The Unhealthy Truth Behind "Wellness" and "Clean Eating."
May 13, 2016 11:30 AM Subscribe
posted by Fizz at 11:33 AM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
once upon a time i thought that there was no food on earth that would cause me more prolonged and agonizing stomach upset than kale
and then i tried chia "pudding"
posted by poffin boffin at 11:35 AM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
and then i tried chia "pudding"
posted by poffin boffin at 11:35 AM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
Food is a source of fuel, nutrition, and energy. It should keep us alive.
Food is also a source of pleasure, and keeps us happy.
And, personally, I'd rather lean towards food that makes me happy. I can eat plenty of yummy things that are healthy and make me happy, but sometimes I just want food that will make me happy, health be damned.
Which reminds me, where do I have to go to help deal with the cheese surplus?
posted by SansPoint at 11:38 AM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
Food is also a source of pleasure, and keeps us happy.
And, personally, I'd rather lean towards food that makes me happy. I can eat plenty of yummy things that are healthy and make me happy, but sometimes I just want food that will make me happy, health be damned.
Which reminds me, where do I have to go to help deal with the cheese surplus?
posted by SansPoint at 11:38 AM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
food as a cultural location for "purity" = full employment for cultural anthropologists, it seems to me
posted by thelonius at 11:47 AM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 11:47 AM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
"... the wellness we chase might not even want us back."
Damn, rejected by my own wellness. That's harsh.
I guess I picked the wrong body to stop drinking.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:53 AM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Damn, rejected by my own wellness. That's harsh.
I guess I picked the wrong body to stop drinking.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:53 AM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Enjoying your food, it turns out, is good for you.
Sort of a dubious conclusion to make from a single, 50-year-old study, but the overall points about "wellness" and eating "correctness" are sound, I would think.
That said, it's certainly possible to recalibrate your preferences and ultimately find different foods in which to take pleasure. I lost a lot of weight (maybe 100+ pounds, top-to-bottom, though I was too thin for my frame at my lowest weight) more than a decade ago. I've gained a bit back now that I'm in my mid-30s, and could probably stand to lose 15 pounds again, but truthfully, I used to eat (and enjoy) lots of junk, and now I don't. I still like to eat, but I like to eat less, and I don't like a lot of the junky stuff I used to like (although beer and nachos are pretty much still at the top of the list).
Food is food. It serves lots of purposes. None of it is "evil." The constant pressure to eat the "right" things is more toxic than anything you could eat; I can't imagine what it must feel like for women, who get it in megadoses. It's easier to grab onto something you know is "good" or "right" than to reject the premise outright instead.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:02 PM on May 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
Sort of a dubious conclusion to make from a single, 50-year-old study, but the overall points about "wellness" and eating "correctness" are sound, I would think.
That said, it's certainly possible to recalibrate your preferences and ultimately find different foods in which to take pleasure. I lost a lot of weight (maybe 100+ pounds, top-to-bottom, though I was too thin for my frame at my lowest weight) more than a decade ago. I've gained a bit back now that I'm in my mid-30s, and could probably stand to lose 15 pounds again, but truthfully, I used to eat (and enjoy) lots of junk, and now I don't. I still like to eat, but I like to eat less, and I don't like a lot of the junky stuff I used to like (although beer and nachos are pretty much still at the top of the list).
Food is food. It serves lots of purposes. None of it is "evil." The constant pressure to eat the "right" things is more toxic than anything you could eat; I can't imagine what it must feel like for women, who get it in megadoses. It's easier to grab onto something you know is "good" or "right" than to reject the premise outright instead.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:02 PM on May 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
None of it is "evil."
creamed corn, tho
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 12:03 PM on May 13, 2016 [30 favorites]
creamed corn, tho
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 12:03 PM on May 13, 2016 [30 favorites]
Ruby's evolution from nervous Great British Bake Off / Baking Show contestant to vocal queer babe and food politics figurehead has been amazing to see. Love her stuff.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:04 PM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by ominous_paws at 12:04 PM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
I always think there's a weird strain of "model minority" racism going on with clean eating.
You're gluten-free? You mean, you're eating only rice, meat and veggies? So, it's like Chinese food? Because that sounds awesome. No? Oh, you're eating quinoa, then? Because that comes from Peru? And Peru is ... more ... spiritual ... somehow?
It's like Eat, Pray, Love goes in order to Italy, India and Bali. And not, say, France, China and the Philippines.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [11 favorites]
You're gluten-free? You mean, you're eating only rice, meat and veggies? So, it's like Chinese food? Because that sounds awesome. No? Oh, you're eating quinoa, then? Because that comes from Peru? And Peru is ... more ... spiritual ... somehow?
It's like Eat, Pray, Love goes in order to Italy, India and Bali. And not, say, France, China and the Philippines.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [11 favorites]
where do I have to go to help deal with the cheese surplus?
Cheez Whiz is gluten-free. So are most corn chips.
posted by bonehead at 12:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
Cheez Whiz is gluten-free. So are most corn chips.
posted by bonehead at 12:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
Derail: I wish some of the land in the Midwest that's used for corn would instead be used for quinoa. We would get a delicious and healthy grain, and Peruvian farmers would have enough to feed their families!
posted by pxe2000 at 12:10 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by pxe2000 at 12:10 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Cheez Whiz is gluten-free.
Also largely cheese -free.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:11 PM on May 13, 2016 [22 favorites]
Also largely cheese -free.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:11 PM on May 13, 2016 [22 favorites]
I've been around healthy-trend fanatics my whole life, but even I had to laugh when I was at (dragged to) Whole Foods and they had gluten-free toothpaste.
posted by Melismata at 12:11 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 12:11 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
bonehead: Cheez Whiz is gluten-free.
Cheez Whiz is not cheese. And gluten is the least of my concerns. If I was going to be dealing with a Cheez Whiz surplus, I'd move back to Philly and eat cheesesteaks, through I prefer Provolone on my steaks.
posted by SansPoint at 12:12 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Cheez Whiz is not cheese. And gluten is the least of my concerns. If I was going to be dealing with a Cheez Whiz surplus, I'd move back to Philly and eat cheesesteaks, through I prefer Provolone on my steaks.
posted by SansPoint at 12:12 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
creamed corn, tho
Creamed corn is one of those things that I used to like. I bought a can last year sometime and had to toss it. It was terrible. Was it always that terrible? Maybe.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:15 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Creamed corn is one of those things that I used to like. I bought a can last year sometime and had to toss it. It was terrible. Was it always that terrible? Maybe.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:15 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
gluten-free toothpaste
The most blatant marketing WTFuckery I have seen recently is "gluten-conscious" chocolate chip cookies.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 12:15 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
The most blatant marketing WTFuckery I have seen recently is "gluten-conscious" chocolate chip cookies.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 12:15 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
I see bottled water and orange juice labeled as gluten free and I'm just like, how did this happen, how have we come to this? Very little of this labeling is being done for people with legitimate medical gluten intolerance, and while they can certainly benefit from it they also often end up unfairly dismissed as just another gluten free fad dieter.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:19 PM on May 13, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 12:19 PM on May 13, 2016 [20 favorites]
Cheez Whiz is not cheese.
That's the joke, of course. According to that market report, half or more of the surplus is "American Cheese", which means processed cheese of some form. The report specifically mentions provolone, likely in a flavoured, processed form for fast food sandwiches and the like.
posted by bonehead at 12:22 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's the joke, of course. According to that market report, half or more of the surplus is "American Cheese", which means processed cheese of some form. The report specifically mentions provolone, likely in a flavoured, processed form for fast food sandwiches and the like.
posted by bonehead at 12:22 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Creamed corn is one of those things that I used to like. I bought a can last year sometime and had to toss it. It was terrible. Was it always that terrible? Maybe.
I thought "creamed corn" was kind of a misnomer, being that it's just regular corn that's been chopped up in a certain way. I'd avoided it for years because of the curdled-dairy associations, but when I finally tried some a few years ago it wasn't half bad for a canned veggie.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:25 PM on May 13, 2016
I thought "creamed corn" was kind of a misnomer, being that it's just regular corn that's been chopped up in a certain way. I'd avoided it for years because of the curdled-dairy associations, but when I finally tried some a few years ago it wasn't half bad for a canned veggie.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:25 PM on May 13, 2016
Very little of this labeling is being done for people with legitimate medical gluten intolerance, and while they can certainly benefit from it they also often end up unfairly dismissed as just another gluten free fad dieter.
Stew Leonard's a few weeks ago was sampling some chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies (which were fantastic) that the bakery person said didn't contain any gluten, but couldn't be called gluten-free because they were made in the regular bakery kitchen. How does that play with people who actually have serious gluten sensitivity? Why make them with the gluten-free flour in the first place if you can't call them gluten-free? Will people who eschew gluten for smugness purposes buy them? I don't get it.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:25 PM on May 13, 2016
Stew Leonard's a few weeks ago was sampling some chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies (which were fantastic) that the bakery person said didn't contain any gluten, but couldn't be called gluten-free because they were made in the regular bakery kitchen. How does that play with people who actually have serious gluten sensitivity? Why make them with the gluten-free flour in the first place if you can't call them gluten-free? Will people who eschew gluten for smugness purposes buy them? I don't get it.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:25 PM on May 13, 2016
My MIL has given us not one but two copies of Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brain's Silent Killers. "Oh, hey, thanks," I say, and then offer her a roll. You can't even satirize this movement-- it's self-satirizing.
