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Should you be able to pronounce the names of product ingredients?
lorrpb
Posts: 11,463 Member
in Debate Club
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
20
Replies
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You'd need a special sub-rule for people like me who think they're pronouncing something correctly but actually aren't.33
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janejellyroll wrote: »You'd need a special sub-rule for people like me who think they're pronouncing something correctly but actually aren't.
There's also some regional differences in pronunciation. When I travel, does that reduce my diet?13 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Same. I think I'm probably dangerous. Most people should probably leave me alone. :laugh:
And I agree, it's more about the language skills than the product.4 -
I've always been good at reading. That wouldn't make me immune to actually toxic ingredients. Of course you should be able to pronounce the ingredients, but not as some sort of prerequisite to ingesting the product - there's just no shame in being able to sound out an unfamiliar word.5
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I haaaaate this silly rule. My aunt used to spout it all the time. If you can't pronounce the thing or you don't know what it is then maybe you should look it up rather than running away from it??
I just looked up those first three chains of incomprehensible syllables and now I know things that I didn't know 5 mins ago. Very scary indeed.13 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Using that silly standard, a lot of scientists/chemists would be allowed to eat almost anything and illiterate people would quickly starve to death. And many of us would never be allowed to eat foods from other countries where we're not conversant in their language. And any kind of hors d'oeuvre would be right out the window for many.
Fortunately I have a decent command of Spanish, so all Mexican food is good to go for me! I also speak a tiny bit of Japanese, enough to pronounce everything on a sushi menu.
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...and I guess a lot of people won't be eating many strawberries or bananas:
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Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Using that silly standard, a lot of scientists/chemists would be allowed to eat almost anything and illiterate people would quickly starve to death. And many of us would never be allowed to eat foods from other countries where we're not conversant in their language. And any kind of hors d'oeuvre would be right out the window for many.
Fortunately I have a decent command of Spanish, so all Mexican food is good to go for me! I also speak a tiny bit of Japanese, enough to pronounce everything on a sushi menu.
I tell you, if I tried to live by that rule I'd damn well be learning Japanese for this reason.10 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce?
No.
I think if someone wants to eat minimally processed whole foods that is fine but deciding a food will be harmful if you can not pronounce all the ingredients on the label is silly.
I may or may not pronounce many scientific or foreign names correctly but that does not make the ingredients unsafe or unhealthy. I have tested with higher than 5th grade reading level.
I pronounced quinoa wrong for a long time as I had never heard it. I don't pronounce the food gyro correctly. I have heard people saying Keto different than the way I would pronounce it. I struggle sometimes to remember and pronounce long medication names correctly every time. Just because I pronounce something wrong does not mean the thing itself is bad.
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This is such a silly rule. If you're advocating for some kind of "clean" diet, just define what you mean by clean foods.5
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I have excellent pronunciation skills thanks to the nuns pounding them into me in grade school. Therefore, the nuns are to blame for me getting fat! Right?
I have a sister who follows what I call the "ignorance diet" - she won't eat anything that has ingredients she doesn't instantly recognize. I have yet to figure out why this otherwise highly intelligent and sane person would follow such a silly rule.5 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
This rule has an unintended effect in highlighting the academic inadequacy of a significant percentage of the population.8 -
It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".17
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People who advocate this silliness should think about this scenario - shopping with a friend for food for a shared home cooked meal. You pick up a package and can pronounce all the ingredients. Your friend doesn't recognize one or two. You put the package back because she can't eat it. Seriously?
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Clarification: do you have to be able to pronounce it, or pronounce it correctly?
Definitely wouldn't use a product of bottled dihydrogen monoxide. It's contaminated with microplastic filaments.3 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
This is the one I think the stores have caught onto. They've put bulk candy, bacon and all kinds of sweets around the perimeter of some of the stores here. Yes the veggies are there, but the put pop and chips on the end of the aisles so you can grab them on a perimeter run.
