<p>Doctors and nutritionists will tell you that Fat intake is bad and leads to conditions like Heart Attack, Stroke as well as Cancer. But what I don’t get is those who eat natural or organic foods, eat drastically more fat when compared to the general population but don’t experience the same disease. Take a walk through the organic section of your supermarket, the fat content is incredibly high and not just unsaturated, the saturated also.</p>
<p>Why is this?</p>
<p>Where are you getting your stats from when you say that people who are eating those high fat foods don’t experience the same disease? How do you know the proportions of the various ‘natural’, ‘organic’, or otherwise the individuals eat? Also, there can be too much placed on those terms and just because an item has that label doesn’t make it healthy to eat. Also, you have to look at more than fats and include foods made with whole grains vs processed white flour.</p>
<p>The term ‘organic food’ refers to food that has been produced with no (or as little as possible) use of non-organic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides or genetic modification. This has very little to do with the fat content.</p>
<p>You’ll find that many processed foods use refined wheat and grains in its ingredients. These have had much of their fiber and good fat content removed. Sugar (which has no fat content) is added instead. This <em>might</em> explain why organic foods are sometimes higher in fat, but I’m no expert. :)</p>
<p>Fat intake isn’t bad per se, you have to know how your body stores fat. Also remember correlation doesn’t imply causation. If you’re an organic food nut, you might be less prone to disease not because you buy organic groceries, but because you cook for yourself more, eat less processed food, and are more concerned about diet and exercise. </p>
<p>Unfortunate that GMO and growth hormones get such a bad rep – IMO I think they are allies to sustainable cultivation.</p>
<p>There are good fats and bad fats. </p>
<p>Trans fats are horrible. They are not found in nature but in processed foods. Saturated fats are bad and are found in animal products. Unsaturated fats (polyunsat and monosat) are better for you, and found in vegetables, nuts, etc Those who eat a Mediterranean diet can have a diet high in fats–but this includes mostly good fats. The diet is high is fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, olive oil and even red wine. </p>
<p>There are definitely good fats, bad fats as well as good carbs and bad. Good carbs are complex carbs, high in fiber. Bad carbs are refined sugars. </p>
<p>Bottom line, eat more whole foods, less processed foods. </p>
<p>Organic may or may not help. It just means pesticide free. You can have organic junk food–look at all the chip bags that are now organic. Stick to the produce section and eat lots of fresh food, or cook it yourself–none of the heat and eat stuff. Add lean meat, lots of fish, and use olive oil instead of butter. Nuts are a great addition, even though they are high in fat. </p>
<p>Google good fats bad fats. And google Mediterranean diet.</p>
<p>I am really confused about what you’re asking. Are you saying that if you look at a bag of cookies in the natural foods section, it has a higher fat content than a bag of cookies in the regular section? Some of that is just labeling. Maybe it’s considered healthier because it has less ingredients/preservatives/chemicals/additives than the other bag. (Did you know that Oreos are vegan?) I mean, dessert is dessert. Some might be healthier for you than others but ultimately, it’s not usually a healthy food.</p>
<p>I agree with sunnyinflorida, it’s more about eating whole foods. Healthy fats might be more like olive oil, nut butter, or avocado, than whatever is added to your prepackaged food. (Which might be why I’m confused. I’m visualizing rows of oils in the natural foods section).</p>
<p><a href=“Did%20you%20know%20that%20Oreos%20are%20vegan?”>quote=“eireann”</a>
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<p>Really?? I’m vegan and this whole time I had no idea… :o</p>
<p>(Thank you!!)</p>
<p>Hey, cdover, just read the labels. I think most oreos are vegan but since ingredients vary by region, not all. So, just double check.</p>
<p>Cookies are cookies–junk food really. No matter whether you buy them at a health food store or on the healthy aisle. OK, maybe if you make them at home with whole oats and raisins. But a cookie generally is not a healthy food. It may be animal free, but sugar is sugar. </p>
<p>Again, processed foods are not going to be that healthy or good for you. You need grains, not flour. You need fruit, not fruit syrup and fruit sugars, you need the whole fruit. You need nuts, not processed peanut butter. </p>
<p>There are some simple but good books about good eating, and understanding whole foods. They don’t have to be RAW, and they don’t have to be eaten WHOLE. It is about all a piece of fruit has to offer, not just the sugar refined from the fruit. It has to do with all the grain has to offer, not just the flour refined from the grain. </p>
<p>Foods as they are in nature, used in recipes and cooked and eaten, are just going to be better than processing the foods into anything. But if you process, use more of the whole food. Bread is processed, and can be a bad choice. But whole grain breads are more nutritious, made using the whole grain and not just flour from the endosperm. Wheat is made of the endosperm, the wheat germ and the wheat bran. Processing wheat and using only the endosperm makes it much less nutritious. Whole grain flour and breads with parts of the actual grain are using the whole grain, and are far more nutritious and are good carbs. Whole grain chips–thats just junk food. Sorry. I don’t care how organic it is. If it is processed into chips, it is not going to be nutritious.</p>
