Healthy Foods that actualy aren't that healthy

I was talking to someone that works in the meat department at our grocery store and she told me that some of the ground turkey is so high in fat is because sometimes they add the skin in order to help keep it moist. :sick:

Ummm... What? Skin and fat are two different things.

The reason agave is touted as a better sweetening alternative is because it's low glycemic impact. Instead of consuming something sweet like cane sugar and sending your blood glucose (BG) levels spiking and then crashing shortly after (your pancreas goes OMG SUGAR MUST BREAK DOWN NOW!!!!!!!! INSULININSULININSULININSULININSULININSULININSULIN!!!!!!!), your body processes it more slowly (pancreas says, oh hey, food . . . insulin . . . insulin . . . insulin . . . insulin . . .), minimizing BG spikes which allows your body to break down the food slower, which actually helps you lose weight.

Basically, EVERYONE, not just diabetics, want their BG patterns to look more like a gentle wave, not spiky.

*It should also be noted, agave is much sweeter than corn or cane sugar. Be sure to read labels; you only need something like 1/3 or 1/4 of the portion for the same amount of sweetness.*

This is not actually true. Fructose actually has an almost identical effect on blood sugar as glucose, I believe the ratio is 1 gram of fructose is equivalent to 0.8 grams of glucose. This is why doctors have been moving away from recommending fructose to diabetics.

Ummm... What? Skin and fat are two different things.

Skin has a very high fat content, so they toss in skin to up the fat content, which in turns up the moistness when the meat is cooked.

I hate what has happened to yogurt! Ugh, why the heck are they adding cookie crumbs to yogurt???

I agree- if I see more on the ingredients label than milk and active yogurt cultures, I don't buy it. That way I can control what I put in for flavor and texture.

Yesterday I saw a Greek yogurt-based dip. The yogurt included carageenan and pectin (both thickeners) in addition to all the fats, spices and preservatives they included to flavor it. No, thanks.

quirkytizzy mentioned granola bars; I saw a brand called "Pure Protein" and one variety contained marshmallows. Marshmallows are protein, huh? Who knew?

I've never heard agave syrup touted as a healthy alternative. I've only heard it used as an ethical alternative for people who avoid honey and gmo corn.

I mean, as far as health goes, your body isn't going to notice a difference. Sugar is sugar.

I've never quite understood the reasoning behind people not eating honey. Bees make a lot more honey then they can actually consume.

Bees are manipulated to produce as much honey as is possible for them for the benefit the humans who keep them. Bees in an environment outside of human manipulation, when building their own hives, choosing their own queens, and breeding according to their own wishes will not produce more honey than they need.

This is besides the point, though. For a vegan all that matters is that the animal is exploited. It doesn't matter if they'd produce extra honey anyway. What matters is that we capture these creatures, selectively breed them and destroy their genetic diversity making them susceptible to disease, kill them when it suits our needs and take as much of their honey as we can. I just can't call that ethical.

That's just my perspective on the issue.

I was talking to someone that works in the meat department at our grocery store and she told me that some of the ground turkey is so high in fat is because sometimes they add the skin in order to help keep it moist. :sick:

there is nothing wrong with fat

I agree. It's the adding of the skin that grosses me out.

● "diet" & frozen "diet" foods

● agave nectar

● anything labeled: sugar free, fat free, low fat, reduced fat, __% less fat, 0 calorie

● processed honey

● artificially sweetened oatmeal packets

● artificial sweeteners

● artificially sweetened yogurts



And just to add, all organic agave & blue agave nectars are NOT raw.

Though it IS low glycemic, it's actually 10x WORSE than HFCS itself.

what is the definition of "healthy"? i mean, what is it that a food must have in order to be considered "healthy"? it's such a vague and nebulous term, that i'm curious what sort of thought process goes into determining whether a food is "healthy" or "unhealthy".

for me personally, i consider ALL food to be nothing but:

1) fuel. because all food contains calories.
2) appealing nutrient delivery systems. the look, smell, taste, and other traits of a food make it appealing. but at the end of the day, all food is basically just the gift wrapped package around a collection of micro- and macro-nutrients. so i think of food like a christmas gift box containing vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, carbs, etc... and how the food looks and tastes is just the pretty gift wrapping on the box that makes the box appealing to you so that you'll open it. all foods contain SOME nutritional value, so i consider all of them to be "healthy", which negates the need for any such labeling.

i suppose poisonous foods could be considered "unhealthy". things like hemlock that can actually make you sick and/or kill you, i guess would count as "unhealthy". same with improperly prepared blowfish. however that would be a really small list and i don't think anyone would advocate eating such foods for their nutritional content.

What's wrong with HFCS? It's glucose and fructose, and is digested just like glucose and fructose from any other source.

According to a "Stuff You Should Know" podcast on NPR, most sugars can be metabolized by cells anywhere in the body. HFCS can be metabolized only in the liver and when the liver gets more than it can handle, it turns it into triglycerides. My doc says that in his opinion, the human body just isn't meant to handle some substances, and that's one of them. I also just hate the fact that it's everywhere: drinks, bread, cheaper brands of yogurt and oatmeal... the list goes on. I've got a pretty laid-back attitude about most artificial substances figuring a little of any of them won't kill you-but this one is everywhere, even in ketchup and BBQ sauce.

Misleading labels are irritating for me because I know a lot of innonecent people will attempt to eat better for many different reasons and are lead astray due to marketing. I think a good rule of thumb is "try to stay as close to raw and natural as we can get. It's is our best bet for health. The more ingrediants, the further we get from healthy. Luckily, our bodies were created to filter out the junk. We just need to slow down and let it work.