Definition of a Chemical!!!!

naesue

I get so annoyed at people who tell other people not to eat this or that because it has chemicals in it well guess what the definition of a chemical is this: A substance having a specific molecular composition, obtained by or used in a chemical process. Examples of chemicals found in nature: salt, water! Anything that is made up of two or more elements that can not be seperated by natural means is considered a chemical compound. Your own body consists of hundreds of thousands of chemical processes happening all at the same time all the time! Stop blaming "chemicals" if it weren't for chemicals you wouldn't be alive!!!!! if you want to eat a natural diet of only things found in nature fine but don't think that cheese is natural because that is also a chemical process that we humans came up with! So is yogurt and alcohol!

raccoon3

Yes!! You are my new hero

naesue

Glad I could be someone's cause someone else just sent me hate mail because of this post!

NeuroticVirgo

lol, gotta love the hate mail.

mrschappet

Wow!!! some people look a little too far into things....... does someone really need to point out the no brainer here? obviously when people are warning others of "chemicals" in there food they are talking about foods and drinks that are harmful to your body like coca cola, artificial sweeteners, foods with chemical preservatives, hormones, steroids etc.... over indulgence in any of these foods is bound to wreak havoc on anyones body... but like I said thats a no brainer!

astovey

To me.....Chemicals are just a part of life

To each their own.

Good luck with the feedback LOL

HappyathomeMN

As someone who works in Chemistry (Organic chemistry nonetheless) I find the total ignorance of "chemical" hilarious.

But I DO consume a lot of di-hydra-mono-oxygen on a regular basis. (there are other ways to name it too!)

Oishii

I suppose we have to read what the writer meant, rather than what they wrote, in such cases.

It's like the idea that natural=good. There are plenty of poisons in nature, surely!

annaasun

People need to take a Chemistry or Anatomy and Physiology class. Very good classes to take.

xMissy6x

hahaha thats my pet hate to!!!!
arsenic is natural too!!!

menchi

I feel your pain! As a chemist and science educator, it makes me shudder how many words culture has borrowed from science to mean completely different things.

"chemical-free zone" or "chemical-free salad bar" makes me want to laugh (or cry in despair... depending on my mood), really? That's must be a zero-cal salad you are eating in a vacuum.

"organic foods" I've given up trying to defend that one, it just makes me angry and tired. I'll just sit in the corner and enjoy my inorganic strawberries made of silicon.

I suppose people probably get all riled up over "pink is the new black" kind of comments. USE THE DAMNED WORDS CORRECTLY!!

mowu

I've given up arguing this a long time ago, in most peoples minds CHEMICALS = BAD

Sometimes it's hard being a chemist

dleithaus

If an orange had a real composition label, it would say this...

Water, glucose, fructose, galactose, phenolic glycosides, 6-deoxyaldohexoses (fuctose and rhamnose), saccharose, galacturonans, (1-4) linked D-galactopiranuronic acid, pectin, pectinic acids, polygalacturonic acids, pectinestarase, Citric Acid, L-Malic Acid, D-Isocitric Acid, Oxalic Acid, Succinic Acid, Malonic Acid, Quinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Adipic Acid, 2-ketogluratic Acid, praline, asparagines, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and arginine. oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases and lyases, isomerases and ligases, glucosilglucerides, Carotenoids, tetraterpenes, limonin, aslimonoic acid A-ring lactone, neohesperidosides, flavones (3-hydroxyflavanones, 3-dydroxyflavones, O-glycosyl, aglycones C-glycosylflavones, Anthocyanins, (hesperidin, naringin, poncirin, neoheriocitrin, neohesperidin, rhoifolin, rutin, diosmin, sinensetin, auranetin, tangeritin, hydroxyethylrutinosideres, nobiletin cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidina-3.5-diglucoside, peonidin-5-glucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Pholacine, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Biotin, Pantotenic acid, Vitamin A.

EVERYTHING IS COMPOSED OF CHEMICALS.

menchi

Sometimes it's hard being a chemist

Perhaps it's the cost of all the fun chemists have!

dleithaus

Here is another one....
Yeah, if you cannot pronounce stop eating it!
You will lose weight quickly--no doubt... then die!

