Is starch healthy?

[Bob]

Corn, rice, potatoes.  Starch.

We're not supposed to eat carbs.  What about about starch?

[j_menz]

Starch is a carb.

If we avoided all the things we weren't supposed to eat, we'd starve. And life would be rather dull.

[Bob]

But it's a complex carb, isn't it?

[j_menz]

Indeed it is.

[iansinclair]

Starch is a carb.

If we avoided all the things we weren't supposed to eat, we'd starve. And life would be rather dull.

Furthermore, it can be statistically proven that everyone who has eaten a starch has died within 150 years of doing so.  Therefore...

[thalbergmad]

My granddad used to stiffen his collars with starch and it never did him any harm.

Thal

[oxy60]

The question as stated is impossible to answer. Is there such a thing as unhealthy starch? What exactly do you want to know? Have you not heard of the food pyramid? 

[Bob]

Sugar is bad.

Carbs turns turn into sugar, so carbs are bad.

Starch is a complex carb and eventually turns into sugar.  It just takes longer.  So is it bad?


And I saw "some guy" on a TED talk saying how miraculous starch is.  If everyone only ate starch all their health issues would go away.

[ale_ius]

Bob yes. Ted no.

-Alee Marie.

[oxy60]

Sugar is bad.

Carbs turns turn into sugar, so carbs are bad.

Starch is a complex carb and eventually turns into sugar.  It just takes longer.  So is it bad?


And I saw "some guy" on a TED talk saying how miraculous starch is.  If everyone only ate starch all their health issues would go away.

My issue is not with starch or sugar but your use of English.

Certain adjectives are meant to describe states of being. Other adjectives are meant to modify inanimate objects. I live in a blue house. I have a healthy dog.

People from all over the world read this forum. I think we have (especially college grads and educators) an obligation to present our language correctly.

[Bob]

Explain it to me.  The "starch is bad" sentence?  Bad is bad?

[oxy60]

The correct question should read, is eating starch bad for your health? Or, is starch a healthy ingredient in your diet? Starch itself doesn't change, one day bad one day good.

If you form the question correctly then we can discuss possible answers.

I personally like my mashed potatoes, especially with an ear of corn on a plate with fried chicken. Just not three times a day or all week long.

The answer is in sensible eating and eating something different every day.

[Bob]

I think it's implied.  Like imperative you.

[Bob]

Sugar be bad.

There.  Corrected.  For the non-English speakers.

English is a complex and confusing language.  Easy for even native speakers to get confused once in a while. 

I was being informal above, using 'sugar is bad.'  Sugar be bad is more grammatically correct and formal.  Sometimes you hear this formal nature in urban areas or in the southern portion of the United States.  Children also have a natural grasp of it, but it gets lost as they grow up and get corrupted in the word.  The short reasoning for the use of be vs. is -- Bees buzz.  Bees tend honey which is sugar.  Therefore, be.  It's hard to argue with logic like that.  If it doesn't make sense, don't worry.  Just stick with is.  It's idiomatic.  Hope that helps.

I won't even go into why it's bad instead of well.  Sugar is inherently evil in this sentence, actually representing, incarnating evilnessness.

[oxy60]

Sugar be bad.

There.  Corrected.  For the non-English speakers.

English is a complex and confusing language.  Easy for even native speakers to get confused once in a while. 

I was being informal above, using 'sugar is bad.'  Sugar be bad is more grammatically correct and formal.  Sometimes you hear this formal nature in urban areas or in the southern portion of the United States.  Children also have a natural grasp of it, but it gets lost as they grow up and get corrupted in the word.  The short reasoning for the use of be vs. is -- Bees buzz.  Bees tend honey which is sugar.  Therefore, be.  It's hard to argue with logic like that.  If it doesn't make sense, don't worry.  Just stick with is.  It's idiomatic.  Hope that helps.

I won't even go into why it's bad instead of well.  Sugar is inherently evil in this sentence, actually representing, incarnating evilnessness.

Don't dig yourself a hole. Those idiomatic expressions can hinder your future advancement. "Waffle House English"  is not generally understood. Two different friends of mine couldn't pass the bar because their English wasn't good enough. And they were educated in the best schools. My English is not that red hot either. I ran into a stone wall when I first started to learn French. I couldn't conjugate English correctly so I couldn't understand what the equivalent was in French.