Food Myths & Truths

_Crazy_Mary_

*Artificial Sweeteners, Soy and Microwaves are bad for you

*We should all be eating organic, free range meats and eggs

*The only fish we consume should be wild, line caught on the shortest line available


What are everybody's thoughts on these topics?

Personally, I do avoid the sweeteners, soy and microwave because I make everything from scratch, and dislike soy products. If I want to sweeten my iced tea or coffee, I'd rather use sugar.

As far as wild, organic and free range, I won't turn my nose up at it, but I certainly won't go out of my way to spend the extra $$ on it, either.

LikeAnOcean

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

*Artificial Sweeteners, Soy and Microwaves are bad for you

*We should all be eating organic, free range meats and eggs

*The only fish we consume should be wild, line caught on the shortest line available


What are everybody's thoughts on these topics?

Personally, I do avoid the sweeteners, soy and microwave because I make everything from scratch, and dislike soy products. If I want to sweeten my iced tea or coffee, I'd rather use sugar.

As far as wild, organic and free range, I won't turn my nose up at it, but I certainly won't go out of my way to spend the extra $$ on it, either.

Hmm.. Free range eggs definitely have more taste. As far as organic bananas go, I can't tell the difference, but will spend the extra 10 cents if they are looking fresher than the others.

And I've had fish twice in my life. The last time was six months ago and it almost killed me. I'm extremely allergic to fish and almost couldn't breathe.

I make most my meals in the microwave anyways, so who am I to say..

chromiam

Eat and drink what you want in MODERATION.... we're all going to die of something someday so you might as well enjoy life while you're here.

riffrandall

Well, considering that nutri-sweet metabolizes as formaldehyde in your body, I do stay away from that.
I can't tolerate white sugar at all, so I have to stay away from most soy products (like soy "milk"), and I don't own a microwave.

Free range? Meh. I know we'd all like to believe that there are chickens running free and enjoying a peaceful thriving existence, but all "free range" means is that the chickens don't get their beaks burned off before they are jammed into the cages, and their feet dont grow around the wire at the bottom of the cage.
I don't pay a lot of attention to fish- don't eat it that often.

I do buy organic whenever possible but that's mostly because I live somewhere where there's a ton of little organic fruit stands, and I do like to support local farmers. Doesn't mean I don't buy salmonella tomatoes at Stop & Shop if the recipe calls for it, though.

mca47

I try to avoid artificial sweeteners.
I prefer organic food (esp. produce) mostly because it tastes better.

polaris

** I avoid artificial sweeteners especially aspartame; only oranic soy in limited amounts; don't own a microwave

** Some things organic is better for you - mainly meats and fruits and veggies with no outer layer and better for the environment and food crisis

** some farmed fish are ok and sustainable ... salmon (the main fish) should be wild - they put too much shit in the farmed salmon and the process affects wild stocks ... check marine stewardship council website for the low down

this is more then choosing what it is best for me ... it factors in what i deem to be the best for a wider range of issues ... having said that - my choices do not hinder my ability to enjoy life one iota - in fact, it enhances it ...

jammergirl

I saw a list somewhere where experts were talking about what fruits and veggies were okay to eat regular, and ones where you absolutely should try and seek out the organic version. i'll try and find a link if i can, but i remember apples, potatoes and strawberries are exposed to the most pesticides, and bananas not so much.
on free range eggs, i'm not sure how much much difference is in the store bought free range versus regular, but when i was in high school we raised chickens, and all i ate was our eggs. the difference in taste was amazing, and whenever i ate a storebought egg it tasted like nothing. now i try and find farm fresh eggs at the local farmer's market. that's also a good place to find fruit and veggies. even if they're not organic, at least they are grown locally and bound to be tastier.
wow, that was long and rambly, sorry.

Cree Nations

comment 1- agree with fer sure
comment 2- dont agree with this but dont disagree with people who think this.
comment 3-the only farmed fish I would ever eat is stocked rainbow trout but these arent really farmed, they are grown to fry stage then released into wild lakes...around here anyway. I wont eat farmed salmon....any farmed fish really and I guess trout 'Kind Of' are but no where near to the extent that salmon are.

Did you also know that the great majority of Strawberries sold in markets today have been genetically altered by a gene taken from salmon?

KosmicJelli

Moderation is the key with all foods, one must remember that the body also "thinks"... one must feed it accordingly with healthy items and of course treats once in awhile!

nick1977

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

*Artificial Sweeteners, Soy and Microwaves are bad for you

*We should all be eating organic, free range meats and eggs

*The only fish we consume should be wild, line caught on the shortest line available

Artificial sweeters are very bad for children under 18.....these are scientifically proven to hinder brain development. After the brain is fully developed, then any chances of harm are minimal.