If butter had a compositional label on it, these would be the ingredients:

Butter:

Butterfat composed of butyric fatty acid, caproic fatty acid, caprylic fatty acid, capric fatty acid, lauric fatty acid, myristic fatty acid, palmitic fatty acid, stearic fatty acid, arachidic fatty acid, decenoic fatty acid, tetradecenoic fatty acid, hexadecenoic fatty acid
Octadecenoic fatty acid, and Octadecadienoic fatty acid. Water, Beta carotene, Vitamin D, Diacetyl, Acetylmethylcarbinol, Sodium bicarbonate. Mixed Citrates, sodium chloride.

naesue

I love it dleithaus! I coppied your first post about the orange and put it on my facebook cause I thought it was so funny and great! This one is good too! Keep them coming I am loving them!

alyssamiller77

If an orange had a real composition label, it would say this...

Water, glucose, fructose, galactose, phenolic glycosides, 6-deoxyaldohexoses (fuctose and rhamnose), saccharose, galacturonans, (1-4) linked D-galactopiranuronic acid, pectin, pectinic acids, polygalacturonic acids, pectinestarase, Citric Acid, L-Malic Acid, D-Isocitric Acid, Oxalic Acid, Succinic Acid, Malonic Acid, Quinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Adipic Acid, 2-ketogluratic Acid, praline, asparagines, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and arginine. oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases and lyases, isomerases and ligases, glucosilglucerides, Carotenoids, tetraterpenes, limonin, aslimonoic acid A-ring lactone, neohesperidosides, flavones (3-hydroxyflavanones, 3-dydroxyflavones, O-glycosyl, aglycones C-glycosylflavones, Anthocyanins, (hesperidin, naringin, poncirin, neoheriocitrin, neohesperidin, rhoifolin, rutin, diosmin, sinensetin, auranetin, tangeritin, hydroxyethylrutinosideres, nobiletin cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidina-3.5-diglucoside, peonidin-5-glucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Pholacine, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Biotin, Pantotenic acid, Vitamin A.

EVERYTHING IS COMPOSED OF CHEMICALS.

Kinda of shoots holes in people's arguments that you shouldn't eat foods with ingredients you can't pronounce huh? Thanks for posting

dleithaus

Food of the day, if an avocado had a compositional label:

Fat (linoleic fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid, mixed sterols), water, D-Mannoketoheptose, polysaccharides, Sodium carbonate, potassium chloride, potassium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and calcium carbonate, manganese, mixed phosphate compounds, copper, selenium, iron, iodide, mixed nitrates, tryptophan, mixed carotenoids, vitamin E, vitamin K, ascorbic acid, folate, niacin, riboflavin thyamin, pyridoxine hydrochloride.

jfinnivan

Remember, without chemicals, life itself would be impossible! (anybody remember this?)

dleithaus

If an apple had a compositional label it would contain:

Water, Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, mixed polysaccharides, sorbitol, Palmitic acid, Stearic acid, Oleic acid, Linolic acid, Linoleic acid, Malic acid, Citric acid, Oxalic acid, Salicylic acid, Purines, Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Zinc, Phosphorus, Chloride, Fluoride, Iodine, Selenium, Carotene, Vitamin E , Vitamin K, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Nicotinamide, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, Biotin, Folic acid, Ascorbic acid.

Yum!

dleithaus

Food of the day, Green Beans.
If Green Beans had a compositional label it would read like this:

Water, silicon, calcium, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, iron, lutein, beta-carotene, violaxanthin, neoxanthin chlorophyll, quercetin, kaemferol, catechins, epicatechins, procyanidins, phenolic acids, omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, vitamin K, ascorbic acid, folic acid, tryptophan, Riboflavin, thiamin, phosphorus, niacin, pyridoxal phosphate, cobalamin, biotin, tocopherols , tocotrienols, pantothenic acid, 18:2 linoleic acid, 18:3 acid linolenic, alanine, arginine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamate, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, chloride, mixed nitrates.

melsinct

I try to avoid synthetic (man made) chemicals and additives. I am sure that is what most people mean when they say they avoid chemicals, as obviously you can't avoid the true definition of a chemical. Besides your issue with semantics (which I understand working in the sciences myself), I can't imagine that many people would champion the cause of eating Olestra or Red Dye No. 40. I don't give a hoot if you eat it, but me? Not so much.

dleithaus

If milk had a compositional label, it would read like this:

Water, casein and whey (Tryptophan, Threonine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Valine, Arginine, Methionine+Cystine, Phenylalanine+Tyrosine, ß-lactoglobulin, 20% α-lactalbumin, blood serum albumin, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, transferring, glycomacropeptide, glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, oligosaccharides, butyric fatty acid, caproic fatty acid, caprylic fatty acid, capric fatty acid, lauric fatty acid, myristic fatty acid, palmitic fatty acid, stearic fatty acid, arachidic fatty acid, decenoic fatty acid, tetradecenoic fatty acid, hexadecenoic fatty acid, Octadecenoic fatty acid, Octadecadienoic fatty acid. Beta carotene, Diacetyl, Acetylmethylcarbinol, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, calcium phosphate, copper, iron, manganese, sodium, Mixed Citratesthiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), vitamin C, and folate. niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, Vitamins A, D, E, and K.

dleithaus

If an egg had a compositional label, it would read like this:

Fatty Acids (MYRISTIC, PALMITIC, STEARIC, PALMITOLEIC, OLEIC, EICOSENOIC, LINOLEIC, LINOLINIC, MOROCTIC, ARACHODPNIC, TIMNODONIC (EPA), DOCOSAHEXAENOIC), cholesterol, Phosvitins (phosphorylated proteins), Lipovitellins, (noncovalently bound lipid, most being phospholipid), Tryptophan, Threonine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Cystine, Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, Valine, Arginine, Histidine, Alanine, Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Glycine, Proline, Serine, Vitamin A, Thiamine (Vit. B1), Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Pantothenic acid (B5) Folate (Vit. B9), Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, selenium, Choline, lecithin, lutein and zeaxanthin (carotenoids known as xanthophylls), water.

melibea

Add me to the list of people who are annoyed by the liberal use of the world 'chemicals'. But I try to live with it. I know not everyone loved their bio and chem classes. I did like 'em, I majored in it in college, lol.

@dleithaus LOL! Love the compositional labels! I feel so nerdy for recognizing what those "ingredients" are.

ATT949

Edited by moderator

I don't get the sense that the OP is missing the subtlety - I think she's frustrated by a lack of specificity.

There's a strong relationship between having a grasp of the subject matter and the ability to discuss that subject matter. There's no rule that people have to learn to pronounce polysaccharides, for example, but, perhaps it would help if people could.

If you're going to have a conversation about a topic, nutrition for example, and you can't pronounce the words that comprise the topic, do you think it makes it easier to have a conversation on that topic; does it make it harder to have a conversation on that topic; or do you think that it does not matter?

Also, if a you're having a conversation with someone who has problems pronouncing domain-specific words, does that tend to increase your opinion of their expertise; does it tend to decrease your opinion of their expertise; or does it not matter.

Personally, I find a person's ability to be able to contribute to a discussion to be pretty closely tied to their mastery of a subject. If you can't pronounce the words, your credibility, in my eyes, plummets.

And it's not a question of stupidity which, by and large, cannot be overcome. It's a question of ignorance which, by and large, can be overcome.

girlinahat

Edited by moderator

I don't get the sense that the OP is missing the subtlety - I think she's frustrated by a lack of specificity.

There's a strong relationship between having a grasp of the subject matter and the ability to discuss that subject matter. There's no rule that people have to learn to pronounce polysaccharides, for example, but, perhaps it would help if people could.

If you're going to have a conversation about a topic, nutrition for example, and you can't pronounce the words that comprise the topic, do you think it makes it easier to have a conversation on that topic; does it make it harder to have a conversation on that topic; or do you think that it does not matter?

Also, if a you're having a conversation with someone who has problems pronouncing domain-specific words, does that tend to increase your opinion of their expertise; does it tend to decrease your opinion of their expertise; or does it not matter.

Personally, I find a person's ability to be able to contribute to a discussion to be pretty closely tied to their mastery of a subject. If you can't pronounce the words, your credibility, in my eyes, plummets.

And it's not a question of stupidity which, by and large, cannot be overcome. It's a question of ignorance which, by and large, can be overcome.

Oh I agree that if a person is discussing something it is of benefit that they are able to pronounce it, however that was not particularly what got my goat.

As you have said it is not a question of stupidity that people cannot pronounce the names, and yet the OP rails that people who maybe don't spend their time learning chemical words are *edited by moderator*.

I merely suggested that perhaps people have other things to do than spend time learning the correct pronunciation of chemical terms, and that the majority of people are not, in fact, stupid and are well aware that when talking about 'not eating foods with a list of ingredients that you cannot pronounce' what is actually meant are those ingredients that are ADDED.

