The Incredible Arrogance of Thinking ‘Natural’ Means ‘Good’

SideSteel

In.

ritchiedrama

Everybody's favourite unemployed 24 year old know it all is here, definitely IN.

chezjuan

Maybe there is a better word that we can come up for these kinds of foods other than "natural". When I think of "natural" foods, I think of foods with ideally one ingredient. If you killed it to eat it, it's probably "natural", and it's probably better for your diet to eat than something with an ingredient list that reads like a chemistry set.

How about "whole" instead of "natural" - that sounds like what you are trying to say.

FerretBuellerr

I don't know if I can speak for most of these "arrogant" people you speak of, so this may be generalizing:

I don't think - no, let's make that I HOPE - that supporters of natural/raw/whole/organic/clean diets are not NEARLY as completely uninformed and idiotic as you and many others claim them to be. At all. Whatsoever. It's almost laughable that you and other like-minded individuals are assuming that they are.

It's pretty damn obvious to anyone who has a pulse and has taken and completed high school chemistry that there are naturally occurring elements and chemical compounds that are harmful to humans, and also pretty darn obvious that some "natural" things that were mentioned here are not meant to be eaten. I'm assuming that 99% of the general population is aware of this, and if a person is that thick, then there is a lot more important issues going on with them than wanting to have a diet and lifestyle free of processed foods and non-naturally occurring foods/elements/chemical compounds.

There, now attack away :smokin:

alpha_andy

Loving this (the original post). I'll cross post this on my blog later, which is science driven.

_noob_

I don't know about the "industrial uses making a natural substance sound bad".

Botox has I believe the lowest mammalian LD50 of any substance known (and orders of magnitude smaller than the first manmade chemical on a list of most toxic).

maillemaker

It's pretty damn obvious to anyone who has a pulse and has taken and completed high school chemistry that there are naturally occurring elements and chemical compounds that are harmful to humans, and also pretty darn obvious that some "natural" things that were mentioned here are not meant to be eaten. I'm assuming that 99% of the general population is aware of this, and if a person is that thick, then there is a lot more important issues going on with them than wanting to have a diet and lifestyle free of processed foods and non-naturally occurring foods/elements/chemical compounds.

Exactly.

And it ignores the fact that processed foods are generally cheaper and more calorie-dense than "natural" foods, making them easier to over-consume.

Morn66

Seriously, I think the whole issue comes down to what you consider to be "processed" and what you consider to be "natural." I am, at the moment, sitting here eating sweetened puffed wheat cereal. (AKA Malt-o-Meal Golden Puffs, the bulk analogue of Kellogg's Honey Smacks.) Do I consider this "processed" because the wheat is puffed, sugar is liberally added, and vitamin/mineral fortification is added? Not particularly. It's wheat with sugar and other good (for me) stuff added. Big deal. Do I think white bread is evil because it's "processed?" No. In fact, it's what I eat, when I eat bread (which is rare), because it's lowest in protein, which I have to restrict for medical reasons. On the other hand, I have a few vegan "all natural" frozen meals in my freezer for "emergencies" when I don't have time to cook. Do I consider that "processed?" Yep. I also consider them bad for me because they have a lot of added sodium in them, which I also have to restrict for medical reasons, but if I have time for nothing else I'll eat one. Do I consider a standard grocery store apple "processed" because it has stuff applied to it so that it's shinier and prettier and maybe lasts a little bit longer without going bad? Nope. In fact, I consider the latter to be a good thing. I'm a single person, and to avoid almost-daily grocery store trips I try to buy as much as I can at once in terms of perishables. If the produce lasts longer, I'm a very happy vegan. On the other hand, do I think an "organic" apple is somehow awesomer than a standard one? Nope. Tastes the same to me (and I'm a supertaster), the non-organic one is often but not always crisper, which is what I must have in an apple, and both likely have some amount of non-natural pesticide in them since the stuff's in our water supply and likely can't be entirely avoided.

So, essentially, I think there's a lot of fuss over very little when it comes to this issue. I frankly don't care if it's arrogant to be "natural." I frankly believe that it's a non-issue. When human beings were truly eating an "all-natural" diet, they tended to die young. Granted, that wasn't just diet-related, but I'm honestly not at all interested in going "back to nature," thanks. Give me all your chemicals!

ETA: As to the "calorie denseness" of processed foods...Of course that's true. Doesn't make them "bad," though. It simply means that one should eat less of them than one does less-dense foods. So, if I want some nasty potato chips, I'll have them, but I'm aware that it's a bad thing to eat the whole bag. In other words, it's the calories that matter, not whether or not the item is "processed" or not or "natural" or not or "whole" or not. Yes, simple sugar and some processed foods will spike your blood sugar which can be a bad thing (but is actually a plus for me, personally), but that is not necessarily "bad" for you unless you have blood sugar issues.

halffull_pgh

Natural Harvest

disneygallagirl

marketing at work - misleading information....makes for tougher choices and an increased need to be well informed.....classic "buyer beware".

