It's not like i don't use salt at home -- i LOVE salt. When i tried the Strong Medicine regimen the first time, i HAD to add salt (Donaldson proscribes it) because my stomach was screwed-up without the chloride.
Most of the time, restaurant food tastes about right, though on rare occasions it's too salty for me. So WHY does restaurant food cause more water-retention than home-cooked? Are other sodium products (such as one finds in processed meats) present in ground beef from their suppliers? I'm not talking about cheap fast-food outlets -- i KNOW there are additives there -- i'm referring to obviously-hand-formed fresh ground beef in my favorite pubs and dives.
???!
Vegetables, too. We ate out on Friday (Scottish Arms), and mashed turnips came with my pork cheek -- YUM. Then i introduced my husband to salsify on his second evening back home. Sunday lunch out with our dear neighbors at Hamburger Mary's -- i was "good" and with my bunless Proud Mary burger i had the seasonal vegetables as a side-dish. I got around the meat, and ate a cross section of the fresh-veg mixture (peppers and broccoli -- a third to a half of the serving). The root vegetables didn't seem to do the damage the above-ground crops did -- yesterday i felt the bloat.
Not only are some of us not designed to eat an animal-free diet, but i'm beginning to think that some of us aren't designed to eat many vegetable substances at all. Again, Donaldson's admonition to avoid "green" vegetables and to favor "yellow" ones hit the mark. The roots/tubers wear their toxins on the surface, and if you get past that you seem to be home free, but those that flaunt their leaves and flowers for all to reach are toxic (to me at least) through and through.
An update on the subject of cashews.... I had that one bad experience with the cashews that i bought "raw" and soaked and dehydrated last year. Well, i made a batch of the Fallon/Enig recipe Brazilian Shrimp Stew and got the same response from my digestive system. It's "cooking" them that does me in -- i can eat them with impunity otherwise! Fortunately, the almond,coconut and hazelnut flours i make "breads" with don't seem to have the same effect.
I know nuts are dangerously more-ish for me though, and i limit my quantities to a couple of ounces per day. When i DO have breads, cookies or cakes on hand, i use them sparingly. A treat is a treat, no matter how low the carb count!
Tes, what is this "Strong Medicine"? I ask, because I suspect my stomach acid is a bit weak and it sounds like you are saying that extra salt might help with that.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved salty tastes and I am sure I could eat a bit more if it was good for me!
an awful lot of people have inadequate acidity, but it's a defining characteristic in hypothyroidism. drinking water or other cold drinks with meals makes it worse. a small amount of coffee or wine helps me. if i find myself burping a couple of hours after a meal, i take a betaine-HCl caplet....
ReplyDelete"Strong Medicine" was a book printed in the '60s, the memoir of a doctor who started practicing right before the First War and who collected a lot of experience treating obesity and its associated illnesses, and allergy; Dr. Donaldson found that certain things worked in the majority of cases and published it, to my everlasting gratitude. He wasn't perfect any more than Atkins was, but he understood what worked and what didn't. :-) you can read it online here: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?seq=11&id=mdp.39015003228171&page=root&view=image&size=100&orient=0
I think the restaurants use a heavy hand with salt, because most people are so used to processed foods that they think food doesn't taste right without a lot of salt.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, there's often hidden sugars and probably msg in restaurant food. When Lustig was first on 60 Minutes, an SF talk radio station talked about him and his suggestion to tax sugary products (since he's from SF). I remember a professional chef from an unidentified "fine restaurant" (SF has many) saying that sugar is the "chef's secret" and often used in savory dishes to enhance carmelization and bring out flavors. So when we eat out at restaurants, we may be getting more sugar than we think we are.
oh, i'm sure of it. since dropping sugar and grains from my diet, i can usually tell by how my teeth feel, whether i've consumed any "hidden sugar"! they get "furry" much faster than normal. fast-food burgers definitely do.
DeleteActually, the more sugar and acid (like vinegar or tomato paste)you add to your dish, the more salt you will need. It is very close to 100% , if any dish contains tomatoes or vinegar or lemon juice, there is some sugar(or pureed dry fruits) there.
ReplyDeletethat makes sense. of course, modern tomatoes and lemons are appallingly sweet, to me!
Deletethe worst part of eating out is all the salt!!! (Hey, I tried to get on FB and the LCH, but they won't approve it.)
ReplyDeletei had a heck of a time figuring out how to register at LCH -- in the upper right-hand corner i FINALLY found the button.
DeleteBe careful what you wish for. I had to stop going to my favorite Italian Grill place Carrabas - they cut on salt so much, that it is impossible to compensate with a salt shaker. I am not a salt maniac to begin with.
DeleteEB, we were probably just asleep or at work. ;)
DeleteMaybe there was carrageenan (a thickening agent) in the hamburger. It's seaweed, and it can most definitely cause intestinal distress and inflammation. It's used to induce inflammation in lab animals. (Remember my ambulance ride last year? I believe that's what gave me the migraine headache.) IME, places that serve artisan food are good for avoiding irritants, and so are fast food joints--at least, you can look up their ingredients. I can eat McDonald's and Wendy's without a problem.
ReplyDeleteYou might have FODMAPs problems: inability to digest certain carbohydrates. Check out this article (broccoli is on the "eliminate" list): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204554204577023880581820726.html?KEYWORDS=fodmaps#articleTabs%3Darticle
Unfortunately, it is hard to find in US a heavy cream without carrageenan.
DeleteKalona is the only brand I know of.
DeleteLori, i sure do remember your carrageenan "adventure".... :-( as Galina points out, anytime one uses cream one is very likely getting the stuff. i believe i'm more sensitive to the cream than the thickening agent, though.
DeleteHM's is a cool place -- great burgers and creative bar. i can tell that they form their burgers themselves, but i have a sneaking suspicion that they might use a "seasoned salt" on it which could contain a number of questionable spices.
i suspect i do have FODMAP issues, though. the way my digestive system rebelled at the "salad of doom" last year, i'm definitely leery about vegetables in general and greens in particular!
I only saw heavy cream with carrageenan, except one time in the Whole Foods, it was very expensive. I usually buy Organic Valley grass-fed, even it is with carrageenan.
Deletei've cut way back on the amount of cream i use. i usually only take my coffee black anymore, but sometimes i use coconut milk and sometimes a little tallow.
DeleteTrader Joe's heavy cream does not have carageean, at least not the cream sold here in Northern California.
Deleteis that right ... i'll have to go check our store. i've never been fond of it, and its location isn't very good for me, but if TJ's cream is "clean" i may have to try them again. (my biggest gripe -- their GF beef is ground way too fine!)
Deletetess, not sure what it is about restaurant food specifically but I always gain weight regardless of what I order. I think it's the salt + PUFA + hidden sugar.
ReplyDelete:-/ when J finally retires, i'll probably find it very hard to maintain....
Delete@sidereal
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I don't order much other than salad w/ grilled chicken when eating out.
I go to a restaurant rarely, and most of the time what I eat is grilled stake with grilled veggies. On the road I go to burger places for a bun-less grilled burger.
ReplyDelete