What is “natural”?
Posted on 15 February 2010
What is “natural”?
The reason I began this quest to find the meaning of “natural” is because I found the word running amuck in the food and cosmetics industry and I really wanted to get to the bottom of what can be considered truly “natural” and what couldn’t. After all, I am building a website around it.
So, I looked it up. And here is what I found…
Although, the dictionary definition of natural is quite extensive, for our purposes the Webster’s Dictionary definitions are -
2 a : being in accordance with or determined by nature b : having or constituting a classification based on features existing in nature
6 : of or relating to nature as an object of study and research
7 : having a specified character by nature
10 a : growing without human care; b : existing in or produced by nature c : relating to or being natural food
13 a : closely resembling an original : true to nature b : marked by easy simplicity and freedom from artificiality, affectation, or constraint c : having a form or appearance found in nature
Natural, therefore, of course, does not mean strictly “organic” as there are many inorganic things that are still very natural things.
Nor does it mean “safe, healthy or good for you”, as many natural things are quite good for you and just as many are quite bad.
When I began writing this article, I simply thought of “natural” as in it’s original natural form.
However, most of us think of the words “all natural” along with the words “no chemicals, perservatives, dyes or fragrances”. But, if you think of “all natural” in this way, you might need to again check up on your definitions because MANY chemicals, preservatives, dyes and fragrances are actually quite 100% all natural. Again, some are essential for your body and some are essential to avoid, natural or not.
In fact, five natural chemicals (oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen) help make up 95% of your body. They sound pretty “natural”, to me.
Your body actually really needs some chemicals like iron, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, iodine, and zinc. And some chemicals (like cobalt, copper, sulfur, fluorine, silicon, and tin) , although they may be harmful in high doses, your body does need them in trace amounts. Again, these are all “natural” chemicals found in the periodic table of elements.
Now, let’s also look at preservatives.
People have been “preserving” since ancient times. And, many of them, used chemicals and chemical “processes” to do it. Salt and sugar have been the main and most popular “preservatives” throughout history. Both, again, considered natural. Although, with sugar, you do use it in a “process” so it can technically be called a “processed” food. Does this make it any less natural, when the process is simply heating it up? Again, there is that complicated question. But, I think, I am closer to an answer than I was yesterday.
Take, for example, lye. For centuries, people have been using lye (a corrosive alkaline substance) to preserve everything from olives to hominy. Lye, for those of you who don’t know, is made from the ashes of hardwood. Again, there is a process but it seems one of the most “natural” processes in the world as fire is a very natural element of nature. Nature can make fire without the help of any human, right? So, I would think that makes the preservative lye a very natural preservative. A natural preservative that can kill you if used incorrectly but a natural preservative nonetheless.
Fermentation is also a preserving process, a natural process but a process. So, again, any food that has been fermented could be considered a “processed” food despite that it is one of the most “natural” processes in the world. We wouldn’t even consider anything fermented to be a “processed food” but technically it is.
And, what about dyes and fragrances? Well, many plants in nature have natural dyes and fragrances. It is how they attract vehicles to reproduce and are essential to many life forms. So, to think that all dyes and fragrances are some sort of evil thing to be demonized and taken out of your food is a bit silly since the 100% natural food that nature provides often times already contains an abundance of it.
After all this research, I have come to the conclusion that we really need to learn more about what we consume and the history of what we consume, in order to make good sound judgments about it. And only you can decide what you consider to be “natural” and what you consider to be artificial. For me, natural can be defined as “found in nature”. For me, if you can’t find it in nature, it isn’t natural.
The best thing to do is to find out what your body needs and what it doesn’t and provide for it accordingly, whether it is considered “natural” or “socially accepted” or “certified” or not by the masses, governments and commercial industries feeding them. And, don’t just check out the labels of your consumables but the processes and methods used to grow, preserve and administer those consumables. Don’t avoid certain products because it connected to some word you can’t pronounce or because when you pronounce it properly it sounds scary. If you stood by that rule, you may never eat a Lycopersicon esculentum or Brassica oleracea again and you most definitely wouldn’t put sodium chloride on it. Just educate yourself on your needs and how to provide for them accordingly, as everyone’s needs are different and education is truly your best defense.