Difference between north american and european diets?

freal

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2013
Messages
209
North american caucasians seem to look healthier than north european ones. They look somehow taller, bigger and more robust. Looking at Canada and northern USA (not southern) and comparing to Germany, UK (or France). They are even more energetic, do a lot more sports.

What would the main differences be between the diets looking through a "peatarian" lens. Is it the fact the almost all the carbs in europe are from wheat and the americans eat more corn and potatoes (do they?). Would it be that the fats, in north america trans fats were eaten a lot, while seed oils were mostly the norm in europe. Would it be dairy consumption? Meat consumption is also different, in europe its mostly pork and chicken, while in north america its beef and chicken and more of it? Or is it genes and climate?
 

Blossom

Moderator
Forum Supporter
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
11,031
Location
Indiana USA
When my daughter spent the summer in Europe she thought that the Europeans looked healthier but she prefers the waif look. So it seems both of you noticed the same pattern but interpreted it differently. My daughter did comment that it was easier for her to find gluten free food in Ireland and Italy specifically as compared to anywhere else she visited in Europe and even easier than in the Midwestern United States.
 

jyb

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
2,783
Location
UK
Blossom said:
My daughter did comment that it was easier for her to find gluten free food in Ireland and Italy.

Italy? I'm surprised. It's the country of fine pasta and bred.
 

Blossom

Moderator
Forum Supporter
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
11,031
Location
Indiana USA
I was too! She actually had a conversation with someone in Italy about Celiac/gluten sensitivity and they told her the country is a major place for research on the issue and hormones have been implicated. That's exactly in line with Ray Peat's views.
 

Blossom

Moderator
Forum Supporter
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
11,031
Location
Indiana USA
[highlight=#ffff80]Ray Peat right again![/highlight]
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2013
Messages
7,370
To be honest beer strength is the main difference between young europeans and young americans. German beer is definitely worse on the body :D however some scandinavians drink extremely poor beer, rivalring american light ales. Don't know why [not enough good beer exists for their needs].

Italian supermarkets have a small area for gluten free products [a rice/soy realm]. There are many "celiacs" because heavy bread and pasta are part of the diet. When they started selecting for high gluten wheat hybrids to make machine friendly, hyper yeast resistant flour, crap hit the fan of course. Everyday fifty year old people find out they are "celiac" and eighty percent of thei intestine is dead, so they have it removed and go to the bathroom through their belly button for the rest of their days.

Who is to blame? As usual, nobody at all. But keep buying that Barilla, America. It's fashionable.
 

jaa

Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
1,035
As a Canadian who has lived abroad, I think our European counterparts look healthier. I chalked it up to better quality meat and dairy.
 

Steffi

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2014
Messages
41
I grew up in Europe and moved to America. I don't have a general impression on health as I experienced it depending mainly on location and wealth. The west coast has good looking people, educated and doing lots of outdoors sports, while more in the center or more north it is hard to find normal weight partners for sports. Same in Europe if you compare mountains with industrial cities. But I never knew someone with diabetes or hypothyroid in Europe.

The food is a very different story. Europe has a lot more choices and the quality is a lot better. The main reason is that the industry is/was less monopolized and industrialized. I grew up on milk from the farmer next door fresh from the cow - he had only 9 cows. The baker in the village had only his shop and there were 3 butchers, butchering themselves in the village's slaughter house. There weren't any national chains that "optimized" food production. Regulations are still a lot tighter - can't use hormones and many other chemicals. No chlorine bleaching of poultry. Small farms not under GMO-patent slavery. The US is pressing very hard to change these laws and strict regulations.

Of course it's all changing downhill with globalization of economy and de-localization.

I knew 5 teenagers who went for a year to US for school exchange. They all came back a lot heavier/fatter despite bringing pictures of huge fridges full of everything "no fat" (they all found it noticeable)...

Fast food was practically unknown 20 years ago in Europe. A restaurant was something to go to on a sunday/holiday so mum didn't have to cook herself. And those were all different and cooked from scratch - that's why you knew which one to go to for this cook's specialty - and which one to avoid. At home meals were cooked from scratch.
 

Daimyo

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
255
Location
Europe/SE Asia
I haven't been in USA - just Europe (few countries) and Asia.

As I'm Polish, when I moved to UK I noticed that much more people eat junk food there, than in Poland.

When I was raised most kids didn't have money to buy stuff on they own, so in the school they were eating mostly the stuff that parents made them at home, as we call it "second breakfast". Mainly what you will call sandwiches, but made of much better bread (rye, fermented etc.) with cheese, cottage cheese, butter, ham, sausages etc., usually some fruit were provided with it (apples, pears, plums...)
If someone was eating lunch at schools, they were eating pork chops, dumplings, noodles (made of wheat and potatoes), potatoes (a lot of them in Poland!), chicken. Usually also vegetable soup cooked with meaty bones.

Nowadays it's changing fast.
I'm like 28 and a half.
 
G

gummybear

Guest
Such_Saturation said:
To be honest beer strength is the main difference between young europeans and young americans. German beer is definitely worse on the body :D however some scandinavians drink extremely poor beer, rivalring american light ales. Don't know why [not enough good beer exists for their needs].

Italian supermarkets have a small area for gluten free products [a rice/soy realm]. There are many "celiacs" because heavy bread and pasta are part of the diet. When they started selecting for high gluten wheat hybrids to make machine friendly, hyper yeast resistant flour, crap hit the fan of course. Everyday fifty year old people find out they are "celiac" and eighty percent of thei intestine is dead, so they have it removed and go to the bathroom through their belly button for the rest of their days.

Who is to blame? As usual, nobody at all. But keep buying that Barilla, America. It's fashionable.

Are you being serious?
 

pboy

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
1,681
well...there is no doubt mainstream American bears are in fact, the worse. Ive never had a scandanavian...id assume it was up to European quality
 
G

gummybear

Guest
Darica_Brown_Bear_00963.jpg
Bears?
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2013
Messages
7,370
Too much garbage in their diet, yes.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom