Would this be acceptable to you?

hbunting86

Hi all

Just wanted to run something by folk on here... but first a bit of background.

I'm a PhD student studying Human Health and Nutrition Psychology, however am funded (by scholarship) by a larger organisation much more involved in the food production and manufacturing area, as opposed to the consumer stuff.

My question is basically this:

One product that the scientists are currently working on is using a plant based microparticulate called lignin, with a view to using this in products to replace fat and cellulose. This will obviously have a huge impact on the calorific value of the product, by reducing it dramatically. To date, we've tested chocolate spread and muffins due to lignin being brown in colour when extracted in sodium caseinate.

Would this be acceptable to you, to buy as a product? Lignin is essentially wood...

I'm just really interested to see peoples reactions and opinions to this!

zoodalia

I'm worryingly 'unfussy'... if it tastes okay and is lower in calories I'll eat it!

discodaddy61

just because something is low in calories doesnt mean it is good for you or has nutritional value

sweet110

Well, I think it depends on everyone's approach to diet/nutrition. Some people are "dieters" and some people are "health nuts." I use both terms fondly.

As a health nut, I am suspicious of food additives. And nutriceuticals. I refuse to buy yogurt with inulin...another one of those plant based additives that is suppose to be good for you, but that some people question as an unregulated food additive. Is this nutty of me? Well, as a health nut, I like to know what I'm eating, when I eat it, and in what amounts. So unnecessary "additives" that I didn't personally add? I'm suspicious. And no for profit company will ever allay my suspicions. Because I find you inherently suspicious. (I'm being slightly facetious here...but not really. I'm a nut, remember.)

Then there are those who will say "...natural..good for me...easy to do...I'll buy it! Because being overly concerned with every thing I eat...well, that would make me...a nut! A short cut? Why the hell not!" I think there's plenty of proof that there are more of these folks than suspicious health nuts like myself.

Flissbo

is it natural? Do they have to add any rubbish or MSG etc to it? Sounds odd and my initial thought is that I wouldn'd eat it, but I would need more info before I made up my mind. Thanks for posting, that's interesting. Just read yesterday they are making a beef burger in the lab!!! (I'm veggie and won't be trying that as they still kill cows to get the stem cells)

rcc1988

As long as it's proven safe for human consumption through plenty of unbiased, long-term-effect testing, I see no reason not to buy it.

jenilla1

Does it taste like wood?

firesoforion

I'm suspicious of those types of things. I would avoid this as I do artificial sugars. It doesn't mean I would never, ever have it, but I would stay away from it.

douglasmobbs

Is it brown like brown sugar or brown like cocoa?

There would still be loads of suitable foods, chilli, flapjacks, chocolate bars, fruit loaf etc. if it does dramatically change the color.

raybanfan11

You should let people know that they get exposed to lignin every time they barbecue in the patio using woods or charcoal.

Pebble321

In a word.....no, not if I realised what it was and thought about it a bit.

I often post on the "miracle noodle" threads that I worry about the concept of "food-like-substances" with no nutritional value (yes I have read Micheal Pollan!).

It seems that we are turning into creatures who are so obsessed with self-pleasuring (in this instance I'm talking about food!) and immediate gratification that we are prepare to pay good money for something that satisfies our desire to eat but provides us with no (or very little) nutrition.

We feel smug because we have eaten a BIG plate of noodles or a whole pint of icecream or a jarful of chocolate spead and they have added almost nothing to our calorie intake for the day.

This completely misses the point that calories are energy, they are fuel, they are what keeps us alive. It encourages an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead of learning about good food choices and what a reasonable sized portion looks like, we get to "cheat the system" by eating a huge portion but not getting much energy from it. It seems to me that this can only contribute to fatter, more unhealthy humans. I've read about people who are obese yet malnourished and this is exactly the kind of product to keep them that way.

It's not that I think everyone has to eat "clean" all the time, but processing food to the point where it is barely food and the key ingredient (I'm thinking of the noodles here) has no nutitional value or energy at all.... it's just leading us in entirely the wrong direction.