I am glad that people with celiac disease have more options at the supermarket than they used to. I really am. But you're not getting my bagel unless you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
posted by tuesdayschild at 12:26 PM on May 13, 2016 [9 favorites]
I am glad that people with celiac disease have more options at the supermarket than they used to. I really am. But you're not getting my bagel unless you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
posted by tuesdayschild at 12:26 PM on May 13, 2016 [9 favorites]
Since January of last year, I dropped 113 pounds - classic CICO tracking worked for me, thankfully. And yeah, the numbers aspect I think is what helped me so I can totally see the dangers of it and see some of the same obsessive thoughts about "have I balanced out my intake for today, stayed under/at target" but fortunately I don't think it's ever made me feel guilty. Sometimes when I've "missed", I've just used it the next day in the gym or said "meh, marathon, not sprint".
I have some friends who are obsessed with everything they eat, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to have my beer and cocktails et al - just trying to be more aware of how much I'm doing. I need to figure out the right balance for myself to avoid tipping into bad habits of either sort.
And yeah, the diet industry - the food policing - the shaming aspect - can go get bent. For my friends with actual issues with gluten, at least they have awareness of their issues now. The moralizing is weird - do we crave shame?
At the same time, I look at the HAES movement with a little skepticism because I sure as heck feel healthier at an appropriate BMI than I did at 270. But that's my experience and as long as you're happy and not telling me I'm a bad person, I won't tell you that either.
Be happy people, we're not here for long!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:28 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
I have some friends who are obsessed with everything they eat, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to have my beer and cocktails et al - just trying to be more aware of how much I'm doing. I need to figure out the right balance for myself to avoid tipping into bad habits of either sort.
And yeah, the diet industry - the food policing - the shaming aspect - can go get bent. For my friends with actual issues with gluten, at least they have awareness of their issues now. The moralizing is weird - do we crave shame?
At the same time, I look at the HAES movement with a little skepticism because I sure as heck feel healthier at an appropriate BMI than I did at 270. But that's my experience and as long as you're happy and not telling me I'm a bad person, I won't tell you that either.
Be happy people, we're not here for long!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:28 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
Good article here from the Boston Globe on food allergy fakers. I think it just won a journalism award.
posted by Melismata at 12:30 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 12:30 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
I am glad that people with celiac disease have more options at the supermarket than they used to. I really am.
My roommate has celiac, and she is also here from Belgium (she just arrived in September and will probably be here just one more year). At first she was overjoyed at the increase in gluten-free options, but she's already moved on to "god y'all are getting faddish over this and it's starting to make my life difficult".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:30 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
My roommate has celiac, and she is also here from Belgium (she just arrived in September and will probably be here just one more year). At first she was overjoyed at the increase in gluten-free options, but she's already moved on to "god y'all are getting faddish over this and it's starting to make my life difficult".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:30 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
I mean, it IS completely maddening and I sometimes feel like an insane person when I go to a grocery store and damn near everything in a box is composed entirely of wheat, soy, and corn, with some corn syrup thrown in for fun. And then you go to Whole Foods and it's rice flour, potato starch and agave nectar and costs twice as much.
I'm completely one of those assholes who stopped eating gluten incidentally years ago when I went on a low-carb diet and it changed my life radically. I always thought debilitating sinus headaches and joint pain was just part of the pain of living, and it contributed to my depression. I quit gluten and all of that day-to-day pain went away like magic. I don't have celiac, though, and have enough of a tolerance that I can have a slice of pizza or cake or whatever if I feel like it and have minimal effects, but if I'm eating multiple servings a day for a prolonged period it all comes back. It's hard to explain to people and no one actually cares, so I don't talk about it much. But it's hard and annoying and I probably sound orthorexic or like I'm making up arbitrary rules when I'm with my family or other people for multiple days and I have to kind of make it clear that I basically limit myself to an average of one serving of wheat-based food, about 3 times a week.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 12:50 PM on May 13, 2016 [26 favorites]
I'm completely one of those assholes who stopped eating gluten incidentally years ago when I went on a low-carb diet and it changed my life radically. I always thought debilitating sinus headaches and joint pain was just part of the pain of living, and it contributed to my depression. I quit gluten and all of that day-to-day pain went away like magic. I don't have celiac, though, and have enough of a tolerance that I can have a slice of pizza or cake or whatever if I feel like it and have minimal effects, but if I'm eating multiple servings a day for a prolonged period it all comes back. It's hard to explain to people and no one actually cares, so I don't talk about it much. But it's hard and annoying and I probably sound orthorexic or like I'm making up arbitrary rules when I'm with my family or other people for multiple days and I have to kind of make it clear that I basically limit myself to an average of one serving of wheat-based food, about 3 times a week.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 12:50 PM on May 13, 2016 [26 favorites]
Effect on my life of people eating gluten-free for the "wrong" reasons = literally nothing but having that word bounce off my eyeballs in stores.
(I really try to ration my "UR DOING IT RONG" moments these days.)
But then those folks need to stop calling what they eat "clean," because what I eat isn't "dirty."
posted by praemunire at 12:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [20 favorites]
(I really try to ration my "UR DOING IT RONG" moments these days.)
But then those folks need to stop calling what they eat "clean," because what I eat isn't "dirty."
posted by praemunire at 12:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [20 favorites]
The problem is, the gluten free fad people make life worse, now, for people who actually medically cannot have gluten. The faddists are the ones who contribute to people not believing, because when you say you're gluten-free (or worse, claim you have celiac when you don't) and then tuck into a big bowl of pasta, or worse say that X gluten (say, bread) is bad but Y gluten (say, pastry) is fine, you're making everyone think that everyone is doing it for a fad. Which leads to the terrible stories of e.g. just picking croutons off a salad and sending it back out, cutting food for celiac people with knives and on boards that have been recently used for bread, etc. While the faddists, and thus the people chasing their dollars, have ensured a greater awareness and more product range (and that is an unambiguously good thing), they're now contributing to the actual people who are affected not being believed. Same as my usual rant about people claiming 'allergy' in restaurants when they mean 'ew I don't like that' leading to more lackadaisical treatment of actual allergy concerns. EmpressCallipygos mentioned the same thing above. It's the crying wolf problem.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:00 PM on May 13, 2016 [27 favorites]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:00 PM on May 13, 2016 [27 favorites]
they had gluten-free toothpaste.
You laugh, but some NSAIDs have gluten in them, so wondering if toothpaste has it isn't much of a stretch.
posted by Candleman at 1:00 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
You laugh, but some NSAIDs have gluten in them, so wondering if toothpaste has it isn't much of a stretch.
posted by Candleman at 1:00 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Gently underscoring that the "yeah but ha ha gluten-free right?" angle specifically has sort of gone around the yard a few times on MeFi already and it'd be more interesting to keep the discussion more on the larger phenomena at play here than doing the sort of easy-chuckle fad mockery stuff a bunch more.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:01 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:01 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
But when wellness balloons beyond the individual, swelling from personal lifestyle choice to sweetheart of the diet industry bolstered by supermarkets who see kale, coconut oil and chia seeds as a great profit opportunity, that's a problem for all of us.
Hm, I feel exactly the opposite. People make money selling food, and that has been the case anywhere it is legal to sell it.
The problem that candy bars and soft drinks are have been a profitable, so that is what has lined the shelves. Now food companies see that healthier things can be profitable. Great!
Profit doesn't make healthy food unhealthy. It can, however, motivate businesses to sell it.
posted by andrewpcone at 1:02 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
Hm, I feel exactly the opposite. People make money selling food, and that has been the case anywhere it is legal to sell it.
The problem that candy bars and soft drinks are have been a profitable, so that is what has lined the shelves. Now food companies see that healthier things can be profitable. Great!
Profit doesn't make healthy food unhealthy. It can, however, motivate businesses to sell it.
posted by andrewpcone at 1:02 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
My New Philosophy is that if I hear the word "healthy" from anybody but a trusted physician, it automatically gets a big old set of euphemistic air quotes around it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
It's the crying wolf problem.
Yeah. I don't work in a kitchen anymore, but saying you're allergic to something then ordering something else that (obviously) has that ingredient you've just claimed is an allergen is a fantastic way to make the staff think you're an idiot. And that behavior definitely does make things worse for people who are actually allergic to that ingredient.
FWIW, I've been through this cycle of food fearfulness. I'm going to call it "fearfulness," because I think fear is at the heart of a lot of this stuff, based on my experiences. The search for "wellness" is not all bad - turns out you end up in fairly good shape when you try to just eat protein and vegetables - but you miss out on an awful lot.
As it is, I'll be doing well to achieve twice my current age, so my philosophy is sort of a Churchillian approach to nutrition: don't eat the same meal twice in a row, and enjoy yourself as much as possible.
posted by iffthen at 1:09 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yeah. I don't work in a kitchen anymore, but saying you're allergic to something then ordering something else that (obviously) has that ingredient you've just claimed is an allergen is a fantastic way to make the staff think you're an idiot. And that behavior definitely does make things worse for people who are actually allergic to that ingredient.
FWIW, I've been through this cycle of food fearfulness. I'm going to call it "fearfulness," because I think fear is at the heart of a lot of this stuff, based on my experiences. The search for "wellness" is not all bad - turns out you end up in fairly good shape when you try to just eat protein and vegetables - but you miss out on an awful lot.
