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I'm a big advocate of doing my own cooking from fresh meat and produce...A "processed food" is essentially one that has been cooked at a factory and stuffed in a bag, box or can. It probably has more salt and sugar in it than it needs because most people think that tastes good (There's a reason two of our four taste buds sense salty & sweet.)...
...and it probably has a certain amount of organic chemicals that increase the shelf life of the food, leading to less wastage-- That's a GOOD thing.
Some of those chemicals can be toxic in absurdly large quantities, but so can water and oxygen be toxic in excessive quantities.
OK OK I'll just concede the argument-- Food additives DO cause health problems...Now the question becomes "How much of a problem is it?"...Answer, Well, given that life expectancy keeps getting longer and longer with fewer premature deaths, it can't be all that great a problem...and it isn't. Any cancer rates found to be increasing can be explained by new tech allowing earlier diagnosis &/or more people living long enough to get cancer because they didn't die of a heart attack at age 50 like we used.
I'm a big advocate of doing my own cooking from fresh meat and produce...A "processed food" is essentially one that has been cooked at a factory and stuffed in a bag, box or can. It probably has more salt and sugar in it than it needs because most people think that tastes good (There's a reason two of our four taste buds sense salty & sweet.)...
...and it probably has a certain amount of organic chemicals that increase the shelf life of the food, leading to less wastage-- That's a GOOD thing.
Some of those chemicals can be toxic in absurdly large quantities, but so can water and oxygen be toxic in excessive quantities.
OK OK I'll just concede the argument-- Food additives DO cause health problems...Now the question becomes "How much of a problem is it?"...Answer, Well, given that life expectancy keeps getting longer and longer with fewer premature deaths, it can't be all that great a problem...and it isn't. Any cancer rates found to be increasing can be explained by new tech allowing earlier diagnosis &/or more people living long enough to get cancer because they didn't die of a heart attack at age 50 like we used.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over his one.
Life expectancy was getting longer until the pandemic, then it got shorter by two years in 2020.
"Compared to 16 peer countries , the U.S. has an almost 5-year lower life expectancy."
"This comes after years of deteriorating health status in the U.S....."
My comment: We can thank all the junk-food addiction, weight issues, and weaker immune systems that result from poor lifestyle choices in general.
I'm a big advocate of doing my own cooking from fresh meat and produce...A "processed food" is essentially one that has been cooked at a factory and stuffed in a bag, box or can. It probably has more salt and sugar in it than it needs because most people think that tastes good (There's a reason two of our four taste buds sense salty & sweet.)...
...and it probably has a certain amount of organic chemicals that increase the shelf life of the food, leading to less wastage-- That's a GOOD thing.
Some of those chemicals can be toxic in absurdly large quantities, but so can water and oxygen be toxic in excessive quantities.
OK OK I'll just concede the argument-- Food additives DO cause health problems...Now the question becomes "How much of a problem is it?"...Answer, Well, given that life expectancy keeps getting longer and longer with fewer premature deaths, it can't be all that great a problem...and it isn't. Any cancer rates found to be increasing can be explained by new tech allowing earlier diagnosis &/or more people living long enough to get cancer because they didn't die of a heart attack at age 50 like we used.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over his one.
Guido and I disagree about EVERYTHING, but I'll back him up on this one (sorta). I doubt we can blame skittles specifically given that titanium dioxide is in TONS of foods and products. If not in skittles, it could in your medicine (tablets, capsules, etc.). Plus, it's natural! (naturally occurring mineral)
So, don't lose sleep over Skittles. Keep news in perspective, consider the big picture, and do what you think is best for your own health given your individual circumstances and concerns.
Lesson learned: don't inject titanium dioxide into your veins, don't take any 500mg titanium dioxide tablets, and don't ingest 3 "share-sized" bags of skittles every day for two years.
But if you really like the yellow skittles, go ahead - have a handful every week, it's fine.
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Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
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Quote:
Some of those chemicals can be toxic in absurdly large quantities, but so can water and oxygen be toxic in excessive quantities.
Just wanted to add that when we get rid of expired OTC meds at work, most of them get bagged up as TOXIC waste and ship out with other hazardous waste like... lithium batteries and household cleaners. All your pain relievers and cough and cold remedies are toxic, in large quantities, much the same way food additives are. Most of that stuff you would need to consume an awful lot of before you would notice any bad affects.
I feel like there are a lot of dangerous additives in the processed and ultra processed foods we buy these days
It's really very simple: You can reduce your worries quite a bit by eating natural whole foods. You know, fresh fruit, fresh or frozen vegetables and so on. Preferably organic.
"Processed and ultra processed foods" are not the healthiest foods in the first place. So it seems silly to worry about certain "questionable additives". When you're eating garbage, you're not supposed to question the additives....
Some say if it comes in a bag or box it's not great. The key with most foods is moderation. And the people that are most idle ie little or no workouts might be affected the most.
I've always felt the preservatives in packaged food the worst because they wind up help 'preserving' the fat cells which might make harder to burn those calories. Also fat cells are where the body winds up storing alot of stuffff.
I think it was the 1970s they had trouble with one of the dyes.
The skittles unlike m&ms probably have less natural stuff.
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