Ketchup

[worth1]

Yeah that person referred to is probably me.
But I know exactly what I'm putting in my food and don't eat fast food.
I think the only reason I'm not dead is all the peppers I eat.
Now I'm considering a chili based ketchup with no tomatoes at all.
It should be interesting.

[karstopography]

https://www.history.com/news/ketchup-su ... nt-history
Ketchup wasn’t always tomato based.
https://www.britishfoodinamerica.com/Ou ... 3j0zC1MFvI
An eighteenth century recipe.

[worth1]

https://www.history.com/news/ketchup-su ... nt-history
Ketchup wasn’t always tomato based.
https://www.britishfoodinamerica.com/Ou ... 3j0zC1MFvI
An eighteenth century recipe.

That's why it says Tomato Ketchup.
Worcestershire sauce is about as close to original ketchup there is.
Without reading the link.

[karstopography]

Market Pantry ketchup is almost tasteless, absolutely the most bland ketchup I’ve ever tried.

Lee and Perrins Worcestershire does have a significant amount of anchovies in it and more than French’s Worcestershire sauce.

I wonder if any commercial ketchups out there retain anchovies as part of the recipe?

I still like ketchup on french fries. I might put a little ketchup in a red sauce for raw oysters, boiled shrimp and the like. Heinz chili sauce, lots of fresh horseradish, a dash of ketchup, a glug of L&P Worcestershire sauce, a few tumps of tabasco sauce, fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Did we ever decide on the healthiest and tastiest ketchup? Or did the quest for the healthiest sacrifice necessarily on flavor?

[Sue_CT]

Not JUST you, Worth. I believe some people earlier mentioned hotdogs and hamburgers and fries. Also others post photos of what they are making. Usually the best looking food is not what would probably be the healtiest.

[worth1]

I don't think considering the vast amount of different opinions on what is healthy and what isn't there will ever be a true decision on what is healthy.
Too many people out there on the money grab train telling us what is healthy.
At 64 I don't take any prescription medicine and refuse to.
I might die tomorrow but I seriously don't give a hoot.
I've managed somehow to dodge all the BS medications they suggest and continue to live and feel better.
Watching my dear neighbor lady slowly sink into a decrepit blob of human life with no future to ever get better really opened my eyes as to what the quality of life really is.
Watching my wife slowly get eaten away by cancer for ten miserable years literally drove the final nail in the coffin.
As it is no matter what a person believes in God or not we all die.
I prefer to do it enjoying the life I have the best I can with great flavors in food.

[Sue_CT]

A choice every one of us gets to make. We get so caught up in what we are told we sometimes don't see the forrest for the trees. Not ALL sugar or fat or salt needs to be eliminated. They are all actually things your body needs to function. But we tend to go overboard on them in this country, hence the advice to avoid those things.

[zeuspaul]

The doc says cut back on sugar and salt among other things. All the little things add up. I don't think the small amount of ketchup we use is a major concern but why add more salt and sugar to a diet which is probably already high in salt and sugar? I also believe reducing the amount of Round Up we consume is a good idea. I used to like Trader Joe's unsalted pretzels which are no more. Unsalted low sodium prepared food is not that easy to find. Likewise sugar is something they like to add to a lot of things. I guess they think they will get more sales. I don't think their intent is to make a healthier food. Some sugars are healthier than others. Low sodium low sugar ketchup is readily available so why not choose the healthier alternative? No additional effort is required. Or making your own from organic tomato puree and or paste is very easy and takes little time. Maybe ten minutes to open a couple of cans and add some vinegar and spices. Then maybe an hour simmering while you do something else. In a short time you could make enough to freeze some and have it available for a long time. It just takes a little effort to get a blend of spices to your liking. It seems like a no brainer to me.

Making your own from home grown tomatoes is a different story. That requires a lot more time and effort.

[karstopography]

I knew a guy that eliminated salt, sodium, per physician recommendation, in his diet so well that he got a goiter. Evidently, the only iodine he consumed was in the form of iodized salt and once that was eliminated from the diet his thyroid gland didn’t have sufficient iodine.

Saturated Fat like in butter or animals was the enemy to end all enemies until it wasn’t. There’s definitely a herd mentality that can take over medicine and medical recommendations. One day, such and such food is wonderful and the next it is the devil.

[Lemonboy]

Only fully trust a doctor with a lifetime's experience.

The search for healthy food is like the quest for safer sports. If there's no risk it's not a sport, and no food evolves to be healthy, just to taste good. Primitive humans didn't eat berries because of antioxidants after all. They ate them because they tasted better in pancakes than beetles or grasshoppers did.

[zeuspaul]

I think it is hard to go wrong eating natural foods instead of foods with salt and sugar added to make them taste better. Natural foods also contain fats and sugars. We evolved with natural foods.