As it is, I'll be doing well to achieve twice my current age, so my philosophy is sort of a Churchillian approach to nutrition: don't eat the same meal twice in a row, and enjoy yourself as much as possible.
posted by iffthen at 1:09 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
sometimes feel like an insane person when I go to a grocery store and damn near everything in a box is composed entirely of wheat, soy, and corn, with some corn syrup thrown in for fun. And then you go to Whole Foods and it's rice flour, potato starch and agave nectar and costs twice as much
The article said "according to Levinovitz, gluten-free products average at 242 percent more expensive than their gluten-containing versions" AND I BELIEVE IT. Everything -- EVERYTHING -- I buy is more expensive than the food that my allergy-free boyfriend buys. I can have gluten, thankfully, but I'm allergic to dairy and soy and corn and many, many other things and it's so frustrating. And I have it WAY easier than many people -- I make good money and my boyfriend insists on splitting our grocery bills 50/50 even though my food literally costs 2-3 times what his does.
posted by kate blank at 1:24 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
The article said "according to Levinovitz, gluten-free products average at 242 percent more expensive than their gluten-containing versions" AND I BELIEVE IT. Everything -- EVERYTHING -- I buy is more expensive than the food that my allergy-free boyfriend buys. I can have gluten, thankfully, but I'm allergic to dairy and soy and corn and many, many other things and it's so frustrating. And I have it WAY easier than many people -- I make good money and my boyfriend insists on splitting our grocery bills 50/50 even though my food literally costs 2-3 times what his does.
posted by kate blank at 1:24 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
stoneweaver: Food (and medical) fads are a problem. While people shouldn't get up in any other individual's face saying "you're a fad-ist", as a society we need to have these discussions one way or the other.
For a while the US had a uranium health fad. Plenty of people swore that their lived experience was made better by drinking uranium tonics. Same thing happened with hormones, MSG, vitamins, low-carb, etc.. These things are all debunked by and large.
I'll admit that I've been swept up in trends before and thought it was my lived truth. Turns out I have the same psychological weaknesses as everyone else!
I also have some stuff that other people have trouble believing as real that is my own lived truth.
At the end of the day this stuff is all so complex and particular to the situation at hand.
posted by sp160n at 1:26 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
For a while the US had a uranium health fad. Plenty of people swore that their lived experience was made better by drinking uranium tonics. Same thing happened with hormones, MSG, vitamins, low-carb, etc.. These things are all debunked by and large.
I'll admit that I've been swept up in trends before and thought it was my lived truth. Turns out I have the same psychological weaknesses as everyone else!
I also have some stuff that other people have trouble believing as real that is my own lived truth.
At the end of the day this stuff is all so complex and particular to the situation at hand.
posted by sp160n at 1:26 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
For a while the US had a uranium health fad. Plenty of people swore that their lived experience was made better by drinking uranium tonics. Same thing happened with hormones, MSG, vitamins, low-carb, etc.. These things are all debunked by and large.
Are you saying that people.... don't need vitamins? Or hormones?
posted by kate blank at 1:30 PM on May 13, 2016
Are you saying that people.... don't need vitamins? Or hormones?
posted by kate blank at 1:30 PM on May 13, 2016
gluten-free products average at 242 percent more expensive than their gluten-containing versions
Wheat is cheap and extremely good for the purposes we use it for. If my experience trying to make gluten free meals is any indication, the price is at least partly reflective of that.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 1:31 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Wheat is cheap and extremely good for the purposes we use it for. If my experience trying to make gluten free meals is any indication, the price is at least partly reflective of that.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 1:31 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
We don't mock gluten etc. because we think allergy sufferers are faking it. We mock the fakers, and we also are lashing out a bit because some of us were told as a young child, constantly, "you're a bad person because you like meat and bread."
posted by Melismata at 1:31 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 1:31 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
Who the *(*&(& cares if people make up/fake dietary requirements for themselves, so long as those requirements aren't genuinely threatening to their health? Honestly, what business is it of anyone's whether a person is a "faker" or not? Isn't it quite a bit concern-trolling to say "oh, we only mock the FAKERS to protect the REALLY SICK people," as if the people with celiac could not be equally well protected by no one worrying about whether anyone is "faking" or not?
People do stupid stuff constantly. Just...so what? Isn't there something better we can judge them on than what food they put in their mouths? Because you're certainly not cutting down on orthorexia by making people feel embattled about what they eat.
posted by praemunire at 1:37 PM on May 13, 2016 [12 favorites]
People do stupid stuff constantly. Just...so what? Isn't there something better we can judge them on than what food they put in their mouths? Because you're certainly not cutting down on orthorexia by making people feel embattled about what they eat.
posted by praemunire at 1:37 PM on May 13, 2016 [12 favorites]
I enjoyed the talented and neurotic Ruby on the Great British Baking Show very much. She is a wordsmith, but not unlike her overthinking and overwrought approach to eating, she could use a little self-editing here. (Or, hey, Vice editors, WTF?) It took a lot of plowing through several similar thoughts about the anti-gluten movement expressed in nuanced ways to get to what I'd hoped would be her point all along: Moderation, moderation, moderation. I know, for many people that's easier said than done....
posted by Lowbrowkate at 1:37 PM on May 13, 2016
posted by Lowbrowkate at 1:37 PM on May 13, 2016
Who the *(*&(& cares if people make up/fake dietary requirements for themselves, so long as those requirements aren't genuinely threatening to their health?
Because it raises the externalized costs to those around them. Consider the emotional labour (not to mention costs and physical labour too) being done to accommodate such folks socially and in other settings: weddings, family meals, work gatherings. We all want to do our best for people who genuinely need help, or who have an ethical or faith-based restriction or who even have a simple preference. So for people who do go to extra lengths, often expending worry and money and time, it's a little aggravating to find out someone has been gaslighting their effort and consideration.
posted by bonehead at 1:44 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
Because it raises the externalized costs to those around them. Consider the emotional labour (not to mention costs and physical labour too) being done to accommodate such folks socially and in other settings: weddings, family meals, work gatherings. We all want to do our best for people who genuinely need help, or who have an ethical or faith-based restriction or who even have a simple preference. So for people who do go to extra lengths, often expending worry and money and time, it's a little aggravating to find out someone has been gaslighting their effort and consideration.
posted by bonehead at 1:44 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
kate blank: In the early part of the 20th century people were being told hormones were something even healthy people should take as part of their regular nutrition. Obviously some people with specific medical issues need hormones but most don't. Most people really don't need goat testicles sewn into their scrotums for the hormonal benefits.
The Vitamin industry is less flamboyantly messed up, but oh boy is it still bad.
Obviously some people with specific conditions need these things. But we're talking about fads here, and the quackery that comes with them.
posted by sp160n at 1:44 PM on May 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
The Vitamin industry is less flamboyantly messed up, but oh boy is it still bad.
Obviously some people with specific conditions need these things. But we're talking about fads here, and the quackery that comes with them.
posted by sp160n at 1:44 PM on May 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
Who the *(*&(& cares if people make up/fake dietary requirements for themselves, so long as those requirements aren't genuinely threatening to their health?
Because as someone with no-shit-could-die allergies, I am at risk when people fake allergies and thus other people either don't believe me (has happened), or are lackadaisical about actually being sure there are no nut products in what I eat.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:46 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
Because as someone with no-shit-could-die allergies, I am at risk when people fake allergies and thus other people either don't believe me (has happened), or are lackadaisical about actually being sure there are no nut products in what I eat.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:46 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
Derail: I wish some of the land in the Midwest that's used for corn would instead be used for quinoa. We would get a delicious and healthy grain, and Peruvian farmers would have enough to feed their families!
Coincidentally, this article in the LA Times a couple days ago: "Is quinoa California farmers' new kale?"
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:46 PM on May 13, 2016
Coincidentally, this article in the LA Times a couple days ago: "Is quinoa California farmers' new kale?"
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:46 PM on May 13, 2016
Who are these fakers, though? Like who do you think is setting out to fake this? I absolutely promise you no one is trying to fake it?
People who lie about having allergies to X when ordering food, when what they actually mean is "I don't like X."
They put my life in danger.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:50 PM on May 13, 2016 [12 favorites]
People who lie about having allergies to X when ordering food, when what they actually mean is "I don't like X."
They put my life in danger.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:50 PM on May 13, 2016 [12 favorites]
The Boston Globe article I linked to above describes in detail who the fakers are.
posted by Melismata at 1:50 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 1:50 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Who are these fakers, though? Like who do you think is setting out to fake this? I absolutely promise you no one is trying to fake it? Like just stop a second and ask yourself why someone would go to the expense and trouble for something they're making up. What would they gain? What is the end goal?
Um I think there were more than a few Behind Closed Ovens where people said they were deathly allergic to milk or whatever and proceeded to drench their salad in ranch dressing, as an example.
posted by LizBoBiz at 1:51 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Um I think there were more than a few Behind Closed Ovens where people said they were deathly allergic to milk or whatever and proceeded to drench their salad in ranch dressing, as an example.
posted by LizBoBiz at 1:51 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
stoneweaver: that's a bit like saying we shouldn't criticize anti-vaxers until we've figured out how to stop whatever it is that went wrong in these people's lives that turned them into anti-vaxers.
