Science, rational evidence, and made up nutritional facts.

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So, first off some background on me. I am a scientist, biology specific, and work and teach on plant community and ecosystem ecology, carbon and nitrogen cycling, much of it related to global change research issues. Not nutrition, or weight loss, but I have read up on it to some degree.

I have had high cholesterol for a long time, genetics, and a while ago started on statins, specifically Crestor.

Four months ago, on my annual cholesterol check, my doctor saw high blood sugar, and on retesting mentioned pre-diabetes, syndrome X, or borderline diabetes. So, being a nerd, reading up on this, it was clear to me that a high BMI index, or being overweight, is the major risk factor that I can do anything about. Hence, having an IPhone and because this site is metric (I grew up in the Netherlands and am still totally confused about pounds, ounces, stones, cups, pints, etc), I am using this site to figure out where my calorie intake comes from and how to lower it. And as many people, I accumulate 1-2 pounds per year over 20 some years leading to a BMI of 28, but am down to 23.5 now.

In addition, I have a 2 year old, which has tendency to call out at 5.30 – 6.00 AM, Daddy I am awake, come get me, I want to get up. Then supplying her with bread and peanut butter or cheerios and milk, I got some time and started to look at the community board at www.fitnesspall.com, before the newspaper shows up.

So my question, I am a scientist and follow evidence based research in my own work and in examining weight, diet and health. What disturbs me is that there are a number of posters here that provide strong opinions about nutrition and what will help you lose weight, totally disconnected from the scientific consensus. For instance, see the following:

Quote from a poster:
"Also, the whole saturated fats are bad for your cholesterol and heart is an effort that the medical community started for interest in the soybean and vegetable oil market.

Research it, it is well known in the naturopathic world how things that are natural occurring become bad for you when the government is lobbying against it for a commercial concern.

As long as they can keep people believing that cholesterol and saturated fats are bad for you, then they can keep tons of people on statins for high cholesterol that don't do any good and keep people getting sicker and sicker with all the crap they are feeding you.

I average over 6-8 eggs per day most days. My cholesterol is too LOW, the proof is in the pudding so to speak. There are many others on this site that can attest to what I am saying also.””


There is broad consensus among scientists refuting these points and there is no point arguing with this poster, because her mind is set, she is not going to listen to rational arguments and critically examine evidence and change her opinion.

My opinion, anyone can make up anything and propagate it through the web, which is increasingly happening. (To ‘paraphrase another poster, why don’t we start saying drinking cat pee because it will help us lose weight. Some people are bound to try this after we post it).

The reason I bring this up, is that other posters respond with comments like
“Um, wow, strong opinions over fats. Interesting article. I think getting unbalanced on either end of that is probably wrong. The right answer for all of that is probably in the middle. Obviously fat is good for your body, whole, natural fats. But that doesn't mean mass amounts of it, especially processed foods, is what our culture needs, really.”

This I don’t know how to respond to, and I think is a major problem that we have in our society and the US. If there is broad consensus among scientist about a topic, but there are a couple of individuals on the fringe questioning this with non-rational arguments, this leads to a problem. Their mind is made up no matter what you say or evidence that you present. There is no middle in this debate. And it is impossible to have a debate about this topic, if one side is not rational and willing to change your opinion based on solid evidence. But there is no real middle!

And yes, the same is the case the other way around. BUT if someone shows me solid evidence, I will change what I think. A by now classic example is stomach ulcers and H. pylori. Up to 20 years ago consensus was that stress coursed stomach ulcers, but there was a couple of scientists pursued an alternative explanation, got the critical data, and rewrote the textbooks on this, and got a Nobel Price for doing this. That changed my view on this too, but the people I mention above just assert things without providing solid proof.

But to get back to the main point, the MAJOR problem is that many perceive these discussion as that there are two real sides that both have valid points of views. In other words, I starting a discussion on this seems to validate the fringe’s point of view, even though it is totally bogus, and seems to confuse many readers.

Topics for this are:
• Cholesterol health issue being a myth
• Saturated fats being a health issue
• HCG diet
• Paleo diet, or other diets eliminating all carbs
• Corn sugar being bad and natural sugars being good (sugars are sugars after all)

I run into this with science all the time, on issues like global climate change, evolution, the cause of AIDS, etc.
The broad consensus, versus the couple of fringe people and most people perceiving these debates as there is no consensus. I think for many science issues, including nutrition and health, this is major problem in our society.

