Fed Up with Food Fear-Mongering
Replies
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http://healthyhausfrau.blogspot.com/2013/10/fed-up-with-food-fear-mongering.html
Sounds like the MFP boards in a nutshellIf you haven’t heard lately that carbohydrates and sugar are deadly poisons, consider yourself lucky. As a registered dietitian who stays immersed in both research and popular diet/food trends, a day does not go by that I don’t see single foods or nutrients being demonized and falsely labeled as evil, disease-causing, or even toxic.
That’s right, eating a slice of bread will now KILL YOU (or at least eat through half of your brain) according to numerous supposed health and fitness authorities—including doctors, registered dietitians, personal trainers, and nutritionists—as well as your run-of-the-mill diet gurus, countless bloggers-turned-nutrition-experts, and, of course, big and small media outlets, reporters, and writers. And, if that single dietary constituent somehow doesn’t kill you outright, you can be sure it will hold you hostage, force you to eat it to the exclusion of all other foods, mercilessly addict you, make you obese, and THEN kill you.
Vilifying individual foods or nutrients in the name of feigned health promotion, or food fear-mongering as I call it, is a big, big problem. It does NOT make people healthier, nor does it promote the healthy relationship with food that is so crucial for long-term success with dietary health and weight control. For reasons I will discuss in a minute, I believe that food fear-mongering makes people much less healthy in body and mind, more likely to engage repeatedly in cyclical dieting and other unhealthy eating behaviors, and far less likely to be able to derive pleasure and enjoyment from eating.
But first, let’s make sure we're clear about a couple things. As a dietitian I’m well-aware of diet and weight-related diseases. I understand that limiting certain foods and nutrients (trans fat, excess added sugars, for example) and emphasizing others (fruits, vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, for example) all the while taking into account the context of an entire diet and lifestyle can play a huge role in positive health outcomes. I agree that there are better and worse food choices when it comes to our eating habits, but I also realize that diet and health are never black and white, don’t exist in a vacuum, and are not nearly as simplistic as the gurus and "experts" who tell us that fructose is POISON (context and dose-dependence be damned) would have you believe.
I mention this because the last thing I want is people taking from this post that I think loads of sugar is good for you or that I’m a staunch advocate for eating wheat by the bushelful every day--that's just not the case. But what I do hope will be taken from this post is that consuming sugar or wheat or ice cream or pretty much ANY FOOD (barring you don't have an allergy or intolerance) once in a while will not have a significant negative impact on your health, if done in moderation, let alone be the sole cause of your death!
So let’s do a quick recap: sure, there are health problems related to overconsuming just about any food. Sure, we’d be better off with much fewer sugary treats and junk processed foods and much more whole, unprocessed real foods, all in moderation. Sure, there are probably plenty of people who could lay off some of the wheat or sugar in their diet, lose weight (as a result of creating a caloric deficit), and feel much better as a result. But deeming wheat a “dietary poison” and blaming it for all our ills...WHY??
If you’re still with me and not engulfed in a fit of laughter, let’s move on and talk about what I believe to be the top two reasons food fear-mongering is so prevalent:
1. A sensationalistic message sells--we've known this forever.
Even more profitable? A feigned revelation about the dangers of a certain food spread by an alarmist “authority” in the field. As evidenced by the examples above, many of the extreme food fear-mongering messages come from people with something to sell you—in the nutrition field, that usually equates to a book, a diet/service, or dietary supplements.
2. People need something simplistic to blame for their weight or health problems.
Instead of realizing that most diet-related chronic diseases result from a combination of repeated suboptimal nutrition and lifestyle choices and caloric excess over time, it is far easier to point the finger at one food entity, slap on the blame, and then attempt to abstain from that food completely. It is unfortunate but many people just CANNOT grasp, let alone utilize, the concept of moderation with eating, and by putting unnecessary limits on their diets, they can stay on the straight and narrow, though usually not for long.