I'm 100% with you on the principle of nipping problems in the bud but it makes zero practical sense.
We should live in a society where untruths are not allowed to stand. This is a battle fought on multiple fronts.
posted by sp160n at 1:52 PM on May 13, 2016 [9 favorites]
I'm 100% with you on the principle of nipping problems in the bud but it makes zero practical sense.
We should live in a society where untruths are not allowed to stand. This is a battle fought on multiple fronts.
posted by sp160n at 1:52 PM on May 13, 2016 [9 favorites]
I think there's possibly a middle ground between scorning the people who adopt fad diets and scorning the need for gluten-free labeling on things you wouldn't have thought needed it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:57 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:57 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
All I know is that some things (most dairy products; soy products if I consume them in large quantities) give me an upset stomach, and I try to avoid those things, because it's really better for everyone in my vicinity if I don't get that particular kind of upset stomach. This seems to annoy some people (in the abstract; nobody seems to care IRL), but I don't care that much, because I promise you, we're all better off if I don't consume stuff that gives me an upset stomach.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
It's a frustration for me as a vegan to see a fair amount of this sort of thing in my circles, which can often make a vegan diet, which is already pretty healthy on average (even if like me you love a sea of Daiya in your gluten-filled deep dish pizza), appear a lot more inaccessible/difficult than it really is. I'm reminded of this image . I'm very firmly type 1.
As an antidote to some of this, I recommend the Taco Cleanse.
posted by Gymnopedist at 2:27 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
As an antidote to some of this, I recommend the Taco Cleanse.
posted by Gymnopedist at 2:27 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Who are these fakers, though? Like who do you think is setting out to fake this? I absolutely promise you no one is trying to fake it?
The lady next to me at working musing out loud and at length to anyone within earshot about how she thinks she's allergic to sugar.
posted by Jess the Mess at 2:32 PM on May 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
The lady next to me at working musing out loud and at length to anyone within earshot about how she thinks she's allergic to sugar.
posted by Jess the Mess at 2:32 PM on May 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
faking/faker indicates that it's assumed these people are lying or engaging in trickery, instead of being bad at nuance (intolerance vs allergy) or ended up with the wrong ideas, sometimes due to things that stoneweaver so greatly laid out.
and if we're going to mock dumb restaurant customers we should probably save a space of mockery for the waitstaff/kitchen folks who send out chicken stock, bacon filled things to vegetarians, insisting those aren't 'meat'.
posted by nadawi at 2:37 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
and if we're going to mock dumb restaurant customers we should probably save a space of mockery for the waitstaff/kitchen folks who send out chicken stock, bacon filled things to vegetarians, insisting those aren't 'meat'.
posted by nadawi at 2:37 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
Because as someone with no-shit-could-die allergies, I am at risk when people fake allergies and thus other people either don't believe me (has happened),
This is a problem solved by the default's being everyone treating everyone else as though they were putting forth their requirements in good faith, not by random and unreliable policing of who's "faking."
or are lackadaisical about actually being sure there are no nut products in what I eat.
This is obviously extremely unpleasant and dangerous for you, but it happened before food sensitivities became more "trendy" and it would keep happening if the culture lost the concept entirely.
We all want to do our best for people who genuinely need help, or who have an ethical or faith-based restriction or who even have a simple preference. So for people who do go to extra lengths, often expending worry and money and time, it's a little aggravating to find out someone has been gaslighting their effort and consideration.
You do these things in good faith because you want to act kindly, ethically, thoughtfully, yes? That doesn't stop being the case if the other person's situation doesn't quite fit your expectations. Any time you are considerate, other people can take advantage of it. Is it more important to you in this context to be considerate or to never be taken advantage of? Look, if you hear someone laughing after dinner about how they totally faked you out, they're not in the least bit gluten-sensitive, they were just trying to screw with you, then, fine, you have convincing proof that this person is lying maliciously and I have no problem with your mocking them. Most of the time in this context, that just won't be the case. It will be people who genuinely believe that they feel worse after eating gluten even though they don't have celiac, and, even if they are the flakiest flakes who ever gooped, do you think mockery helps that?
(I'm not one of those people, by the way; I just want a stand-down in the arms race of judging other people's eating.)
posted by praemunire at 2:39 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
This is a problem solved by the default's being everyone treating everyone else as though they were putting forth their requirements in good faith, not by random and unreliable policing of who's "faking."
or are lackadaisical about actually being sure there are no nut products in what I eat.
This is obviously extremely unpleasant and dangerous for you, but it happened before food sensitivities became more "trendy" and it would keep happening if the culture lost the concept entirely.
We all want to do our best for people who genuinely need help, or who have an ethical or faith-based restriction or who even have a simple preference. So for people who do go to extra lengths, often expending worry and money and time, it's a little aggravating to find out someone has been gaslighting their effort and consideration.
You do these things in good faith because you want to act kindly, ethically, thoughtfully, yes? That doesn't stop being the case if the other person's situation doesn't quite fit your expectations. Any time you are considerate, other people can take advantage of it. Is it more important to you in this context to be considerate or to never be taken advantage of? Look, if you hear someone laughing after dinner about how they totally faked you out, they're not in the least bit gluten-sensitive, they were just trying to screw with you, then, fine, you have convincing proof that this person is lying maliciously and I have no problem with your mocking them. Most of the time in this context, that just won't be the case. It will be people who genuinely believe that they feel worse after eating gluten even though they don't have celiac, and, even if they are the flakiest flakes who ever gooped, do you think mockery helps that?
(I'm not one of those people, by the way; I just want a stand-down in the arms race of judging other people's eating.)
posted by praemunire at 2:39 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
This is obviously extremely unpleasant and dangerous for you, but it happened before food sensitivities became more "trendy" and it would keep happening if the culture lost the concept entirely.
I have watched it become worse over the last few years.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 2:42 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
I have watched it become worse over the last few years.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 2:42 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
My New Philosophy is that if I hear the word "healthy" from anybody but a trusted physician, it automatically gets a big old set of euphemistic air quotes around it.
You can make the Internet a much more pleasant place if, every time you see the word 'toxins', you mentally replace it with the phrase 'evil spirits'.
posted by Itaxpica at 2:48 PM on May 13, 2016 [23 favorites]
You can make the Internet a much more pleasant place if, every time you see the word 'toxins', you mentally replace it with the phrase 'evil spirits'.
posted by Itaxpica at 2:48 PM on May 13, 2016 [23 favorites]
The Gluten Lie book that the article mentions is a fantastic look at some of the phenomena at play in food fads in general.
posted by girl Mark at 2:49 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by girl Mark at 2:49 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
There was an article recently about how hard it was for someone to be diagnosed with Lyme disease, and how some doctors don't think it exists, or that it's a bunch of unrelated problems, or something that exists only psychologically. It's a weird dynamic when you'll ignore someone's description of discomfort or malaise until you can put a name to it. This article, and every one like it, makes sure to note that coeliac is a real disease - because we wouldn't want to put down people who are actually suffering, right? No, just the fakers who jump on fad diets for no reason.
There's no obvious answer, but for all the talk about orthorexia, we run the risk of overlooking the fact that people seek this stuff out because they're not feeling well. It may be that they're tired because of nightshade vegetables, or it may be that they have sleep apnea, but you can't blame them for trying to find a solution. It's faddish, it's expensive, and yes - it can have a real effect on what is taken seriously and what isn't. But everyone loves to know more than the other people, and call out the fakers - until it turns out they've got Lyme disease.
Incidentally, we used to make fun of my stepmom for buying into fad diets like this. Oh, you poor woman, constantly complaining about your health and trying to fix it with the latest fad! And then it turned out she had an autoimmune disease, and I felt like kind of a jerk because she really was sick all that time, and even if cutting out gluten didn't help, man - she didn't deserve to be laughed at for it.
posted by teponaztli at 2:49 PM on May 13, 2016 [17 favorites]
There's no obvious answer, but for all the talk about orthorexia, we run the risk of overlooking the fact that people seek this stuff out because they're not feeling well. It may be that they're tired because of nightshade vegetables, or it may be that they have sleep apnea, but you can't blame them for trying to find a solution. It's faddish, it's expensive, and yes - it can have a real effect on what is taken seriously and what isn't. But everyone loves to know more than the other people, and call out the fakers - until it turns out they've got Lyme disease.
Incidentally, we used to make fun of my stepmom for buying into fad diets like this. Oh, you poor woman, constantly complaining about your health and trying to fix it with the latest fad! And then it turned out she had an autoimmune disease, and I felt like kind of a jerk because she really was sick all that time, and even if cutting out gluten didn't help, man - she didn't deserve to be laughed at for it.
posted by teponaztli at 2:49 PM on May 13, 2016 [17 favorites]
A personal focus on "Wellness" and "Clean eating" (with gluten free as just one of many parts) is a problem for the rest of us when "friends" are constantly sending me links to their diets raving about how great they are and asking why I haven't tried them to "cure" my auto-immune disease. This aggressive blaming evangelism is gross and mean and infuriating.
I'm glad you found a diet that makes you feel good. There is zero evidence to suggest it would have any affect on my medical condition. When you constantly bring it up, it becomes clear that what you are really telling me is that you think it's my fault I'm sick.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:53 PM on May 13, 2016 [34 favorites]
I'm glad you found a diet that makes you feel good. There is zero evidence to suggest it would have any affect on my medical condition. When you constantly bring it up, it becomes clear that what you are really telling me is that you think it's my fault I'm sick.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:53 PM on May 13, 2016 [34 favorites]
I have watched it become worse over the last few years.