Any suggestions on how to address this?
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Replies

  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
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    wow that was long, I gave up after the second paragraph..(god im lazy!) but bump just incase I get a case of the unlazies and want to read it later
  • jknops2
    jknops2 Posts: 171 Member
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    No problem. This has been on my mind for for while, hence the long post. But I really would like your opinion.
  • lordofultima
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    Sugar is sugar, indeed!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    I don't know how to address it. I would probably go ahead and reply to this stuff as it comes up. I can't stand to see misinformation spread. It bothers me to the core.

    I'm obviously not a nutritionist, dietitian, or fitness expert, but I still give advice when I think it could be helpful. I tend to try to prefix with "this is what has worked for me" or "i have read" or "many sources agree"... basically just throwing an idea out there and leaving it up to the person to go research it and reach their own conclusion. Many of the things discussed here aren't black and white and 99% of us aren't experts. So I hate it when people come out and say "X is wrong; Y is right. Never do X; Always do Y"

    Another problem around this whole area of nutrition and fitness that I, as someone who is trying hard to learn All The Right Answers, am struggling with is that even the actual experts can't seem to agree on many points. There seems to be a contradiction and rebuttal to just about any idea out there. At the end, we probably just go with whatever ideas seem to resonate with us, and what has been working for us.

    Well, if you ever see me spouting out something that's just plain false please go ahead and shoot me down.
  • sara_m83
    sara_m83 Posts: 545 Member
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    Lower your expectations for people posting on message boards :)

    No, but really, you can't control others and what they choose to believe. All you can do is listen to reason, find out the scientific facts on nutrition for yourself, and get yourself healthy. Ignore comments that you think are misguided, ill-informed, or in any way irritating.
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Hi scientist, I am too scientist - genetics. So greetings fellow biologist!

    The way I deal with these types of things is to go to the data myself. I don't simply Google something - I Google Scholar it and read the real information from the actual journals. When it comes to nutrition, especially in the US, you have to be careful. There are a lot of government fingers (and thus lobbists from certain industries) pushing for things. So, as you know, it is important to also look at the disclosures from the authors of the article you are reading. Outside of that, you can easily find data on both sides of an argument. The whole saturated fat = fat people issue arose from a bad study years ago that has gotten propagated. (It was a statistical comparison between a handful of cultures. Never mind the populations that live on red meat and full fat dairy with few cardiovascular issues) Same thing goes for the sodium debate: a study over 30years of ~30 countries showd no difference in sodium intake...what is popping up now is the problem of a lack of potassium in the Western/modern diet. And for the egg & cholesterol debate, yes eggs have cholesterol, but you being a biologist should also know that only about 40% of blood cholesterol is from the diet. Data also shows that eating eggs may raise cholesterol, but does not affect the ratio of HDL: LDL, which is what is considered the more important issue that simply total cholesterol.

    The point is, no matter where you are, on MFP or even in the lab, people are going to have different views - remember it is those different views that push our knowledge further. You operate under one paradigm and you may find other ones on here.

    Even your example of Heliobacter pylori is off. The bacterium causes SOME, not all ulcers. So, as much as you read, none of us knows everything. You can't always argue with everyone, but why do you want to? If you disagree on here, then state your position and support it like us good scientists do. I don't get why you need to argue something. But realize, that it won't always change everyone's minds, just like in the lab.

    Not to mention, there is no perfect consensus on ANY of the stuff you brought up in the scientific community.
  • mlaugh
    mlaugh Posts: 30
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    Really?
  • Sparklewolfie
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    That was very confusing to me, but in the end I think that for people who are dead-set on what they believe, nothing will change their mind :smile: I am personally very flexible with my opinions and since nutrition "facts" seem to change all the time with new research and conflicting results from studies, I just try not to be too extreme with anything :tongue: Not to mention the fact that 6-8 eggs a day may be normal for one person, but 1-2 is normal for another and neither suffers any health problems (that was about as far a I could read before I started skimming :laugh: )

    I don't think there is anything wrong with things like paleo diet either. People do it and are still healthy
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    wow that was long, I gave up after the second paragraph..(god im lazy!) but bump just incase I get a case of the unlazies and want to read it later

    To summarize, there are papers out there which easily prove that drinking cat urine is the best and fastest way to lose fat while building lean muscle. So anyone who isn't on a cat urine drinking regimen is wasting their efforts, plain and simple. It's also very good for the skin.

    If you are interested in obtaining my specially blended proprietary formula of high quality cat urine isolate (now with 22 additional vitamins and performance enhancing minerals), I can get you a great discount on the stuff.

