Quote of the day:

[conuly]

Apart from the fact that everyone’s opinion is different regarding what constitutes a healthy meal, what is accepted as scientific truth today may be disproved tomorrow. The problem arises when government — the monopoly on violence — enforces a Procrustean solution of “one size fits all”, metaphorically (and sometimes literally) stretching people on a rack or cutting them to bits in order to force a round peg into their square hole.

Okay, now, if he'd just said literally I would've chalked it up as "really" and maybe rolled my eyes or snickered a little at the image, but not said anything.

But when he deliberately contrasts it with "metaphorically", I have to ask - WTF? Where has this happened, and when, and why haven't I heard about it?

In the same comment thread, let me just say that apparently red leaf lettuce is damn healthy. TONS of vitamin A and K in just one leaf. I had no idea!

Iceberg lettuce is largely "nutritionally void", though.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

It makes me so sad I ate so much iceberg lettuce and that iceberg is the norm when a dish comes with a side salad. I figure it has some value, but it's pretty much the least useful lettuce to eat. I remember my basic rule of thumb for veggies - bright, vivid colors when they are natural and not on poisonous foods are good for you. Richer greens, dark purples or reds. Iceberg with its pale greenness... less good.

Spinach is both good for you and tasty.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Yes. I would rather have spinach any time lettuce is the norm but spinach is available. It's also good on other random stuff, like pizza.

I didn't grow up eating that canned gloppy crap, so i didn't grow up thinking that spinach is nasty. I was actually pretty happy to go out to the garden and pick a few leaves, rinse, and eat.

[leora.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I grew up with iceberg. My parents aren't really sure why. My father taught me better. But they think there might not have been other lettuces for sale. It's possible they just didn't think about it and it was a habit even if they knew better. My father knew things about nutrition, but my mother made the salads.

And more in reply to Conuly's comment... the only problem I have with the nice, simple rule is that it only works if the foods are their natural colors. Too often things are done to make foods look good, but not actually be good. This is why I've been told that often canned tomatoes are better for you than fresh, because they do things to make the fresh ones look good. It makes me very frustrated.

On the other hand, where I live you really can get nice, fresh produce of decent quality. So, it's not so bad. But what's available and how good it is can really vary. :/

[conuly]

In a just world, food would look good or bad on its own merits.

[conuly]

I remember my basic rule of thumb for veggies - bright, vivid colors when they are natural and not on poisonous foods are good for you.

I read this somewhere as "eating a rainbow of foods", and it's a concept I was totally taken with. My mother was thrilled when she heard it, because it's a poetic and simple way of explaining the very basic rule of healthy eating: Eat a variety of natural foods. And so long as they're not colorblind, even a very small child can understand it.

[ncp.livejournal.com]

Iceberg lettuce = packaging for water

[grammaravenger.livejournal.com]

I figure that the "cutting them to bits" part could refer to weight-loss surgeries like gastric bypasses. Not really sure about stretching on racks, though.

-Amanda (random follower)

[conuly]

When the government starts paying for weight loss surgeries, I'll... I don't know, but I'll do SOMEthing!

[leora.livejournal.com]

Many surgeries that are usually voluntary can sometimes be done out of medical necessity and then would be covered.

A friend recently mentioned seeing an article on a case of emergency breast reduction surgery - something you don't expect to have happen. Apparently a woman's breasts increased (I think she was lactating but I forget details) to the point that she could not walk and it was physically dangerous for her to have that much mass on her. They took her to the hospital on a stretcher for emergency breast reduction surgery. That sort of thing should be covered by insurance, and depending on specifics, that might be a government.

Whether or not that case is true, various things do happen, and sometimes weight loss is medically vital and doing it surgically would be covered.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

When the government starts ordering people to have weight loss surgeries, I'll do something.