To the extent this is deliberate and not just the result of incompetence (I know it can be either, I'm not trying to downplay it), it seems to me that the problem is the assholes not taking you seriously when you say "If you put nuts in this, I could die," not anybody else. They're pretty much responsible for their own beliefs and their own actions. In fact, it's their own crappy arbitrary policing of "faking" that is putting you in danger in the first place. You can't think that would just stop if Gwyneth Paltrow vanished.
posted by praemunire at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
To the extent this is deliberate and not just the result of incompetence (I know it can be either, I'm not trying to downplay it), it seems to me that the problem is the assholes not taking you seriously when you say "If you put nuts in this, I could die," not anybody else. They're pretty much responsible for their own beliefs and their own actions. In fact, it's their own crappy arbitrary policing of "faking" that is putting you in danger in the first place. You can't think that would just stop if Gwyneth Paltrow vanished.
posted by praemunire at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Who are these fakers, though? Like who do you think is setting out to fake this? I absolutely promise you no one is trying to fake it? Like just stop a second and ask yourself why someone would go to the expense and trouble for something they're making up. What would they gain? What is the end goal?
I mean, this is only anecdata, but my mother's motivations seem to be that it makes her special, requires people to pay attention to her, and it's a socially-acceptable way for her to create drama and/or be a martyr. It also gives her a new way to be super-judgey about people who don't meet her diet standards.
(I should probably check out of this conversation for everyones' sakes, but, you know, one more anecdata point and all.)
posted by kalimac at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [19 favorites]
I mean, this is only anecdata, but my mother's motivations seem to be that it makes her special, requires people to pay attention to her, and it's a socially-acceptable way for her to create drama and/or be a martyr. It also gives her a new way to be super-judgey about people who don't meet her diet standards.
(I should probably check out of this conversation for everyones' sakes, but, you know, one more anecdata point and all.)
posted by kalimac at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [19 favorites]
We all want to do our best for people who genuinely need help, or who have an ethical or faith-based restriction or who even have a simple preference. So for people who do go to extra lengths, often expending worry and money and time, it's a little aggravating to find out someone has been gaslighting their effort and consideration.
This debate often reminds me of the debate over expanding social programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, welfare... The argument for defunding or adding layers upon layers of barriers to these programs is that someone might "fake" poverty or disability to take advantage of them. People often (IMO, rightly) argue that it is unethical to make suffering people suffer more in order to "stick it" to a faker.
But somehow the idea of gluten allergies is just so fucking annoying that those very same people completely reverse course when it comes to allergen safety.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
This debate often reminds me of the debate over expanding social programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, welfare... The argument for defunding or adding layers upon layers of barriers to these programs is that someone might "fake" poverty or disability to take advantage of them. People often (IMO, rightly) argue that it is unethical to make suffering people suffer more in order to "stick it" to a faker.
But somehow the idea of gluten allergies is just so fucking annoying that those very same people completely reverse course when it comes to allergen safety.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:56 PM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
All the women on my fathers side of the family have celiac disease, and when they're served something with gluten, they definitely don't blame fad dieters. They blame the arrogance or ignorance of the waitstaff and cooks who did not take them seriously. Many of them have been on GF diets for 5-10 years and they still make mistakes when ordering. My sister is a knowledgable cook with a decade of restaurant experience and she makes mistakes. Don't shift the blame onto dieters for not being the perfect models of Celiac disease every time they order anything. It takes years to build the knowledge and experience to know every place gluten lingers. (In fact, I don't think my sister is aware that Advil liqui-gels have gluten so I'll definitely be letting her know)
If someone tells you they can't have gluten but they order something with gluten, in what world is it justified to serve it and test them rather than help them order something they can eat?
posted by Flower Grower at 3:03 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
If someone tells you they can't have gluten but they order something with gluten, in what world is it justified to serve it and test them rather than help them order something they can eat?
posted by Flower Grower at 3:03 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
A lot of the allergy-fakery could be reduced in a matter of months if restaurants took all allergies deadly seriously. If a customer wah-wahs about their dairy allergy and then orders dairy, make one attempt to steer them toward a dairy-free option and if they still insist, bring them a fucking waiver to sign. Tell them that once they disclose their allergy the restaurant would put itself in a position of legal liability to then knowingly serve them a fatal dose of cheddar, and after a couple of times they'll learn to fucking say "I don't like gorgonzola, can I have cheddar instead?" instead of lying.
By this same token, it means if your restaurant is going to serve walnuts, it must be disclosed. This should be happening already and it isn't, and servers are not necessarily being educated on what a nut allergy means, and it is a life-threatening real problem. If solving this problem also puts the fakers on notice, great!
posted by Lyn Never at 3:12 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
By this same token, it means if your restaurant is going to serve walnuts, it must be disclosed. This should be happening already and it isn't, and servers are not necessarily being educated on what a nut allergy means, and it is a life-threatening real problem. If solving this problem also puts the fakers on notice, great!
posted by Lyn Never at 3:12 PM on May 13, 2016 [16 favorites]
I think hydropysche's point is a really good one to consider: that we've shifted a lot of how we talk about health onto what you should be doing for yourself. It's got a lot in common with the whole quantified self movement where you sort of obsessively track data about yourself to figure out how to live better (and, er, be a more productive worker a lot of the time). It's a crazy amount of work. The thing is, it does work, and people really do seem to be happier and feel better. They're not making this stuff up. But it also brings with it this kind of expectation that you'll perform all this free labor, and that if you're not doing it, you've got yourself to blame for not improving.
The "wellness" stuff absolutely plays into that, and there's definitely a lot of crossover. I recently read of someone who kept track of food, energy levels, and other data points, ultimately determining that they felt their worst every time they ate a tomato or some other nightshade family plant. So they cut out the nightshades, and sure enough they felt better. And yeah, it's faddish, but it worked and they're happier for it. It feeds this expectation that we should all be doing the same thing for ourselves, and getting the right apps or the right diet is our responsibility - but at the same time, it's not like the solution is to call people fakers for claiming that they feel better by avoiding nightshades.
posted by teponaztli at 3:14 PM on May 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
The "wellness" stuff absolutely plays into that, and there's definitely a lot of crossover. I recently read of someone who kept track of food, energy levels, and other data points, ultimately determining that they felt their worst every time they ate a tomato or some other nightshade family plant. So they cut out the nightshades, and sure enough they felt better. And yeah, it's faddish, but it worked and they're happier for it. It feeds this expectation that we should all be doing the same thing for ourselves, and getting the right apps or the right diet is our responsibility - but at the same time, it's not like the solution is to call people fakers for claiming that they feel better by avoiding nightshades.
posted by teponaztli at 3:14 PM on May 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
What troubles me is not fakery, but the moral dimension that people put on their own eating: I thought that was the important message of the article. It actually makes me sad when I hear co-workers describe their wants (sugar, mostly) as bad, or describe themselves as being bad for eating a pastry or whatever.
posted by epersonae at 3:32 PM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by epersonae at 3:32 PM on May 13, 2016 [14 favorites]
My favorite wellness submovement is "mindful eating". Watching every bite that goes into your mouth is basically 60's-style moment-on-your-lips-lifetime-on-your-hips dieting. But now it's relaxing and joyful!
posted by Ralston McTodd at 3:33 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Ralston McTodd at 3:33 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
From the article: Trust that your body knows what it needs, and when you get a hankering for chips, chocolate or courgette, look to that craving: the rumble of your belly is not a saboteur.
Nothing drove this point home for me more than a TV program some years ago about a man who was stranded at sea and trying to survive by catching and eating fish. For many, many days he would eat the meat of the fish (raw of course), and throw the guts/eyes/other offal back out in the sea because it turned his stomach to even think of eating it. Days later he found himself curiously craving the very waste he was throwing away, especially the fish eyes. If my memory serves me, the eyes apparently contained some essential nutrient in which he was sorely lacking, and his body was working as designed to lead him to consume what it was desperately needing. It was a fascinating anecdote that I think of often that I believe speaks to the inherent power of our mind and body to naturally guide us to nourish ourselves if we would only listen to and trust its wisdom.
posted by bologna on wry at 3:34 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Nothing drove this point home for me more than a TV program some years ago about a man who was stranded at sea and trying to survive by catching and eating fish. For many, many days he would eat the meat of the fish (raw of course), and throw the guts/eyes/other offal back out in the sea because it turned his stomach to even think of eating it. Days later he found himself curiously craving the very waste he was throwing away, especially the fish eyes. If my memory serves me, the eyes apparently contained some essential nutrient in which he was sorely lacking, and his body was working as designed to lead him to consume what it was desperately needing. It was a fascinating anecdote that I think of often that I believe speaks to the inherent power of our mind and body to naturally guide us to nourish ourselves if we would only listen to and trust its wisdom.
posted by bologna on wry at 3:34 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
If I eat shrimp I get a rash in my mouth and throat. I don't know what it's about, I don't really understand it. It doesn't happen with most other seafood, and it doesn't usually happen if I eat a dish that's had the shrimp picked out of it. But if I chew it up and swallow it, it's moderately unpleasant. So I don't eat shrimp unless I have some kind of catastrophic failure of wisdom. I'm lucky, because an itchy, red rash that comes on right away is nice and obvious, and people have heard of being allergic to shrimp. But many people have subtler reactions to things that are just as real. And many people, including me, have medical problems no one is really interested in helping them figure out.
