1119 Live Long and Carb Load -- Fat is Beautiful
This is about two guys from the old country, relatives, but not blood relatives.
Maxy was a health nut. 5’11”. Ate right. Drank only occasionally. Abandoned cigarettes ten minutes after the Surgeon General’s report came out. When his weight soared to the unacceptable 166 pounds, it was salad city until it got back down to the barely acceptable 165. Golf. Bowling. Swimming.
Ludy was a freer spirit. Same height. Much heavier. Ate what he wanted. Smoked a pack and a half of Pall Mall reds a day. Never exercised. Never!
Both men died at the age of 71, one from cancer and the other from a heart attack.
This is anecdotal evidence to support the just-now released study of the results of a bunch of other studies that says overweight doesn’t mean earlier death. It’s in the Journal of the American Medical Association which has more peer review eyes of needles to jump through than anyone needs or anyone else requires.
The medical conspiracy theorists (see Wessay #1118) will tell you that stuffing your face with Big Macs and washing them down with 151 Rum is not the best thing you can do for yourself. And they have a point. But the point isn’t nearly as pointy as it once was.
The Harvard Medical crowd and others are tut-tutting a lot. But the statistical study and the anecdotal evidence points in the opposite direction.
Late last week, a friend mentioned he wasn't sure what to do with a Dunkin' Donuts gift card he'd received. He doesn't drink coffee and he's just lost weight... and those donuts! Recommendation: the Boston Creme is pretty good. Stay away from the double chocolate... it's dry. The plain one needs to be dunked, and that's not good with water or orange juice. Share the double bacon croissant and extra cheese with a countermate. Fat is fabulous.
So does it really pay to ban transfats, limit the size of soft drinks, demand more physical activity from today’s generation of couch computer kids? Well, chances are it won’t hurt. But apparently it’s not the ward-off-death magic formula we’ve been told it is.
No sooner did the ink on the longevity study dry, when another, new poll popped up and told us that Americans don’t know the deadly dangers of obesity. What? Okay, guys. Which one is right?
Go for the science, not the survey. And go for the Boston Creme.
Shrapnel:
--Maybe Al Jazzy isn’t as bad as previously thought. One of the recent top stories is how Egypt’s President Lenin is “cracking down” on people who make fun of him thereby “undermining his standing.” And it’s already taking potshots at Fox News (after Murdoch thought about buying in and then didn’t.)
--Oh, happy day! The NHL and the players finally have reached a tentative contract agreement and maybe -- just maybe -- there’ll be a season this year. Cause for celebration for all hockey fans and the manufacturers of dentures.
--Farewell to Bob Jones, 70, the last of the really really good hosts of radio shows featuring the Great American Songbook. Bob was able to present the music without sounding like the wiseguy pretentious Mr. Showbiz types that gravitate to that genre. Warm sound from a warm guy.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions (and my calories) are my own but you’re welcome to them (except the calories.) ®
Please address comments to Wes Richards@gmail.com
© WJR 2013
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