Sorry to rant at you, but this topic really pushes my buttons!
I'd love your response to this... am I missing something critical here? Is there any research you can point me to that shows that I'm wrong? I'd love to hear it!

MsAziz

I think if enough tests are conducted to prove that it will have no negative effects on my health (e.g. causes excessive eating like artifical sweetners do), I'll have it for sure.

Lyadeia

I would personally say no, but I wouldn't whine about small quantities of it being in my food either (like Splenda...I don't reach for it every time I want sugar, but if something I like has Splenda in it, then so be it).

People are insanely afraid of fats...or carbs...but that's only because they are not educated enough to know how to eat properly using al of the above. Why make a "fat substitute" so you can keep eating garbage that's somehow "healthier?" Why not learn that dietary fat is not the enemy, learn how to control your calories and portions, and eat real food?

If you have to look for products with weird fat and cellulose substitutes all the time because these happen to be in everything you eat, then you should actually be worried about why you aren't filling your diet with more nutritious foods to begin with anyway.

Just my .02 cents.

bridgie101

I wouldn't buy it in general life, just as I don't buy diet icecream or yoghurt in general life: the chemicals tip the scales in favour of natural fats and sugars. But when on a diet? Then I will buy these low calorie things.

I know there will be people out there buying them and eating twice as much, bingeing away merrily and yes, i do think that fosters an unhealthy relationship with food but I tend to think that we all have to grow through our own relationship with food, good or bad, and actually experience it whether it is good or bad in order to realise just how much our minds play a part in our addictions.

Pamela259

hi,my thoughts:
its got to be better than some E numbers out there and i dont suppose the company would be puttin "wood" on the label under ingredients so no one will know unless they search on the internet to find out what it is and how many people do that? ......

transfixedtoast

I'd say it's acceptable, I'd eat it. But then again I'm disgusting and have eaten cotton balls to try and lose more weight because i'm disgusting. I'd think it was ok, but I guess that's because I don't particularly care about what I put in my body. Objectivley I'd say that having fat in your diet is essential and if the product did take off and all fat in everything was replaced with something with no calories the world could become a unhealthier place

FoxyMcDeadlift

To Replace Fat? What do you mean?

Isolt

The thing is though, fat gives 'mouth feel', it makes the food taste rich and 'full'. Low-fat convenience foods tend to have to get the taste back by bumping up the salt or sugar content.....so my guess is that food manufacturers will be doing the same with your products.

Personally I don't have any issue with eating fat in the first place. I'd rather eat something with fat in it, than something that's had the fat taken out but the salt/sugar/flavourings jacked up to make up for it.

Spinach_Brigade

The first thing to jumps to mind is that this fat-replacement idea may net out to mean people eat even greater quantities of food. It seems like by trying to force foods to fit our appetites we're turning eating into a...hobby.

Eating isn't a hobby, and it isn't a game. It's survival. Either because you've got too little and you're wasting away or because you've got too much and your arteries are closing -- either way, if you choose poorly you will suffer.

I think giving people license to eat without having to consider the consequences may breed a generation of human beings who are completely out of touch with what their bodies need. On second thought, perhaps that has already happened.

Either way, I don't have any objection to eating delicious wood pulp in and of itself, but I would have a problem with marketing such calorie obfuscation tricks to, say, children.

AmandaBroun

Not for me personally.

Aside from some reduced fat dairy and the diet sodas I try to go easy on, if I'm going to eat a food, I eat the real thing and deal with it. Count me in with the nuts who would rather have more calories than food additives.

jcpmoore

sounds odd to me. Eating wood? I'm strongly allergic to a lot of pollens, I wonder if that would cause a problem. I think my daily meal plan has enough fiber already, though. So no, I'm not interested in adding wood to it.

I'd rather keep my food closer to real food than go this way. Reminds me too much of "olestra". Ick. No thanks.