I don’t fault individuals for this: moderation and balance with diet is not easy to come by as I've explained before. Indeed, I feel that demonizing single foods is actually a symptom of our culture’s desperation and desire to get healthier. At the same time, however, the food blame game is another embarrassingly obvious example of how we seem to be continually grasping for eating truths and absolutes in a society devoid of a food culture, yet overflowing with food.
This makes people all too vulnerable to food fear-mongering messages, and with no shortage of these terrifying warnings, an extremely harmful situation arises.
So why is food fear-mongering so damaging?
1. Food phobias are created.
An authority figure saying that sugar is poisonous exploits people’s ignorance about diet, human physiology, and the long-term development of chronic disease and teaches them to fear food—this is no joke! I have seen the effects time and time again in my practice—people who are actually AFRAID to eat! They have listened to the simplistic, horrifying messages that x, y, or z food will maim you, induce mold growth on your upper lip, liquefy your insides after a bout of burning inflammation, and ON and ON and ON and have frantically boiled down their diet to a few fanatical food options. Then they wonder why they are tired all the time, sick, depressed, obsessed with food, and aren't getting any real pleasure from eating. Their dietary restrictions are totally unnecessary, but have been put in place because of false fears implanted by alarmist authorities trying to make a buck. This angers me to no end!
2. Food fear-mongering creates VAST confusion.
How do I know this? Because I get asked the silliest things all the time, by well-meaning people who really think they’ve got things figured out with nutrition, but have really been duped by fear-mongerers. A few real examples:
I was recently asked with disbelief: “Do you STILL eat grains?” I apparently missed the boat—eating grains was SO pre-Wheat Belly!
Since I do eat grains in moderation, I was once accused of “trusting in corn and wheat” (In Wheat I Trust???) and also informed that my stomach is a “gluten bomb” as a result.
Discussing the health benefits of legumes with someone a few weeks back incited this response: “Legumes = lectins = leaky gut = leaky brain. I’ll get my carbs and protein elsewhere.” This was a completely nonsensical, obviously fearful response. (Side note: the presence of lectins and phytates in whole grains and legumes is often used by low-carb proponents to deter consumption of these very healthy foods).
Someone confidently and proudly told me the other day, “I rarely eat fruit due to the high sugar content.” She surely got Robert Lustig's "fructose is poison" memo.
I love playing dumb when I encounter self-made nutritionists so I can see what advice they have for me, and sure enough, I got schooled with this gem a couple weeks ago: “Nuts are dangerously inflammatory and should be avoided AT ALL COSTS.”
These instances make me want to laugh, cry, and pull my hair out all at once. And the worse part of this immeasurable confusion? Once this degree of food fear and brainwashing is ingrained, I’ve had little success helping people like this back to reality.
3. Food fear-mongering messages are terribly counter-productive to creating health.
Because alarmist messages attract attention, people who are not educated in the science of nutrition and are actively looking for that one causative reason for their lack of health will easily take these messages at face value, not question them, or even realize that they should question them. They believe what these health authorities tell them and start to completely shun wheat or sugar or whatever the fearful food of the year may be. Eliminating a food or nutrient may provide a short-term benefit to their health in some way, but more likely than not, the avoidance tactic will not last, and old behaviors will return, leading again to a suboptimal health status. No progress is made as a result of food fear-mongering messages. No real, sustainable, healthy eating behaviors are developed. Time is wasted. Money is often wasted. Consequently, YES, PEOPLE ARE HARMED.
Read the rest at the link0 -
very nice0
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I SO needed to read this today, because honestly? I find myself geting a bit OCD with all the food info out there & all the studies & on & on, and then end up fearing food & I need the occasional reality check.
So seriously, thanks for the laughs AND the reality check. Much needed in a world of food insane people.0 -
In. I've noticed, too - on here and on my Facebook feed - that is often goes beyond just a phobia.
For some people, it's turned in to pure moralizing. There's a self-righteous, almost religious flavor to their beliefs. It's beyond just a preference for certain types of diets and lifestyles, and there's nothing you can say, and no evidence you can present showing the flaw in the studies they paste everywhere that will convince them otherwise.
