The Re-engineered You

How has subsisting on “easy meat” influenced America’s collective gut bacteria? And how do we break away from generations of bad eating habits?

On today’s episode we welcome special guest and food writer Amanda Sick, a health and wellness advocate who uses her platform to encourage healthier lifestyles. With her help we’ll dive into the history of American diets and our nation's obsession with meat. Starting off by tracking our cultural evolution from eating whatever flew past the early pioneer cabins, to eating whatever we drive past on our way home from work.

And if you think you’re guiltless when it comes to fast food, ask your kids, because we also talk about TikTok and its highly questionable relationship with Dunkin Donuts. Specifically highlighting how advertisers have shifted away from adult consumers to promoting directly to young people. Why have fast-food companies moved their ad dollars to social media platforms? Why are influencers accepting their money? And are teens actually listening to attractive peers telling them to eat doritos and donuts?

Finally, we’ll get into the fascinating connection between gut bacteria and the brain, and how our microbiome can influence our food cravings and mood. In doing so we’ll find the answer why America has never truly outgrown the "easy-mode" lifestyle. (Hint: it isn’t because we’re all fat and indulgent. The answer is more ‘weird-science’ than ‘willpower.’)

Follow Amanda Sick:

https://www.instagram.com/plant__creations/

https://www.instagram.com/amanda.sick/

https://tlavagabond.substack.com/p/from-junk-food-to-whole-food

Buy Amanda’s Ebook:

https://myplantcreations.com/e-book

Show Links:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230120-how-gut-bacteria-are-controlling-your-brain

https://www.fws.gov/story/whither-went-eskimo-curlew

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/meat-consumption-in-america.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-americanitis-180954739/

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/how-americans-used-to-eat/371895/

https://www.amazon.com/Putting-Meat-American-Table-Transformation/dp/0801882419

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db322.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/digestive-diseases.htm

https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/facts-statistics-infographic#Who-gets-GERD

https://www.science.org/content/article/meet-psychobiome-gut-bac

Has someone ever addressed a letter to you by accident? Todd experienced this when he opened a mysterious letter and found himself reading a heartfelt plea from a prisoner, asking his lady to forgive his long silence, and to take him back when he gets released. This letter spawned our topic today, about prison letters, forbidden love, and the disorder known as Hybristophilia.

Show Notes:

A few months back our show host, Todd, received a mysterious letter. A prisoner had accidentally used his address while trying to convince a woman on the outside to take him back after a long silence ‘in the hole’...and to accept him into her home when he gets released. Of course, this inspired us to make an entire episode about Prison Letters. We discuss why prisoners write the best love letters. How some prison letters are actually money-making scams in disguise. Why it can be a community service to write to prisoners. How prison love can turn deadly. How you can tell if you have Hybristophilia (love for someone who has done heinous crimes) and why it’s more common among women.

History Links:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/married-convicted-killer-death-row/story?id=33181075

https://thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2015/07/13-couples-who-fell-in-love-and-then-started-killing-people/

https://thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2018/05/richard-ramirez-the-night-stalker-serial-killer/

Science Links:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201310/passion-victim

https://www.businessinsider.com/a-surprising-look-at-the-average-serial-killer-2015-5

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/nov/10/writing-to-prisoners-unlocks-more-than-you-would-think

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-18-mn-484-story.html

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2006/jun/15/love-letter-mail-scam-nets-ten-prisoners-221000-and-fed-time/