Balance of Food

'King of the Hill' focuses on Type 2 diabetes

I've seen the repeats of "King of the Hill" in the past, but the season premiere on FOX on Sunday dealt with a subject that may be close to home for a number of readers.

In the episode, Bill eats a bunch of sweets and passes out. In the hospital, he is told by the doctor that he has Type 2 diabetes.

They put Bill on a diet, but he struggles with it. When Bill was advised to stop eating cookies, Bill doesn't like the idea, as he notes, his mother used cookies to cheer him up, or to help him celebrate. “All of my emotions require cookies.”

Bill ends up back in the hospital, and the doctor's reaction is quite harsh. The doctor suggests he buy a wheelchair while he still has good insurance.

I won't spoil the ending, but it was refreshing to see a reasonable portrayal of the disease on television. For the millions of Americans who suffer from Type 2 diabetes, there doesn't seem to be much knowledge among those that don't have the disease.

Those who don't know ask very good questions, but it can't be easy for someone with the disease to have to explain it often, especially when they are trying to get used to the diagnosis.

Hopefully, we will see more in the upcoming weeks to observe how Bill adjusts to his new situation. And here's hoping the stigma of the disease can be reduced.

Food on "Life in Mars": Eating food in 1973

Would your eating habits be distinctly different if you suddenly woke up in 1973?

I confess I hadn't given this much thought until I heard ABC was remaking the British TV show "Life on Mars," named after the David Bowie song. The show is about a cop who, after a car accident, finds himself transported back to 1973.

I think it would be cool to go back, even if it would bring me countless temptations, especially from fast food. High fructose corn syrup wasn't on the scene. You could get a McDonald's hamburger fresh off the grill (if you had a special order). Kentucky Fried Chicken — no initials needed — was so fresh, your food was cooked to order. And Arthur Treacher's was still around.

Other junk food would be more fun. I would think Twinkies and other similar products would be in a more natural form (according to my recollection back then). I would think trans fats wouldn't have been an issue, but other products might have had more coconut type fats.

Meat and milk would have been better for us, since the huge push to feed corn to cows wasn't as intense as it is now.

If you knew 2008 knowledge in 1973, you could avoid whole milk, whereas if you had never known anything beyond that year, you might be drinking whole milk.

Then again, finding the more nutritional food would be harder. Whole wheat pasta wasn't prominent in stores. We didn't think as much about eating more nutritionally, such as soy products.

If I were normal, and back in 1973, I could have more fun with fast food and sugar. But even in my current state, I could have some fun in 1973, and when I would splurge, it would be of a higher quality than now. And if I did go back, I would hit the fast food places to start my flashback.

Being poor makes it difficult to eat well, but it's not impossible

Being poor isn't fun. Being poor and trying to eat well really isn't fun.

And this is in a country where food is subsidized, so food is cheaper here than in some countries. Whenever I go to Canada, I'm always surprised how much more food is there than here.

Yes, the price of food is going up. Corn prices are especially to blame for increased costs, since we eat so much corn in our many food products.

Trying to eat well requires money — most of the time, often money that people can't afford to spend.

Somehow the human body understands this, since we can eat poorly as young adults since our bodies can handle it better, and since we can't afford otherwise. But in the long-term, this isn't a sound strategy.

So what do you do if you are poor and want to eat well?

You can easily argue that eating well is simple: cook meals at home, find cheap produce, and don't rely on meats as much to stretch your food dollar. All of that is good, but young people like to be on the go, and let's be honest, those 79¢, 89¢, and 99¢ options at Taco Bell late at night are sirens on the shore.

Diet, exercise yes, but sleep helps as well

I have more answers than some people when it comes to finding the balance, but I have more questions than I can handle.

I've been asked whether sleep can play a positive role in keeping things sensible. Positives? Not sure, but I am formulating that negatives, or a lack of sleep, doesn't help the diet.

I am going through a rough period at work, so I'm a little stressed. And I'm not eating so well — not horribly, but certainly not where I would be normally in mid-September.

I try to limit my snacks at work, but I give in to temptation. I eat more for dinner. I feel hungry when I have had enough food. And I haven't been sleeping well. Once I'm asleep, it's difficult to get up. But getting to sleep hasn't been easy or fun.

Finding the time to sleep hasn't been easy, and actually has been stressful. I can rationalize that I need more sleep, concerned that my eating habits are not at a healthy level for me.

Before this period, I would fall asleep on the couch, wake up, and try to get back to bed, but couldn't fall into the deep, restful REM sleep.

Buffalo wings worth the trip to Buffalo

Buffalo wings don't come from buffaloes, they come from Buffalo.

If you love chocolate, you either have been or want to go to Hershey, PA. If you love sourdough bread, San Francisco would be your destination.

Well, for those who love buffalo wings, you have to visit the Anchor Bar, just north of downtown Buffalo. And I went there on my way to Toronto on August 29.

Is this the easiest place to find? Honestly, no. I took a bus downtown from the airport, and then went on the light-rail system from downtown to the Summer-Best stop. The bar is only a couple of blocks away from the light-rail stop, but it isn't in the greatest neighborhood. But it was a partly sunny Friday afternoon at lunch time, and so it seemed fine.

It's a dark bar, just the kind of place you would think they were invented. There is a bit of prestige on the walls on its status as the birthplace. But otherwise, it's a regular bar with tons of TVs turned to sports.

I sat at the bar, and looked directly up to see a picture of the owner with the late Tim Russert, perhaps Buffalo's most well-known son. Seemed fitting somehow.

You can get 10 or 20 wings. There was a larger size, but figured 20 would be my maximum. And there were a lot of other things on the menu, but I was there for one thing: wings.

They give you a choice of sauces: mild, medium, hot, and suicide. Forget the mild — you are literally wasting your time. I had picked mild, and when I realized the mistake, the bartender was more than happy to give me a side of medium sauce — a much better pick.