Organic is NOT healthier. Why do we think it is? Cuz we know dick about it! Enough peer reviewed unbiased studies have shown this fact to be true. Risk of bacterial and protozoan or parasitic infection is higher. Ground water has leeched toxins etc. The appeal is that food is cleaner, but all it is is more expensive with different risks. And if you don't think pesticides of some sort are used, then you don't know too many organic farmers who are still in business.

 

I enjoy talking about this. Here is my speech. Click 'back" to spare yourself some knowledge.

 

OTOH, many other comments here ring true. Steroids and antibiotics are not natural ingredients in the human diet. So why do we eat food with these in them? Further, in developing infants and children, effects are magnified [smaller bodies, less effective hepatorenal excretion and metabolism].Legislators want reelection, not food perfection. Of course, neither is cow's milk a natural human food, which given in formula and found in all our supermarkets, is part of most developing human baby, infant, and children's diet etc. This gets no further press. Thankfully, breast feeding human milk to humans is back in vogue.

Conversely, sadly yet humorous in a perverse way, as mentioned above, cows do not naturally eat corn meal or other animals bone meal. Maybe we should feed cows milk to cows! Novel isn't it! And have you seen what they put in dog and cat food? Yep, number 1 ingredient corn meal. Is that the carnivore's natural diet? Let me ask my dog?  Uh, she's says no. And my cat? Love's that "Tuna Flavor", corn meal. Good news, and I like good news,  is that more corn is going into Gasahol, so less into our food as a crap additive. Bad news is in time alcohol will become the new food additive.

 

Most people in the US are nutritionally ignorant. They were more so 30 years ago, and while thankfully less so now, still are on the whole. And those who often  promote nutrition in the media too often understand no biochemistry, physology or anatomy, and speak out before they think. The wrong kind of messenger. Not that much has fundamentally changed in the last 30 years since I minored in this field in college.[Sorry, had to throw that in to give this some credibility] If it had, in 2008, 67% of American humans wouldn't be overweight by BMI, 33% obese by same criteria. Worse, teen obesity is rising at unprecedented rates, now at 15%. That is horrific news. Obese people cost themselves life but also cost us, society as a whole. And a lot!!!. Both in expenses and in  loss of productivity.
 Unemployment and disability rates are 3-4x higher in the obese [vs nonobese], and their health costs up to 7x so. Considering 5% of the nation is unemployed and another 17% on disability, we're talking real dollars here.

 

Common sense has partially been replaced by too much erzatz thought process. Really. What are people telling us. Much is contradictory, anecdotal , and against our spidey common sense, Your mom reallly knew best:

-TAKE HUMAN BITES

-EAT YOUR VEGETABLES

-NO DESSERT BEFORE DINNER

 

Here's a partial list of other nutritional tomfoolery

 

-People eat raw spinach [ in salad], but it is the least healthy [common] raw vegetable to ingest.

 

-People eat tons of processed foods with saturated [poorly metabolizable]or worse, trans unsaturated fatty acids [that can't be broken down. So what? Well, they are stored for a rainy day after GI absorption. Where? In adipose tissue,  especially on hips, bellies, and butts, of course, just where nature thinks a starving person needs them in the core, but where we don't think they look so good.

They are stored in breasts too, which has a marginal benefit temporary benefit in the evening and early morning until we learn size DD is bad for women's upper backs, and some breast cancers are hormonally sensitive, stored in the same 'more' fat. Moreover, the fundamental problem is we're not starving. So the human physique, our shape, has gradually morphed from biconcave to  biconvex. Just super. And super useful, too. If you like floating on water. Good thing is people have tuned in to this 30 years later. But I say, better now than never. Only now in 2008 is this on the awareness scale and likely to remain so. With 200 Million Americans so afflicted, this is not an insignificant issue. 3 cheers... I now can think of again sitting in the middle seat on the airplane and breathe at the same time.

 

- People don't eat enough fish. Mercury and oil based PCB related accumulation in fish tissue does occur, but more so years ago, before pollution controls and stricter restrictions; and, you'd have to eat fish 5 days a week for years and years to show some effects. Conversely, the benefit of fish oils and lean meats is very real w/r cardiovascular risk, which is the number 1 [>50%] killer in man [no.1-heart attack,no.3 stroke], and is likely to alarm your doctor... but not  necessarily make the evening news as is mercury poisoning.  Fish ain't only for Friday anymore.

 

- People eat way too much. But not of nuts, fruits, vegetables. Experts say pigs are the closest species to us anatomically [and pyhysiologically]. Based on last week's patients, I'd say that was true.

 

- People eat some foods type based on fad alone. Most recent example is Dannon's Activia. It tastes good, is more expensive, but does nothing else. Used to be spinach salad.

 

- People avoid others based on unproven scares. Splenda is an example. Yes. chlorine is unhealthy is more than small amounts, but what do you think table salt contains?

 

- People love diets. So do researchers who have found limited if any long term benefit to the thousands out there, but got paid to do thousands of studies to show what common sense has told us. Too bad the cavemen of Geico aren't real. They could tell us what to eat...its what our bodies were designed for.

50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat.

 

- People don't drink enough water. The human body loses 2 liters of fluid a day. Let's guess how much fluid intake we need to maintain equilibrium? Sadly, in fact, food overconsumption is linked to not satisying thirst with liquid. So we pile on calories when tap water will do. And then , people complain of tap water which is the healthiest of all liquids to drink, at least in the US. But too much of just about every other drink to which crap is added, especially those with fructose corn syrup. Or buy the stuff in bottles at $1000 production cost. Insane. Then some go out drunk and drive, water mixed with alcohol... Beautiful.

 

-People carry water bottles to the gym, drink, but don't wash these bottles out. Mouth bacteria in waterbrash can make people sick when allowed to proliferate in these bottles. But those ladies look great posing in tights water next to the spin bikes, bacteria laden bottles in hand.

 

-People like grilling, frying. Nitrosamines and nitrous free radicals are thereby created in preserved [all], even cured meats, just like those we love grill. These are very powerful promoters of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, in incredibly, sadly even in incredibly small amounts. Nice. And cancer deaths are number 2 [another 30%].

 

-People chow down vitamins, sometimes daily. Unless you have a true persistent metabolic deficiency, you are peeing 99% of that pill into the toilet, and paying for the privelege, in effect creating more Chardonnay for all of us winos, which we don't need more of.  "Vital amines" are needed in microscopic quantities.That's mIcro, not mAcro.

 

 

-Food handling in restaurants in general in far more unsanitary than what it is in your own home. In some institutions, it is downright frightening. What is really done about this? An inspection here and there. Under the table money here and there.  Is it any wonder people get food poisoning? And 95% is just a yucky feeling in the stomach, not the more severe stuff on the evening news.

 

Well, that's food for thought, I hope!