Then they put the wine tasting area right in the middle of the store....8 -
Should you be able to pronounce the names of product ingredients?
Yes adults should be able to pronounce words...learn some damn chemistry already general population, geez.20 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
I'd argue it is dumber because people apply the "chemical-sounding things are dangerous" rule to just about anything. The analogy would be if people heard the perimeter rule about grocery stores and believed in it so much they just started applying it to all aspects of their life, avoiding the middle of anything.2 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
This is the one I think the stores have caught onto. They've put bulk candy, bacon and all kinds of sweets around the perimeter of some of the stores here. Yes the veggies are there, but the put pop and chips on the end of the aisles so you can grab them on a perimeter run.
Then they put the wine tasting area right in the middle of the store....
I'm not up to date, but I know retail stores typically place high markup items at the perimeter on in traffic patterns. Lower/negative markup items are typically necessities and are placed towards the back of the store, so they know they have loads of marketing opportunities to place along routes.3 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
This is the one I think the stores have caught onto. They've put bulk candy, bacon and all kinds of sweets around the perimeter of some of the stores here. Yes the veggies are there, but the put pop and chips on the end of the aisles so you can grab them on a perimeter run.
Then they put the wine tasting area right in the middle of the store....
The perimeter of our grocery store includes freshly prepared takeout food (mac n cheese, pizza, wings, fried chicken, etc.), bakery (with a large fresh donut case), liquor, butter, chocolate milk and cleaning supplies. The cornerstones of a nutritious diet!7 -
I mean just a quick primer on how to pronounce "chemical-sounding" names.
Chemical names are derived from a collection of descriptive prefixes and suffixes that are often latin or greek derived. Our language is latin/greek derived so much of the pronounciation is the same. The reason chemical names look so strange is in our language latin prefixes are attached to some root where a lot of chemical names are just a bunch of prefixes and suffixes strung together.
So using your examples
ergocalciferol. Ergo-calci-fer-ol. Ergo as in...well...ergo in latin for work. Calci- as in calcium. Fer as in ferrous, as in iron, -ol as in acohol as in an -OH group.
So from the name I can guess this compound has something to do with iron and calcium and probably has an alcohol group and I know how to pronounce it it Ergo-calci-fer-ol...even though i have never seen that name before because I know how to pronounce ergo, calcium, ferrous and alcohol so I just string those together ergo-calci-fer-ol
That is the thing with chemical names, they are actually more descriptive than standard names like Apple. Apple doesn't tell you anything unless you know what an apple is already. But Ergocalciferol tells me whatever it is has something to do with iron calcium and likely has an alcohol group in it. So if i basically just interpreted the name it would be something that works with iron and calcium and is an alcohol (ie it has an -OH group on it somewhere).
cholecalciferol
Chole- as in cholesterol
Calci- as in calcium
fer- as in ferrous
ol as in alchol. So if you can say cholesterol, calcium, ferrous and alcohol you can say chole-calci-fer-ol
nicotinamide riboside
Nicotin- as in nicotine
-amide as in, well, amide...that one is a chemical term
Ribo- as in ribose
-ide is a chemistry suffix to name the negative ion such as chloride (Cl-) or hydroxide (OH-)
So Nicotin-amide Ribos-ide
dihydrogen monoxide
Di- as in the latin for two
Hydrogen, as in hydrogen
Mon- as in the latin for one
Ox - as in oxygen
-ide is a chemistry suffix
So Di-hydrogen Mon-ox-ide
Each of these names tells you something about either what it is made of or what it does.12 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
I agree, and I always ask people if they never buy toilet tissue or cleaning products?
In my recent remodeled supermarket, the wine, alcohol and beers are now located on the left side of one of the entrances and very close to the vegetables and fruit stands. There is a lot of traffic in that area, that is for sure!