What is also being missed is that the philosophy of not eating things with chemicals that cannot be pronounced (which I beleive comes from Michael Pollan) relates specifically to items found in a grocery store with ingredients labels on. The very definition of ingredients is items mixed together in a product as part of a recipe. Yes this may also include the mixtures found in apples and oranges, but I have never yet seen fruit for sale with an ingredients label.

yes, perhaps a more specific word should be used, perhaps 'ADDED chemicals', but there is not need to call people stupid, ignorant, or a bunch of idiots.

BerryH

The "no chemicals" thing is one of my pet peeve too.

Love the ingredients lists dleithaus!

mowu

yes, perhaps a more specific word should be used, perhaps 'ADDED chemicals'....

And even this does not really make sense. Take for instance iodine, which is commonly added to table salt to reduce the risk of e.g. Goiter....this is an added chemical that is actually good for you.

The same goes for fluorine in tooth paste, which is added to protect your teeth.

And when people say they don't like the chemicals synthesized by man I don't think they know (or care?) that the molecular structure of a most of those compounds (I will give you that some may not be found in nature) are exactly the same as their "natural" counterparts (which have been synthesized by e.g. plants).......how is commercially synthesized citric acid different from the one extracted from a lemon?

I could go on.....my point is it is a gross over-simplification to blame everything bad on "the chemicals" or even "the added chemicals", and I for one would love to have a nuanced discussion rather than postulates that something is good because it's natural and another thing is bad because it's man-made or -modified.

girlinahat

yes, perhaps a more specific word should be used, perhaps 'ADDED chemicals'....

And even this does not really make sense. Take for instance iodine, which is commonly added to table salt to reduce the risk of e.g. Goiter....this is an added chemical that is actually good for you.

The same goes for fluorine in tooth paste, which is added to protect your teeth.

And when people say they don't like the chemicals synthesized by man I don't think they know (or care?) that the molecular structure of a most of those compounds (I will give you that some may not be found in nature) are exactly the same as their "natural" counterparts (which have been synthesized by e.g. plants).......how is commercially synthesized citric acid different from the one extracted from a lemon?

I could go on.....my point is it is a gross over-simplification to blame everything bad on "the chemicals" or even "the added chemicals", and I for one would love to have a nuanced discussion rather than postulates that something is good because it's natural and another thing is bad because it's man-made or -modified.

Fair point, and I knew when I said 'added chemicals' that it was inadequate.

personally when I examine ingredients in food I try and understand the reason behind the addition of that chemical. ie. is it needed in the food product and what is it for? One of the difficulties of course with having a list of 'good-for-you' added chemicals whether natural or man-made, is that in things like bread, you have to ask well WHY are they fortifying it with vitamins when actually the vitamins should already be in there. Of course the answer is that the flour is so over-processed (refined) that there are virtually no natural vitamins left in it, so they have to put them back in. And to my mind that makes very little sense, either economically or sustainably (it is undoubtably more economic to do it else they wouldn't, but I am thinking more holistically).

I use a 'natural' toothpaste from kingfisher. On the box alongside the list of ingredients, is the source of all those ingredients and what they are doing in my toothpaste. So in that list are things like limestone (calcium carbonate, a gentle abrasive), various trees (resins to stabilise the paste) and plants such as fennel, a natural anti-bacterial and flavour. You could call it highly-processed, but at least it's honest!!

I agree that chemicals synthesized by man are for the most part the same as those created by plants/animals however I personally am more in favour of the ones that don't come out of a laboratory, mostly because I would rather eat closer to the ground and the direct source. And the reason for that is probably some kind of caveman instinct residing in me. I would rather have the opportunity to kill, eat and pick my own food from around me than get it wrapped in plastic.

dleithaus

If a peanut had a compositional label, it would read like this:

Water, Fatty Acids (Palmitic acid, Stearic acid, Oleic acid, Linolic acid, Linoleic acid), oligosaccharides, sucrose, glucosamine, stachose, raffinose, glucose, fructose, inositol, cellulose, albumines (water-soluble protein fraction), globulines (salt-soluble protein fraction), Arginine. Hisitine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, phenylalanine, Threonine, Tyrosine, tryptophan, valine, Salicylic acid, Purines p-coumaric acid, resveratrol, co-enzyme Q. mixed pyrazines (from roasting), Carotenes, Vitamin E, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Nicotinamide, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, Biotin, Folate, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium,
Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Zinc, Phosphorus, Chloride, Fluoride, Iodine, Selenium, mixed carbonates, mixed phosphates, mixed nitrates