    :laugh:

    sorry, i think i need to step away from the computer now
  • jknops2
    jknops2 Posts: 171 Member
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    Good Point. I have two cats too might be a good time to go into making money of them.

    Anyhow, I agree, late enough time to go to bed.

    Good night.
  • PureAndHealthy
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    Just remember a consensus of the majority may still be incorrect. We should never become arrogant but seek truth in all things... and be open to finding it. :flowerforyou:
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
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    First of all, there are a lot of people who are absolutely incapable of discerning between opinion and fact. They'll latch onto whatever idea appeals to them and no amount of data you throw at them will make any difference. They're going to believe what they want to believe. After all, most of them have been taught to *believe* - not to *think*.

    Secondly, you never know what kind of mental or emotional issues some of these particularly opinionated and stunningly irrational people may have. It's generally a waste of time trying to reason with unreasonable people. Let's just leave it at that.

    Third, you'll see a lot of people who won't question or disagree with someone (particularly someone with a very strong opinion) because they don't want to seem "mean" or "rude" or they just don't want to deal with the conflict or the hassle. Many people will even jump in and defend someone whose bad information is challenged because they perceive it as an "attack" on a friend or whatever. It has nothing to do with logic and facts! It's social behavior with a whole other set of motivations.

    Most likely the majority of people know when someone is posting baloney and appreciate it when others post facts and cite sources. Trying to "win" an internet argument with people who play by totally different mental rules and have totally different motivations than you, is usually an exercise in frustration. I should know because I spent years doing it, LOL!
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I don't know how to address it. I would probably go ahead and reply to this stuff as it comes up. I can't stand to see misinformation spread. It bothers me to the core.

    I'm obviously not a nutritionist, dietitian, or fitness expert, but I still give advice when I think it could be helpful. I tend to try to prefix with "this is what has worked for me" or "i have read" or "many sources agree"... basically just throwing an idea out there and leaving it up to the person to go research it and reach their own conclusion. Many of the things discussed here aren't black and white and 99% of us aren't experts. So I hate it when people come out and say "X is wrong; Y is right. Never do X; Always do Y"

    Another problem around this whole area of nutrition and fitness that I, as someone who is trying hard to learn All The Right Answers, am struggling with is that even the actual experts can't seem to agree on many points. There seems to be a contradiction and rebuttal to just about any idea out there. At the end, we probably just go with whatever ideas seem to resonate with us, and what has been working for us.

    Well, if you ever see me spouting out something that's just plain false please go ahead and shoot me down.


    I agree. The more I study nutrition, the more conflicting arguements I see. I've seen a lot of myths debunked, I've seen a lot of those same myths defended. I do think that all people are different, and their bodies will not always respond to the same things in the same ways.
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
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    *S*
    how to deal with it?

    i sit here and shake my head.. and most times say nothing.. partly because ...

    a) i simply don't need the stress of what will likely become a bit of a 'kerfuffle' with folks differing opinions despite what i know is fact.
    and
    b) i know i cannot change anyone's mind. If they are the type of person who is not open to facts and perhaps doing some background investigation of their own, with an open mind if they are finding information that may well be proving them incorrect in their viewpoint, then nothing i can ever say to them will help.
    the only person that can change someone's mind is.. that person.

    granted... at times i comment anyway as misinformation drives me nuts as i DO know many will believe whatever they see 'said' online so long as the 'speaker' says it with conviction and a feeling of authority.

    me? while not a scientist i do indeed have an analytical mind.. but i must remind myself all the time that most people would rather i didn't 'bother' them with facts *LOL*

    good luck.. and btw.... thank you for posting this.. was refreshing to read *S*
  • bassetthree
    bassetthree Posts: 143 Member
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    Great post! Love it!! Friendly debate.... researching and understanding facts instead of relying on rhetoric. Either way... I find this site very helpful for tracking and support and I am glad to have such a large community of people with similar goals to consort with. Thank you for a scientific perspective. Cheers!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    So, first off some background on me. I am a scientist, biology specific, and work and teach on plant community and ecosystem ecology, carbon and nitrogen cycling, much of it related to global change research issues. Not nutrition, or weight loss, but I have read up on it to some degree.

    I have had high cholesterol for a long time, genetics, and a while ago started on statins, specifically Crestor.

    Four months ago, on my annual cholesterol check, my doctor saw high blood sugar, and on retesting mentioned pre-diabetes, syndrome X, or borderline diabetes. So, being a nerd, reading up on this, it was clear to me that a high BMI index, or being overweight, is the major risk factor that I can do anything about. Hence, having an IPhone and because this site is metric (I grew up in the Netherlands and am still totally confused about pounds, ounces, stones, cups, pints, etc), I am using this site to figure out where my calorie intake comes from and how to lower it. And as many people, I accumulate 1-2 pounds per year over 20 some years leading to a BMI of 28, but am down to 23.5 now.

