Have You Read Your Ingredient Lists Lately?

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13

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  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
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    We're all gonna die, man. I'll eat as well as I can and focus on being physically fit. But if evil food chemicals are going to sneak in and kill me in my sleep, not too much I can do about that.
  • chimanlifts1
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    Don't read it, don't care. For real "non-proccessed" aficionados who want to stay true to the idea of eating completely clean, you probably shouldn't be consuming anything that comes in a package with an ingredient list anyway.

    Edit: my girlfriend is one of the aforementioned clean eating fans...from personal experience it's best done with fruits and vegetables, grass-fed meat or dairy from the farm, and nuts or grains. None of those really require an ingredient list. So if you're really concerned about chemicals speeding up the inevitable death, go this route and you won't have to research glyphosphate or Erythrosine.
  • totem12
    totem12 Posts: 194 Member
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    People say 'if you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't eat it'...

    It's a wonder all chemists aren't dead already.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    The guy with the coffee list is correct, even the mundane things are LOADED with names that we can make sound evil and bad. Even water, everyday common water, is known as Dihydrogen Monoxide or Hydroxyl Acid.

    Growing up in my house, my dad worked for general mills R&D, and we were taught to read the ingredient labels from a very young age. The neat part was my dad could tell me exactly why everything is in there, and exactly what it did. All of the stuff on that list is fairly innocuous; let me explain some of them.

    The “raising agents” give the bar fluff so it isn’t a hard rock, similar to adding baking soda in some recipes. Yes it is a different substance, but the effect is the same.

    The “emulsifiers” are there to help keep the various fats, and moisture dependant ingredients blended. If there were no emulsifiers the bar would have an uneven consistency, and they also VASTLY improve shelf life.

    The “humectant” is a variant of glycerin, which is incredibly common, and also completely harmless. Glycerin is a water soluble extract from common everyday fats, EVERY FAT has a glycerol backbone, (glycerol and glycerin are the same thing) and it’s amazing at preserving moisture in food items. Glycerin is especially good when it’s in a low moisture content food like snack bars and cakes.

    Now 61% of the substance of this bar is made from confectionary ingredients, with a few protein sources tossed in. the remaining 39% are bound up in flour, sugars, cocoa powders/extracts, and oils. The preservatives prolly don’t even register a full 1%.
    Yes, you'll notice that the original poster hasn't told us which ones are "horrid" yet. It's because she can't.
    It's just uneducated scare mongering.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    The guy with the coffee list is correct, even the mundane things are LOADED with names that we can make sound evil and bad. Even water, everyday common water, is known as Dihydrogen Monoxide or Hydroxyl Acid.

    Growing up in my house, my dad worked for general mills R&D, and we were taught to read the ingredient labels from a very young age. The neat part was my dad could tell me exactly why everything is in there, and exactly what it did. All of the stuff on that list is fairly innocuous; let me explain some of them.

    The “raising agents” give the bar fluff so it isn’t a hard rock, similar to adding baking soda in some recipes. Yes it is a different substance, but the effect is the same.

    The “emulsifiers” are there to help keep the various fats, and moisture dependant ingredients blended. If there were no emulsifiers the bar would have an uneven consistency, and they also VASTLY improve shelf life.

    The “humectant” is a variant of glycerin, which is incredibly common, and also completely harmless. Glycerin is a water soluble extract from common everyday fats, EVERY FAT has a glycerol backbone, (glycerol and glycerin are the same thing) and it’s amazing at preserving moisture in food items. Glycerin is especially good when it’s in a low moisture content food like snack bars and cakes.

    Now 61% of the substance of this bar is made from confectionary ingredients, with a few protein sources tossed in. the remaining 39% are bound up in flour, sugars, cocoa powders/extracts, and oils. The preservatives prolly don’t even register a full 1%.
    Yes, you'll notice that the original poster hasn't told us which ones are "horrid" yet. It's because she can't.
    It's just uneducated scare mongering.

    I like you.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Unless you go the expensive way which is all organic you will always be putting some kind of chemical in your body. I was horrified to ready an article about aspartame which is a chemical in all sugar substitutes. And can be deadly. Not only that but it triggers your brain to respond in different ways. One way it makes your brain respond is by making it crave carbs. Not to mention that it has been causing major illness and there is a reported 90 deaths from the intake of aspartame. And yet its FDA approved!

