The 13 Biggest Nutrition and Food Myths Busted

[MikeH]

Yeah, I should have checked the latest Cochrane summary first.

http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD004366/exercise-for-depression

So it's possibly a bit helpful but maybe not.

[Lorizael]

Translation: I don't believe it because I think science lies.

Science doesn't lie (usually), but it is wrong a lot. If you look at the literature, you see that the majority of published studies turn out to be wrong. It's the studies that survive decades of scrutiny and replication that become a part of accepted science. It's good to be skeptical of preliminary claims.

I should add that I think science is the most reliable method we have of acquiring knowledge, but it's not perfect. Recognizing and accounting for its imperfection makes it better.

[MikeH]

It's also possible that no-one else has looked at it for decades.

[Sava]

I usually believe every random study I read about.

[Lorizael]

You probably only believe the ones that confirm your biases.

[Sava]

My only real bias is: "I am awesome."

I don't really care about anything else.

[Hauldren Collider]

I'm in a public speaking class this semester to knock out a communications elective requirement and jesus christ so many of my classmates have spoken on bogus nutritional topics it's making me furious. A few days ago one of the students gave her persuasive speech assignment on why drinking milk is unnatural and you shouldn't do it. Basically it boiled down to "it's all a scam by big business" and an argument identical to the one that people make about homosexuality being a crime against nature (it's unnatural, no other animals drink another animal's milk).

During the comments period I asked if people drinking milk and eating cheese 3000 years ago was due to big business. "Well...I guess not."

I've also heard about the benefits of gluten-free diets, yoga (twice), and veganism.

You should have pointed out that European-descended humans actually evolved lactase persistence because of the advantages of drinking animal milk and so it is perfectly natural.

[regexcellent]

I would have if I knew that but the thing is I was supposed to be critiquing the speech itself, not the content, so I had to slip in jabs at her stupidity around the periphery.

[Sava]

oh man i bet everyone was applauding and high fiving you dawg

[regexcellent]

I was pissed off, I didn't really care either way.

[The Mad Monk]

Your body spends so much less energy metabolizing it.

I'm not a biology teacher. Maybe google "blood sugar" and learn how it affects the body.

It spends less energy metabolizing it because our bodies are built to optimize its use. We're fruit eaters, from way back, and fructose is fruit sugar. Hence the name. It's one of the most "natural" things we can put in us.

[Sava]

HFCS is anything but natural. It requires an industrial process to produce.

[pchang]

Eating too many calories makes us fat. White carbs are the main source of calories in most of our diets though. Being vegan does have health benefits. For those with high cholesterol, being vegan will reduce cholesterol levels without the need for statins.

[The Mad Monk]

The end product is the same, just more concentrated. It can be diluted, same as any other sugar.

[The Mad Monk]

This is the business end of the industrial process. Looks like a party to me!