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Fire The Food Experts

"Do you know any good nutrition coaches?"


I received this text from a good friend last week. As he explained in subsequent messages, this friend—a husband, father of three, and overall stud—seeks nutritional truth.


"I'm interested in learning more about nutrition for my children and wife," he wrote. (Like I said, he's a stud.) I responded honestly; it was the only way I knew how.


"Nutritionists are dumb."


 

The age of information has made us dumber in many regards. Rather than knowing ancient wisdom, using our frontal lobe, and being problem-solvers, we memorize hollow facts, suppress common sense, and rely on experts to identify and fix our problems.


This phenomenon blares in the field of nutrition. We've convoluted something that should be as simple as exhaling.


We don't need dieticians to break down legumes' nutrient profiles or nutritionists to tailor how many grams of carbs, fat, and protein we should eat per meal. We don't need journalists writing vacuous articles like 12 Fascinating Almond Facts You Need To Know, nor do we need to understand the results of research papers like Nutrigenomic Effects of White Rice and Brown Rice on the Pathogenesis of Metabolic Disorders in a Fruit Fly Model.


Eating well is simple, enjoyable, and maintainable.


The idea that healthy eating—and the knowledge of it—is unlocked only by experts is rubbish. Our metabolic health was much better before nutrition experts entered the chat. I'd argue—as I do in this piece—that nutrition experts have ushered in more confusion than clarity, lies than truth, and disease than health.

 

In exchanging ancient food traditions for the nutritional intelligentsia, we've numbed our intuition and acquiesced our agency. Sometimes, this abdication is voluntary; other times, it is inescapable. At all times, it's led us further away from health.


Let's look retrospectively—before the dogma of nutritional experts—at what mankind ate throughout our existence. What were we eating and not eating that made metabolic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia exceptionally rare?


 

You don't have to enter your Laura Ingalls Wilder homesteading era or unleash your inner Maasai warrior spirit to eat healthily. You should, however, be empowered to reclaim your agency. To know for yourself which foods are life-giving and which diminish health.


This requires common sense and critical thinking.


Rather than allowing doctors, scientists, nutritionists, or even me to dictate your nutritional regimen, ask yourself some of the following questions when you see a food claim.


  • Does this diet or food plan coincide with what mankind has always eaten, or is it based on ever-changing nutritional guidelines?

  • Does it make sense to blame ancient food (butter) for a modern phenomenon (heart disease)?

  • Did this food exist 1,000 years ago, or is it the product of industrialization?

  • Are all calories the same? (e.g., is 100 calories from a Snickers the same as 100 calories from raspberries?)

  • Could I make X food product or Y drink with ingredients in my kitchen?

  • Is this "health" food product (e.g., protein shakes, protein bars) healthy? That is, can its use be traced back throughout history across various cultures?

  • If a diet requires supplementation (e.g., veganism), is that diet genuinely optimal?

  • Should I feed my kids petrochemicals (i.e., food dyes)?


 

I stand by my text about nutritionists (the field is dumb, not necessarily the individuals). I followed up by suggesting two worthwhile books on the history of food, nutrition, and health. I'll do the same for you.


Please read Deep Nutrition by Catherine Shanahan and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell.


The report on these books is due next Monday, and the exams are the following Friday. Study up, Buttercups!

6 comentarios


davebnep
15 dic 2024

Neither Catherine Shanahan nor Sally Fallon Morell address the arachidonic acid issue in their books. The only one I am aware of that does that in book form is Australian zoologist Anthony Hulbert, PhD. His Omega Balance book will tell you what you need to know to protect your health from the consequences of excessive arachidonic acid intake. His 2021 article entitled The under-appreciated fats of life is available for free. (web search - Hulbert The under-appreciated fats)

Little known fact about the so-called Mediterranean diet: "The Mediterranean diet is low in arachidonic acid and rich in healthy fats such as monounsaturated fats found in extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), nuts and omega-3 fatty acids from fish, which has been shown…


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Sryker
Sryker
31 oct 2024

Well stated and refreshing. I initially set out to get that exact degree years ago until my research (and discernment) revealed the nonsense.

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Matt Angove
Matt Angove
29 oct 2024

Hot 🥵 take!

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vancevoetberg
vancevoetberg
29 oct 2024
Contestando a

It had to be taken.

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cutzi.jobes
29 oct 2024

Amen! Amen! Amen! Although, I do think the argument can be made that nutrition isn’t quite so intuitive when one has already reached the stage of dis-ease and metabolic unhealth. I also highly recommend the book “The Dietician’s Dilemma.” How have I never heard of “Deep Nutrition”??

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vancevoetberg
vancevoetberg
29 oct 2024
Contestando a

Agreed.


When we're dealing with a chronic illness, a dietary intervention (not just healthy, traditional eating) is required.


Not to be dramatic, but next to the Bible, Deep Nutrition has been the most impactful book in my life. Highly recommend.

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