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"Natural foods" vs "others"

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Replies

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »

    Hypothetical question for you:

    Three people are placed on an island. One gets only unlimited broccoli and carrots. One gets only unlimited beans and peas. One gets only unlimited Big Macs. All three get unlimited water. Who lives the longest?

    Will it be one of the two on those delicious, oh so nutritious, healthy, good for you, all-natural diets, or the one eating that horrible, toxic, disgusting, "nutritionally empty" non-food substance?

    (Remember - we're not talking opinions, woo and fearmongering here. We're talking nutritional facts.)

    As far as I've seen on this thread no one has advocated eating just burgers. (Which is a shame as I LOVE a good burger and would happily eat them everyday)

    But like wise I've seen no one advocate eating only broccoli and carrots or beans and peas as that would be completely stupid. However, the "clean eating" and "raw food" fads aren't that far off and are clearly a fad to drive internet clicks and sell books.

    The way you've positioned your hypothetical question looks to me like you're saying Big Macs are good but Carrots and Broccoli are bad?

    My diet (nutrition) contains a fair amount of veggies and I've not noticed any harm, it also contains a fair amount of burgers, pizza and burritos and likewise I've not noticed any harm.

    Why is it a zero sum game?

    No, the hypothetical question showcases the stupidity of the false dichotomy often posited à la "Eat nothing but Burgers for a year and tell me again how they're not harmful!!!1". That kind of crap happens almost daily over here. For some reason these people never seem to want to eat nothing but broccoli for a year though to assess whether broccoli is harmful or not.

    Great point...
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »

    Hypothetical question for you:

    Three people are placed on an island. One gets only unlimited broccoli and carrots. One gets only unlimited beans and peas. One gets only unlimited Big Macs. All three get unlimited water. Who lives the longest?

    Will it be one of the two on those delicious, oh so nutritious, healthy, good for you, all-natural diets, or the one eating that horrible, toxic, disgusting, "nutritionally empty" non-food substance?

    (Remember - we're not talking opinions, woo and fearmongering here. We're talking nutritional facts.)

    As far as I've seen on this thread no one has advocated eating just burgers. (Which is a shame as I LOVE a good burger and would happily eat them everyday)

    But like wise I've seen no one advocate eating only broccoli and carrots or beans and peas as that would be completely stupid. However, the "clean eating" and "raw food" fads aren't that far off and are clearly a fad to drive internet clicks and sell books.

    The way you've positioned your hypothetical question looks to me like you're saying Big Macs are good but Carrots and Broccoli are bad?

    My diet (nutrition) contains a fair amount of veggies and I've not noticed any harm, it also contains a fair amount of burgers, pizza and burritos and likewise I've not noticed any harm.

    Why is it a zero sum game?

    You must be new here. Also, did you read this thread all the way through? There is a poster asserting that anything “natural” must inherently be healthier than anything “unnatural” and when people ask what’s wrong with eating things like McDonalds or store bought cookies in moderation, this is twisted, as in every post like this, into a misinterpretation that posters are advocating for eating nothing but McDonalds, or cake, or cookies. This straw man argument comes up time and again on these boards.

    The hypothetical question is meant to demonstrate how ridiculous the claim that natural automatically means healthier. Also how in every clean eating vs junk thread - the proponents of CICO and all things in moderation are always only offered a mono diet of eating just one thing compared to a broad spectrum of clean Whole Foods (sure you could eat but nothing but cake and lose weight but I prefer to eat a healthy diet)

    Stick around though, I think you agree with the position that many are making that context and dosage matter...

    Thank you for saving me the typing. :)
  • Stockholm_Andy
    Stockholm_Andy Posts: 803 Member
    @stevencloser , @AnvilHead , @WinoGelato

    I take all of your points and I have long been an advocate of CICO (because anything else is just wrong) I also personally believe in "things I like in moderation" as this keeps me on track for my goals.

    However, as someone who is new here I think that message sometimes gets lost in increasingly nuclear attacks on the various WooWoo pseudo-scientists.

