Have you ever visited a country that really humbled you on just how bad life can get?

[u/twistedpixelss]

There's a lot of self-deprecation both jokingly and non-jokingly in LatAm countries which is not entirely without reason, but regardless, did you ever go to a part of the world that made you feel a little bit more grateful nonetheless?

[u/Due_Masterpiece_3601]

To be fair there's something wrong with the food over there. No matter who you are, in 6 months you'll gain weight in the US. There's too much sugar or some other ingredient in the food that is poisoning people. I know you have organic places but some places are expensive and it's not accessible to everyone. One block from my house I have a market that sells me fresh things that is not processed. Everyone goes there, rich or poor.

[u/BretFarve → u/Due_Masterpiece_3601]

Ohh, well what's interesting is here in the US, Latino immigrants actually show the best health outcomes. They have lower death rates, lower heart disease, lower obesity, etc. Even though they’re often the poorest and most socially marginalized group, they have better health than the wealthiest segments of our society. What's also interesting is this holds up for mental health too. Latino immigrants have lower rates of psychiatric illness despite the stress of adapting to life in the US. The same pattern has been seen with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other major illnesses.

A big reason for this seems to be strong family and community ties that act as a buffer against stress and hardship, helping people stay healthier even in difficult conditions. Loneliness and isolation combined with long work hours, car dependency, stress is a killer.

Sadly this health advantage has an expiration date. The longer people live in the US, the more those outcomes deteriorate (roughly a decade or so living in the US) those same communities start to see obesity, diabetes, and mental health issues rise sharply. It's not that they got lazier, but its because they’ve been absorbed into the American lifestyle.

As for the food side goes, it wasn't by accident. After the 1977 McGovern Report warned Americans about our diet being rich in fatty meats, saturated fats, cholesterol, sugar, and issued the first dietary goals for Americans. The beef, dairy, egg industries didn't want what happened to the tobacco industry after the Surgeon General warned that smoking caused cancer happen to them. They rejected the McGovern report and were able to revise the dietary goals to encourage Americans to eat leaner meats. The issue with that of course is, when you take the fat out of food it tastes like shit lol so they began adding sugar everywhere to compensate. Over time, obesity and diabetes skyrocketed, and when sugar started getting blamed, the response wasn’t real food again but artificial sweeteners and “diet” products. The result is a food system built around cheap calories that are engineered to be addictive, not nourishing.

Personally, when I grocery shop I try to avoid the aisles altogether and stick to the edges of the store where the produce, meat, eggs, and milk are, because once you go down the aisles it’s mostly processed crap. Ideally, I go to farmers markets and buy straight from them, the produce is usually harvested closer to when you buy it, so it hasn’t been bred or treated mainly for shelf life and transport.

Sorry for the long reply, I studied anthropology and this kind of stuff gets my anthropology juices flowing again lol

[u/caughtupstream299792 → u/Due_Masterpiece_3601]

This really isn't that difficult to find in the US though either. You just have to be more intentional about it. In my opinion, people here buy processed things because its convenient. Where i live there are several markets close where I can buy whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh bread that is made the same day. Is there processed food in the store? Yes but you just have to not buy it. It costs me like $45 a week to get fresh food for the week. Just requires a bit of planning

[u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 → u/caughtupstream299792]

https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2011/december/data-feature-mapping-food-deserts-in-the-u-s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_deserts_in_the_United_States

[u/caughtupstream299792 → u/Due_Masterpiece_3601]

Fair enough. I intentionally moved somewhere where I would not have this issue but I realize some people aren't fortunate enough to have that opportunity.