Internet randos who think food sensitivities come with a laminated certificate, who figure that unless a food straight up instantly kills you, you're faking -- those people are naive about what it is like to try to get to the bottom of a health problem. It is naive to think that if you had a real health problem, let alone an invisible sensitivity to some common ingredient, you would magically have the time and money to access enough medical care to find a doctor who would have heard of your problem and run the right tests and diagnose you and give you all the best advice. In reality, you have a few minutes with the doctor. You tell the doctor, "I mysteriously feel like shit", and they're like, "shrug", and you can choose to either run annoying experiments on yourself until you work it out on your own, or suck it up and suffer.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 3:37 PM on May 13, 2016 [19 favorites]
Internet randos who think food sensitivities come with a laminated certificate, who figure that unless a food straight up instantly kills you, you're faking -- those people are naive about what it is like to try to get to the bottom of a health problem. It is naive to think that if you had a real health problem, let alone an invisible sensitivity to some common ingredient, you would magically have the time and money to access enough medical care to find a doctor who would have heard of your problem and run the right tests and diagnose you and give you all the best advice. In reality, you have a few minutes with the doctor. You tell the doctor, "I mysteriously feel like shit", and they're like, "shrug", and you can choose to either run annoying experiments on yourself until you work it out on your own, or suck it up and suffer.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 3:37 PM on May 13, 2016 [19 favorites]
The points some of you are making are related to the rhetorical points that alternative medicine proponents make when they say "What harm could it do to just try it?" or "what harm is there other than to the food-buyers' pocketbook"?. Sometimes people make these points about organic food marketing, sometimes about possibly-placebo alt-med treatments, etc.
Here are the major issues I've seen after a)being personally sick for years with stuff that looked autoimmune (turned out to be Lyme Disease but that took years to figure out and treat) and b)hanging around alt-med/healthy-eating circles for a long time:
harm to your finances:
The financial harm comes from opportunity cost. These things aren't free, fad products and things like 'coconut sugar' or other alternatives to a more conventional diet are generally marketed to be more expensive than the conventional options. People don't just try them if they can afford the extra money- people who don't have extra money to throw away will scrimp and spend on health fads if eveyrone around them believes that right-eating (or alt-med treatments du jour) is the answer to all ills and the way that a good decent human who cares about their and their kids' health is supposed to eat.
Harm to diagnosis of actual disease:
There is also grave harm that happens when someone actually has a health condition and tries a fad diet in an attempt to treat their condition by figuring out what they themselves are doing to cause themselves to be sick- for instance, they might not seek out more answers because they're so bombarded by this culture's insistance on the importance of diet. The info you're getting from every fad pop-health-trend info source is much louder than what you get from talking to an informed physician, or from doing some more nuanced reading. People spend money on the diet product of the day they could have spent on actual medical testing and treatment. They spend energy on the trial-and-error of healthy-eating diets rather than spending some of that energy on a trial-and-error medical approach, which for some conditions is what you need to do to diagnose complex/nonobvious physiological conditions unrelated to digestion or allergy.
Placebo effect clouds your judgement:
I was involved in herbal medicine stuff for a while, and otherwise interested in DIY alt-med health beliefs for years. I've seen sick people try, over the past 25 years, endless 'fad of the day' diet and alt-med supplements, and when a product is highly hyped by the media and by all of their friends, people are completely helpless against the placebo effect. They really strongly do believe that the antioxidants/oat bran/soy additives/kale/Master Cleanse/supplement-of-the-year etc sorts of fads have caused them to feel better. The problem with placebo effect is that it's temporary and inconsistent. YOu really do feel better for a couple of weeks when a strong placebo effect is in play. The problem is that afterwards, you're a)less likely to let go of the erroneous beliefs because you've got a lot invested in the diet/treatment, so few people turn around and admit that they were wrong and b)the erroneous beliefs about what's wrong with you will cloud whatever next steps you take to diagnose your real health condition. If you're really convinced that gluten sensitivity was the problem behind your fatigue you might miss out entirely on a nascent thyroid or other endocrine issue, autoimmune diseases that cause fatigue, etc etc. You can spend years down a dead-end assuming that you're busy 'healing' your gut when you really might have a real condition that has nothing to do with eating.
posted by girl Mark at 3:45 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
Here are the major issues I've seen after a)being personally sick for years with stuff that looked autoimmune (turned out to be Lyme Disease but that took years to figure out and treat) and b)hanging around alt-med/healthy-eating circles for a long time:
harm to your finances:
The financial harm comes from opportunity cost. These things aren't free, fad products and things like 'coconut sugar' or other alternatives to a more conventional diet are generally marketed to be more expensive than the conventional options. People don't just try them if they can afford the extra money- people who don't have extra money to throw away will scrimp and spend on health fads if eveyrone around them believes that right-eating (or alt-med treatments du jour) is the answer to all ills and the way that a good decent human who cares about their and their kids' health is supposed to eat.
Harm to diagnosis of actual disease:
There is also grave harm that happens when someone actually has a health condition and tries a fad diet in an attempt to treat their condition by figuring out what they themselves are doing to cause themselves to be sick- for instance, they might not seek out more answers because they're so bombarded by this culture's insistance on the importance of diet. The info you're getting from every fad pop-health-trend info source is much louder than what you get from talking to an informed physician, or from doing some more nuanced reading. People spend money on the diet product of the day they could have spent on actual medical testing and treatment. They spend energy on the trial-and-error of healthy-eating diets rather than spending some of that energy on a trial-and-error medical approach, which for some conditions is what you need to do to diagnose complex/nonobvious physiological conditions unrelated to digestion or allergy.
Placebo effect clouds your judgement:
I was involved in herbal medicine stuff for a while, and otherwise interested in DIY alt-med health beliefs for years. I've seen sick people try, over the past 25 years, endless 'fad of the day' diet and alt-med supplements, and when a product is highly hyped by the media and by all of their friends, people are completely helpless against the placebo effect. They really strongly do believe that the antioxidants/oat bran/soy additives/kale/Master Cleanse/supplement-of-the-year etc sorts of fads have caused them to feel better. The problem with placebo effect is that it's temporary and inconsistent. YOu really do feel better for a couple of weeks when a strong placebo effect is in play. The problem is that afterwards, you're a)less likely to let go of the erroneous beliefs because you've got a lot invested in the diet/treatment, so few people turn around and admit that they were wrong and b)the erroneous beliefs about what's wrong with you will cloud whatever next steps you take to diagnose your real health condition. If you're really convinced that gluten sensitivity was the problem behind your fatigue you might miss out entirely on a nascent thyroid or other endocrine issue, autoimmune diseases that cause fatigue, etc etc. You can spend years down a dead-end assuming that you're busy 'healing' your gut when you really might have a real condition that has nothing to do with eating.
posted by girl Mark at 3:45 PM on May 13, 2016 [15 favorites]
On the other hand, I do agree in principle that wellness dieting can be problematic. It's certainly frustrating to me, as a vegan, to wade through unscientific explanations for why soy is concurrently the savior of mankind and an absolute evil when I'm just looking for fun ways to cook tofu.
I think it is troubling that the conclusion the author arrives at is just as unscientific and reductionist. Trust your cravings and listen to your body?
And what about if your body is telling you that sugar makes you sleepy? Or that "liver cleanses" make you feel better? They are just reinforcing the narrative that there are clear-cut right and wrong ways to eat. Personally, I think the problem is inaccessibility of good, easily digestible and accurate science and (especially) unexaggerated science journalism.
posted by Flower Grower at 3:46 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
I think it is troubling that the conclusion the author arrives at is just as unscientific and reductionist. Trust your cravings and listen to your body?
And what about if your body is telling you that sugar makes you sleepy? Or that "liver cleanses" make you feel better? They are just reinforcing the narrative that there are clear-cut right and wrong ways to eat. Personally, I think the problem is inaccessibility of good, easily digestible and accurate science and (especially) unexaggerated science journalism.
posted by Flower Grower at 3:46 PM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
My favorite wellness submovement is "mindful eating". Watching every bite that goes into your mouth is basically 60's-style moment-on-your-lips-lifetime-on-your-hips dieting. But now it's relaxing and joyful!
Not necessarily. It can also mean slowing down and actually savoring your food instead of mindlessly and inattentively wolfing it down. There's a school of thought that says that if you actually just let yourself ENJOY your food instead of fretting about the caloric or nutritional intake, you'd end up feeling more satisfied overall with it.
I will grant that this, too, can be taken to extremes. But i gotta tell you - I once cleared a space in my day while on a vacation and let myself have a cup of tea and two really good macarons, and I ate really slow to make it last because those were some DAMN good macrons. Snack time for me can sometimes mean an entire bag of Cheetos that I just munch down because I can't stop until I'm done, but I enjoyed the shit out of those macarons, and when they were gone, I was a lot more satisfied than I would have been with Cheetos.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:48 PM on May 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
Not necessarily. It can also mean slowing down and actually savoring your food instead of mindlessly and inattentively wolfing it down. There's a school of thought that says that if you actually just let yourself ENJOY your food instead of fretting about the caloric or nutritional intake, you'd end up feeling more satisfied overall with it.
