Stealth inflation

Reading up,as you do at times like this, it does contain some buttermilk.

It's not Stork margarine as such.
Cart grease as we used to call it.

 

Margerine is basically plastic, but veg oil instead of mineral oil.

I remember in the 1980s when bad science led people to think animal fats clogged the arteries, so we were all encouraged to swap butter for hydrogenated vegetable oil with chemical additives, aka margerine. Then a few years later when the scientists figured it was more destructive to the arteries than animal fats, and in fact animal fats don't raise cholesterol at all, because most of the cholesterol in our blood is actually made by our bodies.

 

Was under the impression animal fat was still considered bad for you.
Why is everything cooked in vegetable oil and butter is still said to be bad for you.

Every piece of meat you buy these days has no fat whatsoever.

Why do they keep banging on about the Mediterranean diet and we should all be consuming buckets of olive oil.

 

There's still a huge amount of 'advice' out there that is based on long disproven claims, that ignore newer science.

Animal fat is not in itself bad for you. In fact in moderation it's good, as it contains vitamin B12 which is essential, but not found in veg based food (vegans can get it from yeast based foods like good old marmite).

The main reason we're discouraged from consuming too much animal fat is simply because it's very high in calories. Veg oil is equally high in calories, because fat is fat, regardless of what produces it. But the secondary reason animal fats are considered bad is that the body deals with saturated fat slightly differently, in that it's more likely to be stored in your fat reserves than converted to energy. So if you eat more than you need, you're more likely to get fat. But then it doesn't take a genius to work out that that's true of any food type.

Veg oils are recommended not so much because animal fats are bad, but that veg oils contain omega 3 and 6. This is enough for some people to conclude it's better. Except that the omega 3 in veg oil is not the same as the omega 3 found in oily fish. The veg version gets reprocessed by the body, using the same resources as the body uses to process omega 6, and while both are essential, omega 6 uses more resources, so very little of the omega 3 in veg oil will be used by the body. Omega 6 is pro inflammatory. That's essential, in that if you become injured or ill, your life depends on your inflammatory response. But omega 6 is in most fats regardless of source, and in the modern western diet, we usually don't have to worry about getting enough omega 6.

The Mediterranean diet is not really about animal fats being bad. After all, the Mediterranean diet contains the likes of chorizo and other fatty sausages. It's more about fibre, and a broad range of nutrients from a broad range of foods. When we're advised to eat a Mediterranean diet, it's not so much about consuming gallons of olive oil, it's just an easy way to explain that we should get plenty of fibre, starchy carbs, and every available nutrient type in the right measure.

So animal fat is terribly bad for you, if you eat a block of lard for every meal. But putting butter on your bread instead of veg spread, or letting mince fry in its own fat is going to do no harm whatsoever.

 

Well Ill carry on and take no notice of any of it then, must admit I thought veg oil was considered better for you than animal fat but cant say as I follow it too much.

 

We use a lot of fat, butter, oil and full fat thingies. We are both slim and healthy. I believe that's just down to genetics and habits, a full fat lunch keeps blood sugar relatively even so there's no need for snacking. On topic, I'm now buying Polish butter as the silly inflation hasn't reached that isle yet in Tesco.

Interestingly, in Italy adults eat the mediterranian way but feed the kids with sugary, highly processed food. "Merendine" are snack bars you buy in bulk, in essence cake bars wrapped in plastic. Tiny Danone "yoghurt" pots are popular, and families even buy those "cheese" dunk pot snacks where the toddler can dunk a pre-packed bread stick into a processed runny cheese.

We were considered very foreign when giving the kid a fruit and a slab of cheese instead. And there was no collectible sticker in sight!

 

A few years ago I injured myself quite badly in my martial arts training. No I didn't get beat up I just pushed my body fat too hard for far too long until one day it just gave up. Both my knees were knackered, one hip, and one ankle. I couldn't even walk properly and was in constant pain.

The NHS helped, with x-rays and advice and physio, but I was determined to do everything in my power to get fixed. So I started researching all my injuries and the healing process the body goes through, and what it needs to heal. Apart from the exercises, nutrition is absolutely key. I found the body needs this mineral and that vitamin and this enzyme. This got me on to learning about supplements that provide it, but I'm not a fan of supplements, so I researched what actual foods contain the required elements in the right ratios.

The conclusion of all my research? The oldies were right all along. Meat and veg with gravy made from dripping, offal and bone broth contains everything. I'm fit as a fiddle again now, and still training hard.

 

When I was young very few people were fat, most had a large meal, each day, of things like meat puddings made with suet, lots of chips were always on the menu and all kinds of other frowned upon stuff these days.

It was only when fast food and takeaways came along that the obesity problems started.

Along with fatbergs in the sewers, bit of a coincidence.

 

I watched a good documentary a few years ago about this. In part of it, they looked at what triggers the brain to get just the right amount of different food groups.

They showed that if you need carbohydrates, you will crave sweet or starchy foods. But if you eat those carb rich foods in a natural form, you'll start to hate the taste as soon as you've got enough. You may even feel sick or actually be sick.

They found the same is true of fats.

But here's the twist. When you combine the two together, for example in a nice cake, this self regulating system doesn't work, so your brain doesn't stop you liking it when you've got enough.

The researchers demonstrated this by asking folks to eat a bowl of sugar, or a bowl of butter. None of the study participants got very far. But combine the same quantities in a cake, and every participant ate far more than their body needed.

 

I've just seen an advert that is the epitome of stealth inflation. It was strangely amusing.

It was for Curry's. They have launched a new campaign to beat inflation by letting us buy now and pay nothing for a whole year.

Small print at the bottom of the screen, 24.9% APR. So their efforts to help us all beat inflation is to sell us something today at today's price plus 24.9%

 

Is that accurate though, with most of these buy now pay later schemes there tends to be a small monthly payment requirement. Curry's state online they are offering a "12 months pay delay" yet if you want to buy any of their goods online there is no facility allowing this. Example, a TV is £279, you have the option to make a one off payment of £279 or £10.71 a month, very similar to credit cards where a minimum monthly payment is required. I can not see anywhere on their site that allows you buy something but not pay nothing at all for 12 months, unless I am missing something.

Their small print states any monies due after the 12 months will then be charged 24.9%, in the past the interest would of been charged from the date of when the purchase was made on any outstanding balance.

 

Were you not just a babe then? How could you remember that?