'Stroke Belt' tightens

Washington Times ^ | Monday, February 14, 2005 | AP

[JohnHuang2]

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — When Becky Cleaveland is out with her girlfriends, they all pick at salads, except for the petite Atlanta woman. She tackles "The Hamdog." The dish, a specialty of Mulligan's, a suburban bar, is a hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that is deep-fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions, and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah: It's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries. "The owner says I'm the only girl who can eat a whole one without flinching," Miss Cleaveland said proudly. Click to learn more... Amid a national obesity epidemic and the South's infamous distinction as the "Stroke Belt," health officials have been trying to get diners to flinch, at least a little, at the region's trademark fried and fatty foods. But nutritionists have found it is hard to teach an old region new tricks. How can Southerners give up such delicious staples as fried chicken, fried seafood, fried green tomatoes and cornbread slathered in butter?

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

Recently I visited Brennan's and got a copy of their cookbook.

I swear the first ingredient in every recipe is butter. Every single recipe starts with "melt the butter..."

By sheer coincidence I'm sure, Mr. Brennan died of a heart attack at age 45. But dang if that isn't some mighty tasty food.

[Iris7]

Darn, John, that "Hamdog" looks mighty tasty.

[Zeroisanumber]

Butter, salt and garlic are a chef's secret weapons.

[america-rules]

Butter and Natural Fats have been around for hundreds or thousands of years without heart attacks being a major problem.

Heart Attacks started with fake food and oils made with chemicals like the Gov't keeps pushing.

[GeronL]

She tackles "The Hamdog." The dish, a specialty of Mulligan's, a suburban bar, is a hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that is deep-fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions, and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah: It's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries. "The owner says I'm the only girl who can eat a whole one without flinching," Miss Cleaveland said proudly

real pride.

[Shery]

I agree with you. Butter doesn't cause strokes or heart attacks. Eaten with a variety of other poor-choice foods, butter looks like a culprit. However, most people today really eat more margarine...talk about a BAD choice! I will never change from butter. Sorry. They can send me to jail, but I will not eat margarine and I'd rather eat something plain than coated with margarine! Yuck!

Genetics plays the biggest role in heart disease, strokes and obesity. The next culprit is too much sugar, which gets stored as fat in the body, not fat that is eaten. This is a misconception. There is a lot of bad 'science' out there today in regards to nutrition. The government has its fair share of it, too.

[GOP_Proud]

Julia Child began every recipe with butter. Would that I live the active life she lead to the day she died.

[jonrick46]

I have heard that high fructose corn syrup, that is put in our soft drinks and even in our frozen juice concentrates, gets credit for triggering arterial inflammation, which is the primary cause of all of our circulatory system disease. There is a chemical component in corn that triggers a reaction much like your teenage son gets that skin inflammation called acne. This same chemical component gets in the fats of livestock that are fed corn.

Other scientists say that it is the hydrogenation of oil that is causing heart disease; a disease that was practically unheard of 100 years ago.

I am suggesting that heart disease must be approached on a scientific level. Until it is understood what exactly is happening to cause heart disease, everything we do is based upon superstition. The sooner we find the cause, the sooner we can make corrections to eliminate effects of the cause. The real question should be asked: with all the billions poured into heart research, why has there come no answers and no cure for a disease that has happened upon us only in the last 100 years?

[Junior]

Good ol' Southern cooking killed my mother at the ripe old age of 52. I am really trying not to follow in her footsteps.

[EQAndyBuzz]

None of this food kills you. That is a myth. What kills you is eating food and laying on your barca lounger watching "Law and Order" reruns.

200 channels on TV and the only good show is an animated one about 4th graders tackling todays issues. And the start of the show is fat.

Cartman Rulez

[Glenn]

Good ol' Southern cooking killed my mother at the ripe old age of 52.

With all respect to your mother, my granny died at the age of 96 on a diet that included lard in everything. I, on the other hand, had a bypass at age 50. You play the hand you're dealt, I think.

Personally, I think part of what kept my granny alive so long was that she never ate a thing with preservatives in it until she was probably 80.

[numberonepal]

How can Southerners give up such delicious staples as fried chicken, fried seafood, fried green tomatoes and cornbread slathered in butter?

We won't, so quit trying to make us. It is a losing proposition. Mmmmmm gravy.

[jonrick46]

High fructose corn syrup is worse than cane sugar and is better used for alcohol in our gas tanks. What is starting to be learned is that this form of fructose is metabolized differently: it goes directly to the liver, releasing enzymes that high-fructose corn syrup instructs the body to then store fat! This may elevate triglyceride (fat in blood) levels and bad cholesterol levels. Scientists are finding that elevated levels of trigylcerides are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. In the same way it leads to insulin resistance and eventually to type 2 diabetes. That bottle of Coca Cola one would drink in the pre-1970s, made with sugar cane, would not trigger the weight gain in the same way as high fructose corn syrup.

What I have become aware of is the problem of some kind of chemical action that triggers the inflammation response in the cell walls of the circulatory system and in the brain. There has been reports that high sucrose corn syrup is linked to such responses and this would be something that needs to be examined further. Any scientists out there looking for a good research project?

We may be letting our prejudices and junk science lead us away from the real culprit in weight gain and other health effects coming from the foods we eat. Answer this question: why was heart disease almost non existent 100 years ago? People might have worked a little harder but there were still enough people living the easy life to show more heart disease than was the case.

[eno_]

I've run into her a couple times - we had the same tailor. She is absolute proof rich sauces don't kill you IF you drink enough wine.

All that partially hydrogenated crap is what is killing people. I hope some lawyer figures out how to file a class action against the people responsible for pushing margarine over butter.

[Gabz]

I hope some lawyer figures out how to file a class action against the people responsible for pushing margarine over butter.

It's pretty dang hard to sue the government an the so-called health chairties.

[IamConservative]

Hydrogenated fats, highly refined flours and fructose chief among them.

[spodefly]

The DamnYankees have been trying to change everything about the South for a couple of centuries now. They want everything to be like Massatwoshits.

Y'all keep your damn hands off our catfish, collards, and cornbread.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Answer this question: why was heart disease almost non existent 100 years ago? People might have worked a little harder but there were still enough people living the easy life to show more heart disease than was the case."

Was it non-existent or were doctors not aware of it and called it something else?

I believe you are right about fructose. Almost all refined foods have stripped away vital nutrients as well put additives and preservatives into what we eat today. Combined with a reduction in physical activity has rendered us a junkfood society.

Funny thing, a while back I had a fight with a liberal about what they have done for us over the last 50 years. His answer was the FDA and all the good they did in protecting us. I submit that the FDA has caused us more problems then it was worth.