http://www.menstuff.org/issues.....ctose.html

Global fastfood companies indeed. Most of the junk food consumed in Korea and China were processed and sold by domestic food manufacturers like Cheil Jedang.

Rising obesity and related chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease are diseases of affluence. American food processors began refining and bleaching flour 100 years ago and canning salted meat in order to feed a growing urban population. The whole idea behind processed food is convenience and modern Asians seek convenience as much as Westerners do.

As much as I hate the US agricultural and food manufacturing oligopolies, I avoid blaming them. We choose what we put in our shopping carts, what we order in restaurants,and most importantly, what we feed our children. The key is to educate the public about food and to have clear, accurate labeling. The USDA has watered down the organic label under pressure from food producing giants, who want market share in a growing industry. My mom is starting a diet under the guidance of a registered dietician. She asked me about organic cage-free eggs she had seen in the store. I told her not to waste $3 since the minimum requirement for “cage-free” labeling is that chickens have access to fresh air for one hour a day, a requirement that can be met simply by propping open the door to the chicken coop. At the farmers’ market this morning, I paid $2 directly to the farmer for a dozen nutritious eggs laid by chickens that forage in the barnyard and snack on old vegetable scraps, not grain cocktails engineered to make them obese.

“I believe that humble, healthy grains like millet and barley were the main staples in the Korean diet prior to the 20th century. A changing diet is the culprit: the refined white rice found at every meal is nutrient-deprived and because it is high in carbs and digested rapidly, it spikes glucose levels.”

Type 2 diabetes is traced to increasing intake of REFINED CARBOHYDRATE. And aside from processed grains, corn syrup is one example of refined carbohydrate that is increasingly finding its way into the Korean diet (think Baskins and soda).

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 5, 774-779, May 2004

Increased consumption of refined carbohydrates and the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United States: an ecologic assessment

Background: Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic that is affecting an ever-increasing proportion of the US population. Although consumption of refined carbohydrates has increased and is thought to be related to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes, the ecologic effect of changes in the quality of carbohydrates in the food supply on the risk of type 2 diabetes remains to be quantified.

Objective: The objective was to examine the correlation between consumption of refined carbohydrates and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the United States.

Methods: In this ecologic correlation study, the per capita nutrient consumption in the United States between 1909 and 1997 obtained from the US Department of Agriculture was compared with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Conclusions: Increasing intakes of refined carbohydrate (corn syrup) concomitant with decreasing intakes of fiber paralleled the upward trend in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes observed in the United States during the 20th century.

Changes in diet is wreaking havoc not only in Korea but also in China.

BMJ 2006;333:362-363 (19 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7564.362

Overweight and obesity in China

About one fifth of the one billion overweight or obese people in the world are Chinese. China was once considered to have one of the leanest populations,1 but it is fast catching up with the West in terms of the prevalence of overweight and obesity; disturbingly, this transition has occurred in a remarkably short time.
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The explanations of China’s recent epidemic of overweight and obesity include changes to the traditional diet, reduced levels of physical activity, and increased sedentary lifestyles.
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Energy intake from animal sources has increased from 8% in 1982 to 25% in 2002,3 and the average energy intake from dietary fat among urban Chinese increased from 25% to 35%,9 which is above the upper limit of 30% recommended by the WHO.

Some of these dietary changes must be traceable to some global fastfood companies, no?

As a start, let us take a look at united states farm subsidies:

Right on, Leo!

While I support free trade, I share Korean concerns about imported food. I believe in buying locally produced food grown and raised through sustainable farming methods. Consumers should have a choice and need clear and accurate labeling in order to make choices. American factory farm meats, eggs, grains, and produce are of low nutritional quality. Cows, pigs, and chickens are fed an unhealthy, unnatural grain diet designed to fatten them very quickly; animals fed this fattening diet yield meat and eggs that are high in fat, especially saturated fat, and a high omega 6 to omega 3 essential fatty acid ratio. GMO corn and soybeans are bred to be resistant to the poisonous effects of heavy pesticides, but we human beings are not. GMO foods are more heavily sprayed and that is why foods made with GMO ingredients should be labeled clearly, something the US agricultural industry is fighting. Most US-grown fruit, with the exception of grapes, is contaminated with high pesticide residues even after washing and peeling.

