Nobody knows what Healthy Food means

cee134
cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
in Food and Nutrition
The FDA just requested public input on the meaning of the word “healthy,” the first step towards a new definition.

The decision came after a scuffle with KIND granola bars where—after being told to remove the tag “healthy and tasty” from its bars—the food manufacturer asked to keep it, arguing it wasn’t nutritional information but a “corporate philosophy.” The FDA eventually agreed to let the company keep the tag but also said it had decided to update the definition of the term.

The current FDA definition describes “healthy” as “an implied nutrient content claim” that suggests the food is consistent with current dietary recommendations, particularly for fat and cholesterol. The problem is that still leaves the term pretty wide open for interpretation—and, as we’ve seen with the case of “natural” that can cause big problems.
http://gizmodo.com/nobody-knows-what-healthy-food-means-still-1787185806

FDA to Redefine “Healthy” Claim for Food Labeling
http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm520703.htm
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Replies

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    Sad state of affairs...
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    It is a sad state of affairs. Agreed.

    On a side note, I freakin' love Kind Bars and do consider them to be one of the better snack bar choices out there. I like that they're not overly sweet.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I find Kind Bars quite tasty and have not had any difficulty fitting one into my goals fairly regularly.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Speaking of Kind Bars... find the seasonal offering, the Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice bar. It's really delicious.
  • sanchez253
    sanchez253 Posts: 10 Member
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    It is a sad state of affairs. Agreed.

    On a side note, I freakin' love Kind Bars and do consider them to be one of the better snack bar choices out there. I like that they're not overly sweet.

    Hey I was just curious about what you thought about Odwalla Bars?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    Lol..so you dont think labelling food healthy is a good thing? Not everyone possesses the knowledge that you guys do. A balanced diet is all well and good but some people want to eat "healthy foods". I think it is a good move for people that dont know the info you guys have. We have food labelling here and it does help if you are trying to stay under your goals

    Jake-- I feel really sorry for someone that has to rely on labeling to hit their goals. I don't think it's going to happen.

    Thanks for the pity ;) . What I mean is when im rushing to grab a sandwich in supermarket at lunch having green, yellow and red colour coding helps to see what sarnie I want to aim for. What isnt gonna happen?

    That to work, isn't going to happen. Nutrition is so complex that you need some knowledge, and you can't rely on single points or "quick" solutions. But nutrition for healthy individuals isn't complicated, so that knowledge can be quite basic.

    I agree with you, although many on here believe the simple cico system works and that is a basic points system really (just saying). I'm talking as a novice myself. Obviously growing up I have known that vegetables are "nutritious" (words on here, have to be so careful how I word foods) and foods with high saturated fats are 'less preferable'. Before coming on here I didn't think my food choices were that bad, but since being on here and reading up from magazines and websites I have seen my diet wasn't that great. Basically I'm saying I know what it is to be ignorant and not have a healthy knowledge of diet and nutrition. I agree knowledge needs to be given but any step in the right direction is a start - doing nothing is worst

    But losing weight and eating healthily isn't quite the same thing, even though they can occur simultaneously. You lose weight by sticking to a calorie deficit. That is a simple point system. Nutrition is about getting in all you need but not too much of anything, that is complex. Knowing what sources to look for and trust, is difficult. Experts and media like to focus on one thing at the time, and different foods and nutrients are cyclically demonized. Things are also bundled up, like "red meat and processed meat", and trans fat and saturated fat. People get scared, and try everything at once, or do nothing, I agree that is the worst.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    Lol..so you dont think labelling food healthy is a good thing? Not everyone possesses the knowledge that you guys do. A balanced diet is all well and good but some people want to eat "healthy foods". I think it is a good move for people that dont know the info you guys have. We have food labelling here and it does help if you are trying to stay under your goals

    Jake-- I feel really sorry for someone that has to rely on labeling to hit their goals. I don't think it's going to happen.

    Thanks for the pity ;) . What I mean is when im rushing to grab a sandwich in supermarket at lunch having green, yellow and red colour coding helps to see what sarnie I want to aim for. What isnt gonna happen?

    Also I think someone who actually needs a label telling them "this is healthy" probably would also be ignorant of the fact they still need variety in their diet for it to actually be healthy. Context and all that jazz, you know the drill.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    edited September 2016
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    Lol..so you dont think labelling food healthy is a good thing? Not everyone possesses the knowledge that you guys do. A balanced diet is all well and good but some people want to eat "healthy foods". I think it is a good move for people that dont know the info you guys have. We have food labelling here and it does help if you are trying to stay under your goals

    Jake-- I feel really sorry for someone that has to rely on labeling to hit their goals. I don't think it's going to happen.

    Thanks for the pity ;) . What I mean is when im rushing to grab a sandwich in supermarket at lunch having green, yellow and red colour coding helps to see what sarnie I want to aim for. What isnt gonna happen?

    Also I think someone who actually needs a label telling them "this is healthy" probably would also be ignorant of the fact they still need variety in their diet for it to actually be healthy. Context and all that jazz, you know the drill.