<p>There are lots of soy chips. Now soy is a healthy whole food, and edamame is a great food. But soy flour made into chips on the “organic” aisle, is just another junk food–full of processed ingredients. </p>
<p>Refined sugar, refined flour–they have little nutritional value. They are not whole foods. The foods they come from–fruit and wheat–they are much more nutritious. So you can eat fruit and grains in a way that is much better than using sugar and flour. Sugar and flour can be VEGAN, but that does not make it healthy. </p>
<p>Anything in moderation is OK, but as a society we are eating less whole foods and more processed foods, and looking for reasons, sometimes excuses, as to why they may be “healthy.” Organic means pesticide free. Vegan means made with NO ANIMAL PROCUCTS (no gelatin, nothing). But organic potato chips are still potato chips. Vegan Oreos are still Oreos. We need to get back to the basic food groups, and eat food made from fresh and/or whole ingredients and less food eaten from a bag or a box.</p>
<p>Does that help?</p>
<p>sunnyinflorida, are you addressing that at me? Sorry if I was misleading. I totally agree with you. I was making the point about Oreos being vegan because being vegan is something that’s often considered healthy, natural foods section, but clearly Oreos aren’t considered a health food. </p>
<p>I’m confused about the original question, because I don’t think foods in the natural foods section are fattier than in the rest of the store. That doesn’t by default make them healthy, and whole foods are better, obviously, I just don’t really understand their observation. Or at least, it doesn’t fit with my experience.</p>
<p>No, not at you!!! Just in general. There are young Vegans out there (my D’s have a few friends) that are eating poorly, all in the name of being a Vegan. And as they are eating their Oreos by the bag…</p>
<p>And my grocery store has this huge “organic” and “natural” section filled with food that is not that healthy. Most folks I know who are eating healthy get most of their foods from the produce section or from green markets, not from that aisle is the store labeled “organic.”</p>
<p>And those sticking to a Mediterranean diet can get alot of fats and carbs, actually. But they are good fats and good carbs. And with a lower risk of heart attach and stroke.</p>
<p>Alright, cool, just wanted to make sure that I was being clear. :)</p>
<p>I think having that natural section is great, but you can’t assume you’re healthy because everything you eat comes from there, basically.</p>
<p>I know the definition of what is organic, natural, processed and all the rest. I am not looking for you to define these for me, as if I didn’t know. </p>
<p>My question is why can a person who eats a natural or organic diet, with no regard for the type of fat still live longer then those who do not eat natural/organic foods. Such as a person who eats organic foods can really eat a steak every night and would see no harm. Though a person in the gen pop would be sentenced to heart disease and stroke. </p>
<p>Just take a walk through the super market and compare nutrition tables per product. Products like Milk have 3-4x the fat content, both saturated and unsaturated.</p>
<p>The cookie example is good. If you look at a bad of oreo’s vs a bag of natural oreo alike cookies, the fat, calorie and cholesterol content is drastically higher in the latter. Though I know many nature nuts who eat this stuff and have been for years, their parents have also and they see no negative effects. Cancer, Heart Attack and Stroke is literally non existent,.</p>
<p>If I understand what you’re asking, I don’t actually think that’s true. Steak every night will always increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Milk is milk – I don’t think the fat content can change, unless you’re comparing whole to skim, etc. The difference would only be whether there are artificial growth hormones, whether the milk is sourced from local or factory farms, etc. I’m pretty sure the fat can’t change from one kind of whole milk to another.</p>
<p>Also, just out of curiosity, where are you getting the information about people living longer and being healthier?</p>
<p>Sorry, but those who drink whole or even 2% cows milk along with steak every day are NOT healthier and live longer. </p>
<p>There are always quirks. Sometimes certain families are lucky. They have certain genes that general high HDL’s (good cholesterol) and they GET AWAY with eating poorly.</p>
<p>In general, milk and steak are not taken in in high numbers by folks trying to eat organic, natural and healthy. And whole milk and steak ARE risk factors for heart disease–visit the AHA, or Mayo Clinic web sites. </p>
<p>But getting back to the cookie argument, if cookies are made with olive oil, canola oil, whole grains and whole fruits and nuts, they CAN have loads more fat than Oreos and still be healthier, if they are GOOD FATS and not BAD FATS, and good carbs with fiber and bran, and not bad carbs (refined sugar and flour and generic vegetable oil.)</p>
<p>But animal products do tend t foster heart disease if not eaten in moderation.</p>
<p>
Why so combative for one of your first posts here? How’d you expect people to respond when you make a statement as fact of something that many of us disagree with (that eating organic without regard for the type of fat makes one live longer)?
Where are you getting this from? You’re making an invalid assumption IMO.</p>
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<p>correlation != causation</p>