I will grant that this, too, can be taken to extremes. But i gotta tell you - I once cleared a space in my day while on a vacation and let myself have a cup of tea and two really good macarons, and I ate really slow to make it last because those were some DAMN good macrons. Snack time for me can sometimes mean an entire bag of Cheetos that I just munch down because I can't stop until I'm done, but I enjoyed the shit out of those macarons, and when they were gone, I was a lot more satisfied than I would have been with Cheetos.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:48 PM on May 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
but couldn't be called gluten-free because they were made in the regular bakery kitchen. How does that play with people who actually have serious gluten sensitivity?
I'm not sure how it works for gluten, but my child has a nut allergy and his doctor said that "processed in a facility with nuts" is fine for him. Which I guess allows people to justify their belief that nut allergies are, as Joel Stein wrote, a "yuppie invention." (As far as I'm aware, there's not a movement to tell people suffering from various autoimmune and other conditions that they should try cutting out nuts and they'll feel so much better, it's amazing, but if there is, I apologize on behalf of nut allergy families!)
posted by Ralston McTodd at 3:49 PM on May 13, 2016
I'm not sure how it works for gluten, but my child has a nut allergy and his doctor said that "processed in a facility with nuts" is fine for him. Which I guess allows people to justify their belief that nut allergies are, as Joel Stein wrote, a "yuppie invention." (As far as I'm aware, there's not a movement to tell people suffering from various autoimmune and other conditions that they should try cutting out nuts and they'll feel so much better, it's amazing, but if there is, I apologize on behalf of nut allergy families!)
posted by Ralston McTodd at 3:49 PM on May 13, 2016
Like just stop a second and ask yourself why someone would go to the expense and trouble for something they're making up. What would they gain? What is the end goal?
If you are genuinely unfamiliar with people who make shit up just for attention, drama, or special treatment then I envy you.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:34 PM on May 13, 2016 [19 favorites]
If you are genuinely unfamiliar with people who make shit up just for attention, drama, or special treatment then I envy you.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:34 PM on May 13, 2016 [19 favorites]
A particular new variety of "healthy eating" (specifically keto + intermittent fasting) was one of nails in the coffin that contains the corpse of my marriage. My STBX husband could not understand why I--the primary cook/grocery shopper of the household--even cared at all what went into his mouth. But it was actually more than a little disruptive to our household, especially given the all-in no cheat days/meals and increasingly restricted pattern it took over the past 2.5 years. It was particularly upsetting in light of the fact that he picked up this way of eating less than a year after my daughter spent 6 weeks in-patient in treatment for an eating disorder. His whole social world started to revolve around online LCHF communities, along with certain fringy exercise philosophies. It totally changed how I had to cook for the family, what I had to buy and how much I had to spend at the grocery store, and eliminated many of the simple pleasures that had drawn us together in the earlier years of our relationship, like his homemade pizzas or tuna noodle casserole. And in the end, perhaps due to a certain deficit of emotional intelligence, he just never understood that I wasn't asking him to change his diet; I wasn't trying to control what he ate. I was just asking him to acknowledge that it DID affect me (and my daughter), to show some sympathy and support so we could negotiate how to get us all fed in a way that would satisfy our dietary preferences and emotional needs, and to maybe draw some boundaries about how deep he was willing to go in his continuous dietary experiment.
But no, I'm pretty sure he frames the end of our marriage as "she just couldn't deal with my "bacon and bourbon" diet."
posted by drlith at 6:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [20 favorites]
But no, I'm pretty sure he frames the end of our marriage as "she just couldn't deal with my "bacon and bourbon" diet."
posted by drlith at 6:06 PM on May 13, 2016 [20 favorites]
Don't get me started on the (il)logic of a supposedly healthy way of eating that eschews processed foods but apparently requires a stack of vitamins and other assuredly processed nutritional supplements for optimal health.
posted by drlith at 6:09 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by drlith at 6:09 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
If gluten is not a personal health risk – and that's for a medical professional to assess
This is so wrong I don't even know how to respond.
posted by bongo_x at 7:10 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is so wrong I don't even know how to respond.
posted by bongo_x at 7:10 PM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Celiac disease would be bad enough at its current US incidence of ~1% considering its very serious consequences when not treated and the fact that 97% of the people who have it are not diagnosed, but there's very strong evidence of a large increase in incidence since the 1950s:
Celiac disease, an immune reaction to eating the protein gluten, is far more than an occasional tummy upset. Mayo Clinic research suggests the disease is becoming a major public health issue. Although the cause is unknown, celiac disease is four times more common now than 60 years ago, and affects about one in 100 people. According to Mayo studies, undiagnosed celiac disease can quadruple the risk of death. Mayo researchers are working to discover the causes and improve diagnosis. Their efforts have been aided by a 1950s streptococcus outbreak and a pizza delivery truck. ...And most researchers appear to think that increase is continuing:
Unresolved questions relevant to a complete understanding of immune responses to gluten are: Why is the rate of late onset gluten sensitivity rapidly rising? Is this truly a wheat problem, or something that is being done to wheat, or to those who are eating wheat (for example, communicable diseases a trigger? Some individuals are susceptible by genetics (early onset), but many late onset cases could have different triggers because there is nothing genetically separating the 30 to 40% of people that could have Triticeae sensitivity from the ~1% that, in their lifetime, will have some level of this disease. ...As to the question of whether non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is a real clinical entity:
Background & AimsYet for people who think they might have a problem with gluten and avoid it as a precaution, but don't know they don't have celiac (unlike the people in the linked study) there's a bit of a sting in the tale from the Mayo Clinic:
There is debate over the existence of nonceliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) intestinal and extraintestinal symptoms in response to ingestion of gluten-containing foods by people without celiac disease or wheat allergy. We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial to determine the effects of administration of low doses of gluten to subjects with suspected NCGS.
Methods
We enrolled 61 adults without celiac disease or a wheat allergy who believed ingestion of gluten-containing food to be the cause of their intestinal and extraintestinal symptoms. Participants were assigned randomly to groups given either 4.375 g/day gluten or rice starch (placebo) for 1 week, each via gastrosoluble capsules. After a 1-week gluten-free diet, participants crossed over to the other group. The primary outcome was the change in overall (intestinal and extraintestinal) symptoms, determined by established scoring systems, between gluten and placebo intake. A secondary outcome was the change in individual symptom scores between gluten vs placebo.
Results
According to the per-protocol analysis of data from the 59 patients who completed the trial, intake of gluten significantly increased overall symptoms compared with placebo (P = .034). Abdominal bloating (P = .040) and pain (P = .047), among the intestinal symptoms, and foggy mind (P = .019), depression (P = .020), and aphthous stomatitis (P = .025), among the extraintestinal symptoms, were significantly more severe when subjects received gluten than placebo.
...
He [Dr. Murray] also urges people who suspect they have the disease to be tested before eliminating gluten from their diet, as that can cause a false-negative test result. At Mayo, patients considered at risk for gluten intolerance are routinely screened. At-risk patients include celiac patients' family members and patients with type 1 diabetes, chronic diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, premature bone disease and infertility. Eventually, Dr. Murray says, celiac testing may become routine. "We're amassing more evidence to suggest that we have to screen people rather than just waiting for the disease to become apparent."posted by jamjam at 7:24 PM on May 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
I'm thrilled with the accessibility of gluten free foods and labeling, but occasionally annoyed with the presumption that I'm participating in a fad. But that annoyance is a really small price to pay, because honestly the amount I care about your opinion of my diet is close to the amount I care your diet, zero. You can eat rocks for breakfast and I really don't have an opinion on it. Please extend me the same courtesy.
Luckily I don't really interact much with people who care about other people's diet, beyond the few who are weight loss obsessed. I don't really care to get into my gluten free diet with a lot of people, but I've had a few amusing conversations like;
"Oh, you're eating gluten free, do you feel better?"
"You mean since I'm not sick all the time? Yes, I feel better"
But the labeling is a godsend, it sucks to just skip meals or throw things out that are probably OK, probably. It may not kill me like a serious allergy, but "you may not get sick and feel shitty for the rest of the week if you eat this" is hardly reassuring.
posted by bongo_x at 7:28 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Luckily I don't really interact much with people who care about other people's diet, beyond the few who are weight loss obsessed. I don't really care to get into my gluten free diet with a lot of people, but I've had a few amusing conversations like;
"Oh, you're eating gluten free, do you feel better?"
"You mean since I'm not sick all the time? Yes, I feel better"
But the labeling is a godsend, it sucks to just skip meals or throw things out that are probably OK, probably. It may not kill me like a serious allergy, but "you may not get sick and feel shitty for the rest of the week if you eat this" is hardly reassuring.
posted by bongo_x at 7:28 PM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Unnnngh.
OK, look, all y'all are welcome at my table any time. If you're celiac or gluten intolerant or whatever, I will do my best to accommodate you. I won't ask if you're faking it. I won't try to slip you something you say you have a bad reaction to. Because fuck that shit. What you eat doesn't have an effect on me.
