Category: Lifelong Learning

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Obesity Economics

Some 56.2 percent of the daily calories consumed by US adults come from federally subsidized food commodities: corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, dairy, and livestock. While these calorie-dense foods once made sense for a government preparing for famine or total war, in recent decades they’ve instead helped make us fatter and sicker.  Obesity Economics: How Subsidies Distort the American Diet – https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/obesity-economics-how-subsidies-distort-the-american-diet/

Yikes.

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ATTENTION PARENTS – ChatGPT as Babysitter

Bottom Line – Bad idea.

“After listening to my four-year-old son regale me with the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine for 45 minutes I tapped out,” he wrote, “so I opened ChatGPT.” In an interview with The Guardian, Josh said he needed to do chores and thought his son “would finish the story and the phone would turn off.” But when he returned two hours later, the child was still talking to the chatbot about Thomas and friends. The transcript, he discovered, was over 10,000 words long. Lazy Parents Are Giving Their Toddlers ChatGPT on Voice Mode to Keep Them Entertained for Hours – https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/parents-toddlers-chatgpt-voice-mode

You’re welcome.

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #11

  • You can be friends for over 20 years and never know there’s one person in the group who doesn’t like cabbage.
  • Everyone does not collect cookbooks (but they should).
  • When you enjoy cooking and get good at it people assume you know more than you do.
  • I was asked how to prepare turnips. I’ve never cooked a turnip in my entire life.
  • People don’t know who Jacques Pépin is. Seriously?
  • Fresh parsley is cheap. Fresh chives are not cheap (time to grow some at home).
  • Every now and then, take your dinner guests outside of their comfort zones. Make a chicken dish from a French chef who learned how to make the dish from his Mother. Make them drink something other than a massively fruit forward California red.

Memo to Self – For this dish one boneless chicken breast feeds two people. Jacques says this in the video but I didn’t believe him.

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Protein, more Protein

What makes protein so appealing is that it has been offered as an answer for lots of people’s dietary goals. Want to build muscle? Eat protein. Want to feel fuller for longer? Eat protein. Want to lose weight? Eat protein. The nutrient can indeed help with all of those, but sometimes, the claims turn absurd. Cargill, the food giant, recently suggested that protein might help solve broken marriages: “Protein helps individuals become better parents, partners and employees,” the company wrote in a report this spring. In other words, protein has become synonymous with “healthy.” The message seems to be resonating: Last year, 71 percent of American adults said they were trying to consume more of it. The Protein Madness Is Just Getting Started – https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/06/protein-supplements-too-far/

Sorry, the entire article is behind a paywall. But you get the drift of this post.

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ATTENTION PARENTS – Yes You Can!

Remember my post Tik Tok is bad for your health? Or Latest Tik Tok Trend – Eat Dirt? How about The Dark Side of TikTok – Toddler Milks? Don’t remember, eh? Well, here’s a post you won’t forget.

According to this article there are videos that have millions of views with comments “full of girls cheering each other on, romanticizing risky behavior and literally encouraging one another to ignore every red flag.

Encouraging others to engage in dangerous behavior against their own gut instincts is not OK, and the fact that the videos are drawing supportive and positive comments from other teen and tween girls proves how much the trend is resonating with these girls. Why the ‘Yes You Can’ TikTok Trend Has Parents of Tween & Teen Girls Sounding the Alarm — https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1234887372/yes-you-can-trend/

You’re welcome.

PS – almost forgot this is a food blog, so here you go.

“Crunchy Teen” is a trend where teens publicly reject norms around food and nutrition in favor of some more controversial stances not verified by data or experts.Parents should know that many “crunchy teen” influencers repeat a lot of misinformation that can lead to harmful health suggestions. Why the ‘Crunchy Teen’ Trend Definitely Needs Some Parental Intervention — https://www.parents.com/what-is-crunchy-teen-11734514

You’re welcome, again.

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Fake Nutrition Experts on Social Media!

Super-spreaders build trust by connecting with audiences emotionally, rather than by overwhelming them with data. They position themselves as relatable truth-tellers who challenge corrupt institutions and offer simple, “empowering” solutions. Through personal anecdotes and motivational, accessible language, they create an “us vs. them” narrative in which misinformation becomes a form of liberation. Many frame their dietary advice as part of a broader movement, towards healing, strength, clarity, masculinity/femininity or even revolution. “Natural” or “traditional” diets (e.g. those relying heavily on animal-based foods or that exclude modern-day “processed” foods) are frequently presented as easy solutions to complex health problems. This combination of emotional resonance and charismatic storytelling helps explain why such misinformation is so persuasive.

Of the 53 super-spreaders analyzed, 96% (51 accounts) had a clear financial incentive directly tied to the misinformation they promoted, with many capitalizing on multiple revenue streams.

Nutrition Misinformation in the Digital Age

Shocking!

Download the full report here: https://rootedresearch.co/publications/nutrition-misinformation-digital-age/

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #10

I’ve always preferred baking sweet potatoes over boiling and mashing sweet potatoes because my boiled version always turned out watery.

I just learned you have to boil the peeled sweet potatoes whole. After about 45-50 minutes check to see if the potatoes are cooked through. Then drain and return to the cooking pot. Turn the heat on to low and start smashing, and mashing while constantly stirring to avoid burning (I use a wooden spoon). After about five minutes a good amount of moisture will have evaporated from the potatoes. This is why sweet potatoes made this way aren’t too loose and watery. Add a splash of milk or half and half, a bunch of butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Memo to Self – buy more sweet potatoes, eat more sweet potatoes.

Photo by wr heustis on Pexels.com
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Why more protein matters for older adults

Current recommendations for protein intake are the same for all adults, regardless of age: 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass daily (g/kg/d). But estimates suggest that up to 30-76 per cent of older adults aren’t consuming enough protein.

Because older people’s muscles can’t use dietary protein as effectively as younger people to maintain muscle, experts suggest that older adults looking to keep their muscles should consume approximately 50 per cent more protein (1.2 g/kg/d).

Nutrition and healthy aging: The role of protein quality in combating muscle loss – https://theconversation.com/nutrition-and-healthy-aging-the-role-of-protein-quality-in-combatting-muscle-loss

I’ve always felt guilty about the times I didn’t feel like cooking, went to the store to buy a frozen pizza, then proceeded to eat the entire pie. I no longer feel the guilt. I ate 48 grams of protein! I’m combating sarcopenia. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23167-sarcopenia

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