Oh, you're fine eating GMOs? You're bad and wrong. Eat sugar? Shame on you, don't support the industry that is making the west obese. Eat artificial sweeteners instead of sugar? Enjoy your cancer. Ounce of whiskey in the evenings? Bad. Eat meat? Bad. Don't eat meat? Carbs? Fat? Bad bad bad bad bad.
This type of thinking is ESPECIALLY frustrating when I see people posting claims that serious illnesses like cancer can be treated or prevented by eating or avoiding foods or special diets (Gershon therapy, cleanses, etc)... not only because it's woo BS that does squat to help sick people, but also because it's uncomfortably close to claiming that people with illness are to blame for their own suffering because of their diets. Fffffff.
/soapbox. Eat in a way that works for you, damnit.
I agree with this.... It isn't "bad" or "good" and you are not a bad or good person for eating/not eating something you enjoy because it tastes good and you want it. Food isn't moral or immoral, it's amoral. The hangups we get about it are unbelievable.0 -
One of my pet peeves is people asserting that we should only eat the whites of the eggs. IMHO, the whites are only good for mixing with the yolks to make them go farther or for holding the mashed up yokes in the form of deviled eggs!:bigsmile:0
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Saving for later!0
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This is so needed to be made public reading for everyone...making food "bad" is getting out of hand.
I saw a news story last week that just about made me pop. Teachers in an elementry school were going around policing lunch boxes and when they came to a kids with a mini box of smarties the teacher said very loudly to all the kids at the table...
"What is bad here???" Shaming that little person who had smarties...
Yes all the kids said the smarties....even now it bugs me to think of it...(think of a steam whistle about to blow and that's me)
Way to start early with the bad food crap...good thing that wasn't my kid...teacher and school would have had something to deal with then ...not just a damn mini box of smarties.0 -
Just so we're all clear, the OP belongs to me.
Carry on.
Where's your flag? Don't you have to stake a flag in somewhere to lay claim? Or am I getting confused with something else
I flagged him... but you'll never know where.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
I am sure there is plenty of him to go around...0 -
What a great post. So many food discussions lately have the feel of a chat with my cousin who has recently converted to some sort of fundamentalist religion, and that just turns people off because either they find it creepy or they get to the point that they realize they can never be "good" enough and just give up entirely.0
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This is so needed to be made public reading for everyone...making food "bad" is getting out of hand.
I saw a news story last week that just about made me pop. Teachers in an elementry school were going around policing lunch boxes and when they came to a kids with a mini box of smarties the teacher said very loudly to all the kids at the table...
"What is bad here???" Shaming that little person who had smarties...
Yes all the kids said the smarties....even now it bugs me to think of it...(think of a steam whistle about to blow and that's me)
Way to start early with the bad food crap...good thing that wasn't my kid...teacher and school would have had something to deal with then ...not just a damn mini box of smarties.
I can't even believe this story. If this happened to me as a child, I probably would have gone home crying.
Now if it was my kid being shamed, damn right I'd be up there defending my actions as a parent!0 -
Man, people really care a lot about how other people view food.0
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And yeah, I can't even handle facebook anymore because of bs like this. For example, I have one friend doing the Advocare challenge. I'm not even going to pretend I know what all that entails, but she was so excited that she lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks because she only ate fruits and vegetables and entrees she prepared herself. Of course, that is awesome, but guess what. She complains ALL THE TIME about bad foods she cannot have. One of those foods was smoked brisket. WTH is wrong with that? We're in Texas for God's sake, so good luck avoiding that the rest of your life.0
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Man, people really care a lot about how other people view food.
See my post above. I hate hearing people complain about foods they can't have or shooting me comments about how lucky I am to be able to eat ice cream and stay skinny. It gets old really fast, and it doesn't matter how many times you try to explain it to them.0 -
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yup, this is probably why I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I probably should read the full article.0
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i'm currently doing Atkins.