Soy is good for people. I fail to see any evidence that soy is harmful.

Microwaves.....I'm indifferent....I don't own one, but don't have a problem with them except that they do not cook food well.

Organic free range meats and eggs. Yes.....they are better for you and the environment. Many non organic meats contain growth hormones which are quite scary. If you buy anything organic, it should be milk, eggs, and meat. I do not eat much meat (maybe once every week or two), but when I do you better bet it is organic. I drink milk every day, and yes it is organic....the taste alone is worth it, but it is also good for the environment. Same for eggs.

Wild caught fish....Yes. It is better for you. Wild caught salmon has a a lot more omega-3 fatty acids than farm raised fish. I buy wild caught when possible, but it is not always possible where I live.

decides2dream

chromiam wrote:

Eat and drink what you want in MODERATION.... we're all going to die of something someday so you might as well enjoy life while you're here.

exactly.
in a 'perfect world' i would eat all organic, all the time and would never use any time-cutting measures b/c hey, i'd have all the time in the world! in reality, if i ate everything organic i'd have no $$$ for anything ele b/c it really IS so pricey to do so for EVERYthing. i do use artifical sweeteners, but i don't sweeten very much. sure, it is in some of my food choices as well, but still in moderation i think. the microwave, again, i don't think is a 'bad' thing. ours is basiclly a glorified popcorm popper. my husband uses it far more often to reheat leftovers for himself. as to wild fish, also my preference but i go with what's available when we shop. i never heard soy was bad for you, but i don't consume much in any case...so whatever.


nick, when you say you only eat meat every week or tow, are you including poultry in that? you eat basically a vegetarian diet then? just curious.

LikeAnOcean

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

Microwaves are bad for you

Not necessarily. A friend of mine mentioned they were so I did a little more research.

Microwaves are bad in that they kill nutrients in food, BUT.. so does any kind of cooking. You are going to get the best nutrients out of raw food.

Set your microwave on low and it is no different than cooking something on the stove.

tybird

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

*The only fish we consume should be wild, line caught on the shortest line available

Fish is the Catch-22 of the food world.....some of the healthiest stuff for us, but because of Mercury....women of child-bearing age should limit their intake.

failedpersephone

1. don't like the taste of the sweeteners, I eat soy tho.
2. local produce from farms I know and trust
3. no fish at all...we need to stop with the idealized phrasing of "farmed" fish...like you can plant them - it is ruining our oceans...and the runoff for the freshwater species is horrifying...that being said, wild fish needs to be able to reproduce and in cal at least the salmon jack numbers are down...I choose to not eat fish. even if I weren't a vegetarian I wouldnt eat them - in order to give the species a chance to catch up to our voracious appetites.

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Soy is bad for you? .... how is that? I don't see it. It's just a bean that grows and you eat it. Organic that is..... I would never eat non organic soy.... It's all GM and sprayed with the most toxic shit on earth...

Microwave cooking? It's a bastardization of food at a molecular level at best. Infra red and low temps is the way to go on that scenario.

aspartame is cancer... thank Donald Rumsfeld for that weapon of mass destruction...its' his baby... I avoid anything synthetic.... use stevia... or just eat the sugar.

tuna contains significant amounts of mercury...if you must ....eat flaked light

lephty

screw all of that... how about people educate themselves on what companies are doing to cash in on the "green" craze~

phrases like organic ingredients and natural are there to take advantage of the people that are not paying enough attention. i still think it's hilarious that there are people that think because you are eating natural or organic, you are on some sort of a diet. calories still exist in these foods, just not the oddball chemicals that are used in the more mainstream foods.

daystar143

tybird wrote:

Fish is the Catch-22 of the food world.....some of the healthiest stuff for us, but because of Mercury....women of child-bearing age should limit their intake.

Not an issue at our house (at least I hope not!).

The cost of the healthier choices is frustrating to me...if I want organic options, I pay three times as much!

Danimal

I avoid nothing.

If it tastes good I eat it.

nick1977

daystar143 wrote:

Not an issue at our house (at least I hope not!).

The cost of the healthier choices is frustrating to me...if I want organic options, I pay three times as much!

Look for a local farmer in your area who grows produce....they may even have a produce subscription or CSA where you buy a share of vegetables. Though not certified organic, they grow with organic practices much of the time, and it is very affordable.

prism

just look at how many people (including on this board) have totally bought into the aspartame myths. anyway here ya go:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

vduboise

Danimal wrote:

I avoid nothing.

If it tastes good I eat it.

I agree with you on that!