    That's why I commented on that particular post as IMHO its dropping down to the fruit cakes level.
  • Stockholm_Andy
    Stockholm_Andy Posts: 803 Member
    Just to add and this probably won't be popular on here but as well as knowing CICO holds true and all things in moderation. I also think (I don't have studies or links) that too much of a good thing isn't that great either.

    Left to my own devices I'd probably eat along the lines of Breakfast: Bacon Sandwich, Lunch: Burger, Dinner: Burrito I can fit that into my calorie goal (even on my cut if I eat back some exercise).

    In fact I did eat like this for most of my 20s and I was in great shape. (CICO).

    In all honesty I didn't get ill, fat or poisoned.

    However, I think a more balanced diet with more fruit and veg is better for my (very) long term health.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    @stevencloser , @AnvilHead , @WinoGelato

    I take all of your points and I have long been an advocate of CICO (because anything else is just wrong) I also personally believe in "things I like in moderation" as this keeps me on track for my goals.

    However, as someone who is new here I think that message sometimes gets lost in increasingly nuclear attacks on the various WooWoo pseudo-scientists.

    That's why I commented on that particular post as IMHO its dropping down to the fruit cakes level.

    I respectfully disagree. Time and time again moderation has been used in this thread and it is a strong theme throughout the forums. I don't see how it could be getting lost even a little.

  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »

    Hypothetical question for you:

    Three people are placed on an island. One gets only unlimited broccoli and carrots. One gets only unlimited beans and peas. One gets only unlimited Big Macs. All three get unlimited water. Who lives the longest?

    Will it be one of the two on those delicious, oh so nutritious, healthy, good for you, all-natural diets, or the one eating that horrible, toxic, disgusting, "nutritionally empty" non-food substance?

    (Remember - we're not talking opinions, woo and fearmongering here. We're talking nutritional facts.)

    As far as I've seen on this thread no one has advocated eating just burgers. (Which is a shame as I LOVE a good burger and would happily eat them everyday)

    But like wise I've seen no one advocate eating only broccoli and carrots or beans and peas as that would be completely stupid. However, the "clean eating" and "raw food" fads aren't that far off and are clearly a fad to drive internet clicks and sell books.

    The way you've positioned your hypothetical question looks to me like you're saying Big Macs are good but Carrots and Broccoli are bad?

    My diet (nutrition) contains a fair amount of veggies and I've not noticed any harm, it also contains a fair amount of burgers, pizza and burritos and likewise I've not noticed any harm.

    Why is it a zero sum game?

    No, the hypothetical question showcases the stupidity of the false dichotomy often posited à la "Eat nothing but Burgers for a year and tell me again how they're not harmful!!!1". That kind of crap happens almost daily over here. For some reason these people never seem to want to eat nothing but broccoli for a year though to assess whether broccoli is harmful or not.

    Nor do they seem to recognize that you probably would be alive after eating nothing but burgers for a year. Not so much for broccoli.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    And at that point, does it matter anyway?

    Only one guarantee in life - nobody gets out alive.

    And healthy nutrients can be the one that killed you. I don't know about every vitamin or mineral but I do know that some of them at very high levels can be toxic and fatal. I remember as a kid having these sweet flavored vitamin C tablets that ended up making me very sick because I had too many.

    Similar to your island scenario I have known some people who jumped into veganism and were essentially starving themselves because they did not properly understand the mechanics of nutrition and how to get it on their new lifestyle.

    As much as we praise protein you can die from too much protein if you don't have any fat which as I recall was discovered when some people have tried to live off of only rabbits.

    It just seems the more I look around and use a modicum of common sense that moderation has always been the key.

    Arsenic is actually required in our diets in trace amounts. In typical diets you get something like 12-40ug per day.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    And at that point, does it matter anyway?

    Only one guarantee in life - nobody gets out alive.

