Posted by Sally Redux (Post 9191755)

Also possibly vitamin D levels from sunshine.

Originally Posted by bil (Post 9191750)

IMO pasta is shit, a vile slop hardly better than breakfast cereals.

You are missing a point here. If you are on short rations, grain based carbs are a life saver. Once you get to be well fed, they become a menace.

Obesity has always been a problem for those rich enough to have more food than they need.

It is quite possible that part of our evolution since we moved on from being plains apes, and started farming, has been an increased tolerance to higher levels of refined carbs.

We are still vulnerable tho.

Originally Posted by angiescarr (Post 9192010)

Quite right. It's the refining of the foods that we do that causes the problems.
And as for fats. They are very good for us.
The 3 secrets of French cookery. Butter, Butter and er Butter!
Throw away the bread and eat the butter! I know there'll be loads of people who disagree with that but how often do you meat a fat Frenchman?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux (Post 9191755)

Also possibly vitamin D levels from sunshine.

Originally Posted by bil (Post 9191764)

Yeah, that makes sense too. There's almost certainly several elements.

Originally Posted by angiescarr (Post 9192010)

Quite right. It's the refining of the foods that we do that causes the problems.
And as for fats. They are very good for us.
The 3 secrets of French cookery. Butter, Butter and er Butter!
Throw away the bread and eat the butter! I know there'll be loads of people who disagree with that but how often do you meat a fat Frenchman?

Originally Posted by bil (Post 9191750)

IMO pasta is shit, a vile slop hardly better than breakfast cereals.

You are missing a point here. If you are on short rations, grain based carbs are a life saver. Once you get to be well fed, they become a menace.

Obesity has always been a problem for those rich enough to have more food than they need.

It is quite possible that part of our evolution since we moved on from being plains apes, and started farming, has been an increased tolerance to higher levels of refined carbs.

We are still vulnerable tho.