Health Concerns : Lies, Fallacies, and Charlatans....

[ChesterV]

Artificial food coloring's, additives, preservatives, substitutes, etc...?

Baking or cooking in glass, silicone, plastic, or pottery?

Frying versus Baking?

Chocolate and eggs bad for you this week, good for you the next?

99% of all of these idiotic "news" stories are nothing more than advertising gimmicks, sales pitches, or mis-informed charlatans wanting their 15 minutes of fame.

Always remember.............
When reading any article of this nature, don't take it for absolute truth what is in print. Always ask yourself, WHAT is it they are leaving OUT of that article?

Don't believe in what you read, believe in what you KNOW as fact.

 

[ChesterV]

Artificial food coloring's, additives, preservatives, substitutes--

The word "artificial" means different things to different production companies.
On the whole, "artificial" means it is a processed item, not a whole grown item.
It does not necessarily mean it is a completely fake item, it just isn't in it's original format.

Even things like food colors that are derived from organics and then processed into a specific food coloring can be deemed "artificial".

"Artificial" also represents the complete lack of anything organic in an item. It is completely man made. This is the usual definition people go by.

When in doubt, read the ingredients. Of course, then again, you have to know what the chemical names are of some organic ingredients in order to decipher those big, long words that are on the labels, to distinguish if there are actual organic ingredients used or not.

When sales of fresh veggies and fruits fall below the standard minimum, "scare tactics" are used by all sorts of companies to get you to start buying fresh again. This includes "artificial food colorings are bad for you". Well DUH! What artificial thing is really, truly NOT bad for you?

Human digestive systems are not meant to be dealing with anything artificial of any nature.
This is why we all have so many problems. But then again, in order to have the things we take for granted every single day....namely pre-made, pre-cooked, and pre-produced food items ready to eat....you have to acquiesce or starve.

What these self proclaimed "professionals" will tell you, is that artificial food coloring is bad for you. Yes and no.

Yes, artificial anything is bad for you.

No, not if only eat something of that nature once in a while.

What these "professionals" NEVER tell you.....
For ANYTHING artificial to be REALLY bad for you, you would have to consume the same artificial ingredient in EVERYTHING you eat and drink for many, many years. And even then, most humans have become immune to the effects of almost all of the artificial means companies use to produce and preserve foods nowadays. It's been bred into us over the many years. In other words, it's in our DNA now.

Like smoking. One cigarette a month will more than likely never effect you. One cigarette a hour for many, many years will have negative effects on you, whether you realize it or not.

ONE blue cupcake once in a while will have no effect on you. One blue cupcake three times a day, everyday for many, many years will have negative effects on you, whether you realize it or not.

Don't believe everything you read. Always ask yourself, WHAT is it that they are leaving OUT/NOT telling us?

 

[ChesterV]

Baking or cooking in glass, silicone, plastic, or pottery?

I've heard ALL sorts of stories over the many years I've been baking and working in bakeries and kitchens. Use metal or nothing at all.

Metal is fine, but there is nothing wrong with glass. Look at Pyrex. Pyrex has been making glassware since around the 1960's. I've never heard of anyone getting sick or dying from using glass to bake in or cook in.

Silicone. This stuff gives me the "willies". I would personally never use this. Silicone for bakeware has not been in use long, so there is no factual study that has deemed this artificial chemical a safe product to use. Although I have not heard of anyone getting sick from using said silicone, I cannot see where it is good. Then again, if there is something wrong with it, it may take many, many years before the effects are found out.

Cooking in plastic. Well, this is just simple logic. Plastic was adapted to the food industry for PRESERVATION of foods, not for cooking them. I've seen "news" stories where cooking food in plastic (microwaving food in plastic) leaks out chemicals in the plastic. This is true for anything you cook or bake in, plastic is just the most toxic at this point.

You would have to cook your food in plastic to the extent the plastic melts into the food item you consume, for it to have any relevant effects on you. Or, as previously stated, you would have to cook ALL of your foods, ALL day, EVERY day, for many, many years for you to have any noticeable effects.

But as I stated, plastic was designed for food preservation, not for cooking or baking.
I would think this concept is basic enough for a 5 year old to understand.

