# "Healthy foods" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 14, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978 "2007-05-14T01:33:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/21 "2007-05-14T14:46:04Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] So fries are not unhealthy food? Fish and chips? Foods that contain nitrites? Great big platters of deep-fried battered everything? Foods with high levels of trans fats or saturated fats? Foods that are nothing but sugar? Foods that give you an entire day’s worth of calories at one meal? [/QUOTE] …balanced. whole. moderation. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/22 "2007-05-14T14:55:55Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] …balanced. whole. moderation. [/QUOTE] Cop-out. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/23 "2007-05-14T14:56:36Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] …balanced. whole. moderation. [/QUOTE] And a balanced healthy diet will consist of a large amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats with junk food, greasy food, and high fat food eaten in moderation. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/24 "2007-05-14T15:10:54Z")
Some foods require more moderation than others. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/25 "2007-05-14T15:16:07Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] The only thing that makes fried potatoes unhealthy is the amount eaten. [/QUOTE] Well, that and the trans-fats. And the white starch that converts to sugar so quickly that it causes a huge spike in blood sugar. Methinks you have a bit to learn about nutrition before you start your next Pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/26 "2007-05-14T15:43:58Z")
Pizzabrat, what do you mean by “whole?” That’s what’s confusing people. The phrase “[Whole foods](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Foods)” means a particular kind of food. So by using that phrase, you seem to be marking some foods out as “healthy” and saying the other kinds are “unhealthy.” But this is in contradiction with the general gist of your post. So we don’t know what you’re trying to say. In a subsequent post, you said its important that foods eaten be “balanced, whole,” and in “moderation.” So you’ve got something specific in mind when you say “whole.” But elsewhere in the thread, you say there’s nothing wrong with french fries. But it would be difficult, near to impossible, to find french fries that count as “whole foods.” So again, we’re not sure what you’re trying to say. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/27 "2007-05-14T15:50:34Z")
**pizzabrat** , I think I understand where you’re coming from. I just spent a weekend at my mother-in-law’s, who has been following some heath food regime or other for as long as I’ve known her. For awhile, it was veganism, then Atkins, now she seems to be transitioning from Atkins to a no sugar, no wheat thing. Her fridge is full of low-carb, reduced-fat, sugar substitute stuff. And it tastes like crap. I eat a fairly healthy diet—mostly vegetarian, lots of whole-grains, mostly home-cooked foods. But damned if I’m going to give up real butter on my toast and real sugar in my desserts. Life is too short for Country Crock and Nutrasweet. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/28 "2007-05-14T16:04:06Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] …balanced. whole. moderation. [/QUOTE] …not. make. sense. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/29 "2007-05-14T17:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] This coming from the author of the “[death spike industry](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258449)” thread? [/QUOTE] My sentiments exactly. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/30 "2007-05-14T17:17:51Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] …not. make. sense. [/QUOTE] …too. fucking. funny. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/31 "2007-05-14T17:32:47Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] …balanced. whole. moderation. [/QUOTE] Oops. wrong forum. Edited out. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/32 "2007-05-14T18:25:44Z")
[QUOTE=Kneepants Erasmus, the Humanist] I think I might get what the OP is saying. Some people seem to think that to eat healthy means to drink only skim milk…and low/non fat everything else. I am very much in the “all things in moderation” camp myself. It is ridiculous to think that you can cut out all the foods you like and be satisfied and/or happy. Low fat cheese is the work of Satan. **Pizzabrat** , help me out. Is this approximately what you mean? [/QUOTE] Jesus, **Kneepants** , why don’t you pipe down for a minute and let someone else post, huh? I mean, 200 posts in 4 years . . . . 😉 > [@pizzabrat](#): > > When someone talks about healthy and unhealthy foods it sounds like someone talking about humors and bloodletting. Aw, bullshit. [Here](http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/moon-pie-chocolate-moon-pie-2-ounce-25687.htm) are the ingredients of a Moon Pie: Enriched Wheat Flour, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Vegetable Shortening, Soy Flour, Dutched Cocoa, Cocoa, Gelatin, Baking Soda, Lecithin, Salt, Artificial Flavoring, Sodium Sulfite. The shortening is partially hydrogenated; the cocoa is processed with alkali. This is not a healthy food in any quantity. If you nibble on the left most edge allowing only the smallest smidgen to pass your lips and enter your stomach – it still is not a healthy food. It doesn’t seem to me that the POV that one should eat a healthy diet and also practice moderation is in any way inconsistent with recognizing that some foods are healthy (broccoli) and some food are not (Twinkies). ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/33 "2007-05-14T18:40:49Z")
