Is Everything We Eat Really Unhealthy Today?

[Pengwuino]

Why is it that it seems like now a days, everything you eat is unhealthy. I mean fast food and popcorn and brownies are pretty acceptable as being unhealthy, but i swear people are saying eveyrthing from soup to tomatos to pasta and apples are bad. Whats going on? Even my professor joked about it supposedly being unhealthy to... ugh... something with electromagnetic waves... but then he goes "but then again there saying everything is unhealthy for you these days, pff, go figure".

 

[cronxeh]

well being born is unhealthy to you.. you are cut off by metal scissors from your food supply, slapped, and then sneezed upon by the nurses.

heck.. you practically started aging the day you were born

 

[kalladin]

I'm sure it has to do with the population becoming more health conscious. As the average mortality age increases, we see more and more diseases appearing in old people; cancers, mental sicknesses, you name it. So when we see all these problems, we start to think what causes them. Voila, all of a sudden strawberries are bad for you.

 

[Pengwuino]

Man, i want to hit 70 and anything beyond that is a bonus for me. I don't drink or smoke or do ice cream. I sleep regularly and have my 5 servings of naps :D

 

[Monique]

Not all foods are bad, we are discovering bad influences of certain foods which are balanced by their good properties.

Apples contain sugars, so people say they are bad for your teeth. Well, that doesn't make the apple as a whole bad for you.

Also, some effects of foods are overstated or misinterpreted by the media. Researchers can find that people who eat brocolli are less likely to develop certain cancers, that does not mean that when you eat brocolli you won't develop cancer.

 

[cronxeh]

"but then again there saying everything is unhealthy for you these days, pff, go figure".

I'm guessing this wasnt a physics teacher who implied that microwave cooking will make your food bad for you. so let's suppose the wind was blowing from liberal arts department. why are biologists the first ones to get the heat

 

[hypatia]

When did plain 'ol popcorn become bad?

 

[DocToxyn]

Like Monique stated, it is typically specific characteristics of the food that cause them to be considered unhealthy for people in certain circumstances. If you are trying to cut calories and lose weight, that big bowl of pasta is probably not the most "healthy" option for you, but if you are a marathon runner trying to "load some carbos" for an upcoming event, it may be a good choice.

Grapefruit would seem to be a good choice for a healthy food, but if you are taking certain prescription drugs, consuming grapefruit can reduce your drug metabolizing ability and possibly lead to dangerous levels of the drug building up in the body. If you aren't taking the drugs, then grapefruit are most likely beneficial. It's a matter of weighing what potentially bad effects may arise against the potentially beneficial effects gained from consuming whatever food you are considering.

 

[Monique]

Grapefruit would seem to be a good choice for a healthy food, but if you are taking certain prescription drugs, consuming grapefruit can reduce your drug metabolizing ability and possibly lead to dangerous levels of the drug building up in the body. If you aren't taking the drugs, then grapefruit are most likely beneficial.

Yes, grapefruit reduces the levels of cyp3a in the intestine, which is involved in metabolizing drugs, and thus increases plasma concentrations of the drug. I've seen that people with asthma are aware of the fact that it interacts with their medication (Theophylline).

 

[Pengwuino]

I'm guessing this wasnt a physics teacher who implied that microwave cooking will make your food bad for you. so let's suppose the wind was blowing from liberal arts department. why are biologists the first ones to get the heat

*sigh* it was on tv...

As far as whoever mentioned pasta. What if your just a normal person wanting to eat dinner or lunch and you work some normal office job (as in you arent running a marathon that day lol and don't need to lose weight).

 

[Moonbear]

*sigh* it was on tv...

As far as whoever mentioned pasta. What if your just a normal person wanting to eat dinner or lunch and you work some normal office job (as in you arent running a marathon that day lol and don't need to lose weight).

There's nothing wrong with eating pasta. As with any food, it's when you eat too much of it, or you don't get a balanced diet that you run into problems, unless of course you have some metabolic disorder or allergy that prevents you from eating certain foods. If pasta is the only food you eat, you might start running into problems, but if you have pasta today, and a vegetarian dish tomorrow, and a little meat with dinner the next day, there's nothing wrong with any of those foods.

Where problems also arise in the media reporting about findings regarding certain foods and health is that they leave you thinking something is bad for the general population when it's really only bad for people with a susceptibility to a certain health problem, or some other pre-existing condition. For example, if you have certain forms of hypertension (high blood pressure), you should watch your sodium intake because it can worsen the condition, but somehow that got blown out of proportion for years where everyone tried to avoid salt thinking it would cause high blood pressure. The same issue with sugar and diabetes. Diabetics need to very carefully monitor their sugar intake, but if you do not have diabetes, you can eat sugar and your body will handle it just fine. Not that you should take that to an extreme level, because then you run into problems with obesity and obesity-related illnesses, but in an average, healthy person, adding a spoon of sugar to your cereal isn't going to cause any problems.

 

[Phobos]

To echo Moonbear...
The key to the health effects of anything is the dose you get (in this case, the amount you ingest/digest). 1 egg for breakfast can be very healthy. But 12 eggs for breakfast would be unhealthy.
Some elements are considered necessary nutrients at low doses (iron, sodium, etc.) but are toxic at high doses.

 

[Kerrie]

When did plain 'ol popcorn become bad?

i had read it wasn't so good for your teeth. i think a lot of the foods you ingest will affect you according to the health you are in and born with. those who are susceptible to high blood pressure should watch their sodium intake...those who have a family history of diabetes should watch their processed sugar intake, etc. i tend to eat pretty healthy and make a lot of my meals from scratch, with an occasional trip thru the drive up window when i am pressed for time. i find that when i do this, i feel like crap later and crave my more nutritious food.

 

[Moonbear]

i had read it wasn't so good for your teeth.

I've never heard that. It always seems to prompt me to floss.

 

[Monique]

People eat their popcorn at the movie theater loaded with sugar and salt.. I think that is the part that's bad for you.

 

[Moonbear]

People eat their popcorn at the movie theater loaded with sugar and salt.. I think that is the part that's bad for you.

Oh, if that's what everyone means, yeah, the stuff you put on popcorn isn't the best stuff to eat a lot of, but plain popcorn is supposed to be a healthy snack as far as I know.

 

[hypatia]

I don't eat popcorn at the show, so I am all set..lol I am more of a raisinette gal @ the movies. And as we all know raisins and chocolate are good food!