    Well that is a super philosophy - lets do nothing and hope things get better? What would you suggest to help the average guy in the street who doesn't have the know how that you do? (having a discussion, not trying to argue with you mate)

    I don't think those people actually exist, and the knowledge of what a healthy diet is, is widely available for everyone already and has been for a long time. Things only get confusing thanks to the dieting industry, calling certain foods, food groups or entire macros as boogeymen.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    Lol..so you dont think labelling food healthy is a good thing? Not everyone possesses the knowledge that you guys do. A balanced diet is all well and good but some people want to eat "healthy foods". I think it is a good move for people that dont know the info you guys have. We have food labelling here and it does help if you are trying to stay under your goals

    Jake-- I feel really sorry for someone that has to rely on labeling to hit their goals. I don't think it's going to happen.

    Thanks for the pity ;) . What I mean is when im rushing to grab a sandwich in supermarket at lunch having green, yellow and red colour coding helps to see what sarnie I want to aim for. What isnt gonna happen?

    That to work, isn't going to happen. Nutrition is so complex that you need some knowledge, and you can't rely on single points or "quick" solutions. But nutrition for healthy individuals isn't complicated, so that knowledge can be quite basic.

    I agree with you, although many on here believe the simple cico system works and that is a basic points system really (just saying). I'm talking as a novice myself. Obviously growing up I have known that vegetables are "nutritious" (words on here, have to be so careful how I word foods) and foods with high saturated fats are 'less preferable'. Before coming on here I didn't think my food choices were that bad, but since being on here and reading up from magazines and websites I have seen my diet wasn't that great. Basically I'm saying I know what it is to be ignorant and not have a healthy knowledge of diet and nutrition. I agree knowledge needs to be given but any step in the right direction is a start - doing nothing is worst

    CICO is for weight management. It has nothing to do with nutrients.

    And whose idea of healthy would you go for for labelling those sandwiches?
    Does the tuna sandwich get green because lots of protein? Yellow because it's not so low in calories because of mayonaise? Or maybe even red because it has bread and thus isn't low carb friendly?


    It gets broken down here into 4 catagories and each gets a label based on the quantity. Catagories are calories/fat/saturates/salt and this is on pretty much every product in large retailers

    Well, then it DOES go by a simple points system. But even a food stuff that had every single category of those as red can be part of a healthy diet, the non-knowledgable person in your example wouldn't know that though and probably avoid it entirely, unnecessarily. Maybe even though they liked it. Cue cravings and binges (in some people).
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited September 2016
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    Lol..so you dont think labelling food healthy is a good thing? Not everyone possesses the knowledge that you guys do. A balanced diet is all well and good but some people want to eat "healthy foods". I think it is a good move for people that dont know the info you guys have. We have food labelling here and it does help if you are trying to stay under your goals

    Jake-- I feel really sorry for someone that has to rely on labeling to hit their goals. I don't think it's going to happen.

    Thanks for the pity ;) . What I mean is when im rushing to grab a sandwich in supermarket at lunch having green, yellow and red colour coding helps to see what sarnie I want to aim for. What isnt gonna happen?

    That to work, isn't going to happen. Nutrition is so complex that you need some knowledge, and you can't rely on single points or "quick" solutions. But nutrition for healthy individuals isn't complicated, so that knowledge can be quite basic.

    I agree with you, although many on here believe the simple cico system works and that is a basic points system really (just saying). I'm talking as a novice myself. Obviously growing up I have known that vegetables are "nutritious" (words on here, have to be so careful how I word foods) and foods with high saturated fats are 'less preferable'. Before coming on here I didn't think my food choices were that bad, but since being on here and reading up from magazines and websites I have seen my diet wasn't that great. Basically I'm saying I know what it is to be ignorant and not have a healthy knowledge of diet and nutrition. I agree knowledge needs to be given but any step in the right direction is a start - doing nothing is worst

    CICO is for weight management. It has nothing to do with nutrients.

    And whose idea of healthy would you go for for labelling those sandwiches?
    Does the tuna sandwich get green because lots of protein? Yellow because it's not so low in calories because of mayonaise? Or maybe even red because it has bread and thus isn't low carb friendly?


    It gets broken down here into 4 catagories and each gets a label based on the quantity. Catagories are calories/fat/saturates/salt and this is on pretty much every product in large retailers

    Well, then it DOES go by a simple points system. But even a food stuff that had every single category of those as red can be part of a healthy diet, the non-knowledgable person in your example wouldn't know that though and probably avoid it entirely, unnecessarily. Maybe even though they liked it. Cue cravings and binges (in some people).

    Fair point - but this is the thorn in that argument. That doesn't apply to everybody, but it clearly works for you and others which is great. I avoid the red foods, I tend eat fresh foods for my dinner and once a week I have a cheat day. That way is not the best way or the perfect way, its my way and works for me. I understand you 'need a bit of everything' as you say

    Please also let go of the idea that there is a perfect or best diet. There isn't. A diet that is good for you, is one that provides you with everyhing you need, and not too much of anything. That can be done in a number of ways. A diet that is working for you, will be one that is good for you, and one you easily can stick to, at home, at work, with your mates, on holiday, when you are sick, sad, happy, worried, or just bored.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Sorry, I thought you were looking for help. If everything is OK, I'll leave you to it.

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