    In addition, I have a 2 year old, which has tendency to call out at 5.30 – 6.00 AM, Daddy I am awake, come get me, I want to get up. Then supplying her with bread and peanut butter or cheerios and milk, I got some time and started to look at the community board at www.fitnesspall.com, before the newspaper shows up.

    So my question, I am a scientist and follow evidence based research in my own work and in examining weight, diet and health. What disturbs me is that there are a number of posters here that provide strong opinions about nutrition and what will help you lose weight, totally disconnected from the scientific consensus. For instance, see the following:

    Quote from a poster:
    "Also, the whole saturated fats are bad for your cholesterol and heart is an effort that the medical community started for interest in the soybean and vegetable oil market.

    Research it, it is well known in the naturopathic world how things that are natural occurring become bad for you when the government is lobbying against it for a commercial concern.

    As long as they can keep people believing that cholesterol and saturated fats are bad for you, then they can keep tons of people on statins for high cholesterol that don't do any good and keep people getting sicker and sicker with all the crap they are feeding you.

    I average over 6-8 eggs per day most days. My cholesterol is too LOW, the proof is in the pudding so to speak. There are many others on this site that can attest to what I am saying also.””


    There is broad consensus among scientists refuting these points and there is no point arguing with this poster, because her mind is set, she is not going to listen to rational arguments and critically examine evidence and change her opinion.

    My opinion, anyone can make up anything and propagate it through the web, which is increasingly happening. (To ‘paraphrase another poster, why don’t we start saying drinking cat pee because it will help us lose weight. Some people are bound to try this after we post it).

    The reason I bring this up, is that other posters respond with comments like
    “Um, wow, strong opinions over fats. Interesting article. I think getting unbalanced on either end of that is probably wrong. The right answer for all of that is probably in the middle. Obviously fat is good for your body, whole, natural fats. But that doesn't mean mass amounts of it, especially processed foods, is what our culture needs, really.”

    This I don’t know how to respond to, and I think is a major problem that we have in our society and the US. If there is broad consensus among scientist about a topic, but there are a couple of individuals on the fringe questioning this with non-rational arguments, this leads to a problem. Their mind is made up no matter what you say or evidence that you present. There is no middle in this debate. And it is impossible to have a debate about this topic, if one side is not rational and willing to change your opinion based on solid evidence. But there is no real middle!

    And yes, the same is the case the other way around. BUT if someone shows me solid evidence, I will change what I think. A by now classic example is stomach ulcers and H. pylori. Up to 20 years ago consensus was that stress coursed stomach ulcers, but there was a couple of scientists pursued an alternative explanation, got the critical data, and rewrote the textbooks on this, and got a Nobel Price for doing this. That changed my view on this too, but the people I mention above just assert things without providing solid proof.

    But to get back to the main point, the MAJOR problem is that many perceive these discussion as that there are two real sides that both have valid points of views. In other words, I starting a discussion on this seems to validate the fringe’s point of view, even though it is totally bogus, and seems to confuse many readers.

    Topics for this are:
    • Cholesterol health issue being a myth
    • Saturated fats being a health issue
    • HCG diet
    • Paleo diet, or other diets eliminating all carbs
    • Corn sugar being bad and natural sugars being good (sugars are sugars after all)

    I run into this with science all the time, on issues like global climate change, evolution, the cause of AIDS, etc.
    The broad consensus, versus the couple of fringe people and most people perceiving these debates as there is no consensus. I think for many science issues, including nutrition and health, this is major problem in our society.

    Any suggestions on how to address this?

    I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. But, if you have a problem with people's lack of knowledge, offer up your own scientific knowledge. People will either believe it or they won't.

    But as far as the topics listed go, here's my take:

    • Cholesterol health issue being a myth
    High cholesterol is definitely a serious problem for those who have it. But, it has absolutely nothing to do with the cholesterol in food. (My husband and I have both done tons of research on this because he has high cholesterol.) Cholesterol isn't absorbed into the blood stream, so it doesn't affect your blood cholesterol. What does affect blood cholesterol is saturated fats. They get broken down and absorbed into the blood stream and the body turns them into cholesterol.

    • Saturated fats being a health issue
    Covered above.

