Food Scares

Was shocked to see on the Count's Diet thread that my Muller Lite is toxic due to the amino acids in the aspartame that sweeten it...

Have also read recently that Coconut Oil is good for you although it's classed as saturated fat...

Many of these claims are backed up with something along the lines of...

"(Evil) Dick Cheney want's you to think that Nutrasweet is OK 'cos he's on the board" or "the large corporations who produce artificial polyunsaturated cooking oils are trying to cover up how bad they are for you".

This kind of political / large corporation axe grinding tends to put me off...

Surely the BMA or the Government would intervene if there was a real danger?

Where can I go for genuine impartial advice?

Comments

  • You can't, Neil. Almost everyone has a political or commercial axe to grind.

    For most of us, the choice lies between studying the scientific basis of nutrition in depth (and even then you have to be careful that your sources don't have an interest in selectively quoting research that "proves" a particular point) or giving the lot of 'em a two-finger salute and eating what you like.

    (Aspartame is only toxic if you've got problems metabolising phenylalanine, which you'd know about by now if you had, and coconut oil should only be applied externally.)
  • Ah ha...

    So I have an answer if I want imparttial adivce I go to V-Rap!

    A lot of the Count's merry band will be pleased to to hear they're OK on the Muller Lite front!

    Suspected that it was likely that Coconut Oil was similar in composition to Palm Oil (which is widely recognised to be a baddy) although several websites (strangely selling Coconut Oil) suggest that it is easily metabolised and not converted to fat in the body. They usually quote that Polynesians eat plenty of it without becoming obese but don't refer to other aspects of Polynesian Diet!

    Thanks, V-rap
  • That does it Im not going to eat ever again,well not till lunch anyway.
  • JjJj ✭✭✭
    What about blue Smarties?
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Coconut oil is good for the skin though!
  • Errr not sure.

    Why don't you start a website Jj and call it "BlueSmartiesMakeYouSterile.org" and quote your source as some bloke you met in Doggett's...

    (Oh yes and don't forget that those Evil Swiss at Nestle make Smarties and they sell Baby Milk unethically and Nestle own L'Oréal who rub sun cream in baby rabbit's eyes...)
  • I used coconut oil as a sun tan lotion in my younger days,it would fry you quite nicely in just afew hours.
  • Polynesians don't get obese?

    ROFLMAO!
  • My own thoughts are to try to stay away from processed food as much as possible.

    One story I heard about aspartame - there's been 100 research studies into its properties / effects. 99 of which sponsored/financed commercially, all whose results showed it to be fine; 1 financed independently showed the opposite results..!

    Also, there was an email going round a few years ago about the main ingredient in most shampoos has a link to cancer.

    The food labelling etc does need to be tightened up. It's a mixture of industry bamboozling and customer ignorance that continues on!
  • Most of the great British population can't interpret even the basic nutritional information that comes on food labels now :o( It's not because the labelling is inadequate. It's because learning about nutrition is just not a priority for most people.

  • (ROFLMAO

    Rolls on Floor Laughing... MAO?)

    Mushroom,

    Do you think that if they believed it to be carcingenic and operating in the increasingly litigious world of today, manufacturers would push a product like nutrasweet?

    I'm personally scepical that they would. I just wish there was a true single source of impartial nutritional advice...

    (Other than v-rap who I trust)
  • Not only is the info dodgy but a lot of people don't understand what risk is anyway and react inappropriately.

    How many smokers did we see stop eating beef when the BSE crisis erupted? Not only is eating steak far more pleasurable than smoking (in my humble opinion!) you are much less likely to die from it.

    Salmonella in eggs, pesticides in carrots... dont get me started.

    So is organic food really better? There is a strong case to say that in fact organic food is actually more toxic than 'conventionally' farmed.

  • "Do you think that if they believed it to be carcingenic and operating in the increasingly litigious world of today, manufacturers would push a product like"......

    try adding marlboro lights to that sentence.

    they wouldn't would they?

    i also don't really go for the major corporate bashing that goes on so much these days. but i'd be careful about trusting them too far! you have to make your own judgements i guess.
  • MAO = my ass off

    Neil
    The decision manufacturers have to make is whether they can make profits from a product even if it is carcinogenic. The mere fact of litigation wont stop them.
    There was the famous case of the car company which new it would catch fire in certain circumstances.
    They compared the cost of making the car safer with what it would cost the company when people were killed as a result of the defect. They decided against the safety option.

    Your scepticism is misplaced.
  • Lindihopper
    why do you say "There is a strong case to say that in fact organic food is actually more toxic than 'conventionally' farmed." ?

  • I hear what you're saying M. but everyone knows that Smoking causes cancer and even the likes of Philip Morris, BAT etc. know that.

    Was that the Ford Explorer, Brio? Recall that one. Plastic petrol tank?

    I'd like to think that food is treated differently, but maybe my belief in man is misplaced. If it was discovered that P&G, Unilever or any other major food had knowingly encouraged consumers to ingest a toxin there would (rightly) be the mother of all public outrage and I doubt they'd survive as Ford seem to have managed.
  • I think it was the Pinto, 1970's ?

    One thing is that belief in man is not the same as belief in corporations.
    It is apparent that it is difficult to get a definitive objective study on many issues. It tends to be convenient to believe the research that is line with our own self interest.

    I dont know if food is treated differently. I would imagine that the influence on govt of the food manufacturers will be significant, and their interest is not primarily safety
  • To pick up on what Brio asked, a lot of people seem to think there is something inherently wrong with organic food. Why? It may not taste better to everybody (though I think it does) but surely it is obvious that if it doesn't contain residues from pesticides and insecticides it has got to be healthier? If its the cost, you pay for quality.....explain yourself Lindihopper!!!
  • Neil - I guess I meant that Philip Morris etc knew that smoking caused cancer a bit before the rest of the population did. Don't expect they rushed to publicise it out of concern for our health though though.
  • Fair point...

    In any event I shall from now on run any queries past V-rap.

    I feel safe to use Nutrasweet again.
  • I don't. But yet I still use it...

    No offense to V-Rap (who I respect greatly), but doctors tend to want scientific studies before believing anything (with good reason). The trouble is that most things proven to be good/bad for you were knwon to be so by "alternative" peeps for ages beforehand.

    I think that Nutrasweet (which is banned in Canada & Oz, I believe) is effectively a slow acting poison. The truth will come out eventually...
  • Ok here is the basis of the argument on organic/non-organic...

    Non organic food is very likely to contain residues of various chemicals used in it's production which may be varyingly bad for human consumption - I certainly don't argue with that fact.

    Organic food has not been treated with these chemicals so may have itself become naturally degraded between harvest and consumption, producing it's own toxins which could again bad for human health.


    I'm a strong believer that home grown organic food is the best you can get - when picked and eaten asap. But you have to remember that organic food bought from a supermarket has been stored and allowed to degrade before you consume it.
  • and organic food goes off quicker
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