Pottery. Well, supposedly mankind has been cooking and baking in pottery for an eon.
So whats the big deal then? Apparently there are two different aspects of this.
One is that chemicals are used in the actual pottery while being produced.
The other one is that food particles get stuck in the porous clay and create harmful bacteria that could infect the next food item being baked or cooked in it.

First off, most cooking pottery has some sort of glaze or finish on it to fill in those porous parts of the clay. Secondly, unglazed clays can be scrubbed clean. And even if some food particles are missed, any bacteria is usually killed during the next baking or cooking session.

As far as chemicals being used in the clay itself, I'm sure thats true to some extent. These chemicals are usually bonding agents to strengthen the clay and create a longer lasting piece of cookware. The chemicals are the same types found in glass, teflon coated, and enamel coated cook and bakeware. So it's not like they are dumping toxic waste into the clay before they press it and fire it.

If mankind lasted for millennia without the benefits of soapy water, bleach, and filtered water to clean their pottery with............I'm sure we will last another millennia.

 

[ChesterV]

Frying vs Baking?

Oh the HORROR stories of eating fried foods. I just cannot stop laughing at them!

Once again, it's basic logic. You eat a ton of fried foods all the time, you will see negative effects. It is the same with baked foods, but it just takes longer than eating fried foods.

Fried foods are only "bad" for you because they are dumped in pot/pan of boiling oil.
If you eat enough of any ONE specific item, you will develop negative effects. It doesn't mean if you stop eating fried foods altogether, you will live forever.

Again, eating fried all day, every day, after many years, you will have negative effects whether you realize them or not. And again, this goes for ANY type of cooked food.

But because we don't eat the same kinds of foods every single day, most of us do not have issues with eating fried foods.

Baked foods may be "better" for you, but the same thing can happen after many years of the same thing.

 

[ChesterV]

Chocolate and Eggs.

One week I see "news" stories that say eggs are the most dangerous things you can eat. The next week I see "news" stories that claim people aren't eating enough eggs and they are good for you. Ok, so WHICH IS IT?!

I also see the SAME stories about chocolate!

Again, like anything else, you would have to consume mass quantities of this stuff on a daily basis to see negative effects. Probably more so with the eggs, because of the cholesterol, but still....

Eating ONE egg a day isn't going to have much of an effect on you, unless you are allergic to them. LOL

Same thing with chocolate. Chocolate itself is pretty good for you, it's all the other crap companies dump INTO the chocolate that is bad for you....usually all the sugar.

 

[cupcakechef]

Chocolate and Eggs.

One week I see "news" stories that say eggs are the most dangerous things you can eat. The next week I see "news" stories that claim people aren't eating enough eggs and they are good for you. Ok, so WHICH IS IT?!

I also see the SAME stories about chocolate!

Again, like anything else, you would have to consume mass quantities of this stuff on a daily basis to see negative effects. Probably more so with the eggs, because of the cholesterol, but still....

Eating ONE egg a day isn't going to have much of an effect on you, unless you are allergic to them. LOL

Same thing with chocolate. Chocolate itself is pretty good for you, it's all the other crap companies dump INTO the chocolate that is bad for you....usually all the sugar.

Like anything it's all about moderation! And that goes for anything! Even if I ate nothing but lettuce, then I wouldn't be eating healthily because I can't get all my nutrients from lettuce.

I'm glad that you posted this thread. Some foods get a bad rap when really it's all about common sense!

 

[Trellum]

I have noticed that every time they say something different, but I do know that processed foods are ok in moderation. But no in excess or consumed daily. So I no longer trust those people, they always say one thing, then another

 

[BlessedBackyard]

I agree about the moderation. I want/try to eat healthy, but I don't beat myself up when I eat something the professionals deem unhealthy. I think stressing over it is probably worse for my health than those occasional bites. And I always look forward to fried squash in the summer. Though based on personal experience, I disagree about the food colors. One blue cupcake once in a blue moon can certainly hurt. I gave up artificial colors for quite a few months, and the next time I ate a bit, I felt awful...like I had no longer built up the tolerance to it.

Interesting note about the eggs -- Supposedly, many of the studies that prove eggs are unhealthy used powdered eggs. Powdered and fresh are two very different things.