    • HCG diet
    Total crap. The science this diet is based on is decades old and this diet just isn't safe. I don't care how much fat HCG can make your body metabolize, only eating 500 calories a day does not give your body the nutrition it needs (your body needs more than just calories from body fat) and it doesn't allow you to exercise. Not healthy.

    • Paleo diet, or other diets eliminating all carbs
    I don't know much about the Paleo diet, but any diet that completely cuts carbs is bad. Your brain runs exclusively on carbs, cutting them out of your diet can actually damage your brain.

    • Corn sugar being bad and natural sugars being good (sugars are sugars after all)
    All sugars are not the same. Natural sugars found in fruits and milk are very different from refined cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Natural sugars have proteins surrounding them that make them slower to digest, they don't spike your blood sugar and they don't cause the body to automatically store them as fat. Cane sugar is similar, but the refining process makes it easier to digest and store as fat. High fructose corn syrup is extremely bad. It is not natural at all. It goes from corn to corn starch to corn syrup. As the sugar molecules go through this process they get broken down and manipulated in such a way that they are extremely easy to break down and they react with the body in such a way that they are automatically stored as fat. They spike the blood sugar very fast and very high. Either Harvard or Yale has been studying corn syrup and has directly linked it to diabetes and obesity.
  • Mrs_McFadden
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    I have ADHD and still managed to read your whole post- ironic considering all of the people that declare ADHD doesn't exist. :) I agree with the other poster who mentioned managing your expectations for most message boards. You're simply not going to find the average person willing to build a case and supporting their *opinion* about nutrition and other banefully controversial topics with logic and empirical evidence.
    I'm not a scientist- I'm just a stay at home mother. Fortunately- I don't rely on these boards for hard facts. When I'm concerned I look up information myself. I've personally read study results and formed opinions of my own based on them.

    When and if I encounter crackpots online that espouse something like eating a mountain of eggs to decrease cholesterol and whose reasoning is founded on the shifty sands of a doubtful, but possible conspiracy.. I IGNORE it.

    You will never find consensus on the Internet or among people about anything. People on the Internet will argue about which freaking underwear is the sexiest FFS.
  • aimstein
    Options
    wow that was long, I gave up after the second paragraph..(god im lazy!) but bump just incase I get a case of the unlazies and want to read it later

    To summarize, there are papers out there which easily prove that drinking cat urine is the best and fastest way to lose fat while building lean muscle. So anyone who isn't on a cat urine drinking regimen is wasting their efforts, plain and simple. It's also very good for the skin.

    If you are interested in obtaining my specially blended proprietary formula of high quality cat urine isolate (now with 22 additional vitamins and performance enhancing minerals), I can get you a great discount on the stuff.

    :laugh:

    sorry, i think i need to step away from the computer now



    This post made me LOL...too funny!! Thanks for the laugh!!
  • elmct57
    elmct57 Posts: 594 Member
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    enjoyed the posts. people should do their own research but the net is a misinformation minefield. my favorite out of the above was the: (To ‘paraphrase another poster, why don’t we start saying drinking cat pee because it will help us lose weight. Some people are bound to try this after we post it).

    lol but wincing at the same time...
  • hemlock2010
    hemlock2010 Posts: 422 Member
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    I don't disagree with you about the general wackiness of the fringe element in nutrition,but I also want to say something that's been on my mind quite a lot lately as I read MFP posts and compare them to the medical community's official word on weight loss.

    So here goes. The medical community has repeatedly stated that the ONLY thing that matters for weight loss is eating fewer calories than we use. When we (people who are not successful at losing weight while diligently counting calories and consuming fewer colories than we use) tell them (the medical community) that it's not working and that there must be more to it, they tell us that we must not really be counting all the calories we consume.

    But perfectly reasonable posters on MFP who have no reason to lie repeatedly describe situations in which they have been consuming fewer calories than they used, sometimes for weeks, without losing weight. When science tells us that something HAS to be true and then our own life experience denies it, that confuses us, makes us distrust science, and leaves a lot of room for superstition about things like high fructose corn syrup.

    In my own experience, I lose weight when I do anaerobic exercise, and I do not lose weight doing only aerobic exercise, even if the calories consumed are the same. I don't understand the science behind this, and there is nothing in the medical community's "rule" about weight lost to account for it, so is it surprising that I would believe other posters when they talk about what works for them, even if the whole body of medical knowledge denies it?

    Yes, to be honest, I'm carrying a grudge against the medical community because doctors tend to have a really bad attitude toward fat people. But if they ever said word one about weight loss that actually helped me lose weight I'd for sure be lining up to listen to the second word.