Its taught me its basically all about calories period.
so i guess i've progressed beyond IIFMM to just 'give me my protein damn it' lol.
I'll probably still go low carb or low fat now and then. Dramatically changing my intended macros alters what on the menu and helps keep things fresh that way.
i guess the general plan going forward will be to set my protein take at whatever % will give me around 1 gram per lbs body weight and just concentrate on staying at cal while eating more or less what i want.
yup.
I alter my average or low carbs based on my goal. I'ts just much easier for me to cut when I'm low carb- but bulking carbs come in second to protein. it's so much harder for me to cut when I am eating 6-700 calories of carbs- which I can EASILY put down. It's shameful. LOL
Altering just helps me suit my needs and that's all there is to it.0 -
In. I've noticed, too - on here and on my Facebook feed - that is often goes beyond just a phobia.
For some people, it's turned in to pure moralizing. There's a self-righteous, almost religious flavor to their beliefs. It's beyond just a preference for certain types of diets and lifestyles, and there's nothing you can say, and no evidence you can present showing the flaw in the studies they paste everywhere that will convince them otherwise.
Oh, you're fine eating GMOs? You're bad and wrong. Eat sugar? Shame on you, don't support the industry that is making the west obese. Eat artificial sweeteners instead of sugar? Enjoy your cancer. Ounce of whiskey in the evenings? Bad. Eat meat? Bad. Don't eat meat? Carbs? Fat? Bad bad bad bad bad.
This type of thinking is ESPECIALLY frustrating when I see people posting claims that serious illnesses like cancer can be treated or prevented by eating or avoiding foods or special diets (Gershon therapy, cleanses, etc)... not only because it's woo BS that does squat to help sick people, but also because it's uncomfortably close to claiming that people with illness are to blame for their own suffering because of their diets. Fffffff.
/soapbox. Eat in a way that works for you, damnit.
I agree with this.... It isn't "bad" or "good" and you are not a bad or good person for eating/not eating something you enjoy because it tastes good and you want it. Food isn't moral or immoral, it's amoral. The hangups we get about it are unbelievable.
I don't most people who use the terms good or bad for you are referring to morality, but rather healthiness. I know when I use those terms instead of actually saying healthy or unhealthy, I'm still referring to their impact on health, and not some innate morality to the food, nor to the morality of the person eating or not eating it. Now maybe some people are different in this (and I'm sure there are some) but most people probably mean health and not morality.0 -
There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?0
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I'm one of those people who cut grain from my diet but not because of any health concerns (though I do have less gas now that I don't eat the wheat), but because I wanted to drop about 8 lbs and was starving as it was and couldn't figure out how to cut more calories and not chew off my own arm. The solution for me was to cut the grains. And it worked, beautifully.
I only do it 90% of the time. Beer is probably my biggest offender. Meanwhile, a friend who is on a thyroid "diet" (and actually doing quite well) lectured me about how occasionally eating gluten won't do me any good because it takes X amount of months to fully flush the toxic gluten from my system. :rolls eyes:
Eat whatever you want, I don't care. But if someone asks my advice I will tell them my experiences. I'm pretty sure I just love the carbs too much and have to give them up. The same way some people love the oreos too much and eat the whole bag. Oh, and wheat makes me fart. :blushing:0 -
In. I've noticed, too - on here and on my Facebook feed - that is often goes beyond just a phobia.
For some people, it's turned in to pure moralizing. There's a self-righteous, almost religious flavor to their beliefs. It's beyond just a preference for certain types of diets and lifestyles, and there's nothing you can say, and no evidence you can present showing the flaw in the studies they paste everywhere that will convince them otherwise.
Oh, you're fine eating GMOs? You're bad and wrong. Eat sugar? Shame on you, don't support the industry that is making the west obese. Eat artificial sweeteners instead of sugar? Enjoy your cancer. Ounce of whiskey in the evenings? Bad. Eat meat? Bad. Don't eat meat? Carbs? Fat? Bad bad bad bad bad.