2 -
I just get frustrated with the culture when the response to seeing a long word you haven't seen before is "I can't pronounce that" instead of "I wonder how you pronounce that". Then it is even worse when it gets to the point that not being able to pronounce something makes you feel like there must be something wrong with that thing and not just that it is simply a gap in your knowledge. Not trying to be judgmental, everyone has gaps in their expertise or experience....just gets to be a problem when you act like that is an issue with the world instead of an issue with you.13
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OT, but stores also place the things people "need" most in the middle of an aisle so they have to walk up and down every aisle to get a few basics.1
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »I just get frustrated with the culture when the response to seeing a long word you haven't seen before is "I can't pronounce that" instead of "I wonder how you pronounce that". Then it is even worse when it gets to the point that not being able to pronounce something makes you feel like there must be something wrong with that thing and not just that it is simply a gap in your knowledge. Not trying to be judgmental, everyone has gaps in their expertise or experience....just gets to be a problem when you act like that is an issue with the world instead of an issue with you.
ITA. And honestly if you sound them out slowly you will end up pronouncing most chemical names right, maybe just get the accent syllable wrong. I'm the type that if I see an ingredient I don't know, after eating the product and determining it's general level of yumminess, I go to google to find out what the ingredient is/does. Life long learning FTW!4 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
I agree, and I always ask people if they never buy toilet tissue or cleaning products?
In my recent remodeled supermarket, the wine, alcohol and beers are now located on the left side of one of the entrances and very close to the vegetables and fruit stands. There is a lot of traffic in that area, that is for sure!
Well, I mostly adhere to the perimeter rule.
I don't get my tissues and cleaning products at the market. I get those at the warehouse club
At least my intent is to steer myself, and anyone who wishes to emulate what I'm doing, to buy meat, fish, chicken, dairy, fruits, vegetables, etc and steer clear of the meal kits, cereals, and other things that are more processed. I realize all food is processed to a certain extent, unless one is eating it raw. However, do I really need a pasta sauce that has added sugar? Do I really need my Raisin Bran to have sugar as one of the ingredients? Do I really need little chocolate donuts, Twinkies and Doritos? (No, but I don't always say no to them either, just have them much less frequently.)
But I will buy bread, pasta, etc. But I try to fill my cart with fresh proteins and vegetables as much as possible and leave out the potato chips, snack cakes, sugary cereals, and their cousins that often lurk in the middle of the store.
I don't use the rule because I fear chemistry. (Better living through modern chemistry.) I do it because the foods in the middle seem to be more calorie dense and that doesn't work well with T2Dm and limiting my calorie and carb intake as per my dietitian/diabetes coaches guidance and plan for my eating.
As much as I'd love a pack of little chocolate donuts, I'm better off using the same 420 calories (420, coincidence?) having a two or three egg omelette with two slices of center cut bacon, peppers, onions and maybe a banana depending on if my BG was above or below 100 when I woke that morning.
If this works for you, use it. If not, take anything that is worthwhile and leave what isn't.9 -
tbright1965 wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
I agree, and I always ask people if they never buy toilet tissue or cleaning products?
In my recent remodeled supermarket, the wine, alcohol and beers are now located on the left side of one of the entrances and very close to the vegetables and fruit stands. There is a lot of traffic in that area, that is for sure!
Well, I mostly adhere to the perimeter rule.
I don't get my tissues and cleaning products at the market. I get those at the warehouse club
At least my intent is to steer myself, and anyone who wishes to emulate what I'm doing, to buy meat, fish, chicken, dairy, fruits, vegetables, etc and steer clear of the meal kits, cereals, and other things that are more processed. I realize all food is processed to a certain extent, unless one is eating it raw. However, do I really need a pasta sauce that has added sugar? Do I really need my Raisin Bran to have sugar as one of the ingredients? Do I really need little chocolate donuts, Twinkies and Doritos? (No, but I don't always say no to them either, just have them much less frequently.)
But I will buy bread, pasta, etc. But I try to fill my cart with fresh proteins and vegetables as much as possible and leave out the potato chips, snack cakes, sugary cereals, and their cousins that often lurk in the middle of the store.
