# Eat This, Not that! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914 "2009-12-20T02:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/21 "2009-12-20T20:41:52Z")
I think the difference between homemade foods and store-bought foods is not that there is NO sugar or salt in homemade bread or cookies (or whatever), it’s that you put a reasonable amount in when you’re cooking at home (you put a pinch of salt in your potato water, not a half cup). Plus there’s no stuff other than flour, salt, baking soda, butter, eggs and brown sugar in your cookies, not a long list of multi-syllabic chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/22 "2009-12-20T21:07:18Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I just started to do this again. My strategy has been scrupulously record everything without making any changes in my eating habits for a week. Next week I’ll start making adjustments. One day this week I stopped and got breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, and had my typical canned soup lunch. The food diary started blinking “You’ve consumed 4536mg of sodium today!!!” and that was just up 'til lunch. (and yes, I buy low sodium soups whenever possible)\ It’s startling to start recording your food intake and exercise. I thought I was a healthy eater, and I was fairly close, but some of my misconceptions were big ones (hence the weight gain creeping up on me). The great thing I’m noticing about the aging Boomer population is that there are more low-sodium choices at Safeway all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/23 "2009-12-20T23:07:40Z")
I’ve remarked on this book a couple of times. What really jumps out at me besides the stuff mentioned already are stuff about the book itself: their screaming fainting hysteria over every single carb, and their pride at “singlehandedly” forcing companies to take down menu items “for everyone’s own good.” Not sure whether either is good or not, so I started threads about 'em. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/24 "2009-12-20T23:37:35Z")
You should watch the film [Food, Inc.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Inc.) Essentially, nearly everything we eat is corn. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/25 "2009-12-21T00:52:41Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s my problem with the diet instant foods (like Lean Cuisines) - holy sodium, Batman! Reading nutritional labels (and recording all my daily food in an online food diary) has been an eye-opening experience. Processed foods have added sodium and/or sugar to reduce the level of water activity. Water activity is used as a measure in the food industry to determine shelf life, reduce spoilage, inhibit the transfer of fat within prepared foods, etc. Water has a ‘water activity’ of 1.0 (doh). By adding salts and sugars the water activity can be lowered to meet the goals above. Essentially the salts and sugars tie up the water in a way that makes the water unavailable for microbial growth. There are other considerations regarding quality and texture that are improved also. Almost any food that you buy in a prepared form has had the water activity lowered by the addition of salts and sugars. Lean Cuisines are marketed for ‘low fat’ reasons. The ‘better for you’ claims are based upon the reduction in fat. If you want to control sodium and sugar intake, in additon to calories, you have to stay away from any pre-made food. More boring info here: > **[Water activity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_activity)** > > In food science, water activity (aw) of a food is the ratio of its vapor pressure to the vapor pressure of water at the same temperature, both taken at equilibrium. Pure water has a water activity of one. Put another way, aw is the equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) expressed as a fraction instead of as a percentage. As temperature increases, aw typically increases, except in some products with crystalline salt or sugar. > Water migrates from areas of high aw to areas of low aw. For example, if h... ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/26 "2009-12-21T04:11:11Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’ve remarked on this book a couple of times. What really jumps out at me besides the stuff mentioned already are stuff about the book itself: their screaming fainting hysteria over every single carb, and their pride at “singlehandedly” forcing companies to take down menu items “for everyone’s own good.” > > Not sure whether either is good or not, so I started threads about 'em. We’re talking about a book here? Oh, there it is in the first line. Not sure how I missed that. Anyway, they hate carbs? I love carbs. We’re supposed to have 40% of our diet as carbs, you know (and 30% fat! Woohoo! And cholesterol - you need it for your cell membranes. This is why we’re all supposed to eat a very varied diet.) ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/27 "2009-12-23T05:49:06Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > A big problem is that HFCS is cheap, and a cheap way to add some flavor to mediocre foods. HFCS is “cheap” if you fail to understand that the cost of subsidizing the product is passed on to the tax paying members of this society. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/28 "2009-12-23T07:37:49Z")
