"real" food vs "low-fat/light/fat-free" food

I agree with SOME of that. For example I won't buy fat-free coffee creamer b/c, have you seen the ingredients list???? All chemicals. That being said, I won't have the full fat either, now I just have skim milk instead which is at least natural. Between turkey and beef stuff, I just look at the individual products. Like sometimes I buy 96/4 beef which is healthier than some turkey products.

Also some products I prefer over others, like potato chips where the ingredients are potatos/salt/oil, vs. barbecue or other flavors where there are like 30 ingredients just to get the taste.

I buy and eat NOTHING with high fructose corn syrup.

I really think everything depends on the individual item you're talking about.

I think the point the doctor was making is that the more processed the food is the less nutrition will be in it for you. Natural products take longer for us to digest and therefore we feel full longer, plus they are full of the nutrients and vitamins we need to be healthy.

Processed foods like bleached flour (i mean seriously BLEACHED says it all, right?). I heard one time that flour used to get bugs in it but ever since the early 1900's when we learned to bleach it, no bugs will go near it. Think about that.. bugs that eat anything will not go near white flour because there is NOTHING in there worth eating.

Just a little 'food for thought'.

I tend to go low fat. I don't think they add particularly much bad stuff for that but I do agree on fat free. They substitute fat with sugar and in the case of dairy, if you have the fat free you're not getting the benefit of any of the fat soluble nutrients in it. I'm sure that's the case in some other stuff, but with dairy it's a particularly noteworthy thing.

Full fat please.....I have been doing full fat since the beginning of November...cause I do a primal diet. I have managed to lose 12 pounds....and going strong.

Bottom line...read your labels and make an educated decision

I prefer full fat versions of food rather than low fat versions, the full fat versions of food tend to keep me fuller longer and give me more energy. I'd rather have less of something I really like vs more of something I don't care for as much.

As far as bacon and sausage, look for "Nitrate Free".

I really don't like low fat or low cal. Just eat less of those things! I find that these things are just full of chemicals and salt or processed to the point that they have a horrid tase and no nutritional value! One thing I will never buy is sweetner! They are full of asparteme wich is so bad for you! I will stick to my one spoon of sugar in my two cups of coffee a day thank you! I'm sure that wont kill me and I can keep it up for ever!! At the end of the day though it is personal choice and not everyone reads labels and understands what is on them!

I also eat turkey sausages and bacon because I don't eat red meat and havent for years and years and years! They have been fine for me and even though I am obese I have good blood pressure, low cholesterol and no sign of diabetes! They can't be that bad!

Hmm, not sure about not absorbing any of the nutrients in skim milk, only questioning this because what if you're eating other things with fat in them? Will need to get more info on this unless someone has a good place to read on this.

Turkey bacon is terrible. Real pork bacon is made from pork belly, while turkey bacon is processed crap. They make turkey bacon by basically pureeing unusable scraps from breaking down turkeys and then forming them into bacon strip shapes, then injecting them with flavorings to taste like bacon. Remember, there's no such thing as turkey belly.

Not all turkey bacon/turkey ham is puree of the unusable scraps. Just like I don't eat mystery meat hotdogs, I only buy good quality turkey bacon with no nasty by products or chemicals - the person who makes our turkey bacon uses thigh meat for his bacon. It actually doesn't even taste like pork bacon, it taste more like ham. The same guy makes turkey hotdogs, hams, and sausage. High quality or locally made turkey bacon is obviously way healthier than the store bought stuff filled with the "mechanically separated turkey" and chemicals, but not all turkey products are horrible.

It depends of what type of low fat or fat free food you are getting. A good policy is to read the label and see what they put in there instead. For instance, I buy Fage Total 0% Greek yogurt. " Ingredients: Grad A pasteurized Skimmed milk, Live Active Yogurt Cultures." Pretty natural, pretty clean. I do add some natural stevia for sweetness, and maybe some fresh fruit. You can take fats out of your diet in this way and add them back by a more natural mode such as avocados, nuts, olives, etc. One of the problems with mainstream fats is that animals and humans store the majority of toxins in their fat cells, so when you eat them, you are eating whatever hormones or medications that the animal has been given to make it produce more milk or gain more muscle, etc. This is the reason that when applicable (on sale, etc) organic is a better option. If you can't afford organic milk, it is a better option to buy skim milk than whole milk because (hopefully) you will be obtaining fewer toxins since the fat is not in the product. Ideally raw milk would be the best, but it's illegal for a myriad of myths, which I don't even have time to expound upon. Mizshutterbug has the right idea with milk. I do like to use a "swap method" in how I eat. For instance, I get fat free yogurt and milk, but I eat olives, olive oil and avocados. It helps me balance out my caloric intake. Since your body needs protein to make muscle and only protein will do, is a good idea to try and get more of your calories from protein. Your body can use fat or carbohydrate for only energy or stored energy, but proteins are a multi use nutrient in that they can be used in all three modes. However, all things in moderation as is always stated because carbohydrates are needed for brain function and fats are needed for cell function, so be sure to get it all in, just figure out where you want to get it from. Good luck!

Read "Skinny *****" to get the low down on some of the "diet" stuff aka aspartame and virtually any other "sweetener" is full of C to the RAP.

As for low fat and co., I think where you're getting it from is the most important. ie: factory farming full of hormones is awful, regardless of low-fat or regular. If you're getting organic, TRULY range free, LOCAL milk and the lot, I say go low fat... then at least you know what you're getting!

When all else fails, stick to things that list one ingredient. Fruits and vegetables are kings and queens.

I actually saw that and now I can't remember what show it was but it is the reason I stopped eating turkey bacon because Turkey bacon has more sodium than regular bacon. It also made start looking at labels more. OO what was the dang show

Generally i avoid all that. I like to go closest to natural. I usually do full fat and I NEVER go sugar free or anything like that. And I refuse to use artificial sweeteners. I don't know why artificial stuff would be better than sugar. I just limit my sugar (in coffee and such).

When i have more money I do want to switch some things. I do buy bleached flour right now but that's because it's the cheapest and I don't have a lot of money for groceries.