upworthy

american food

Health

American who left the country for just 2 weeks shares why life in the U.S. made her feel sick

After leaving the country, she saw the truth.

via Canva/Photos

An American in Italy.

As the old saying goes, you are what you eat, so our diets play a tremendous role in how we feel from day to day. Food can give us energy, vitality, and mental clarity or make us feel listless and drained. A person who spent two weeks in Italy shared an incredible revelation they had while living in the Bel Paese. Even though they ate healthily while living in America, they felt great after spending a few days in Italy.

The traveler felt so much better living the Italian lifestyle that they pledged to leave America one day, possibly in five years, and move to Italy. They felt so much better abroad because Italians are much more conscious about their food quality.

 american food, italian food, american tourist, italian pizza, wine, big sunglasses An American woman in Italy.via Canva/Photos

“I'm just so mad at the food in the US. I left for 2 weeks to Italy. My mood was better, my awareness was better. I could eat wheat (I'm extremely gluten intolerant and it messes with my autoimmune disease if I eat it among a multitude of other symptoms) with gluten pills with minor bloating,” they wrote on Reddit. “I had some of the best food, best health feelings (other than muscle soreness from walking so much) I've ever had in my life. It's made me have so much resentment for US food. I mean, even my skin cleared up quite a bit overseas.”

American food has a lot of sugar

The big realization they had is that American food is loaded with sugar. “It just makes me so mad that having any kind of sugar is just too much here. Sugar and wheat and what ever else is just so much harder on my body here than in Italy. I want to move,” they wrote.

 american food, italian food, american tourist, italian pizza, wine, big sunglasses An American woman in Italy.via Canva/Photos

It’s easy to criticize the traveler by saying, “Well, why don’t you just eat differently when you return home to America?” But it can be tough to eat healthy in America because it's nearly impossible to escape the food system. “There is sugar in f**king everything. It's so bad,” one of the top commenters wrote. “I've pretty much stopped eating anything that isn't home-cooked using whole foods. Even all the bread products I consume are baked at home. Everything from bagels to dinner rolls.”

How do Americans and Italians eat differently?

The attitude towards food in Italy and the United States couldn’t be more different. First, both cultures treat shopping completely differently. Americans go to large grocery stores where a lot of the food is processed and the produce is available, whether in season or not. Italians prefer to go to small markets for fresh meats and produce, and only eat the foods in season.

 american food, donuts, hamburger, soda, french fries, candy A big table of American food.via Canva/Photos

Further, the Italian government has much stricter rules about food consumption. Italy is one of the top food producers in the European Union, and the government has banned GMOs for commercial use.

The Italian diet is healthier because it skips processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbs. Instead, it follows the Mediterranean approach, which supports heart health, better sleep, weight control, and mental well-being, while also reducing the risk of cancer and diabetes.

On a deeper level, Italian people place a high value on food, and meal time isn’t something to be rushed but a time to enjoy a multi-course meal with friends and family. Americans have an on-the-go lifestyle, where meal time is what we fit in between working and relaxing in front of the TV. So, if Americans took a page and put food back in the center of their lives, it may help with their mental, physical, and social well-being.

From Your Site Articles
american diet
Pop Culture

Non-Americans shared the quintessentially American things they wish they could do

Here are 19 things that Americans really take for granted.

via Bob B. Brown

A delicious corn dog with mustard and ketchup.

A group of self-described “non-Americans” shared the quintessential American things they wish they could do and it’s a great reminder of some of the endearing aspects of American culture that far too many of us take for granted.

At a time when America is plagued by political divisions, it’s refreshing to remember that we all share a unique culture that others appreciate.

The responses were prompted by Reddit user gaping__hole, who asked the online forum, “Non-Americans of Reddit: what is an American thing you have always wanted to try?” The most compelling thing about the responses is they didn’t center around the advantages afforded by the country’s commitment to freedom and individuality. Instead, they focused on the day-to-day experiences that the average American enjoys.

The “non-Americans of Reddit” seemed to be really interested in sampling America’s unique culinary contributions such as fair food or things that are deep-fried. They appreciated the lifestyle that Americans in small towns and middle-class neighborhoods enjoy.

They also wanted to take advantage of America’s size, whether that’s the diverse topography or the idea that one can change their life by moving a few hundred miles away.

