Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Supersize Me
I just say this on DVD last night, along with the supplemental material.
There are man "sub-plots," but the mail story is about this guy about 40 who is in good condition subjecting himself to thirty days of nothing but McDonalds, eaten three times a day. If asked to supersize he must. Nothing else may be ingested. He stops his vitamins. He limits his walking and exercise to typical American level (not much). He sees three doctors, a nutritionist and an exercise guy. They do initial assessments and continue to monitor through the thirty days.
There predictions are in line with what this MD would predict: Some deconditioning, some weight gain and elevation of serum lipids. Nothing severe. I figure it takes years of this way of life to really do damage.
So the fun begins... He gains about 25 pounds. His cholesterol goes up 60 points. He feels like crap with headaches, mood swings, depressed mood, cravings, lethargy and stomach aches. His libido and sexual performance markedly decrease per his own opinion and that of his girlfriend. He gets winded going up the stairs to his apartment. Most scary is that his liver enzymes climb like an alcoholic's. All the professionals above, his girlfriend and his mother beg him to stop.
Afterwards he goes off. It takes eight weeks for all his lipids and enzymes to return to normal. It takes about 18 months for his weight to return to the prior level.
The doctors were shocked. I feel the same. That much damage in so little time? The liver tests were the most unsettling. So what makes this diet so destructive?
First, several nutrients are seriously lacking. There is little fiber to move the GI tract or soak up fats. Hence high serum lipids and GI distress.
Second is lack of omega-three fatty acids. The oils they cook with and added fats have little to none. Ditto for the beef and how it is raised. And chicken too. Likely the fish is farmed again giving little. And how much fish sandwich would anyone eat on this diet?
Third is the lack of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. The usual trick here is to strip them all out of the wheat and oils in processing. The breads then have the cheap and easy ones added back in-enriched they call it. The high-temperature cooking, long-term storage and picking before ripe reduces nutritional content as well. Then there are the phytochemicals in mainly fresh produce, again minimal on this diet. Iceberg lettuce is a weakling vegetable to boot.
Fourth is the lack of exercise. Not exactly fast food and scientifically a confound in this experiment. Still it is consistent with the health habits in this country and the lazy not cooking and drive-through lifestyle.
Now onto the bad stuff... Plain old too many calories. Caloric dense foods are predominant. The sugar content is overwhelming, added to most of the food and in the various sauces. Not to mention the big soft drinks. Then there is fat, dense with calories as well. Deep fried. Added. In the dressings on that salad. There also are all the empty starches in fries, buns and biscuits.
The types of carbohydrates here are the easily digested high glycemic index type. Blood sugar and insulin play a push-pull game giving swings in energy and mood. The elevated insulin increases the fat gut, lipids and blood pressure.
The fats here too are bad. Plenty of that good old saturated stuff. Also the omega-threes are abundant. These are esential for life, but need to be in balance with the omega-threes, lacking in this diet. Here the stage is set for inflammation, blood clotting, hypertension and a long list of body imbalances. There is strong evidence for depression and violence attributed to this imbalance.
My favorite is trans fatty acids. These wonders give the wonderful texture to foods and don't spoil. In the DVD, he lets all the products sit and mold including fries from a local deli. It all goes bad quickly, except the McDonalds fries, which look the same at ten weeks. You see, mold and bacteria cannot grow on this stuff. Wonder what it does to you? This chemical factory product is in half of the stuff or more at you local supermarket and a big ingredient in fast food. It is suspected of a wide variety of ills. I suspect it is primary in the decline of our hero's health.
Finally is just all the added chemical crap. Look at the ingredients. A long list of chemicals to alter flavor, texture, shelf life and color. Ick! This stuff is not food. A few months of tests in rats may not be sufficient to determine what it does to our bodies.
I am probably a light user of fast food, perhaps once a week. I also eat the above processed foods whenever I can get beyond the sights of my wife. But this film has further convinced me to improve my dietary habits. And not just fast foods, but those damn donuts at work and chips at parties. Super Bowl Sunday will test my resolve.
