MetaFilter posts tagged with fat

Go on, indulge yourself.

Brandon Blatcher — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:21:46 -0800

As I sat there, dazed and sweating, I felt hung-over, bordering on ashamed. ”Dear Lord,” I whispered, “what have I done to myself? I still have an entree coming! Will I survive?

Know Your Fats. Yummy, yummy fats.

Deathalicious — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:21:48 -0800

Fats, whether from plant sources or animals, have been in use in cooking for a long time. Olive oil's history goes back 7 millenia and palm oil has a history dating back to 3000 BCE. Once widely used in place of butter during the 19th century, lard is finally making a comeback (and you can easily make your own). Schmaltz, the Jewish lard alternative, will probably never rebound as a food, although the word itself is still popular (to describe something that is overly sentimental). Although fat in general has a negative connotation, you need fat to survive and there are good fats and bad fats. If your food has nutritional info on it, it's likely going to split up the fats into saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and, possibly, trans fats. What are all of these different kind of fats (literally fatty acids)? It all has to do with two of the major "ingredients" of fat, carbon and hydrogen:

Saturated fat: So named because they are "saturated" with hydrogen atoms (every carbon atom in the chain bonds with 2 hydrogen atoms). These are typically solid at room temperature. They raise your cholesterol (specifically, the "unhealthy" LDL cholesterol).
Monounsaturated fat: Instead of bonding with 2 hydrogen atoms, one of the carbon atom bonds to only one other hydrogen atom and has one (hence, "mono-") double bond with another carbon atom. Monounsaturated fats raise "healthy" HDL cholesterol while lowering bad cholesterol. Olive oil, high in monounsaturated fats, is one of the factors in the apparent benefits of the so-called "Mediterranean Diet".
Polyunsaturated fat: More than one carbon has a double bond with another carbon atom (hence, "poly"). They lower bad cholesterol.
Trans fat: The name comes from the trans-isomer bond that the carbon atoms have with the hydrogen atom (the hydrogen atoms are on opposite sides of the carbon atom chain). Generally, these are unsaturated fats which are hydrogenated (altered to hold more hydrogen atoms). Trans fats both raise bad and lower good cholesterol.

This is Why You're Fat

empath — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:29:04 -0800

This is Why You're Fat.

"...Then I have half a banana (50)"

Acheman — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:08:08 -0800

Via Amazon, you can read the first few chapters[PDF] of Carol Lay's new graphic novel-cum-diet book The Big Skinny. Blogger and fellow cartoonist Ampersand/Barry Deutsch doesn't object to the weight loss she documents, he just isn't convinced that it's actually all that healthy. See Junkfood Science for more discussion of the 'Obesity Paradox' (for more articles, scroll a great way down the right-hand sidebar).

Fat bug

caddis — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:35:47 -0800

Obesity can be “caught” as easily as a common cold from other people’s coughs, sneezes and dirty hands.... As many as one in three obese people may have become overweight after falling victim to the highly infectious cold-like virus, known as AD-36.

Fat Profits

Pater Aletheias — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:01:22 -0800

"After a period of collective indigestion induced by the 2004 documentary Super Size Me and the 2001 book Fast Food Nation and its subsequent film adaptation, much of the industry is returning to its traditional customers—men—and its traditional food—meat—served up in ever-greater quantities. Although CKE's signature behemoths—the Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger and Hardee's Monster Thickburger, both introduced in 2004—out-calorie all comers, Burger King narrowed the gap with its Triple Whopper With Cheese (2005); Wendy's unveiled the Baconator (2007)...and Taco Bell awakened the industry to new possibilities with its 2006 campaign, which urged customers to enjoy a "fourth meal" each day."

Cornbread Nation

Miko — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:07:03 -0800

The Southern Foodways Alliance is one weighed-down church-supper table, full of oral history/blog projects like The Tamale Trail, the Boudin Trail, interviews and recipes from the Bartenders of New Orleans, photo essay/interviews from Birmingham's Greek-Americans, a mess o'homemade films, and a passel of event and BBQ-shack photos on Flickr, all smothered in the tangy-sweet academic goodness of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at Ole Miss. These folks get my vote for most flavorful, funkiest food-loving folklorists in the lower forty-eight. Tamales previously mentioned here, and Prince's Hot Chicken here, but the whole site is worth a bookmark and a long evening on the porch.

Way to make a "boldly go" joke, NPR.

SassHat — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:52:44 -0800

Leonard Nimoy's new photography book is not what you'd expect. In this NPR interview, Nimoy discusses his new book, The Full Body Project. A quote from the interview: "[I was told] 'Whenever a fat person steps on stage to perform, and is not the butt of a joke, that's a political statement," and I found that quite profound."

Wot's...Uh The Deal?

punkfloyd — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:34:25 -0800

Pink Floyd fans may not need no education but Gilmourish, an exhaustive review of the guitars and audio effects of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (with help from an insider), will leave most comfortably numb.

I don't know a lot of amazons, but I'm assuming they wouldn't be wafer-thin.

nuclear_soup — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:36:52 -0800

I'm no toothpick myself, and admire and enjoy the female form in all its sizes, especially ladies with some meat on them. Thus, my idea for collecting art of a bigger-sized WW happened

Fat is genetic

serazin — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:02:17 -0800

Fat is Genetic, from NY Times science writer (and sister of Judi Bari) Gina Kolata.

