The Daily Valet. - 5/26/23, Friday
✔️ This Is Why It's Called Junk Food
A programming note ... We’ll be off on Monday, in observance of Memorial Day, but will be back on Tuesday.
Friday, May 26th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
What’s your processed food of choice? For me, it’s got to be Oreos.
Today’s Big Story
This Is Why It’s Called Junk Food
ultra-processed foods are impacting our health in ways that we are only just beginning to understand
Everything in moderation. Including moderation, as Oscar Wilde famously said. But this is especially true when it comes to ultra-processed foods. You know the ones, those industrial creations that are engineered to be tasty, or at least, outlive a nuclear attack. NPR defines them as “edible products made from manufactured ingredients that have been extracted from foods, processed, then reassembled to create shelf-stable, tasty and convenient meals.”And we're eating a lot of them. Ultra-processed foods currently make up nearly 60% of what the typical adult eats in a month, and around 70% of what kids eat. The category includes everything from cookies and sodas to jarred sauces, cereals, packaged breads and frozen meals, even ice creams. It's basically any packaged good with scientific-sounding ingredients—think bulking agents, hydrolyzed protein isolates, color stabilizers, humectants.We've known for decades that a diet that includes too many such sugary/salty packaged products is linked to unwelcome health outcomes—everything from an increased risk of diabetes and obesity to some cancers. But more recent studies point to another major downside to these often delicious, always convenient foods: They appear to have a significant impact on our minds, too.Chris van Tulleken just wrote a book identifying ultra-processed food as a great evil in our diets and, as The Atlantic points out, has therefore signed up for a lifetime of being portrayed as a joyless puritan who wants us to live on soy and kombucha. But as part of the research he ate an ultra-processed menu for a month. “By the fourth week, it had started to have very noticeable physical effects, forcing me to loosen my belt by two notches,” he writes. “In just a few weeks, I felt like I'd aged ten years. I was aching, exhausted, miserable and angry.”Research from the past ten or so years has continually shown that the more ultra-processed foods a person eats, the higher the chances that they feel depressed and anxious. A few studies have even suggested a link between eating them and increased risk of cognitive decline. Now, they're not dangerous enough to get banned like trans fat, but it's a reminder that these should probably be fun foods, not staples of one's diet.
FYI:
Ever wondered how the French stay slim on croissants, butter and wine? Well van Tulleken suggests it's because they are eating real sugars, real fats and real carbs.
Biden and G.O.P. Close In on Deal
details were not finalized, but negotiators are narrowing in on budget deal to lift debt ceiling
Just days from the looming deadline, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are narrowing in on a two-year budget deal aiming to curb federal deficits in exchange for lifting the nation's debt ceiling and staving off an economically devastating government default.Hoping to strike a budget compromise this weekend, the deal taking shape would allow Republicans to say that they were reducing some federal spending (even as spending on the military and veterans' programs would continue to grow) and allow Democrats to say they had spared most domestic programs from significant cuts.According to the New York Times, negotiators from both sides were talking into the evening and beginning to draft legislative text, though some details remained in flux. But it, at least, looks like they're making real progress now and wild gimmicks or invoking the 14th amendment are likely off the table.
FYI:
Earlier this week, the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings put America’s AAA long-term foreign currency issuer default rating on “negative watch.”
‘Dress Rehearsal’ for Moving Papers?
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago staff reportedly moved SENSITIVE docs ahead of the FBI’s arrival
Two of former President Donald Trump's staffers moved sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago one day before federal officials went to the property to retrieve them. The timing of the move is considered by the authorities to be suspicious and a sign that obstruction may have taken place, reports the Washington Post.Weeks earlier, the Justice Department had issued a subpoena demanding the return of the documents. Prosecutors have been trying to determine whether Trump had documents moved around his property or sought to conceal some of them after the subpoena. The investigation, overseen by the special counsel, Jack Smith, has shown signs of entering its final phases. Which may be why, earlier this week, Trump's lawyers asked for a meeting to discuss the case with Attorney General Merrick Garland.Investigators are said to be suspicious of the specific timing of the move and believe it could point to potential obstruction of the ongoing federal investigation into whether Trump mishandled national defense information. The Post also reported that Trump and his advisors conducted a “dress rehearsal” to move sensitive documents before the feds subpoenaed the records. And one witness has testified to prosecutors that he moved boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago on the former president's orders.
Meanwhile:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested if he was elected president, he would consider pardoning former President Trump—not for this, but for his involvement in the January 6th riots.
Ready to Swim in the Seine?
Swimming in the famed parisian river has been banned for the last 100 years
Much like the famed canals of Venice and Amsterdam, (where swimming is either frowned upon or outright prohibited), or New York's Hudson River (where swimming will get you publicly ridiculed, or worse), the Seine in Paris has been off-limits when it comes to swimming for a century now.Of course, it wasn't always that way. When Paris hosted the Olympics in 1900, many of the swimming events actually took placed in the Seine. And with the city hosting the Games again next summer, the City of Light will host the Summer Olympics once again. It's the organizers' hope that, by July 2024, the river will be restored to its former glory and that it might be used not only for applicable aquatic events, but by the public as well. “Swimming at the foot of the Eiffel Tower will be very romantic,” Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of urban planning, told Time.Considered one of the most romantic rivers in the world, the Seine is also “smelly, murky and—after big Saturday nights—fringed with the filthy residue of partygoers.” During huge rainstorms, 40 portholes dotting the river's paved banks gush with sewage. So even if they get it cleaned up enough for Olympians, convincing Parisians to take a dip may prove more difficult.
Dig Deeper:
The urban swimming movement is gaining popularity. Around the world, initiatives are emerging to make urban waterways swimmable.
In Other News
Using the same prompts for three different systems, this illustrates just how quickly the technology has advanced.
Have you heard about ...
A Weekend Pairing
‘I’m an Entertainer’ + a Mezcal Margarita
We could all use a laugh, right? And Wanda Sykes is back with a new Netflix comedy special that several people have now told me to watch immediately. Sykes is one of the hardest working people in comedy today—from guest-hosting The Daily Show to starring in several buzzy TV shows at the same time. But as she implies in her new special, the Second Coming is near, so it’s now or never, right?Filmed at the Miller Theater in Philadelphia in early February, the legendary comedian brings her honest, topical comedy to anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the Jan. 6 insurrection and the pandemic, along with “the challenges of raising Gen-Z teens.” Speaking to Variety, Skyes said that she has no issue being labeled a “woke” comic. And as one review put it: “If Sykes is uncancelable, it’s not because she’s any more risk-averse than her peers.” Fire up the hour-long special and whip up a pitcher of margaritas to go with it.
Pair It With
Sykes has said in previous interviews that margaritas are her cocktail of choice, so that’s what we’ll mix up while watching this special. This recipe, which calls for some deep, smoky mezcal infused with jalapeños, is a little spicy and a little sweet. Mix up a pitcher and just keep drinking—the jokes will get even funnier.
Also Worth a Watch:
‘The Kardashians,’ season 3 on Hulu and ‘Being Mary Tyler Moore’ on Max
Shopping
What We’re Buying
A suede moc
There are a handful of great Memorial Days sales already underway, including G.H. Bass, which is offering up to 40% off some of their best-sellers. I actually have this shoes and can confirm that they're both lightweight and incredibly comfortable.
Get It:
Wallace sued moc, $200 / $160 by GH Bass
Morning Motto
Appreciate the little things.
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