I live with constant rather severe pain in my feet due to diabetes type 2 and the resultant neuropathy. I don't wish that on anyone. It is most likely due to my past eating habits and having been overweight. I am guessing fats and added sugars had something to do with this. Now I take daily medication prescribed by a cardiologist after a near death experience and 6 stents in my heart.

Like @worth1 I never took any medications when I was in my sixties and rarely went to see a doctor. Now I wish I had been a little more careful about what I ate.

Type 2 diabetes
Symptoms & causes
Diagnosis & treatment

Overview
Type 2 diabetes is an impairment in the way the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as a fuel. This long-term (chronic) condition results in too much sugar circulating in the bloodstream. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous and immune systems.

In type 2 diabetes, there are primarily two interrelated problems at work. Your pancreas does not produce enough insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into your cells — and cells respond poorly to insulin and take in less sugar.

Type 2 diabetes used to be known as adult-onset diabetes, but both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can begin during childhood and adulthood. Type 2 is more common in older adults, but the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.

There's no cure for type 2 diabetes, but losing weight, eating well and exercising can help you manage the disease. If diet and exercise aren't enough to manage your blood sugar, you may also need diabetes medications or insulin therapy.

<snip> bold added

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20351193

[Sue_CT]

I was in no way saying diabetics or anyone else should not eat well. Just mentioning that if the salt and sugar in ketchup is concerning you, hopefully you have looked at the things you eat a lot more of first. It shouldn't be a feel good thing to convince yourself you are eating healthier because you use a healthier ketchup on your hot dog with the carb laden bun. Neuropathy is no joke, neither is diabetes. A lot of damage can be done before someone even realizes they have it. I am sorry you have that and have to deal with that pain.

[worth1]

It's possible we may see a trend in the increase of goiter problems in America.
It seems all the cooking shows I see are using kosher salt on everything.
They have somehow made iodised table salt evil like its some evil chemical that they put in.
My mom had goiter as a young girl because of the lack of iodine before they started putting it in salt.

I was just thinking of this the other day and I see it's popped up here as well.

[zeuspaul]

hopefully you have looked at the things you eat a lot more of first. It shouldn't be a feel good thing to convince yourself you are

I concern myself with everything I eat. And there are many things I would be better off without. But convenience is also an issue. If I eat some high sodium or high salt foods I don't see the justification for also eating more salt/potassium/sugar foods. Adding a little more salt to a high salt food results in a high salt plus a little more.

When my son comes to visit and help me around the garden we serve Stouffer's lasagna. I like the taste and convenience. I don't see a need to get overly concerned with food but take the little fixes when they are easy.

I could look around for a healthier prepared lasagna but I doubt I could find one. It didn't take me long to find a better ketchup and I understand it is a tiny contribution to an overall diet. There is no way we will be making our own lasagna.

stoffers.png

[Sue_CT]

I guess it is possible, Worth, but we eat so many high sodium processed food, if (I have no idea) they use idozed salt, very few of us are in danger.

[worth1]

I knew an Italian guy once that made killer lasagna.
I walked into his place years later and he said where the $%&^ have you been.

[Sue_CT]

Dating myself here, lol, but in the late 1970s I used to get teased because I would order an ice cream float with diet soda. I always fought my weight and I figured, the ice cream is bad enough, I don't have to add 300-400 calories worth of Soda, too, lol. That was back in the days when you could buy "Tab" soda. If you know what that is, you might be as old as I am.

[worth1]

I guess it is possible, Worth, but we eat so many high sodium processed food, if (I have no idea) they use idozed salt, very few of us are in danger.

First they don't use iodised table salt in processed food that i know of.
Next most people don't even know why it's there.
Lastly you would be surprised as to how many areas don't have natural iodine in the water or wherever it comes from.
It was a pretty big problem years ago in some areas.

And extra lastly it was just a wild idea and observation as to when people go to far with fad diets it has some pretty bad effects.
Mostly by people that are ignorant of many things like my brother that passed away.

[Lemonboy]

I'm not saying you shouldn't try to eat healthy. I'm just saying there's no guaranteed way to do it, especially when healthy food isn't the best tasting food or the easiest to obtain. Salmon may seem healthier than fried chicken, but wild caught can have mercury. Farmed has its own issues. Fried chicken, in moderation, isn't likely to be toxic. And guidelines like "reduce your intake of salt and sugar" are probably over generalizations; the kind of advice you give to everyone regardless of how healthy they are.

[Sue_CT]

Wonder why they don't put iodine in coarse kosher salt? We are getting kind of off topic here. I had to look up some of the foods. Potatoes (you need to eat the skin, though), white fish like Cod, Milk, Shrimp, Turkey, Tuna, eggs... I can't I could have guessed most of those. I always think of salt, too. I wonder why they don't put it in any kosher salt?