I would be very interested to know how Korean farming methods compare to US factory farming methods.

Wouldn’t a reporter worth his salt know about insulin resistence causing diabetes type 2?

Insulin resistance alone does not cause type-2 diabetes, as not everyone with IR develops the disease. Insulin resistance doesn’t just appear out of the blue. It usually arises in genetically susceptible people who are overweight and/or do not exercise. Full fat cells do not respond to insulin, so that is why diabetes is associated with obesity. Muscle cells drink in glucose without the aid of insulin and that is why sustained physical activity is arguably more important than weight. Insulin production is triggered by high glucose levels. A person who exercises regularly and has a muscular body will have less glucose floating around the bloodstream and thus less need for insulin than a sedintary person. Genes play a role in two ways: first, people with ‘thrifty genes’ conserve more calories as fat, and fat cells are by nature insulin-resistant; and second, churning out large amounts of insulin over time wears out beta cells in the pancreas. People’s bodies may vary in their ability to manufacture new beta cells to replace burned out ones, which may explain why a majority of overweight people do not become diabetic.

In Korea, changing diet must be the culprit, not “kal kuksu often mixed with sujaebi” that the Koreans must have been eating for a long time.

I believe that humble, healthy grains like millet and barley were the main staples in the Korean diet prior to the 20th century. A changing diet is the culprit: the refined white rice found at every meal is nutrient-deprived and because it is high in carbs and digested rapidly, it spikes glucose levels. The Korean/Chinese traditional custom of eating rice or noodles at the end of meal makes digestive sense: refined carbs are digested quickly and the partially digested fats and proteins in the stomach will slow down the absorbtion of the carbs once the chyme (digested stuff in the stomach) moves into the small intestine.

Type-2 diabetes runs rampant on my dad’s side of the family, and I don’t have the luxury of letting myself get overweight or out of shape. The best quote I’ve ever heard about the relationship between genes and disease is this: Genes load the gun and lifestyle pulls the trigger.”

I think Korea may adopt this strategy. However, Koreans are less nationalistic and more progressive than the Japanese, and do not have strong national hoodlum organization. I don’t think that strategy will work in Korea.

Trials, for example, are determined by three judges. No jury system, here. Just three judges who passed bar exams and “educated” within legal training center. The head of the judicial branch is appointed by the president. Therefore, these judges basically supports the president. No separation of powers in Korea.

These judges do not adhere strictly by laws either. They are allowed to use “common” judgement and, as a result, the Oriental logic of emotional compensation doused by nationalism will prevail.

The US companies will not win in Korean court.

I like the FTA to go through. The real winners will be KoreanAmericans. I like to open up a store in Seoul selling Maruchan Noodles(10 cents in States) and Bumblebee Tuna (50 cents per can). I rake in $10,000 per month.

Body composition is another significant problem. Koreans have relatively little muscle and the extra weight they pack on is fat.

Major factors in the development of diabetes mellitus in 10,000 men

J. H. Medalie, C. M. Papier, U. Goldbourt and J. B. Herman

The average annual incidence of diabetes among 8,688 adult men followed up for five years was 8.0/1,000 with Asian, African and Israeli-born having higher rates than European-born. Multivariate analysis of the findings suggested the following: the most significant variables associated with the development of diabetes are overweight and peripheral vascular disease; the high incidence of diabetes in immigrants from Asia and Africa might be an example of Neel’s “thrifty genotype” or failure of adaptation to relatively rapid environmental changes; serum cholesterol level, blood pressure, uric acid level, and education were important also; and the probability of developing diabetes within five years rises from 17/1,000 (when the major variables are low or absent) to 450/1,000 (when they are high and present). This has important clinical implications.

In Korea, changing diet must be the culprit, not “kal kuksu often mixed with sujaebi” that the Koreans must have been eating for a long time.

It would be fun if there were data on american franchises in Korea through the years…