Too Afraid To Eat

Nutrition
1

This may sound silly to you, but lately I have found that quite often I’m actually too afraid to eat anything. I try to stay informed as much as possible and read up on all the nutritional information I can get my hands on. Lately it just seems that everything is bad for you some way and given some medical conditions I don’t just want to stay as big as possible but also as healthy as possible.

Tuna - lining of cans contains BPA, etc

Chicken - apparently some sort of breeding ground for a new super bacteria, also hormones, crappy feed, etc

Beef - hormones, crappy feed (corn-fed), etc

Veggies - pesticides, poor nutritional value due to degenerated soil, etc

Obvious answer would be an all organic diet, which I have tried to do but honestly beef/chicken @ over $15 a pound is just not doable for me right now. Paying $4 for an ounce of blueberries, same story.

So quite often lately whenever trying to plan meals, all the thoughts go through my head and more often than not I just say “fuck it” and skip a meal. What is a concerned T-man supposed to do?

2

I don’t fully believe half the stuff they say about food.

It’s one of things where they say there’s some chemical X in Food Y and it will give you cancer.
True…but they don’t tell you that you’d need to eat 3lbs of that additive in pure form for 2 years to get cancer from it.

I read somewhere that that’s the thing with pesticides…they ARE on the fruits and vegetables we eat, but in harmless amounts to humans, and that’s even if that certain pesticide is harmful to humans at all.

And the soil thing…I dunno but sounds like BS. If the soil was poor the plant likely wouldn’t even grow.

3

T-man up?

4

[quote]pradaboy wrote:
This may sound silly to you, but lately I have found that quite often I’m actually too afraid to eat anything. I try to stay informed as much as possible and read up on all the nutritional information I can get my hands on. Lately it just seems that everything is bad for you some way and given some medical conditions I don’t just want to stay as big as possible but also as healthy as possible.

Tuna - lining of cans contains BPA, etc

Chicken - apparently some sort of breeding ground for a new super bacteria, also hormones, crappy feed, etc

Beef - hormones, crappy feed (corn-fed), etc

Veggies - pesticides, poor nutritional value due to degenerated soil, etc

Obvious answer would be an all organic diet, which I have tried to do but honestly beef/chicken @ over $15 a pound is just not doable for me right now. Paying $4 for an ounce of blueberries, same story.

So quite often lately whenever trying to plan meals, all the thoughts go through my head and more often than not I just say “fuck it” and skip a meal. What is a concerned T-man supposed to do?[/quote]

Realize that the odds of you getting any complications from such food are 1 in a million. Even less if you properly wash and prep food (wash the veggies, cook meat well, store in a fridge etc)

Then understand that, at any given moment you could die for a multitude of reasons ranging from a drunk driver to a meteor.

Then sit down, grill a steak to your liking, season your steak with some chipotle peppers, have a big delicious salad on the side and enjoy the moment.

Cheers

5

Can of tuna > Big Mac
pesticide laden apple > taco bell burrito

don’t sweat it man. Tons of people “live” off shit food, you will be fine sticking with conventional chicken/beef/produce for now.

You can worry about organic later in life when you have the means to afford it

6

I feel the same, but it’s like Nards said. I wouldn’t worry about it.

7

Don’t subsist on a single food, don’t eat complete shit food, and stop worrying so much.

I can tell you for a damn fact that this “skipping a meal” nonsense is NOT a manly thing to do.

8

Take a deep breath…

And realize you most likely just breathed in carcinogens.

Now realize that what will protect you against those carcinogens are found in food.

Also, I can just mention “Hormesis” and use it as validation for eating more food.

9

OP, you’ve gotten sound, sensible, useful advice so far. All I can add is…

Seriously. You’re acting crazy.

10

How about you stop over analyzing everything?

11

I tried to post, and apologize if this comes out double:

For most of human existence, up until even thirty years ago, most people’s #1 expenditure of time/energy/capitol was on getting food.

Then all the sudden, cheap, shitty, food showed up in the industrialized world, and everyone changed their spending habits accordingly, and now feel like they’re being ripped off if they have to spend money on good food.

Good food, from clean sources costs money. You just have to re-prioritize, and then lay down the cash for good food.

Most (American) people spend more on transportation and entertainment than on food these days. That’s a fact. We expect food to be cheap, and be a minor part of our budgets. If you don’t adjust that expectation, then you will either live in fear of crappy food and its side-effects, or you will just consume that crappy food, and get over worrying about the side-effects.

Grass-fed beef costs money. Cage-free chickens cost money. I think it’s worth it. Most Americans would rather have extra cash to fill-up their truck, take a trip, or buy a new spring wardrobe.

12

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
OP, you’ve gotten sound, sensible, useful advice so far. All I can add is…

Seriously. You’re acting crazy.[/quote]

It’s been a while since you’ve posted that video. At least it’s being put to good use.

13

Anorexia is more dangerous than germs and hormones

14

Are you also going to give up sexual intercourse because of all the potential health risks involved?

15

I’m glad I can always count on T-Nation to snap me out of this silly shit. Thanks guys, just what I needed.

16

Honestly you could find a Csa…community supported agriculture farm and buy a share. You get several months worth of fruits/veggies and even some quality meat for $600-1000 and they even have payment plans.

In most cases it is all organic and they are all small farms with intertwined crops totally devoid of any chemical pesticides and will let you look around and even work there. All great stuff imho. Ive worked at one and my parents own a share. The food is great and very high quality for a very good deal.

17

I can’t help but think a lot of you guys are in denial. Our food, water, and air IS full of un-natural harmful chemicals.
Just because you are not consuming large quantities of these substances at once, does not mean they are not doing damage. Very small amounts of these things in all of our resources add up, and over time are extremely harmful.

Humans have poisoned the earth so extensively that it is nearly impossible to get food that is not tainted in some way.

The only viable decision is to take that money you were going to use on a night out of fun, and buy the best food you can. It fucking sucks, but it beats the alternative.

There are risks we face everyday threatening our well being. I don’t know about you, but I want to at least be in good health and disease free when an airplane falls on me or when I am attacked by a chainsaw wielding madman.

18

[quote]HierAllein wrote:

Humans have poisoned the earth so extensively that it is nearly impossible to get food that is not tainted in some way.
[/quote]

Exactly. The cortisol spikes from your stress about this is going to kill you long before PCBs and xenoestrogens will.