Thursday 9 February 2012

A marshmallow launcher

is apparently the latest weapon of choice in the White House. There is a rather nice picture in this morning's paper of  the inventor and the President of the United States using it.
I do not like weapons but I could, almost, approve of this one. Mind you the diet police may not...there is sugar involved (but no fat). Right.
I was talking to a friend last night. She has been losing weight for no discernible reason and is now unhealthily thin - a mere 43.4kg. She actually weighs less than the overweight hound who came to visit my father yesterday.
We discussed what she was eating. If this is correct it all sounds very healthy. I said, "Perhaps you should break out and have some chocolate occasionally."
She laughed and said, "You know I am seriously considering having a "rubbish" day once a week...chocolate, a very large icecream, a dollop of cream, a glass of wine. Do you suppose it will matter?"
As she is over eighty I cannot see it matters at all.
My father has the occasional piece of chocolate. I keep a small supply of his favourite sort of individual icecreams in the freezer. On rare occasions I will buy cream. We do not drink alcohol but he likes the occasional glass of ginger beer or lemonade in very hot weather.  Oh yes, these things are full of sugar or fat or both - or something else which is "bad" for you. Does it matter? I cannot see it does. My father is certainly not fat. He has, as some people do, lost weight in older age too - but not to the extent my friend has.
I suspect there is something seriously wrong with her but four specialists have not managed to work out what it is. "Healthy eating" is not helping her. Yes, I know she is not cooking her main meal for herself any more but the meals she buys were praised for their nutritional value. They come from a small Italian company which prides itself on "healthy eating" options. She has one of these each day. Her bread is wholemeal, not white. She always has fruit in the house - and eats it. She was told to have "low fat milk" and "not too much cheese". Why? Surely whole milk and a snack of cheese would help? Does it really matter if her cholesterol level is a little on high side?
It seems to me that a marshmallow launcher would be a good idea too. She could sit and read. At the end of each page she could press a button and let a marshmallow land in her lap, eat it and then continue reading. Yes, I know the diet police would not like this but would it be such a bad thing?
I know many of us are overweight. We eat the wrong things. Our cholesterol levels are "higher than we would like". We sometimes snack between meals. We indulge in chocolate and cheese and chips. We...well yes we do not always eat the healthy option. But my friend may need the unhealthy options occasionally - just to stay alive a little longer.Surely the diet police realise this?

2 comments:

Frances said...

There is actually an eating disorder associated with an over focusing on only eating "healthy" foods, Cat - I went through a mild stage of this at one time, and narrowed my choices to an ascetic level.
Doesn't the human body need some fat?
Personally, I would give the pre-prepared meals a miss, nutritious or not ...tho' I can't speak for when I am over 80!

jeanfromcornwall said...

Too much of any food type is bad for you, but so is too little. Fat is good for you - yes even animal fat - what does you body do with any vegetable fat? If it isn't used for energy immediately, it is converted to animal fat to be stored. Usually in places we would rather not have it!
There is not much point in drinking skimmed milk for the calcium. The Vitamin D that enables you to absorb it is in the cream, so it passes straight through.
The Cholesterol thing is a myth.
Work on the theory that foods your Grandmother would have regarded as wholesome generally are, and avoid industrially prepared stuff as much as possible.
Rant over! Food is to be enjoyed - we are not starving nations.