I love the "fat free" labels on food and when you read the ingredients there is a ton of sugar!!!! not exactly what you first think -oooh fat free should be healthy.

dirty_dirty_eater

One of my coworkers at work likes to preach about her all natural diet. I remember a while back she said I was going to die because I needed to eat healthier. I pointed out how much weight I've lost and no longer have a need for the medications I was taking in the past. No longer diabetic, or have high blood pressure and cholesterol and my doctor said everything is looking great in my latest blood work. I then ask her how she is doing and what her doctor says. She shuts up and doesn't say anything. She's also nearly 80-90 lbs overweight, rarely exercises, but still is convinced she is much healthier than I because she eats "all natural".

Many people would rather rely on a magic talisman...natural, organic, clean, etc....Rather than the simple logic of controlled consumption and exercise.

nomeejerome

in

maillemaker

"Fat Free" is probably one of the most unhealthy health myths in the last 20 years.

The idea was promoted that eating fat makes you fat. It seems logical at face value - if you are "fat", and you are trying to lose "fat", then you should not eat "fat", right?

It's calories that make you fat. Eating your fill of a "fat free" ice cream that is still calorie-dense is still going to pack on the weight.

sullus

Greatest example of this is Honey v HFCS

Same thing, basically, yet ...

maillemaker

Many people would rather rely on a magic talisman...natural, organic, clean, etc....Rather than the simple logic of controlled consumption and exercise.

Eating "natural" foods tends to naturally control your consumption, because "natural" foods generally aren't as calorie-dense nor as compelling to eat as manufactured foods.

dirty_dirty_eater

Many people would rather rely on a magic talisman...natural, organic, clean, etc....Rather than the simple logic of controlled consumption and exercise.

Eating "natural" foods tends to naturally control your consumption, because "natural" foods generally aren't as calorie-dense nor as compelling to eat as manufactured foods.

12 oz ribeye, baked potato w/sour cream and butter, asparagus w /hollandaise... All natural, all yummy, super calorie dense.

It's not the "manufacturing" that makes food calorie dense, it's the ingredients.

WendyTerry420

Greatest example of this is Honey v HFCS

Same thing, basically, yet ...

Honey tastes better. But my pantry always has sugar, honey, brown sugar, powdered sugar, corn syrup, molasses, and stevia. You never know which sweetener you will need. I have never stocked HFCS in my pantry though.

maillemaker

12 oz ribeye, baked potato w/sour cream and butter, asparagus w /hollandaise... All natural, all yummy, super calorie dense.

It's not the "manufacturing" that makes food calorie dense, it's the ingredients.

It just turns out that manufactured foods frequently use calorie-dense ingredients, because they are engineered to be extremely tasty and compelling to eat.

And like I said, yes, it is entirely possible to over-consume even eating "natural" foods.

But, like I also said, generally natural foods are not as yummy and not as calorie dense as processed foods, and the natural foods that are tend to be [/u]expensive[/u].

I mean, 10 ounces of Prime Rib has over 800 calories in it. But it's going to be expensive to eat prime rib regularly.

So yeah, if you sit down every meal to a steak dinner with all the natural trimmings, you are probably going to over-consume.

bcattoes

Bears and lions are natural but by no means healthy or safe!

Never eaten lion, but what is unhealthy about bear?

maillemaker

Greatest example of this is Honey v HFCS

Same thing, basically, yet ...

...honey isn't in most processed foods.

If honey was put in foods the same way HFCS is, you'd have the same calorie problem.

Honey is just way more expensive than HFCS, so they use HFCS to make the food sweet and compelling to eat.

bcattoes

Greatest example of this is Honey v HFCS

Same thing, basically, yet ...

Honey tastes better. But my pantry always has sugar, honey, brown sugar, powdered sugar, corn syrup, molasses, and stevia. You never know which sweetener you will need. I have never stocked HFCS in my pantry though.

I don't have a bottle of HFCS, but I have no doubt there is some in my pantry.

shannashannabobana

Yes, yes, yes.

And in for the fun to follow

People get really worked up about this topic, from the pro frankenfood and the 'natural' side. Personally, I think real food (ie, stuff your grandparents would have recognized as such) beats anything created in a lab, but to each his own. OTOH, my standard answer to my mother when she says something is 'natural' is 'Hemlock is Natural'.

But mostly I'm hoping for gif's.

_noob_

shannashannabobana

Honey has more vitamins/antioxidants and other healthy things than HFCS, so I wouldn't call them the same unless all you are thinking about is the amount of sugar.

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

Whatever! I know that natural tobacco is good!










J/k

As is hemlock, death camus, cyanide, and many many more.

keepongoingnmw

Heee! I am going to bring this up next time I am sitting with all the Moms at soccer practice! They are always trying to one up each other on who is healthier, going on about the latest products they found, complaining about how far it is to get to the nearest Whole Foods, Trader Joe's is not as healthy as they claim ect. Going on about doctor OZ.
Oddly, none of them look particularly healthy. They are either as overweight as I am or skinny fat, with awful skin. So boring, the little adult conversation I get and this is all they have to talk about!

bcattoes

Whatever! I know that natural tobacco is good!










J/k

As is hemlock, death camus, cyanide, and many many more.

These aren't natural foods though. And while some natural foods may contain traces of toxins, when someone says "natual food" they are usually referring to, well, food.

VeganLexi

Natural boobies are good!

dirty_dirty_eater

ALL boobies are good!

Fixed that for you.

MercenaryNoetic26

If I went natural, I'd be fugly and hairy as ****. :grumble: