FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD: Willpower is overrated, alcohol isn’t healthy, and the downside of posting calories

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week willpower is overrated, alcohol isn’t healthy, and the downside of posting calories.

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Links of the week

• Why willpower is overrated – This might be the best article on willpower I’ve ever read. My favorite line —>”And structuring your life is a skill.” (Vox)
• American Nostalgia on a Bun – Interesting look at the appeal of fast foods and, inevitably, diets as a product of American culture and values. (The Atlantic)
• It’s time to rethink how much booze may be too much – I’ve been avoiding posting about this study until I found a reasonable analysis of it. Thanks Vox for finally providing one.
• Will calorie counts on menu items do more harm than good? – OMG someone is actually thinking about psychology in public health. Be still my beating heart. (Washington Post)
• When Is It Safe to Eat Salad Again? – This is so depressing. Shopping at farmers markets is a great way to get around this sort of nonsense. (NY Times)
• To Slash Your Risk of Heart Disease, Keep Moving – Unfortunately this headline doesn’t even hint at what’s new and cool about this study: that exercise can vastly improve health outcomes even when you have a genetic predisposition to heart disease. (NY Times)
• Should You Eliminate Oil from Your Diet? – In the real world it often does more harm than good. (Scientific American)
• Study highlights need for strength training in older women to ward off effects of aging – Last I checked there were at least one or two women who read this site and care about aging well. (ScienceDaily)
• Are G.M.O. Foods Safe? – This question is one of my pet peeves. Safe for human consumption is not at all my concern about GMO foods. I’m more worried about soil depletion, ecology, pesticide use, and increasing the power of Big Ag. I hope one day we can have grownup conversations about this stuff, but I’m not holding my breath. (NY Times)
• Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup – What a simple and wonderful way to use some basic pantry items. (Arthur Street Kitchen)

What inspired you this week?