Jeeze, so I won’t make any food pittings anymore… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/34 "2007-05-14T18:43:58Z")
He’s right about the “whole foods” thing. That’s why I don’t own any knives. It’s only whole foods for this health nut! Now if y’all will excuse me, I’m going to go try to figure out how to eat a cantalope. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/35 "2007-05-14T18:53:40Z")
[QUOTE=burundi] But damned if I’m going to give up real butter on my toast and real sugar in my desserts. Life is too short for Country Crock and Nutrasweet. [/QUOTE] AMEN! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/36 "2007-05-14T19:06:38Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] [Here](http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/moon-pie-chocolate-moon-pie-2-ounce-25687.htm) are the ingredients of a Moon Pie: Enriched Wheat Flour, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Vegetable Shortening, Soy Flour, Dutched Cocoa, Cocoa, Gelatin, Baking Soda, Lecithin, Salt, Artificial Flavoring, Sodium Sulfite. The shortening is partially hydrogenated; the cocoa is processed with alkali. This is not a healthy food in any quantity. If you nibble on the left most edge allowing only the smallest smidgen to pass your lips and enter your stomach – it still is not a healthy food. It doesn’t seem to me that the POV that one should eat a healthy diet and also practice moderation is in any way inconsistent with recognizing that some foods are healthy (broccoli) and some food are not (Twinkies). [/QUOTE] Hey, its ENRICHED wheat flour. I like “water, high fructose corn syrup, carmel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, and caffeine.” I suppose the water is good for you, though my doctor tells me the caffeine cancels out any hydration. The only nutritional value this has is calories. If you are starving after crash landing in the moutains, it might provide enough energy to survive a little longer. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/37 "2007-05-14T19:08:16Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Well, that and the trans-fats. And the white starch that converts to sugar so quickly that it causes a huge spike in blood sugar. Methinks you have a bit to learn about nutrition before you start your next Pit thread. [/QUOTE] I don’t know… it seems to me that, strictly speaking, he/she is correct. There’s nothing wrong with fried potatoes, but if you make a habit of eating any more than say---- 4 or 5 oz. a week (month? year?) than you might be throwing off the balance of nutrients in your diet. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/38 "2007-05-14T19:19:23Z")
[QUOTE=I Love Me, Vol. I] I don’t know… it seems to me that, strictly speaking, he/she is correct. There’s nothing wrong with fried potatoes, but if you make a habit of eating any more than say---- 4 or 5 oz. a week (month? year?) than you might be throwing off the balance of nutrients in your diet. [/QUOTE] I get that, and in a way I agree with the OP – there are no “good” and “bad” foods. It’s about making better choices most of the time. I’ve been trying to eat healthy pretty much all of the time, but every once in a blue moon you’ll see me in a McDonalds. I just don’t make it a habit. That being said, not all foods are created equal. As carbs go, brown rice is a far better choice than french fries. The differences are measurable. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/39 "2007-05-14T19:19:37Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Now if y’all will excuse me, I’m going to go try to figure out how to eat a cantalope. [/QUOTE] Just start gnawing on it. Though let me be the first to advise you: Do not attempt this on a bison. You have been warned. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978/40 "2007-05-14T19:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=burundi] **pizzabrat** , I think I understand where you’re coming from. I just spent a weekend at my mother-in-law’s, who has been following some heath food regime or other for as long as I’ve known her. For awhile, it was veganism, then Atkins, now she seems to be transitioning from Atkins to a no sugar, no wheat thing. Her fridge is full of low-carb, reduced-fat, sugar substitute stuff. And it tastes like crap. [/QUOTE] And it probably _is_ crap. Better to eat unprocessed so-called “unhealthy” foods (butter for example )than eat the overly-processed, chemical-laden, fad-of-the-month “food”. [QUOTE=burundi] I eat a fairly healthy diet—mostly vegetarian, lots of whole-grains, mostly home-cooked foods. But damned if I’m going to give up real butter on my toast and real sugar in my desserts. Life is too short for Country Crock and Nutrasweet. [/QUOTE] And butter and real sugar–in moderation-- are certainly (IMO) better for you than laboratory concoctions like Country Crock and Nutrasweet. If I want to eat something lighter and healthier than toast with butter I just eat plain toast. I don’t add some overly-hyped, ersatz product that invariably comes in some kind of green packaging (who started all that anyway-- the green packaging thing? The food industry has people so hypnotized that they believe as long as the processed glop they’re shoving down their pie-hole comes with a green label than it must be good for them. Yikes! I react in the exact opposite way). If I want a beverage or what-have-you that is lower calorie then the drinks with tons of sugar in them I just drink a non-sugared drink like water or tea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healthy-foods/403978.md?page=3)