This type of thinking is ESPECIALLY frustrating when I see people posting claims that serious illnesses like cancer can be treated or prevented by eating or avoiding foods or special diets (Gershon therapy, cleanses, etc)... not only because it's woo BS that does squat to help sick people, but also because it's uncomfortably close to claiming that people with illness are to blame for their own suffering because of their diets. Fffffff.
/soapbox. Eat in a way that works for you, damnit.
I agree with this.... It isn't "bad" or "good" and you are not a bad or good person for eating/not eating something you enjoy because it tastes good and you want it. Food isn't moral or immoral, it's amoral. The hangups we get about it are unbelievable.
I don't most people who use the terms good or bad for you are referring to morality, but rather healthiness. I know when I use those terms instead of actually saying healthy or unhealthy, I'm still referring to their impact on health, and not some innate morality to the food, nor to the morality of the person eating or not eating it. Now maybe some people are different in this (and I'm sure there are some) but most people probably mean health and not morality.
And which foods are inherently "unhealthy" regardless of context and dosage? I'll give you possibly synthetic trans fats, any others?0 -
There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?
Protein, we've already demonized fat and carbs/sugar0 -
Protein, we've already demonized fat and carbs/sugar
I think your assessment is spot on. Soon I'll be stopped at the gym and told how unhealthy I'll be due to my protein intake (and my eyes will glaze over again)0 -
There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?
Sodium. I guess it already is somewhat, but I think it will be more so.0 -
In. I've noticed, too - on here and on my Facebook feed - that is often goes beyond just a phobia.
For some people, it's turned in to pure moralizing. There's a self-righteous, almost religious flavor to their beliefs. It's beyond just a preference for certain types of diets and lifestyles, and there's nothing you can say, and no evidence you can present showing the flaw in the studies they paste everywhere that will convince them otherwise.
Oh, you're fine eating GMOs? You're bad and wrong. Eat sugar? Shame on you, don't support the industry that is making the west obese. Eat artificial sweeteners instead of sugar? Enjoy your cancer. Ounce of whiskey in the evenings? Bad. Eat meat? Bad. Don't eat meat? Carbs? Fat? Bad bad bad bad bad.
This type of thinking is ESPECIALLY frustrating when I see people posting claims that serious illnesses like cancer can be treated or prevented by eating or avoiding foods or special diets (Gershon therapy, cleanses, etc)... not only because it's woo BS that does squat to help sick people, but also because it's uncomfortably close to claiming that people with illness are to blame for their own suffering because of their diets. Fffffff.
/soapbox. Eat in a way that works for you, damnit.
I agree with this.... It isn't "bad" or "good" and you are not a bad or good person for eating/not eating something you enjoy because it tastes good and you want it. Food isn't moral or immoral, it's amoral. The hangups we get about it are unbelievable.
I don't most people who use the terms good or bad for you are referring to morality, but rather healthiness. I know when I use those terms instead of actually saying healthy or unhealthy, I'm still referring to their impact on health, and not some innate morality to the food, nor to the morality of the person eating or not eating it. Now maybe some people are different in this (and I'm sure there are some) but most people probably mean health and not morality.
So... who decides which foods are healthy and unhealthy? Someone once told me that "Well, of course everyone KNOWS that a handful of carrot sticks are better for you than a burger." I would say the healthy/unhealthy status of the food depends on the consumer's nutrition requirements and should be decided in context with the rest of the food in their diet. I'm willing to agree that certain trans fats (those created from partially hydrogenated oils) ought to be limited. I'd like to see a representative sample of foods that are inherently unhealthy and should be avoided, in your opinion, and why you consider them unhealthy.0 -
I'll put my money on it being protein, especially meat/dairy.There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?
Sodium. I guess it already is somewhat, but I think it will be more so.0 -
I'll put my money on it being protein, especially meat/dairy.There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?
Sodium. I guess it already is somewhat, but I think it will be more so.
I agree about it being protein. In fasting diets, they recommend a maximum of 50g of protein a day to reduce LGF1 and live longer0 -
There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?