Personally, the responses gave me a renewed appreciation for the small comforts that we enjoy as Americans whether that’s chowing down on a corn dog or watching a yellow school bus roll down the street full of happy kids.

Here are 19 of the “American things” that non-Americans have always “wanted to try.”

1.

"To visit a diner like in the movies. In the middle of the night, it’s raining and just a few people there with great music from a jukebox." — TotalAd6225

2. 

"Can I interest you in our lord and savior Waffle House?" — ShadowDV

3. 

"Ride a yellow school bus even if I'm too old. Growing up I always loved seeing them on TV." — infiresemo

4. 

"A friend of mine from Indonesia said, 'the food chewer in the sink.' Garbage disposal." — Mnemonic22

5. 

"Being able to start a whole new life 'elsewhere' without having to leave my country and going through an arduous immigration process." — Gmtfoegy

Gatvolkak added:

"It really is a country where you can get up, move 3 hours away and completely reinvent yourself. The only thing that follows you is your credit score."

6. 

"Deep fried foods at a state fair. I'm from Scotland and we love to deep fry everything and I wanna know if it's just as good or better." — fenrislfr

7. 


"Trick or treating at Halloween." — IvanaHug

8. 

"Proper tailgating before a ball game, the kind where there's ribs and stuff." — SpiraltoNowehere

9. 

"7/11 slurpees." — Elford12

10. 

"Corndogs, I don't understand what it is but I want to try it." — AFowlWaterfowl

11. 

"A friend of mine from China took a vacation to the US. He landed in Chicago, rented a car and drove down Route 66 until he could peer over the edge of the Grand Canyon, then drove back. Where he's from, a road trip isn't even a thing." — Henri_Dupont

12. 

"Chicken and waffles." — Wide-Flower3494

13.

"It's impossible, but the small town/suburban middle-class American childhood experience from the '80s (think 'ET' or 'Stranger Things' or 'Goonies,' minus the spooky fantasy stuff). What you guy's say about Blockbuster nights nostalgia, the shopping malls. Growing up in Latin America at that time, we had a few glimpses of that lifestyle in some movies and it was fascinating, dreamlike." — steak_tartare

14. 

"I want to understand baseball. Man that sport looks boring, but a lot of movies are made about it I just wanna figure out how the game is played." — shweyzy02

15.

"Using the word 'ya'll' in general conversation." — Devlin_McGregor

16. 

"French woman I used to hang out with needed instructions on how to eat a chili dog. Blew her mind. Steamed and toasted bun, all-beef natural casing hot dog from a local farm, homemade chili, raw and finely chopped onions, and a bunch of Colby-jack cheese. She had seen pictures and wanted to try it, so I took her to this place run by a Vietnam vet who had wanted to own a chili dog stand since he was in the war. That was his life goal. Not get married, raise a family. But survive the war and open a chili dog stand. He finally made it after decades of biding his time, and all that passion went into the perfectly executed chili dog." — DeepStateofAffairs

17. 

"White Castle. Specifically that big box of white castle sliders. (I want to try it because of Harold and Kumar)." — Camus-Albert

18. 

"I've always wanted to go to a 'real' haunted house with actors during the Halloween season. Or those scary corn mazes with actors, etc." — tadpolecrusader

19. 

"Beer pong." — manserct

This article originally appeared on 8.4.22

From Your Site Articles
america
Joy

15 funny memes show the crazy side of American life that the Europeans can't comprehend

The American way of life is different.

via Aaron Schubert/Flickr

An incredibly busy off ramp in America and a monster truck that looks like a school bus.

America and European countries share many similarities in culture and governmental structures. They are democracies with similar legal systems, innovative in science and technology and have a significant influence on the world through art and culture.

That being said, there are some glaring cultural differences that are fun to point out. The broad generalization is that Europeans have refined cultural tastes, whereas Americans are a bit more brash and believe that bigger is always better. These are stereotypes, of course, and there are plenty of brash Europeans and Americans with refined tastes.

One of the biggest differences is America’s embrace of consumer culture, which Europeans see as excessive and tacky. Americans have an unquenchable love for processed foods and portions that make most Europeans shudder.

The sheer size of America is also hard for many Europeans to comprehend. During an 8-hour drive, Europeans can visit multiple countries with different languages and cultures. However, you probably won’t make it through some of America’s larger states in that short of a time.

