Health news often references the "American Diet," but what are they talking about? They're referring to the eating patterns of the USA of course, but based on our fat intake, how often we eat out, and so on. It's never said in the same way that the "Mediterranean Diet" is. Is there a group of foods to point at and say "That is the American Diet?" And if we can figure out what it is, does it need to be changed?
If it does, there is no shortage of attempted assistance. From Dr. Atkins to the US Govt, the US is under tremendous pressure to change their eating habits. Considering the sheer mass of different health systems, you would imagine Americans would have found the magic cure, if not for everyone, at least for themselves. Considering current obesity statistics, these systems continue to fail America. But then, it could be said malnourishment isn't a problem in America, overnurishment is, which is to say there is not a nutrition problem, but a supply success. Generally, satisfying food is available everywhere, in all cultural interpretations and permutations. I live in a rural town in the Pacific Northwest, spitting distance from the Cascade Mountain Range. Our population is 6361, barely three and half times the size of the fictional Mayberry, and we have 30 restaurants, most of which offer meals under $10, most of which are highly rated on Google. Are restaurants the American Diet?
This blog will be investigating the foods, products, recipes, and restaurants that contribute to popular American food culture—Not exclusively at our more radical subcultures, but what the everyman eats and why. This is no mere intellectual journey, as I’ll hope you’ll join me in eating the foods of America: together, perhaps we can suss out what food in the USA means.
Coming next week: The hamburger! Books have been written about it, fortunes have been made on it, and it’s pretty much true blue American eats. So what’s so special about the hamburger? Is it a nutritional pariah for a reason, or is it a hidden bastion of health? How should one be prepared? Join me next week, same bat time, same bat channel.
