13 ms·
Eating habits – parsing the moral language of modern diets
- tikhonj 11y ago> In his philosophy classes, arguments rested on logic and evidence; in his religion classes, “you could use a story to make an argument.” An interesting excerpt that says a lot about the mindset that goes into his argument. The core observation, I suppose, is that this is what's really pushing popular beliefs about diet, far more than logical argument. It makes sense to me, especially considering the character of opposition to gluten and GMOs.
- rguzman 11y agoWell, not all arguments against GMOs are stories. I'm thinking specifically of Taleb's argument: http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/pp2.pdf http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/pp2.pdf
- jrkelly 11y agoNice recent post on the "mathiness" of Taleb's paper: http://www.inexactchange.org/blog/2015/07/24/the-mathiness-of-nassim-nicholas-taleb/ http://www.inexactchange.org/blog/2015/07/24/the-mathiness-o... Best resource on GMOs remains this Grist series: http://grist.org/series/panic-free-gmos/ http://grist.org/series/panic-free-gmos/
- dylanjermiah 11y agoTaleb makes the classic mistake of an intellectual. Misapplying his field of expertise into another.
- jessaustin 11y agoSometimes it seems that sort of misapplication is his field of expertise. I say this having read and enjoyed three of his books. b^)
- nextos 11y agoI think he's not totally wrong. We're just starting to understand gene transfer among bacteria, which is very real. GMOs might open the door to some very unlikely but potentially devastating events.
- gaius 11y agoPhilosophers call stories "thought experiments" but they're the same thing.
- Havoc 11y agoThe whole food scene is a little dodgy in this regard in my view. Everyone claims to have found the one true god - when I really doubt there is one. In light of this uncertainty I subscribe to two basic "beliefs": 1) Don't eat dodgy processed stuff (think paleo mindset) 2) Restrict calories I'm no nutritionist, but I'd venture a guess and say that I'll go far with my 2 point approach.
- dylanjermiah 11y agoDo you have any evidence to support that 'processed' food is worse than the alternative?
- edgyswingset 11y agoTypically you're looking at more sugar and salt in anything processed.
- ectoplasm 11y agoAlso processed stuff usually doesn't taste as good. The enjoyment you derive from eating contributes to your physical health.
- enraged_camel 11y ago>>Also processed stuff usually doesn't taste as good. This isn't true. The entire reason there's more salt and sugar in processed foods is to make them taste good. Compare a Snickers bar with broccoli.
- jessaustin 11y agoWell-prepared broccoli certainly tastes better than a Snickers bar.
- dylanjermiah 11y ago
- DeBraid 11y agoGreen vegetables are the key to good health. It's really that simple. Modern humans consume excessive calories and shockingly remain deprived of vital nutrients! After years of being overweight and having gut issues, I'm now lean and healthy thanks to a plant-based diet. My plan: https://github.com/DeBraid/medicine/blob/master/plant-based-diet.md https://github.com/DeBraid/medicine/blob/master/plant-based-...
- PerfectElement 11y agoI solved my heath problems without eating green vegetables. I do eat plant-based, but mostly beans, whole grains, potatoes and fruits. I don't remember seeing any studies linking green vegetables with longer lifespan, but there are many linking longevity with high plant/high carb diets.
- alejohausner 11y agoProcessed foods can be better, in some cases. For instance, frozen vegetables are picked ripe, and packaged very close to harvest, whereas "fresh" vegetables are picked green, and spend weeks in a truck traveling across the country, and you end up eating them long after they were picked. Frozen vegetables are better for you!
- bayonetz 11y agoI was with you all the way until "Frozen vegetables are better for you!" On the plant ripening definitely feels right but then that itself is falling prey to the narrative appeal to naturalness isn't it? Seems like another empirical question (on vs off plant ripening) I'm pretty sure we can really answer any better than the salt, fat, msg, gluten, etc questions.
- maerF0x0 11y agoof course its unfathomable to eat food that doesnt need to spend weeks travelling. If locally grown and bought at a farmers market (or from CSA) then one could have food that was picked a few days before consumption.
- joe5150 11y agoI'll just drive an hour to the nearest farmer's market, hoping they're actually open according to their loose-at-best schedule, also hoping there's something on offer that I can/want to eat. To desire anything more convenient or reliable is unfathomable!
- qwertz123 11y agoI'm not sure if you can count frozen food as "processed food"? If I wash and cook a tomato, I would still count that as an unprocessed food, wouldn't I? So frozen food is still unprocessed in my opinion. Either that or no one except for raw foodists who don't wash their food eats unprocessed food. And of course: freshly harvested vegetables beat frozen ones.
- maerF0x0 11y ago> And despite the fact that, as one endocrinologist and diabetes expert told Levinovitz, the only definitively established metabolic difference between fruit and candy is that “it’s a lot easier to eat tons of candy than it is to eat tons of apples.” That endocrinologist must not think there is any value in fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants et al. Yes, lets all just eat 300g sugar, 100g oil and 100g whey protein powder every day. Clearly a recipe for poor health. Reductionist thinking glosses over the details that are important for health.
- brrt 11y agoYou're setting up a strawman against a non-essential point in the article. This article was not about the difference between apples and candy.
- DanBC 11y agoMost dieticians and nutritionists warn against smoothies and fruit juices. Have a small amount if you like them, but don't think of them as healthy. There's a lot of sugar in fruit juice. This is especially true for children with milk teeth - the sugars in undiluted fruit juice cause tooth decay.
- walkingolof 11y agoI think its more about how we eat than what we eat (within resonable limits). Having to constantly process foods and drinks in various forms cant be good, eating lunch and dinner and maybe a snack inbetween that and then let the body rest.
- given 11y agoIt is all rooted in suffering. People fear (for their lives if they eat the wrong thing). Some create stories/myths and people believe in them because it gives them a sense of security. Now if someone else says that what they believe (which helps them to cope with their fear) is totally wrong, the "religious" battle begins. If you look at most religions you will discover the same pattern: fear from gods, daemons, enemies etc. Then a religion is formed to alleviate the pain. It is stupid but hey that's what people do. You would better confront the fears and not create more suffering with some silly stories. edit: probably I shouldn't say silly, it's sad that we need to create all theses stories which in the end create much more suffering for everyone (just think about all the quarrels/fights/wars people have being pro or contra some myth/religion/ideology)
- davidgerard 11y agoThe key problem is that, for the first time in history, we've basically solved the food problem. To the point where obesity is epidemic worldwide. But our genes don't know this, so they pack on the lard in preparation for lean times that never come. So the trouble is that to not get unhealthily fat, we have to eat in a completely unnatural way. And it's really hard.