    You're hilarious....
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    a reported 90 deaths from the intake of aspartame

    .......
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    no *kitten* is given... if it was the right calories and fit my LGIT diet plan, i would eat it.... ALL FOOD IS CHEMICALS, everything in our world is made up of chemicals

    Ok, sure all food is chemicals – but I think it should be sort of obvious that there is a huge difference between chemicals that are found naturally in food and added chemicals that were created in a lab and then added to food, right?

    If all chemicals are the same, add a heaping scoop of batrachotoxin, tabun, or sodium cynanide to your protein drink and see how that fits your diet…
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    ... Example: poptarts and Pizza pockets, they add tons of stuff to them, they're barely real food....

    In for barely real food.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Ok, sure all food is chemicals – but I think it should be sort of obvious that there is a huge difference between chemicals that are found naturally in food and added chemicals that were created in a lab and then added to food, right?

    You would think so, right?

    Turns out.... not so much.

    Go figure!
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    I love chemicals in my food. Especially if it contains 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide (C18H27NO3) :bigsmile:
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    I love chemicals in my food. Especially if it contains 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide (C18H27NO3) :bigsmile:

    I just took a big bite out of this organic apple, and thought to myself, "this is ok, but if only there were a little 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide (C18H27NO3) I could dip this in, now that would be so much more satisfying!"
  • Mutant13
    Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
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    Do you know how many are in everything?
    Here are a few from coffee:
    150 Aliphatic compounds
    56 Carbonyl compounds
    9 Sulfur containing compounds
    20 Alicyclic compounds
    10 Ketones
    60 Aromatic benzenoid compounds
    16 Phenols
    300 Heterocyclic compounds
    74 Furans
    10 Hydrofurans
    37 Pyrroles
    9 Pyridines
    2 Quinolines
    70 Pyrazines
    10 Quinoxalines
    3 Indoles
    23 Thiophens
    3 Thiophenones
    28 Thiazoles
    28 Oxazole

    It's all chemicals. All food is chemicals.

    This.

    This *10
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    Do you know how many are in everything?
    Here are a few from coffee:
    150 Aliphatic compounds
    56 Carbonyl compounds
    9 Sulfur containing compounds
    20 Alicyclic compounds
    10 Ketones
    60 Aromatic benzenoid compounds
    16 Phenols
    300 Heterocyclic compounds
    74 Furans
    10 Hydrofurans
    37 Pyrroles
    9 Pyridines
    2 Quinolines
    70 Pyrazines
    10 Quinoxalines
    3 Indoles
    23 Thiophens
    3 Thiophenones
    28 Thiazoles
    28 Oxazole

    It's all chemicals. All food is chemicals.
    THIS. Chemical profiles from food can be astounding long. But the body is VERY efficient at breaking down and absorbing what it needs. Many try to over think a process that's simple to the body.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Not that I ever eat that stuff, but which of those ingredients are "horrid" ?


    ^^ OP, I'd also like to know the answer to this ^^
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    Unless you go the expensive way which is all organic you will always be putting some kind of chemical in your body.
    Organic foods also have chemical compounds. Apples have cyanide in them.
    I was horrified to ready an article about aspartame which is a chemical in all sugar substitutes. And can be deadly. Not only that but it triggers your brain to respond in different ways. One way it makes your brain respond is by making it crave carbs. Not to mention that it has been causing major illness and there is a reported 90 deaths from the intake of aspartame. And yet its FDA approved!
    You're probably not reading PEER REVIEWED clinical studies. Try those first.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • awise19
    awise19 Posts: 154 Member
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    I try not to eat anything that comes from a box. Or the inside aisles of the grocery store. Fruits, veggies, meats. You just have to do your best. But it is important to know what you are putting in your body if you care about your health in the long run. Some of these "chemicals" that everyone has decided to say is in everything, are dangerous. So just educate yourself.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Some of these "chemicals" that everyone has decided to say is in everything, are dangerous. So just educate yourself.

    Which ones specifically are dangerous?
  • Justifier
    Justifier Posts: 336 Member
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    no *kitten* is given... if it was the right calories and fit my LGIT diet plan, i would eat it.... ALL FOOD IS CHEMICALS, everything in our world is made up of chemicals

    Science FTW.

    Everything that happens inside you is a chemical reaction between chemicals. Those chemicals come from everything you consume.

    Semantic saturation in effect.