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Dr. Steven Novella wrote a very important piece on his blog Neurologica about food bogeymen.
If you don’t know who he is, Dr. Novella is a practicing neurologist at Yale School of Medicine; he is the host of one of the most popular skeptical podcasts out there, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe; he writes for and edits the amazingly thorough Science-Based Medicine blog, which he founded; and he blogs about neurology, critical thinking, and other assorted topics at Neurologica. He is also the co-founder of the New England Skeptical Society, he organizes a yearly conference in New York on skepticism and science, and he has a family. No one knows when he sleeps.
He recently published a post on Neurologica that could be described by some as cynical but which I think is a superbly clear-minded act of pulling back the curtain. While the public can easily be confused on matters of nutrition because of so-called experts claiming this is a superfood while that is a toxic food, someone like Dr. Novella who has investigated these claims for decades can see the patterns. And he lays them all out in his blog post:
“Existing health gurus have already prepared the way for you. In their marketing narrative all foods are either horrible toxins or superfoods with magical properties. All you have to do is write an article claiming that some food is making everyone sick, then sell them the solution. This can then be a superfood, a cookbook that tells them how to avoid the toxic food, or some special supplement that will counteract the toxic effects of the evil food that’s making them sick. (They don’t even have to be sick – just tell them it’s making them overweight, lose energy, and have aches and pains. Also, be sure to add that they need to do this for optimum health, that way you will capture everyone.)”
His article should be shared with anyone you know who worries about the food they eat, and it also serves as a failproof recipe for any amoral individual wanting to get rich.
You can read the full article here.
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