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Why so many food myths?
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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 -
suzyjane1972 wrote: »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.
Energy can't disappear, so it must come out one way or another. Be that from moving like Sonic the Hedgehog on fire, increased body temperature to a point where it's not healthy anymore or undigested through the back or front door if you catch what I'm saying.4 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »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.
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Never mind. Steven had it covered already.0
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Because unconventional methods sometimes work when conventional methods didn't. Now, there could be a multitude of legitimate reasons why they didn't work (I.e. they weren't implemented properly), but the fact remains that they didn't work. So when unconventional methods prove successful (possibly because they made it easier to properly implement the basis of the conventional methodology), those experiencing the success are prone to conclude that the unconventional method is superior.4
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like someone else alluded to, people are more inclined to take advice from someone who is reinforcing someone's bad habits, then to look for real answers and try to figure out if there have been any studies/pubmed articles published on the subject.
Broscience is king when you are looking for an easy way out, that way if anyone questions what you are doing, you can just back it up with "bro, didnt you see so and so's new video/article?!?".6 -
paulgads82 wrote: »Eating 30 bananas a day is hard. People still do it.
That grosses me out beyond gross.4 -
Because the media publicizes the exception in studies rather than the rule? Because many people don't understand the difference between causation and correlation? Because many people read or find one study rather than knowing how to review the bulk of the literature? Because it is easier to access dumbed-down media versions of science than real studies? Because it is easy to make money off of people trying to lose weight? Because a lot of people still ask their doctors for dietary advice even when most doctors have minimal nutrition knowledge or out of date recommendations? Because there is a lot of bad science and biased studies and many people don't take the time to criticize methods and evaluate for bias? It's rough and a frequent rant of mine, but a lot of schooling is teaching people to regurgitate facts. We are asking for memorization more than critical thinking a lot of the time. Sometimes you just have to shake your head and leave it alone.9
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MalcolmX1983 wrote: »"Cause the big guy at the gym told me bro"
"Her bum looks good, so she must know what she's talking about"
I think this is most often the right answer.
I don't look like him/her because I don't eat <whatever diet he/she is promoting>. If only I'd known!0 -
People weigh the facts and determine whether or not a plan sounds reasonable based on their own personal foundation of knowledge. Unfortunately, for many people that foundation is built on things like Pinterest, infomercials, and fad diets. It's a bit like if someone grew up in a place where dandelions were prized flowers only to find their neighbor ripping them out of their garden with gusto.5
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Because "eat less, move more" is so boring and unsexy compared to the idea of quick fixes. People ask me all the time "what I'm doing" and almost seem disappointed with my answer.10
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