It's funny how the fad-fear is never of increasingly gigantic portion sizes isn't it?0 -
I'll put my money on it being protein, especially meat/dairy.There has been a "fear of" .... whatever in every decade. I think the 80's kicked it off pretty easily. I watch yoyo dieters swearing off the latest "bad" food to me (while my eyes glaze over) then gaining it all back and more each time. I'm taking bets on the next fad. Takers?
Sodium. I guess it already is somewhat, but I think it will be more so.
I agree about it being protein. In fasting diets, they recommend a maximum of 50g of protein a day to reduce LGF1 and live longer
Reminds me of this debacle
Now, I love pizza... but I know it's not a vegetable. Let's get serious here.
Ok, really. I've seen it mentioned on a couple places on these MFP boards that 50 g of protein really is the maximum necessary. I don't think that's accurate, but I've seen it pop up more and more recently.0 -
I don't most people who use the terms good or bad for you are referring to morality, but rather healthiness. I know when I use those terms instead of actually saying healthy or unhealthy, I'm still referring to their impact on health, and not some innate morality to the food, nor to the morality of the person eating or not eating it. Now maybe some people are different in this (and I'm sure there are some) but most people probably mean health and not morality.
Oh, I don't believe that anyone is consciously moralizing, nor do I believe that it's the majority of people who do this...but it does seem to happen more frequently. While it's all supposedly in the context of health there's definitely more to some of the "advice" that appears in forums and on facebook feeds. For example - there's a poster here who used to rail against artificial sweeteners and the sugar industry - if you disagreed with her, it's because you were an "industry shill", purposely giving harmful advice for monetary gain. For her, this was most definitely a moral issue, despite the fact that she had zero evidence that anyone was in the pay of "big sugar" or whateverthehell.
Another example - I was told by a family member a while back that I was wrong(yes, in the moral sense) for taking medication instead of eating a pound of onions and garlic every day to cure my UTI because "doctors know nothing, your medicines are the cause of these new resistant superbugs". Now, I avoid taking antibiotics when it's not absolutely necessary. But when I am running a fever and passing little bloody chunks? You bet your a** I'm going to be eating Cipro like popcorn. That didn't seem to sway her much, and she wasn't concerned solely about my health because the drugs cleared it up just fine.
Again, this isn't everyone, it's just a trend I've increasingly noticed lately, and it ticks me right off.0 -
I don't most people who use the terms good or bad for you are referring to morality, but rather healthiness. I know when I use those terms instead of actually saying healthy or unhealthy, I'm still referring to their impact on health, and not some innate morality to the food, nor to the morality of the person eating or not eating it. Now maybe some people are different in this (and I'm sure there are some) but most people probably mean health and not morality.
Oh, I don't believe that anyone is consciously moralizing, nor do I believe that it's the majority of people who do this...but it does seem to happen more frequently. While it's all supposedly in the context of health there's definitely more to some of the "advice" that appears in forums and on facebook feeds. For example - there's a poster here who used to rail against artificial sweeteners and the sugar industry - if you disagreed with her, it's because you were an "industry shill", purposely giving harmful advice for monetary gain. For her, this was most definitely a moral issue, despite the fact that she had zero evidence that anyone was in the pay of "big sugar" or whateverthehell.
Another example - I was told by a family member a while back that I was wrong(yes, in the moral sense) for taking medication instead of eating a pound of onions and garlic every day to cure my UTI because "doctors know nothing, your medicines are the cause of these new resistant superbugs". Now, I avoid taking antibiotics when it's not absolutely necessary. But when I am running a fever and passing little bloody chunks? You bet your a** I'm going to be eating Cipro like popcorn. That didn't seem to sway her much, and she wasn't concerned solely about my health because the drugs cleared it up just fine.
Again, this isn't everyone, it's just a trend I've increasingly noticed lately, and it ticks me right off.
I haven't had any experiences with bloody chunks, but I've been a party to similar situations. I'm glad that everything's alright for you again.0
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