There are man "sub-plots," but the mail story is about this guy about 40 who is in good condition subjecting himself to thirty days of nothing but McDonalds, eaten three times a day. If asked to supersize he must. Nothing else may be ingested. He stops his vitamins. He limits his walking and exercise to typical American level (not much). He sees three doctors, a nutritionist and an exercise guy. They do initial assessments and continue to monitor through the thirty days.
There predictions are in line with what this MD would predict: Some deconditioning, some weight gain and elevation of serum lipids. Nothing severe. I figure it takes years of this way of life to really do damage.
So the fun begins... He gains about 25 pounds. His cholesterol goes up 60 points. He feels like crap with headaches, mood swings, depressed mood, cravings, lethargy and stomach aches. His libido and sexual performance markedly decrease per his own opinion and that of his girlfriend. He gets winded going up the stairs to his apartment. Most scary is that his liver enzymes climb like an alcoholic's. All the professionals above, his girlfriend and his mother beg him to stop.
Afterwards he goes off. It takes eight weeks for all his lipids and enzymes to return to normal. It takes about 18 months for his weight to return to the prior level.
The doctors were shocked. I feel the same. That much damage in so little time? The liver tests were the most unsettling. So what makes this diet so destructive?
First, several nutrients are seriously lacking. There is little fiber to move the GI tract or soak up fats. Hence high serum lipids and GI distress.
Second is lack of omega-three fatty acids. The oils they cook with and added fats have little to none. Ditto for the beef and how it is raised. And chicken too. Likely the fish is farmed again giving little. And how much fish sandwich would anyone eat on this diet?
Third is the lack of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. The usual trick here is to strip them all out of the wheat and oils in processing. The breads then have the cheap and easy ones added back in-enriched they call it. The high-temperature cooking, long-term storage and picking before ripe reduces nutritional content as well. Then there are the phytochemicals in mainly fresh produce, again minimal on this diet. Iceberg lettuce is a weakling vegetable to boot.
Fourth is the lack of exercise. Not exactly fast food and scientifically a confound in this experiment. Still it is consistent with the health habits in this country and the lazy not cooking and drive-through lifestyle.
Now onto the bad stuff... Plain old too many calories. Caloric dense foods are predominant. The sugar content is overwhelming, added to most of the food and in the various sauces. Not to mention the big soft drinks. Then there is fat, dense with calories as well. Deep fried. Added. In the dressings on that salad. There also are all the empty starches in fries, buns and biscuits.
The types of carbohydrates here are the easily digested high glycemic index type. Blood sugar and insulin play a push-pull game giving swings in energy and mood. The elevated insulin increases the fat gut, lipids and blood pressure.
The fats here too are bad. Plenty of that good old saturated stuff. Also the omega-threes are abundant. These are esential for life, but need to be in balance with the omega-threes, lacking in this diet. Here the stage is set for inflammation, blood clotting, hypertension and a long list of body imbalances. There is strong evidence for depression and violence attributed to this imbalance.
My favorite is trans fatty acids. These wonders give the wonderful texture to foods and don't spoil. In the DVD, he lets all the products sit and mold including fries from a local deli. It all goes bad quickly, except the McDonalds fries, which look the same at ten weeks. You see, mold and bacteria cannot grow on this stuff. Wonder what it does to you? This chemical factory product is in half of the stuff or more at you local supermarket and a big ingredient in fast food. It is suspected of a wide variety of ills. I suspect it is primary in the decline of our hero's health.
Finally is just all the added chemical crap. Look at the ingredients. A long list of chemicals to alter flavor, texture, shelf life and color. Ick! This stuff is not food. A few months of tests in rats may not be sufficient to determine what it does to our bodies.
I am probably a light user of fast food, perhaps once a week. I also eat the above processed foods whenever I can get beyond the sights of my wife. But this film has further convinced me to improve my dietary habits. And not just fast foods, but those damn donuts at work and chips at parties. Super Bowl Sunday will test my resolve.
