Not in relation to what I said about foods having chemicals. Because cheddar cheese is made up of chemicals and nacho cheese is made up of chemicals. Spray cheese from a can is made up of chemicals and the people that eat all of these foods are made up of chemicals.

The fact that people use the word "chemicals" when they mean "refined, processed foods" is what makes me think they're dumb.

This seems like semantics to me. I've seen clean eaters say "I avoid refined processed foods" and then plenty of people in the IIFYM camp come back with "define processed" or "everything is processed, your point is invalid" when they know perfectly good and well the type of foods that are being referenced.

Not in relation to what I said about foods having chemicals. Because cheddar cheese is made up of chemicals and nacho cheese is made up of chemicals. Spray cheese from a can is made up of chemicals and the people that eat all of these foods are made up of chemicals.

The fact that people use the word "chemicals" when they mean "refined, processed foods" is what makes me think they're dumb.

This seems like semantics to me. I've seen clean eaters say "I avoid refined processed foods" and then plenty of people in the IIFYM camp come back with "define processed" or "everything is processed, your point is invalid" when they know perfectly good and well the type of foods that are being referenced.

Of course it's semantics. Semantics are kind of important when we're trying to define things. It's not my fault "clean eaters" use such vague and uninformed diet plans. I saw a paleo advocate just yesterday saying how Tequila falls under his primitive man diet plan. That's just stupid, if the diet you tout is supposed to be eating only foods that Paleolithic man ate.

The problem is not me, I'm not being uptight. "Chemicals" does not mean what they think it does. I've seen people bragging about eating clean and avoiding chemicals all the time around here. They have no idea what they're talking about. That's why I think they're dumb.

Example:
-I never touch meat. I think it's disgusting. Why would anyone do that to themelves?
-You're eating a steak right now.
-Duh! I mean ground beef! You know what I was saying.

Of course it's semantics. Semantics are kind of important when we're trying to define things. It's not my fault "clean eaters" use such vague and uninformed diet plans. I saw a paleo advocate just yesterday saying how Tequila falls under his primitive man diet plan. That's just stupid, if the diet you tout is supposed to be eating only foods that Paleolithic man ate.

I can't disagree with this! This is why I'd like to avoid a label altogether. But I still think good nutrition is still important.

I don't think there is any "supposed." Seems like an odd term to use.. assumes that there is some kind of plan or that we are programmed to eat certain things. Yes, there are things that we cannot digest, but that's just part of evolution. We have evolved to a point where we consume milk all our lives.. but.. so?

I think what we are meant to eat is unprocessed clean food. It's whatever makes your body feel good, your cholesterol low, blood sugar happy, and make you feel energetic. We are also sometimes allergic to certain things or despise the texture/taste/smell of certain foods so you won't eat that stuff.

I really think its a completely individual thing and your body knows best.

Just to play devil's advocate for a split second... Personally, I believe that we were meant to eat whatever we can actually get our hands on that will sustain us. The only other essential item is water. As long as it has calories, you will survive on it. You may be malnourished, but you can survive. Without key vitamins and minerals such as iron, sodium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, etc. our bodies and brains won't function optimally and micronutrient deficiencies can lead to a wide variety of disorders. With all of that said, however, all you really need are some combo of the 3 macros and you're good. To a point, of course.

Man has been "processing" foods for a long time - maybe not that long in evolutionary terms - but the fact is we've been preparing foods, churning butter, fermenting cheese, filleting and curing meats, smoking fish, meats and cheese etc. As we've become wealthier and food has been mass-produced and industrial processes have been introduced into the food industry and convenience has taken over.

For the vast majority of us, we live in an urban environment; we don't live off the earth and we rely on supermarkets or similar convenience stores to acquire our foods.

But there are some foods which are considered to be junk or bad (which is a term I hate - there are no bad foods, only bad eating habits) which in terms of clean eating as as basic as they come - take a fillet of fish dip it in a mixture of milled flour and water and cook in a pot of oil.

We're told we shouldn't eat red meat as it's high in cholesterol yet our ancestors lived on char-grilled red meat or even raw meat, which few of us would even consider doing now.

I don't think there's any "supposed to" any more. I think we need to eat and drink and we are offered a plethora of choices and some of us make entirely different choices from others. Who's right and who's wrong - that's the $64.000 question?