1119 Natural Foods

The word “natural” is both mystical and oppositional: that natural foods are better, and that some foods aren’t natural, both of which are categorically false. Contrary to “organic food” which has a legal definition, people can imagine natural food any way they want, though unprocessed, another ambiguous word, is assumed. The simple fact is all food is broken down into sugars, proteins & fats: it’s the sugars, most deriving from carbohydrates, that are the problem, natural or not. Interestingly, table sugar, which is on the natural/unnatural border, is better for you than the sugar in fruit. In fact, squeezed fruit juice is so bad that doctors vehemently recommend not giving it to children, and adults should stay away too. Eating raw fruit, especially berries, is okay in moderation, and even an occasional apple: both of which sound incredibly natural, but natural milk products cause gas & discomfort in a large portion of the population, as does the gluten in wheat. No one would consider a Pop Tart to be natural but it’s not really unhealthy, not like high fructose corn syrup which is natural. And natural has nothing to do with the real problem, which is obesity.