I don't use the rule because I fear chemistry. (Better living through modern chemistry.) I do it because the foods in the middle seem to be more calorie dense and that doesn't work well with T2Dm and limiting my calorie and carb intake as per my dietitian/diabetes coaches guidance and plan for my eating.
As much as I'd love a pack of little chocolate donuts, I'm better off using the same 420 calories (420, coincidence?) having a two or three egg omelette with two slices of center cut bacon, peppers, onions and maybe a banana depending on if my BG was above or below 100 when I woke that morning.
If this works for you, use it. If not, take anything that is worthwhile and leave what isn't.
But even if I decide to forgo the pasta sauce with added sugar, I have to go to that aisle anyway to get my canned tomatoes (or my pasta). If I decide to skip the raisin bran with sugar, I'm still going to that aisle to get my steel-cut oats. That's why the rule has never made sense to me.14 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
Our wine/beer aisle is on the perimeter of my grocery store.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »tbright1965 wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
I agree, and I always ask people if they never buy toilet tissue or cleaning products?
In my recent remodeled supermarket, the wine, alcohol and beers are now located on the left side of one of the entrances and very close to the vegetables and fruit stands. There is a lot of traffic in that area, that is for sure!
Well, I mostly adhere to the perimeter rule.
I don't get my tissues and cleaning products at the market. I get those at the warehouse club
At least my intent is to steer myself, and anyone who wishes to emulate what I'm doing, to buy meat, fish, chicken, dairy, fruits, vegetables, etc and steer clear of the meal kits, cereals, and other things that are more processed. I realize all food is processed to a certain extent, unless one is eating it raw. However, do I really need a pasta sauce that has added sugar? Do I really need my Raisin Bran to have sugar as one of the ingredients? Do I really need little chocolate donuts, Twinkies and Doritos? (No, but I don't always say no to them either, just have them much less frequently.)
But I will buy bread, pasta, etc. But I try to fill my cart with fresh proteins and vegetables as much as possible and leave out the potato chips, snack cakes, sugary cereals, and their cousins that often lurk in the middle of the store.
I don't use the rule because I fear chemistry. (Better living through modern chemistry.) I do it because the foods in the middle seem to be more calorie dense and that doesn't work well with T2Dm and limiting my calorie and carb intake as per my dietitian/diabetes coaches guidance and plan for my eating.
As much as I'd love a pack of little chocolate donuts, I'm better off using the same 420 calories (420, coincidence?) having a two or three egg omelette with two slices of center cut bacon, peppers, onions and maybe a banana depending on if my BG was above or below 100 when I woke that morning.
If this works for you, use it. If not, take anything that is worthwhile and leave what isn't.
But even if I decide to forgo the pasta sauce with added sugar, I have to go to that aisle anyway to get my canned tomatoes (or my pasta). If I decide to skip the raisin bran with sugar, I'm still going to that aisle to get my steel-cut oats. That's why the rule has never made sense to me.
I don't think the rule is NEVER go down those aisles. I've taken it to mean limit your trips down those aisles, or be careful in those aisles.
I'm a firm believer in your can eat almost anything, save those who have true diagnosed medical issues. (I.E. we would be breaking out the Epi-Pen if my wife had shellfish.)
Heck, I ate 6 full sized donuts in the local Tour de Donut bike race. But I was pretty sure I was going to burn the 1800 calories up in the 34 miles of the race, so it was a net zero.
I just don't do that every day, or even every month. But I did check with my Dr. and he said I was good for 6 donuts on that day.
So I just take it as not a NEVER, but rather a beware when you are going down these aisles. The box may suggest that Raisin Bran is "healthy" but do I really need 46g of carbs and 18g of sugar for breakfast? Maybe I would be better off with the oats and adding my own fruit to the bowl.
I'm certainly not Keto at 203g carbs/day, so I'm not suggesting that sort of woo.
Just saying be careful in the center of the store
Not everything that says "Healthy" or "High Fiber" or "Natural" on the label is what it says it is. 6
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