Vlads right, theres so much sugar in everything, and things that dont have sugar have artificial sweetners which are worse, my dads got high blood pressure and cuts a lot of sugar out his diet, hes actually lost a lot of weight too

Many people (JM especially) used to lament the sugar in a typical Khmer diet. I'd say your average north-American consumes far more sugar than the average Khmer. I'd assume it would be similar in Europe, albeit perhaps to a lower extent.

vladimir wrote:

JBTrain wrote:

vladimir wrote:We often complain Khmers put sugar in everything, but until I started noticing what is in food, I didn't realise just how pervasive the encouraged addiction is, even in weren't diets.

In fact I'm wondering which society eats more sugar, a typical western one or a Khmer one.

Back home there is sugar in almost every sauce we buy, every can of food, almost everything we drink except (maybe) water.

Is the Khmer diet really that much more unhealthy than ours? (wrt sugar content only)

You're projecting. Not every westerner buys their food in cans.

I'm not projecting. Nowhere did I say that every westerner buys food in cans. But I would estimate that close to 80% have at some stage purchased canned food regularly., basing that on urban populations and alack of awareness.

And if we compare a westerner living in America, for example, with a Khmer living in Cambodia, I have absolutely no doubt you will find that the westerners are way ahead in buying canned/bottled foods.

And don't forget boxed cereal, what do you put on those cornflakes? How much sugar is in them already?

There is a shitload of sugar in something very commonly used like ketchup/tomato sauce, for example, as well as a lot of sodium and preservatives, colouring etc.

I'm just trying to find out how much sugar an average westerner consumes in America in a month, compared to the average Khmer living in Cambodia. I suspect the westerner consumes more.

On average probably right.

More convenience food = more sugar. Look at what is happening to some countries that have gone from a traditional "existence" diet to western/US diet of sodas and fast food.
Hasn't exploded in Cambodia yet, but some of those Khmer rich/middle class kids are getting FAT.

I think the unhealthy aspect of Khmer food is the salt/MSG/frying aspect, plus questionable hygiene, both at source and at home.

Anchor Moy wrote:More convenience food = more sugar. Look at what is happening to some countries that have gone from a traditional "existence" diet to western/US diet of sodas and fast food.
Hasn't exploded in Cambodia yet, but some of those Khmer rich/middle class kids are getting FAT.

whenever i go to Thailand now, espeshially after being in Cambodia for some time, is how fat all the Thais are getting!

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:Many people (JM especially) used to lament the sugar in a typical Khmer diet. I'd say your average north-American consumes far more sugar than the average Khmer. I'd assume it would be similar in Europe, albeit perhaps to a lower extent.

Let's get JMs lament straight. There's huge variation in what you are calling a western diet. I have not observed that same variation among Khmers. They all eat white processed rice twice a day . They fry with oil. They add sugar and MSG (though I'm not down on MSG so much). They eat poison Vietnamese noodles once a day. Soups are really salty. Vegetables and fruits are mostly imported and suspect. Fortunately most don't eat large amounts of meat cuz it's expensive. God knows what's in the local fish cuz nobody checks. Sure the plurality of Walmart shopping gun carrying Americans eat badly. I don't buy canned food or Sugar Pops and it's really really easy to eat healthy without going weird and moving to Portland . Of course I live in California so some might discount the weird part. Be that as it may the lament is that particularly if you don't cook your own food I don't think it's easy to eat healthy Khmer fare without going pretty weird.

JBTrain wrote:

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:Many people (JM especially) used to lament the sugar in a typical Khmer diet. I'd say your average north-American consumes far more sugar than the average Khmer. I'd assume it would be similar in Europe, albeit perhaps to a lower extent.

Let's get JMs lament straight. There's huge variation in what you are calling a western diet. I have not observed that same variation among Khmers. They all eat white processed rice twice a day . They fry with oil. They add sugar and MSG (though I'm not down on MSG so much). They eat poison Vietnamese noodles once a day. Soups are really salty. Vegetables and fruits are mostly imported and suspect. Fortunately most don't eat large amounts of meat cuz it's expensive.

So why aren't they fat ?
And why do I lose weight when I eat only Khmer food ? (These are real questions.) Smaller portions perhaps ? (And also, for me, a little rice goes a long way. Always amazing to see how much rice Cambodians can put away.)
There are also lots of amazing leafy green stuff, often raw, that is served with a lot of Khmer food. Full of nutrients, and maybe pesticides, but not sure that it's a worse diet than that of many people in developed countries.

Anchor Moy wrote:

JBTrain wrote:

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:Many people (JM especially) used to lament the sugar in a typical Khmer diet. I'd say your average north-American consumes far more sugar than the average Khmer. I'd assume it would be similar in Europe, albeit perhaps to a lower extent.

Let's get JMs lament straight. There's huge variation in what you are calling a western diet. I have not observed that same variation among Khmers. They all eat white processed rice twice a day . They fry with oil. They add sugar and MSG (though I'm not down on MSG so much). They eat poison Vietnamese noodles once a day. Soups are really salty. Vegetables and fruits are mostly imported and suspect. Fortunately most don't eat large amounts of meat cuz it's expensive.

So why aren't they fat ?
And why do I lose weight when I eat only Khmer food ? (These are real questions.) Smaller portions perhaps ? (And also, for me, a little rice goes a long way. Always amazing to see how much rice Cambodians can put away.)
There are also lots of amazing leafy green stuff, often raw, that is served with a lot of Khmer food. Full of nutrients, and maybe pesticides, but not sure that it's a worse diet than that of many people in developed countries.

I think portion size is important yeah. Filling your belly with rice and tiny bits of meat won't make you fat. But thin and healthy are not synonymous. And more kids are sure getting fat, a lot of porkers at my daughter's school and at the pool. Maybe they're all eating Khmer Fried Chicken.