I'm sorry, Europeans. Los Angeles and San Francisco are not an hour away, and you probably don’t want to drive from New York City to Disney World.

People have pointed out some of the significant differences between Americans and Europeans through memes with the simple caption, “The European mind cannot comprehend this.” It’s a fun way for Americans to point out the excesses that make America unlike any other place in the world.

A lot of the memes are centered around America’s love for chain restaurants and how they often are found in clusters dotting the American landscape. The downside of chain restaurant ubiquity is that it makes the country’s cuisine feel a bit homogenous. One can drive all the way from Des Moines, Iowa, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and still find the same 10 places to eat.

   

Americans eat huge portions compared to the average European. When Europeans travel to America, they most frequently point out this. Americans also enjoy processed foods that feel more like they came out of a laboratory or off an assembly line than if they occurred randomly in nature. This stands in stark contrast to the European diet which often features smaller portions, less processed food, and a greater emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

     

America is also huge.

 

Americans have their very particular brand of unique crazy, whether it’s monster truck rallies, the tacky beauty of Las Vegas or our very vocal support for gun rights.

      

To keep the rivalry going, Europeans have been fighting back by sharing elements of their culture that would boggle the average American’s mind. Some memes include the interesting ways that A/C-phobic Europeans cool their homes. They also railed at Americans for being unable to drive cars with manual transmissions and for having really terrible taste in bread.

The Europeans also mocked the incredible price of healthcare in the U.S. and how everyone has their hand out for a tip.

      

From Your Site Articles
america
Identity

Sorry Italian food lovers. America is about to have a new favorite ethnic food.

"This was the first time that we have ever seen...this change happen in a generation.”

via Maksim Goncharenok/Pexels

Girl in a denim top enjoying some pizza

Italian food has been a staple of the American diet for the past 200 years. We eat pizza when we’re having a party. When it’s time for a romantic dinner, we break out the checkered tablecloth and sip some wine while enjoying a fine bolognese sauce. Heck, one of the best characters on “The Sopranos” was the food.

However, even though Italian food is such a big part of American culture, it appears as though it’s going to be taking a backseat to other ethnic foods in the near future.

According to Datassential, a Chicago-based market research firm, millennials (ages 27 to 42) rank Mexican food as their favorite ethnic cuisine over Italian, and Gen Z (8 to 23) agrees, with Chinese in second and Italian in third. Baby Boomers and Gen X still say that Italian is numero uno.

“This was the first time that we have ever seen, since we've been studying consumers, this change happen in a generation,” Mike Kostyo, associate director of Datassential, the Chicago-based market research firm that released the report, told VOA News. “I think the most surprising thing was just how passionate Gen Z’s affinity for Mexican cuisine was…and to see that happen in a relatively short amount of time. I mean, that was huge.”

A big reason for America’s sudden palette change is the country’s changing demographics. Latinos are among the fastest-growing population segments in the United States, having nearly doubled in size since 2000. So not only are more people eating Mexican food because of their culture of origin, but people who aren’t of Latino descent are being exposed to the cuisine and falling in love.

Another reason is social media, where younger people are exposed to different foods because people love sharing pictures of what they eat.

Chinese people are also well-represented in the U.S. and are the third largest origin group among U.S. immigrants, behind Mexico and India.

America’s growing love of Mexican and Chinese foods is another example of the beautiful benefit of living in a country where people are all about sharing their cultures.

Enjoying the tastes of other countries and regions is a lovely experience and it also opens the doors to greater cultural understanding. What starts with food can lead to an appreciation of language, music, fashion, and history. One of the biggest reasons why people travel to other countries is to enjoy their cuisine, and once their stomachs are full, appreciation of their culture is sure to follow.

“Where before maybe the go-to comfort food item, or classic traditional item, might have been a pizza, if you were opening a classic, everybody-loves-it restaurant...it would have been a pizza operation,” Kostyo says. “I think in the future, it's going to be a taco operation. That will be the go-to.”

Italian food's declining popularity in America isn’t a knock on the cuisine itself but more of a positive note in the history of American culture. As our population becomes more diverse, so do our food choices, leading to a broader tapestry of experiences for us all to enjoy.

From Your Site Articles
food
Trending Stories