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Why so many food myths?
paulgads82
Posts: 256 Member
in Debate Club
I understand this has probably been discussed before but I'm finding it a little disconcerting. Every time I log on to the forum I see at least one person regurgitating something I've previously come across from a YouTube "star" or "Expert". Why can't people evaluate sources? So much bad information no wonder people don't know how to lose weight 
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Replies
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Because everyone is opinionated when it comes to nutrition and diet0
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Make it stop.7
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Weight loss is simple, but hard work. People want weight loss to be easy, but also like to think of it as complicated, so that they have an excuse for not undertaking the effort.24
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paulgads82 wrote: »Make it stop.
Move to an off-grid location ?1 -
Jump the fences!1
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As usual Jessie J has the answer. Thanks Jessie!1
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People look for the "expert" that tells them their often stupid behavior is fine. People like the reinforcement.6
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kommodevaran wrote: »Weight loss is simple, but hard work. People want weight loss to be easy, but also like to think of it as complicated, so that they have an excuse for not undertaking the effort.
This2 -
Eating 30 bananas a day is hard. People still do it.3
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Because "what THEY don't want you to know" is an attractive concept to many people, and the "experts" are smart enough to capitalize on this fact.8
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paulgads82 wrote: »Eating 30 bananas a day is hard. People still do it.
Easier than owning up to the fact that your weight was your responsibility all along.11 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »Because "what THEY don't want you to know" is an attractive concept to many people, and the "experts" are smart enough to capitalize on this fact.
Good point. People also ARE bad at evaluating sources or simply choose sources that reinforce what they want to believe. It's not just weight stuff, either.5 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Because "what THEY don't want you to know" is an attractive concept to many people, and the "experts" are smart enough to capitalize on this fact.
Good point. People also ARE bad at evaluating sources or simply choose sources that reinforce what they want to believe. It's not just weight stuff, either.
This exactly. It's all the blogs written by "health enthusiasts" like detox mama or whatever. And confirmation bias.
ETA: I just made up the name "detox mama" as a quick hybrid of all the detox blogs out there but I'm sure somebody out there has taken the name5 -
CorneliusPhoton wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Because "what THEY don't want you to know" is an attractive concept to many people, and the "experts" are smart enough to capitalize on this fact.
Good point. People also ARE bad at evaluating sources or simply choose sources that reinforce what they want to believe. It's not just weight stuff, either.
This exactly. It's all the blogs written by "health enthusiasts" like detox mama or whatever. And confirmation bias.
ETA: I just made up the name "detox mama" as a quick hybrid of all the detox blogs out there but I'm sure somebody out there has taken the name
I haven't clicked the blog links, but here are 2 Detox Mama blogs:
PS I went to the links and ...don't, especially the Wordpress one. *shudder*
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"Cause the big guy at the gym told me bro"
"Her bum looks good, so she must know what she's talking about"1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Because "what THEY don't want you to know" is an attractive concept to many people, and the "experts" are smart enough to capitalize on this fact.
Good point. People also ARE bad at evaluating sources or simply choose sources that reinforce what they want to believe. It's not just weight stuff, either.
Mistrust of science, poor knowledge of the scientific method, inability to evaluate sources. These things shouldn't be hard but if you've never been taught properly I can see why people slip up. It's when the emotional responses kick in and people refuse to acknowledge they are wrong it gets frustrating.3 -
The problem is that everyone's body responds differently to different stimulus. I work with a guy who is 6'00" and 180lbs, in great shape, but he can eat anything he wants and doesn't gain weight (now granted, he does put the work into the gym). I also work with a guy who puts work into the gym, but has to run a strict low-carb diet to stay leanish. You essentially have to find out how your body responds to different foods.3
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thefuzz1290 wrote: »The problem is that everyone's body responds differently to different stimulus. I work with a guy who is 6'00" and 180lbs, in great shape, but he can eat anything he wants and doesn't gain weight (now granted, he does put the work into the gym). I also work with a guy who puts work into the gym, but has to run a strict low-carb diet to stay leanish. You essentially have to find out how your body responds to different foods.
Ummm..........7 -
thefuzz1290 wrote: »The problem is that everyone's body responds differently to different stimulus. I work with a guy who is 6'00" and 180lbs, in great shape, but he can eat anything he wants and doesn't gain weight (now granted, he does put the work into the gym). I also work with a guy who puts work into the gym, but has to run a strict low-carb diet to stay leanish. You essentially have to find out how your body responds to different foods.
Agreed.
