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Newguest Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
Unless you are a paragon of virtue ....
Hi
"The food industry has figured out how to replace trans fats with new bad fats that don’t
show up on the label. (Another good reason to avoid foods with labels,
and to take supplemental essential fatty acids unless you are a paragon
of virtue in the healthy food department.)
I’m not sure what the author wanted to say by writing “unless you’re a paragon of virtue in the healthy food department”. I understand every single word, but do not get the general idea.
"The food industry has figured out how to replace trans fats with new bad fats that don’t
show up on the label. (Another good reason to avoid foods with labels,
and to take supplemental essential fatty acids unless you are a paragon
of virtue in the healthy food department.)
I’m not sure what the author wanted to say by writing “unless you’re a paragon of virtue in the healthy food department”. I understand every single word, but do not get the general idea.
Top answer
"paragon of virtue" is a set phrase meaning a person of model or peerless virtue. "in the ... ".
- "paragon of virtue" is a set phrase meaning a person of model or peerless virtue.
- "in the ...
- ".
- The general meaning is therefore "unless you are very strict about only eating healthy foods".
- Unfortunately I don't really see how this makes sense in the context.
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6 Answers
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"paragon of virtue" is a set phrase meaning a person of model or peerless virtue. "in the ... department" in this case means "in respect of ..." or "when it comes to ...". The general meaning is therefore "unless you are very strict about only eating healthy foods". Unfortunately I don't really see how this makes sense in the context. It seems the exact opposite of what would be expected at that p
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You're right. It sounds odd.
Below is a longer excerpt, but I don't thik it will change anything.
We need good essential fatty acids as the building blocks for a good hormonal balance. They’re hard to get;
we need to incorporate fish, fish oils and/or flax, hemp, and other oil-bearing seeds. The foods that destroy
these fats are easy to come by: junk foods, deep-fried foo
Below is a longer excerpt, but I don't thik it will change anything.
We need good essential fatty acids as the building blocks for a good hormonal balance. They’re hard to get;
we need to incorporate fish, fish oils and/or flax, hemp, and other oil-bearing seeds. The foods that destroy
these fats are easy to come by: junk foods, deep-fried foo
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Looking again, I think it means this:
Another good reason to avoid foods with labels [whoever you are], and to take supplemental essential fatty acids unless you are a paragon of virtue in the healthy food department [in which case you don't need to, since your diet is already so healthy].
Another good reason to avoid foods with labels [whoever you are], and to take supplemental essential fatty acids unless you are a paragon of virtue in the healthy food department [in which case you don't need to, since your diet is already so healthy].
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Newguestunless you are a paragon of virtue in the healthy food departmentIf you never shop outside the "healthy food" department, then you don't have to worry about these "bad fats" or avoiding foods with labels.
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AlpheccaStarsIf you never shop outside the "healthy food" department, then you don't have to worry about these "bad fats" or avoiding foods with labels.I don't think that's quite what it's saying. I think the message to avoid foods with labels is directed at people generally, not just these paragons of virtue. Also, I do not believe that "department" literall
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GPYI believe the author is using "in the ... department" in its idiomatic sense.No, but it helps to think literally first to understand the meaning. Then you can broaden the meaning to its figurative sense, applying it to those people who have such a deep understanding and knowledge of healthy foods that they can venture outside the organic food stores and in
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