> [@keturah](#): > > HFCS is “cheap” if you fail to understand that the cost of subsidizing the product is passed on to the tax paying members of this society. HFCS subsidies amount to about $1 per person every year. Take that away and HFCS is still dramatically cheaper than any other sweetener. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/29 "2009-12-23T10:13:34Z")
> [@keturah](#): > > HFCS is “cheap” if you fail to understand that the cost of subsidizing the product is passed on to the tax paying members of this society. OK, let me re-word that. HFCS does not cost the companies that use it as much money as other sweeteners do. And that’s why they use it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/30 "2009-12-23T15:04:21Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Not being snarky but is this sarcasm? It doesn’t seem so mindblowing. Yes, I think you were whooshed. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I would never have guessed that The [Cereal](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8BVcGoREYwc/SqnM0nhhWuI/AAAAAAAAEhg/0mnHxQ1pFeQ/s400/Sugar+Crisp+Box+Front.jpg) [Formerly](http://www.blatherwincerepeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/sugar-crisp-a.jpg) [Known](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iT50VFtVy_I/R6QYbCkOAaI/AAAAAAAAC1M/VbRmlqVWUfQ/s400/Sugar+Crisp.jpg) [As](http://www.handheldmuseum.com/BooksMagazines/SuperSugarCrisp1984_Coleco.jpg) Sugar Crisp had all that sugar in it! Uh, you too, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/31 "2009-12-23T15:20:02Z")
Here’s one: Did you realize… Popular spray ‘‘butter’’ has less than five calories per pump, so they can list it as “0” calories per serving based on rounding guidelines. Some people think that they can spray a veggie 5-10 times and have 0 calories from the tasty butter spray. Unfortunately, these unsuspecting users could be pumping numerous calories onto numerous servings. I’ve seen people go crazy with the stuff. After all, it’s 0 cals per serving (not). ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/32 "2009-12-23T18:15:41Z")
I love this book! I learned alot from it and feel like I’m eating more healthy because of it. The thing that I was surprised about was how many calories and how much sugar so many drinks have. Those Starbuck’s coffee’s and fruit juice blends can really add on the pounds quickly. I’m at the point where I drink primarily water and I do not miss those sweet drinks. What I like most is how they try to teach you that there are better choices on most of the foods you eat if you take the time to read labels. Labeling is so deceptive. I bought Multi Grain bread products all the time until I realized they are made with enriched flour. Now I only eat Whole Wheat bread Just like with anything, having HCFS in your diet is all about moderation. Limiting that and many other kinds of sugar (the book goes into alot of detail about all the different names that sugar is listed under in ingredient labels) will help you not just lose weight but make better choices in what you eat. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/33 "2009-12-23T18:42:47Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Did you know… even whole wheat bread has high fructose corn syrup in it? This explains why, whenever I go to the States, the bread tastes like cake. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/34 "2009-12-23T18:48:09Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > My husband was severely deprived, or so he felt, of sugary cereals when he was growing up. His mother had 8 kids to feed, and since theirs was a blended family, she had six teenage boys to feed at the same time. She was not just concerned about nutrition, but cost. So he ate oatmeal for breakfast a lot of the time, which is filling and cheap as well as being good for you. > > Now that he does his own grocery shopping, he buys the sugary stuff…and eats it, too. Growing up I got whatever sugar coated candy they were calling cereal at the moment, and I’ve got the cavities to prove it. Now when I buy for myself I avoid it at all costs. I just don’t like the taste anymore. Odd… ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/35 "2009-12-23T19:09:20Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > This explains why, whenever I go to the States, the bread tastes like cake. Yes, because we have only one kind of bread in America. ETA: Just checked the ingredients list on mine. No HFCS. So I guess we have two kinds. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914/36 "2009-12-23T22:16:15Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Yes, because we have only one kind of bread in America. Sorry, I omitted “the vast majority of stuff from the supermarket…” from my post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eat-this-not-that/521914.md?page=1)