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There are so many companies that thrive on fear, and they make their money by getting people to buy into it. What may not be good for some people, like gluten is perfectly fine for others. Yet gluten has been strung through the mud with so many people self diagnosing and running out to purchase GF products. That is just one example, you can say the same for carbs or sugar, or so many other foods. On top of it all, people want so badly to lose the weight that they forget that being healthy is a part of that. The buy in to crazy detoxes or avoid foods their bodies may need. If someone legit fears they may have an intolerance, then speaking to their doctor is the best approach. It's too easy to get sucked in to popular diet trends.6
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thefuzz1290 wrote: »The problem is that everyone's body responds differently to different stimulus. I work with a guy who is 6'00" and 180lbs, in great shape, but he can eat anything he wants and doesn't gain weight (now granted, he does put the work into the gym). I also work with a guy who puts work into the gym, but has to run a strict low-carb diet to stay leanish. You essentially have to find out how your body responds to different foods.
There is no healthy person on the planet who can eat "anything they want" and not gain, unless "anything they want" is less than they burn.14 -
Please no food myths in my discussion of why there are food myths.23
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stevencloser wrote: »thefuzz1290 wrote: »The problem is that everyone's body responds differently to different stimulus. I work with a guy who is 6'00" and 180lbs, in great shape, but he can eat anything he wants and doesn't gain weight (now granted, he does put the work into the gym). I also work with a guy who puts work into the gym, but has to run a strict low-carb diet to stay leanish. You essentially have to find out how your body responds to different foods.
There is no healthy person on the planet who can eat "anything they want" and not gain, unless "anything they want" is less than they burn.
But if their metabolism is high enough, they have to force feed themselves when they're not hungry to achieve a caloric excess. Genetics matter a great deal.0 -
I honestly knew a woman who spent all day eating and was still skinny....really skinny. Any form of stomach flu sent her to the hospital as she didn't have any reserves. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't spent a week on a course with her....boy she could pack it away. Her doctor said he wished he could find the gene that ramped up her metabolism as he'd be rich.0
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Having a metabolism that high is very, very, very rare. Most people you think have a high metabolism because you see them eating calorie dense foods in public usually have a normal metabolism but are very very active with big calorie burns and in fact don't eat as much as you think. You can't tell how much they eat unless you watch them 24/7. There was a british show which tested the metabolism of 2 friends. One was obese and one was quite thin. The obese friend was sure that her metabolism was slow and that her thin friend could eat whatever she wanted and not gain. The shocker was that they discovered that the thin friend had a LOWER metabolism than the obese friend! She just practiced better portion control and moved more!12
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thefuzz1290 wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »thefuzz1290 wrote: »The problem is that everyone's body responds differently to different stimulus. I work with a guy who is 6'00" and 180lbs, in great shape, but he can eat anything he wants and doesn't gain weight (now granted, he does put the work into the gym). I also work with a guy who puts work into the gym, but has to run a strict low-carb diet to stay leanish. You essentially have to find out how your body responds to different foods.
There is no healthy person on the planet who can eat "anything they want" and not gain, unless "anything they want" is less than they burn.
But if their metabolism is high enough, they have to force feed themselves when they're not hungry to achieve a caloric excess. Genetics matter a great deal.
Metabolic rate actually doesn't differ that much among people if you control for stats and activity. We're talking about a 200-300 calorie difference for the majority of healthy people. A good slice of pizza or a rich scoop of ice cream and they're gone. No force feeding needed. What does differ is how the person perceives the amount of food they are eating. For one person a certain amount may feel huge, for another it's a passing snack.8 -
John Oliver's explanation may be a bit long, but it is worth every minute to watch it.
Scientific Studies5 -
I think the other big issue is not just that the myths exist, but the ease with which they get perpetuated due to all the various websites, blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, media coverage, etc. The world thrives today on paid per click advertising, so clickbait headlines like "10 Foods to NEVER Eat If You Want To Lose Weight" are everywhere... Click on that link it takes you to a site with paid advertising, links to other sites, etc.
In my opinion, we are inundated with the bad information and it sounds just sciencey enough to make the average person believe it. It also usually is colorful and vibrant filled with easy to read infographics. The correct information, usually in the form of peer reviewed journal articles, a person has to go searching for, it is text and chart heavy, and is not easily digestible (pun intended) for a layperson.
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paulgads82 wrote: »Eating 30 bananas a day is hard. People still do it.
What's more work? Planning meals out, weighing and measuring all ingredients, and logging it, or buying a few bunches of bananas and munching all day? While I'm not sure I could get 30 bananas down without gagging, it's less work prior to the stuffing-your-face part, and that's appealing to some people.
There's also an air of superiority when you're following a so-called expert's plan. The number of people around my office who get off on telling everyone about their low-carb diet, their 500 cals of apples and balsamic vinegar, their adherence to cutting out all white food just like their doctor said... It's an appeal to authority, so even if the plan doesn't work or isn't sustainable, they're still doing things "right" because an expert told them so, and I'm doing things "wrong" and it will catch up with me someday.2
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