16 hours ago, KennethT said:But this discussion brings me to a widely debated topic and one which I'm concerned with - not necessarily obesity as I believe that can be effectively dealt with with portion control, but my concern is over the ratio of saturated fat to overall calories consumed. We in the US are led to believe that reducing the amount of saturated fat to as low as possible is considered healthy with regards to heart/vascular health. I try to not be too militant about this, but I will say that we don't eat nearly as much red meat and pork as I would like, taste wise. We basically reserve eating pork to when we're in restaurants - mostly regional Chinese or SE Asian, and I almost never cook it at home. Even while doing this, my lipid panel is at the borderline where it should be controlled by medication.
I don't know if this is the right forum for it, but can you talk a bit (no specifics needed) about your thoughts on this regarding a typical German diet which is very pork heavy and (seemingly) less focused on vegetables?
I will make a personal comment first (without trying to convince anyone, just to give you my angle), and then move to the actual question.
I do not believe in the mantra that saturated fat is necessarily bad for you, nor do I believe that controlling your blood lipid levels (which I believe to be dominated by ones genes) is 1:1 linked to cardiovascular events and lastly I do not subscribe to taking e.g. statins to modulate the outcome of my bloodwork.
As for the actual food question: I started with the intro that „This is what Germans eat everyday“, and it has been like this for ages. I don’t think that traditional food necessarily means „most healthy“, it’s merely a reflection of availability and custom.
What makes it suitable for everyday consumption is undoubtedly the ability to balance it with your lifestyle, and that is for me a question of calories in versus calories out. One possible misconception I thought of is that what you see on the table is actually all eaten in one dinner - it is not. The term Abendbrot describes it pretty well: we‘ll eat bread - two slices if rye bread, or maybe a rye roll with some flaxseed, or whole wheat plus cold cuts or cheeses on top of it. All the rest of the spread goes neatly back into the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast or dinner (whch are basically the same, except the former has maybe a marmalade or two). The Mett on the table is a 200 g portion, for four people (and there were leftovers). Yes, Mett is pork meat, but it is also a raw, seasoned salty sausage. You can’t really eat a lot of that - it is a topping for bread, not a main dish. Same holds true for the salami, the cured ham, the cheese. And that combined with „heavy“ breads is enough for two out of three daily meals. So, there is not a lot of meat per se.
Veggies are served at every meal depending on seasonal availability. In spring this means for example ramps and the first herbs of the year (that my parents and little one had pureed in a sour cream based sauce over potatoes and hard boiled eggs for lunch, while I was on the highway and enjoyed a bottle of sparkling water). At yesterdays dinner we had french radishes (not on the picture), pickled cucumbers (in the glass) and onions. A salad or some tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, paprika etc. could be served as well, but usually not more, and no warm vegetables. That usually covers your vitamins requirements, together with the bread toppings, while the bread takes care of your fiber needs. If you haven’t had German bread, your gastrointestinal system is in for a treat 🤗
