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Here’s how public thinking on food gets shaped: Every year, researchers publish hundreds of academic studies about the health effects of various foods - chocolate, kale, red wine, anything. Those studies, in turn, become fodder for newspaper articles, books and blog posts.
But how much of this torrent of information is worth the trouble? Surprising little, according to a number of key researchers.In recent years, these skeptics have caused a stir by poking big holes in the nutritional science behind popular diet advice. Even the findings published in distinguished health journals have come under fire.
Collectively, their work suggests that we know far less than we think we do about what to eat.
[Also Covered By]: http://firstwefeast.com/eat/are-nutrition-studies-complete-bogus/
[Related]: http://firstwefeast.com/eat/new-dietary-guidelines-say-red-meat-and-butter-are-not-the-devil/
(Score: 5, Insightful) by SrLnclt on Wednesday May 13 2015, @03:47PM
After seeing news about enough studies and too many fad diets coming and going I started to tune it all out as noise. Nearly all foods can have positive effects on parts of your health. Nearly all foods can have negative effects on parts of your health. Rather than get worked up about what I am eating, I feel the bigger deal is to do everything in moderation. Portion size, exercise and common sense seem like much more effective things to focus on.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday May 13 2015, @08:05PM
... for a small subset of the population.
Consider the cravings that pregnant women get. We all hear about the pickle cravings, actually they get cravings for lots of different things, as the nutritional needs of the child they carry change over time.
If you are malnourished, you'll be hungry, but our hunger pangs aren't very specific to the kinds of food that we really do need to eat. Suppose you don't get enough protein; you can ease your hunger by eating ice cream but you'll get fat.
Fad diets will supply the nutritional needs of such a person. No doubt they lose weight when they get the nutrition they're missing.
The problem is that not everyone has those same deficiencies. Also the fad diets aren't effective for very long.
They are very dangerous too. A professor where my ex went to school had a heart attack as a result of a low-sodium fad diet. She survived but now has chronic heart disease.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday May 13 2015, @08:12PM
My ex used to be a waitress. You would think that rural newfoundlanders wouldn't be religious about their diets. Bonita told me that she would never ever again take a job having anything to do with food.
The diets I see in santa cruz are really quite interesting. While I expect tempeh is nutritious I think it tastes nasty. I had a friend who worked in a shop where she produce hand-made tofu. On the other hand a girlfriend I had once delivered domino's pizza. There are vegan heroin addicts.
Nutrition is complex for many reasons. Consider that chemistry is a difficult subject, and that the human body is a bag full of millions, perhaps trillions of distinctly different chemicals. It's hard enough to develop a safe, effective medicine to treat just about anything, even when the drug company spends billions.
Then there are moneyed interests. Consider that - at least at one time, I don't know about now - alcohol-filled chocolate was unlawful everywhere in the US but nevada. But if an adult can drink whiskey, why can't he have a chocolate with whiskey inside it? I like that kind of candy, I don't get drunk because I don't eat that much candy, but it's really tasty.
The reason is that us candy manufacturers - hershey, mars and the like - opposed legislation that would have legalized alcoholic chocolate, as they had spent a lot of money to promote the notion that chocolate with good for children. I expect that chocolate itself is good for children, but not the sugar.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]