« Dining Out and About: Sakana | Home | Mere coincidence? »
When “grosseur” is gross
By Ann | March 20, 2008
There was an interesting article yesterday in the NYT dining section, The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party’s Over, which discusses the physical toll of being a gourmand. Are food enthusiasts killing themselves with their unbridled enjoyment of pork belly, butter, prosciutto and foie gras? In a word, yes.
Frankly, I’ve long wondered about guys like Mario Batali (described in the article as “The High Priest of Fat” and Emeril, or gals like Ina Garten and Paula Deen. That they are overweight (like the poor kitty pictured above) is obvious, but being chubby doesn’t always translate to ill health. Yet, if you read Bill Buford’s excellent memoir, Heat, which describes his adventures apprenticing at Babbo, you quickly learn of Batali’s love for lardo — “a white, dense slab… literally, the raw “lardy” back of a very fat pig, one he’d cured himself with herbs and salt” — and also drinking. Batali and business partner Joe Bastianich (also mentioned in the Times article) “had been known to put away a case of wine during an evening meal.” It is impossible not to fear for their livers, kidneys and hearts.
Gross? Yes. Yet, while reading I was also slightly envious of their ability to eat and drink without a single thought to their health. The article mentions several gourmands who believe themselves to be blessed with very good genes, and thus impervious to the rigours of a doctor approved diet.
Except, it’s all starting to catch up with them. For the gourmands in the article, diabetes, high cholesterol, soaring blood pressure are just a few of the byproducts of living large. Once again, that boring yet reliable concept, moderation, is key. They’ve started to blog about tofu, lentil soup and salad. I suppose their lives will be less colorful, but they will last much longer.
What do you think?
Topics: In the news |
March 20th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I think this was an excellent article though you almost felt like the author relished the fact it was finally catching up to them! While excesses of all kind are definitely not a thing to promote I do like to know that some people just chose to live their lives to the fullest (literally). Moderation is key to a healthy living, and the rule most of us abide by, but I am always a bit ticked off by people who point their finger at others and give a moralistic/puritanical twist on other people’s excesses. At the end of the day it is their lives, and there is a reason why they are called the “bon vivants” and not the person counting her bites of steamed broccoli;-)
March 21st, 2008 at 1:32 am
Healthy, low-fat and low sodium foods can be very tasty especially if you use garlic, onions, chili, herbs, and other spices for flavoring. But, it takes getting used to. The problem is twofold. First, foods rich in fats and high in salt are tastier, in part because many flavors are fat-soluble and the fats and oils distribute them evenly throughout the foods, which, frankly, do taste better and more appetizing because of this. Secondly, we are habituated to the cultural food biases of a meat-eating and fat-loving (savory snacks, butter, cheese, cream … and rich desserts), society. So, it takes a concerted effort to re-train your life-long eating preferences to accommodate foods which are healthier for you. Most people are unwilling or unable to do this unless faced with dire health consequences. (I’m one of those.) I envy the Mario Batalis of this world who can indulge their eating choices without compunction, but there happens to be a lot of people out there who, because of health problems (many with undiagnosed heart disease or diabetes), are jeopardizing their lives by unknowingly eating recklessly because most of the foods presented to the public in restaurants and supermarkets are overloaded with fat, sugar, and salt. e.g., Did you know that 2,200mg/day of sodium chloride is considered a toxic dose and most Americans easiy consume over 4,000mg/day?
April 14th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I hate to tell you …but no one is getting out alive no matter how much jogging you do or tofu eating or whatever, so that being said it becomes quality of life issues. We take care of ourselves for a better quality of life.Having had an eating disorder for much of my life, believe me when I say that for us there are many layers of issues when it comes to eating and few of them have simple answers. I adore Ina Garten no matter what her weight.