I am sensitive to aspartame. Like, migraines, vomiting, begging for Death to fetch me. I spent YEARS sick as fuck because my grandmother was all about NutraSweet in everything. When I moved out and wasn't bombarded with aspartame...healthy and happy. It didn't take long to figure out that NutraSweet was poison for me. I started asking "Is that sugar free?", and declining if the answer was Yes. That pissed my grandmother off, and she insisted I was "faking it". She even went so far as to make all of the desserts for my baby shower with NutraSweet. I was 7 months pregnant, and she essentially tried to poison me to make a point. Thankfully, my Aunt had tasted things, realized what was going on, and told me. Worst. Party. EVER.
Come for dinner. Feel welcome. Feel safe. Know that I will respect your food choices, and I will not give a fuck about why your food choices are what they are.
posted by MissySedai at 8:46 PM on May 13, 2016 [18 favorites]
OK, look, all y'all are welcome at my table any time. If you're celiac or gluten intolerant or whatever, I will do my best to accommodate you. I won't ask if you're faking it. I won't try to slip you something you say you have a bad reaction to. Because fuck that shit. What you eat doesn't have an effect on me.
I am sensitive to aspartame. Like, migraines, vomiting, begging for Death to fetch me. I spent YEARS sick as fuck because my grandmother was all about NutraSweet in everything. When I moved out and wasn't bombarded with aspartame...healthy and happy. It didn't take long to figure out that NutraSweet was poison for me. I started asking "Is that sugar free?", and declining if the answer was Yes. That pissed my grandmother off, and she insisted I was "faking it". She even went so far as to make all of the desserts for my baby shower with NutraSweet. I was 7 months pregnant, and she essentially tried to poison me to make a point. Thankfully, my Aunt had tasted things, realized what was going on, and told me. Worst. Party. EVER.
Come for dinner. Feel welcome. Feel safe. Know that I will respect your food choices, and I will not give a fuck about why your food choices are what they are.
posted by MissySedai at 8:46 PM on May 13, 2016 [18 favorites]
I have noted that many of my formerly anorexic friends from university have gone on to be some of the most aggressively orthorexic people I know. It's difficult for me not to view this as a continuation of their eating disorder-- may not be fair of me, but it's hard not to see the red line. These are people who genuinely do feel bad and probably do feel better when they control what they eat-- but it may not be for the reasons they think.
(I have a peanut allergy and I can be a little judgy on the topic. I get *so angry* at people who claim allergies in restaurant when they just don't like an ingredient or they suspect it makes them bloated or whatever. In those cases ask the restaurant to avoid it-- fine. But don't describe it as an allergy.)
posted by frumiousb at 10:17 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
(I have a peanut allergy and I can be a little judgy on the topic. I get *so angry* at people who claim allergies in restaurant when they just don't like an ingredient or they suspect it makes them bloated or whatever. In those cases ask the restaurant to avoid it-- fine. But don't describe it as an allergy.)
posted by frumiousb at 10:17 PM on May 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
I wish there was another way we could talk about this. I was born with allergies and intolerances and have spent half of my life at different clinics, some of which decided my problem was "hyper-sensitivity" - a contemporary version of hysteria.
This to say that I completely get those commenters who defend the current discourse of intolerance and clean eating. I was really ill, and always on the verge of hospitalization, until I found out what to do about it.
However, what ended my problems was changing my lifestyle in accordance with Michael Pollan's dogma: eat food, mostly vegetables and not too much. When I stopped eating processed food and started cooking food, I was even able to eat foods which had caused severe astma attacks earlier (for me, those were foods naturally containing MSG. I am intolerant of artificially produced MSG, and for the record this is medically proven and my symptoms are completely different from those mentioned in the article).
I did this long before Pollan made an issue of it, but I think he is an important debater.
posted by mumimor at 12:16 AM on May 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
This to say that I completely get those commenters who defend the current discourse of intolerance and clean eating. I was really ill, and always on the verge of hospitalization, until I found out what to do about it.
However, what ended my problems was changing my lifestyle in accordance with Michael Pollan's dogma: eat food, mostly vegetables and not too much. When I stopped eating processed food and started cooking food, I was even able to eat foods which had caused severe astma attacks earlier (for me, those were foods naturally containing MSG. I am intolerant of artificially produced MSG, and for the record this is medically proven and my symptoms are completely different from those mentioned in the article).
I did this long before Pollan made an issue of it, but I think he is an important debater.
posted by mumimor at 12:16 AM on May 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
While reading this, I was very strongly reminded of the points about pervasive anxiety and self-curation made in the We Are All Very Anxious essay:
Today’s public secret is that everyone is anxious. Anxiety has spread from its previous localised locations (such as sexuality) to the whole of the social field. All forms of intensity, self-expression, emotional connection, immediacy, and enjoyment are now laced with anxiety. It has become the linchpin of subordination.posted by Sonny Jim at 12:36 AM on May 14, 2016
As we discovered when we had a child who was gluten intolerant for the first few years of their life gluten gets used almost everywhere in the processed food industry: When there is no food you can buy off the shelf in a supermarket except fresh vegetables and meat cut in front of you by the butcher that doesn’t bring the possibility of spending the small hours of your next next night comforting a screaming child you become extremely careful about the food you buy.
As a special bonus, our child was intolerant of both wheat *and* cow-derived dairy. Since milk-proteins are the food industry’s standard cheap filler (as a by-product of the demand for cream and butter they’re the cheapest form of protein you can buy) we had two hidden ingredients to search for! Unsurprisingly we ended up home cooking *everything*. Fortunately he grew out of the intolerances by around age four.
If you’re an anxious person, this hidden universality that makes gluten or dairy perfect targets for your fear that the food you eat might be poisoning you: Like the MSG panic earlier in the C20th, they’re everywhere when you start looking.
posted by pharm at 2:48 AM on May 14, 2016
As a special bonus, our child was intolerant of both wheat *and* cow-derived dairy. Since milk-proteins are the food industry’s standard cheap filler (as a by-product of the demand for cream and butter they’re the cheapest form of protein you can buy) we had two hidden ingredients to search for! Unsurprisingly we ended up home cooking *everything*. Fortunately he grew out of the intolerances by around age four.
If you’re an anxious person, this hidden universality that makes gluten or dairy perfect targets for your fear that the food you eat might be poisoning you: Like the MSG panic earlier in the C20th, they’re everywhere when you start looking.
posted by pharm at 2:48 AM on May 14, 2016
Regarding people who say they are allergic when they really just don't like something - I think the restaurant industry has contributed to this themselves by (sometimes) arrogantly declaring their recipes to be sacred.
For instance, I really dislike the flavor of black pepper. I once inquired at a BBQ restaurant with a choice of sauces whether one had a lot of black pepper in it and was refused an answer because "my recipes are secret and people come in here all the time trying to figure them out". At another BBQ joint I tried to order meat without sauce - as a new diabetic I was trying to avoid sugar - only to be told "oh, I don't use sugar! I only use molasses!"
If (some) restaurants would make more of an effort to respect the customer I wouldn't have to imply that I am allergic to onions in order to avoid having my meal ruined by too many of them.
posted by diane47 at 10:22 AM on May 14, 2016 [5 favorites]
For instance, I really dislike the flavor of black pepper. I once inquired at a BBQ restaurant with a choice of sauces whether one had a lot of black pepper in it and was refused an answer because "my recipes are secret and people come in here all the time trying to figure them out". At another BBQ joint I tried to order meat without sauce - as a new diabetic I was trying to avoid sugar - only to be told "oh, I don't use sugar! I only use molasses!"
If (some) restaurants would make more of an effort to respect the customer I wouldn't have to imply that I am allergic to onions in order to avoid having my meal ruined by too many of them.
posted by diane47 at 10:22 AM on May 14, 2016 [5 favorites]
The snag with dietary guidance in general is that the same guidance can be absolutely true and helpful on the population level while terrible on the individual level. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be able to talk about generally applicable nutritional advice nor that we shouldn't listen to individuals when they say a piece of guidance isn't helpful or applicable to them nor also that we should assume eating nutritiously is or even should be everyone's goal at any given time.
posted by threeants at 1:47 PM on May 14, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by threeants at 1:47 PM on May 14, 2016 [4 favorites]
(My work involves the promotion of healthy eating and I think it is absolutely possible to have our cake and eat it too [lol] in terms of lifting up generalizable best practices while respecting and incorporating individuals' differences/needs/interests. Unfortunately I think a media landscape of clickbait headlines, hot takes, and blustery absolutes really shrinks the discursive space available for nuanced, inclusive, and considerate messaging.)
posted by threeants at 1:55 PM on May 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by threeants at 1:55 PM on May 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
Guys, guys, some people are still panicking about MSG!
A friend claims that one particular Chinese restaurant is an evil MSG place that tried to kill him more than once with MSG ... a guy I have witnessed adding a shitload of soy sauce to some already really brown restaurant fried rice.
Maybe excess sodium was the culprit instead of evil MSG-wielding Asians?
(The MSG panic is so racist. I wish I could say "was so racist" instead, but it's still out there, dammit.)
posted by salix at 1:16 AM on May 17, 2016
A friend claims that one particular Chinese restaurant is an evil MSG place that tried to kill him more than once with MSG ... a guy I have witnessed adding a shitload of soy sauce to some already really brown restaurant fried rice.
Maybe excess sodium was the culprit instead of evil MSG-wielding Asians?
(The MSG panic is so racist. I wish I could say "was so racist" instead, but it's still out there, dammit.)
posted by salix at 1:16 AM on May 17, 2016
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