The "Fear" Industry

basschick
basschick Posts: 3,502 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Interesting article. Discuss.

http://loneprairie.net/diet-coke/

Replies

  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    That's actually a damn good article and espouses many things that annoy me with some people.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Love this. Love, love, love.

    (She says, while eating pizza and drinking diet Dew.)
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Love this. Love, love, love.

    (She says, while eating pizza and drinking diet Dew.)

    Diet Dew is a travesty that makes me cry on the inside every time I drink it.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    That's actually a damn good article and espouses many things that annoy me with some people.

    Agreed, I liked it. I would quibble with the author over a couple of minor points, but her underlying theme was pretty solid to my way of thinking.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I like the author's mindset (at least what I saw in the first half of the article since I'll admit that's as far as I got).
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Love this. Love, love, love.

    (She says, while eating pizza and drinking diet Dew.)

    Diet Dew is a travesty that makes me cry on the inside every time I drink it.

    This I can't agree with, I love diet dew. :flowerforyou:
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Love this. Love, love, love.

    (She says, while eating pizza and drinking diet Dew.)

    Diet Dew is a travesty that makes me cry on the inside every time I drink it.

    This I can't agree with, I love diet dew. :flowerforyou:

    I was drinking it for awhile when I was breaking my love affair with regular Dew. Every drink I took I could feel my taste buds screaming "IMPOSTER!!!!!!!"
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
    This is awesome.

    I about died laughing when the two pack a day smoker I work with (who I actually really like as a person) told me that Diet Coke was bad for me.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    This is awesome.

    I about died laughing when the two pack a day smoker I work with (who I actually really like as a person) told me that Diet Coke was bad for me.

    Yeah, I've had friends tell me "Tim, why are you drinking Diet Coke, it just makes you fat!!" while they are smoking weed. :noway:
  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    tumblr_mcz617rSy01r38j04o1_500.gif
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I love the sentiment expressed in that article.

    Particularly this towards the end:
    Turn the TV off, unplug the internet, and shut out the voices convincing you that a world of unimaginable plenty isn’t good enough, isn’t healthy enough. Eat the food you have in moderation. The quality of my life, and my health, is fine. Someday it might not be. The same is true for you. Whether I drop over dead tomorrow or live to be 104, I’m not going to enjoy it any more by skipping the Diet Coke or excessive chocolate consumption. Keep your own guilt.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Love this. Love, love, love.

    (She says, while eating pizza and drinking diet Dew.)

    Diet Dew is a travesty that makes me cry on the inside every time I drink it.

    This I can't agree with, I love diet dew. :flowerforyou:

    I was drinking it for awhile when I was breaking my love affair with regular Dew. Every drink I took I could feel my taste buds screaming "IMPOSTER!!!!!!!"

    Ewww...diet dew...:sick:


    I only skimmed the article, but it was enough for me to get the general idea of what the author was saying. :flowerforyou: Definitely agreed with the last 2 sentences.
  • Bobbie8786
    Bobbie8786 Posts: 202 Member
    Thanks for sharing. I could not agree more with the content of that article. I, for one, am very tired of the daily "it's going to kill you" chicken little meme.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real

    While fear can be helpful for survival, it's also a tool that many use to push an agenda. Good link to read.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    I love the sentiment expressed in that article.

    Particularly this towards the end:
    Turn the TV off, unplug the internet, and shut out the voices convincing you that a world of unimaginable plenty isn’t good enough, isn’t healthy enough. Eat the food you have in moderation. The quality of my life, and my health, is fine. Someday it might not be. The same is true for you. Whether I drop over dead tomorrow or live to be 104, I’m not going to enjoy it any more by skipping the Diet Coke or excessive chocolate consumption. Keep your own guilt.

    The funny thing is that just by being aware of your caloric needs and doing regular exercise, you have already taken steps to having a much better quality of life than the average person.
  • MsDrJuris
    MsDrJuris Posts: 41
    She seems awfully judgmental of people who are living their lives counter to hers, for her to be ranting about their judgment of her. People can do whatever they want. I don't care as long as it doesn't affect me. Do I judge? Yes. Does that mean I say anything? No.

    I'm could write an article about this, but I'm pretty sure the title would be enough: "Everyone mind their own business." :)
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Loved it. I'm tired of being sold fear. In the absence of anything dangerous, they try to make us afraid of what we eat and the weather. It's exhausting. My poor eyes are nearly worn out from all the rolling they do.
  • IrishHarpy1
    IrishHarpy1 Posts: 399 Member
    I saw this linked on a friend's FB page this morning, and absolutely LOVED it. And no, I don't consume diet sodas by the gallon, or eat at fast food places every day -- I eat a helluva lot healthier than I used to -- but I'd appreciate if people would keep their opinions of my food choices to themselves when I *do* decide to indulge. It's the #1 reason why my food diary is *closed* and is staying that way.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I try to eat a reasonably healthy diet, although it's far from perfect. Like the author, I'm healthy, I try to be active, and I've never been overweight. When I went to a Registered Dietician some years ago and she reviewed my food diaries the only true fault that she found in my diet was that I was drinking Diet Coke, which I believe I had several days a week. She said I should avoid it. I may have it 20 times a year now. I only drink it when I'm working late at night and can't get a cup of coffee or tea.

    This blog post makes the very kind of argument the writer attacks: it's purely emotional. It would have helped if she'd explored the problems with Diet Coke.

    Yeah, some people live to 100 having smoked all their lives; that's still not an argument that smoking is harmless.

    Sometimes people need to be afraid. Too bad more aren't afraid of being obese.
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
    I try to eat a reasonably healthy diet, although it's far from perfect. Like the author, I'm healthy, I try to be active, and I've never been overweight. When I went to a Registered Dietician some years ago and she reviewed my food diaries the only true fault that she found in my diet was that I was drinking Diet Coke, which I believe I had several days a week. She said I should avoid it. I may have it 20 times a year now. I only drink it when I'm working late at night and can't get a cup of coffee or tea.

    This blog post makes the very kind of argument the writer attacks: it's purely emotional. It would have helped if she'd explored the problems with Diet Coke.

    Yeah, some people live to 100 having smoked all their lives; that's still not an argument that smoking is harmless.

    Sometimes people need to be afraid. Too bad more aren't afraid of being obese.

    Most fear about diet these days is completely unnecessary. Most people are unable to see the forest through the trees and that is why they repeatedly fail at dieting. Comparing smoking to most diet fear mongering is a little bit of a stretch.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Love this, anyone ever noticed how the fear-mongering articles about these unhealthy foods are always about the extreme examples - the women who drank 10 litres of coke everyday for 5 years who died. No *kitten*, really. But is one coke a week or even a day going to kill you in the scheme of an otherwise balanced diet - no definitely not. You can overdose on pretty much anything if you have enough, does that make it harmful to have a small amount - of course not.
  • MsDrJuris
    MsDrJuris Posts: 41
    You can overdose on pretty much anything if you have enough, does that make it harmful to have a small amount - of course not.

    It also doesn't necessarily make it not harmful to have a small amount. While having a small amount of anything may not be as deadly or harmful as a large amount, it can still be detrimental to one's health, depending on the substance.

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