    And healthy nutrients can be the one that killed you. I don't know about every vitamin or mineral but I do know that some of them at very high levels can be toxic and fatal. I remember as a kid having these sweet flavored vitamin C tablets that ended up making me very sick because I had too many.

    Similar to your island scenario I have known some people who jumped into veganism and were essentially starving themselves because they did not properly understand the mechanics of nutrition and how to get it on their new lifestyle.

    As much as we praise protein you can die from too much protein if you don't have any fat which as I recall was discovered when some people have tried to live off of only rabbits.

    It just seems the more I look around and use a modicum of common sense that moderation has always been the key.

    Arsenic is actually required in our diets in trace amounts. In typical diets you get something like 12-40ug per day.


    An Apple a day :)
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    And at that point, does it matter anyway?

    Only one guarantee in life - nobody gets out alive.

    And healthy nutrients can be the one that killed you. I don't know about every vitamin or mineral but I do know that some of them at very high levels can be toxic and fatal. I remember as a kid having these sweet flavored vitamin C tablets that ended up making me very sick because I had too many.

    Similar to your island scenario I have known some people who jumped into veganism and were essentially starving themselves because they did not properly understand the mechanics of nutrition and how to get it on their new lifestyle.

    As much as we praise protein you can die from too much protein if you don't have any fat which as I recall was discovered when some people have tried to live off of only rabbits.

    It just seems the more I look around and use a modicum of common sense that moderation has always been the key.

    Arsenic is actually required in our diets in trace amounts. In typical diets you get something like 12-40ug per day.


    An Apple a day :)

    Hmmmm cyanide is tasty :tongue:
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited May 2018
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    nettiklive wrote: »
    McDonalds fries have around 15 other ingredients except for potato, oil and salt.
    So what? More ingredients = evil?

    We all know what the evil sodium bicarbonate from those fast food restaurants will do to you.....
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    Beep beep!!

    This has triggered me. I can't get that beep beep out of my head!
    I ended up burnt to a crisp , mangled and squished. All to the fault of the acme corporation. A simple device was marketed to me to catch a roadrunner but I ended up getting my body scarred and burnt , limbs busted and my pride clobbered.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    100_PROOF_ wrote: »
    Beep beep!!

    This has triggered me. I can't get that beep beep out of my head!
    I ended up burnt to a crisp , mangled and squished. All to the fault of the acme corporation. A simple device was marketed to me to catch a roadrunner but I ended up getting my body scarred and burnt , limbs busted and my pride clobbered.

    On a hike a few weeks ago, I saw a roadrunner and then a coyote. It made giggle. Beep beep.
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    100_PROOF_ wrote: »
    Beep beep!!

    This has triggered me. I can't get that beep beep out of my head!
    I ended up burnt to a crisp , mangled and squished. All to the fault of the acme corporation. A simple device was marketed to me to catch a roadrunner but I ended up getting my body scarred and burnt , limbs busted and my pride clobbered.

    On a hike a few weeks ago, I saw a roadrunner and then a coyote. It made giggle. Beep beep.

    Sorry I Couldn't stop to chat. I was chasing that stinker( the roadrunner) while dodging a person hunting me. They pulled up in a rover and then started wandering around the park aimlessly with a stick and a rock . At first I thought it was a bear Grylls fan club member so I wasn't too worried ( they never catch anything) but then he started swinging that stick about so I had to go!
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    fdhunt1 wrote: »
    ...

    BTW, this thread is extremely entertaining, especially when read with cocktails.


    That's often the best way to read the MFP forums.

  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,884 MFP Moderator
    Just saw this thread and clicked in because it can be an interesting debate. But then I saw no Doritos or Cheetos. That made me sad. Life without Doritos and Cheetos is sadness. :( Can we add in Fritos? Those end in os and are made of corn too. Fritos scoops with salsa. Yes, please. :tongue:

    Kidding aside, I think it's pretty hard to be 100% "natural" with the foods we eat today. Almost everything is processed to a degree, so it's a matter of choosing what you like. If it works for you and you enjoy it, great. If not, don't eat or drink it. :)