Fit/Fat

brittney — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:43:00 -0800

These women are supposed to disgust you into buying low-fat yogurt.

See, not many people know this, but there are two kinds of fat people. There are people that were born fat, and then there are people that were once thin, then became fat.

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:25:01 -0800

"Being thin doesn't automatically mean you're not fat." According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. "The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined," said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain's Medical Research Council.

Location Location Location

Listener — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:02:22 -0800

Fat MRI shows the difference between subcutaneous and deep body fat, and makes some distinctions beyond just apple/pear. Here's another article, same site. I originally found this strange image searching for info on health effects of fat/red meat depending on whether it's mainly pastured as frequently discussed here or mainly unnaturally fed (as per Omnivore's Dilemma.)

A sad loss

cubby — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 18:21:26 -0800

RIP Heather MacAllister. "Any time there is a fat person onstage as anything besides the butt of a joke, it’s political. Add physical movement, then dance, then sexuality and you have a revolutionary act.” Founder of Big Burlesque and Venus Group, she died Feb 13 after a long fight with ovarian cancer. She was notably photographed by Leonard Nimoy. Multiple memorial services are planned for her birthday, Feb 25. [some links may be NSFW]

Our next health food craze: bacon?

monju_bosatsu — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 12:25:27 -0800

A group of scientists have announced that they have created cloned and genetically modified pigs that make their own omega-3 fatty acids. NPR has more on the story, including an audio report from Joe Palca. There are apparently some naturally occuring pigs with their own omega-3 fatty acids, primarily a Spanish breed called Ibérico. Descended from native Iberian wild boar, black-footed Ibérico hogs are raised in specially maintained oak forests, and feed primarily on acorns. Until last September, however, no Spanish producer had been approved to export Ibérico products to the United States, and consumers may have to wait a few more months before they can get their hands on the tasty pork. As the ham is sure to be in short supply, you can put down a $199 deposit now for a ham that will carry a final price tag of as much as $1000. If you're unable to wait for—or afford—the Spanish version, you can treat yourself now to the Bacon of the Month Club, which serves up a different artisanal bacon each month. For more on raising hogs, read James Buchan's account in the London Review of Books. And don't forget the bacon blogs: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].

The omega strain

445supermag — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 20:55:36 -0800

Bacon as health food. Scientists have added a gene to a cloned pig that converts omega-6 fat to to the more healthy (and trendy) omega-3. Link to full Nature Biotechnology article (may need subscription).

Too fat to be worth anything to society, except for the tax money.

shepd — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 11:42:24 -0800

Lifestyle on the line. UK to allow hospital's opinions on personal lifestyle to define state healthcare decisions.

I always thought I was weird, that what I liked was somehow bad and something must be wrong with me. Thank god for the internet!

holloway — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 23:26:31 -0800

NSFW "Here at Fantasy Feeder we either want to be fat or we want to fatten. We're feeders and feedees obsessed with over endulging our huge bellies and fat bottoms, and we're here to share stories, play online games and encourage each other to gain weight."

Politics and fat

skjønn — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 11:04:28 -0800

America's Waistline. A new piece examines the politics of the fat. Despite the growing numbers of people who are becoming obese, the fat acceptance movement remains oddly stunted in terms of membership. The growing civil rights movement faces many problems, including presenting a respectable face to the public. You see, many of the people who are in charge are feeders (NWS). Many wonder how the movement be taken seriously when so many who lead are sexual deviants and much of the revenue generated for size acceptance efforts is through pornography? Still, the battle rages on.

on my tongue

Phantast — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:48:28 -0800

Are you HUNGRY or do you just crave the flavor? (my favorite is that Mustard is under the heading Exotic.)

Fat Man Walking

Saucy Intruder — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 09:08:57 -0800

Fat Man Walking. Steve Vaught chronicles his effort to shed most of his 400 pounds on the highway from San Diego to New York. An inspiring, if medically dangerous, tale of human willpower. (via today's Washington Post, registration required).

Come back when you're thinner!

armage — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 08:31:56 -0800

"No soup for you! Only salad!" The Soup Nazi stars in a Center for Consumer Freedom ad about overeating and the "calorie curmudgeons" trying to regulate it.

XXXXXXXXXL Buddha

digaman — Sat, 18 Sep 2004 09:32:31 -0800

The life and death of a supersized man. Walter Hudson was fat. Precisely how fat was impossible to determine, because the one time he agreed to be weighed on an industrial-strength scale, it broke. (Maybe it was something he ate?) But no one denies that Hudson was one of the most obese people of the modern era (note: pictures not safe before lunch). Former comic, erstwhile diet guru, civil rights activist and Michael Jackson proponent Dick Gregory was one of Hudson's many exploiters, but Hudson's agoraphobic existence sounds almost beatific.

She's So Heavy

swift — Thu, 12 Aug 2004 05:49:22 -0800

Obese Florida woman melds with couch after laying on it for six years. Meanwhile.