Healthy, not healthy, the internet is insane!

[TangledTeabags]

I was just googling recent opinions on the health benefits of coffee (I don't drink it much) and discovered a landslide of contradictory results. One saying coffee is great, it contains a plethora of antioxidants, can prevent diabetes, cancer, etc. Next result says no, it raises cholesterol and is bad for the heart. Even decaf.
Next thing, apparently cholesterol (and trans fats) do not affect the heart, then all the way back to Ancel Keys and his 'butter clogs arteries' mantra.

I doubt there is any rational, measured info left on the internet. It seems every writer, influencer or publication has it's/their own bias, it is quite dizzying!

I'm not hung up about food and eat a good diet, but you can guarantee that the incessant levels of analysis online will tie anyone in knots. If you attempt to locate a thorough source, it will usually inform you that, whilst there are correlations to such and such, the jury is still out.

There is a lot of talk that the NHS and other health bodies provide outdated guidance, which I dare say is true, but it does leave the doors wide open for snake oil influencers, which many people blindly trust. And is it surprising since avoiding fats have not quite had the result Mr keys was expecting..?

A lot of us complain about the amount of crazy cure-alls touted online by dubious sources, I can sort of see how we ended up this way considering how confusing and conflicting all of the data out there is.

I love the mediterranean diet personally, it's my favourite, but I might be a fool to imagine Mr Mosley isn't just another potential profiteer in a time of global confusion and fear.

I have no idea what's what, so I opt for moderation and just hope for the best

It's not miserable, feeling crap is miserable and I feel much much better when avoiding these things. To me, they are cheap filler foods, now I mostly just eat food that tastes good and benefits me.

I am not that surprised so many people have issue with some refined carbs. The standard supermarket bread there makes my stomach go weird too. I grew up knowing it as "toastie bread" and the little triangle toasties were it's only use....

The reason that nutrition is so bonkers is because it’s mainly based on epidemiology which doesn’t work for nutritional science. Follow the advice that comes out of RCTs (Randomised Clinical Trials).

I’m a clinical nutritionist and have my degree, my masters and my postgrad certifications all over my wall in my clinic. This is because, unfortunately, nutritionist isn’t a protected category like dietician or doctor and it should be.

I work 2 days a week from the hospital and the rest from my clinic. I wouldn’t get a hospital job without my qualifications yet any joe can call themselves a nutritionist without any training.

Drives me insane. AND don’t get me started on chiropractors calling themselves Dr. X and conveniently leaving out the D.C so people think they are physicians. I’ve had so many people, women mostly, come to me with wrecked hormones and thyroids because they’ve followed their frankly shitty advice.

@Vegetus sounds like you have a touch of carb addiction if you think a life without carbs is miserable.

You have to find your joy with healthy alternatives to eating your emotions.

I eat them and I don't feel miserable. I did feel miserable when I fad dieted all the time cutting out things I enjoyed and still couldn't lose weight, once I stopped being a slob and learnt to control my intake I lost a lot of weight and didn't feel like shit anymore.

I am with you@Vegetus on carb love.

But this is MN and carbs are mass murdering people. Unlike in most other countries🙈

If your body is okay with them then eat them. If cutting out certain foods makes people feel better then they are not going to be miserable about not eating them. I'm not talking about fad dieting, I'm talking about identifying and avoiding foods that make you feel rubbish. I don't want the foods I avoid, I'm not miserable or missing out on anything.

It is. The issue is that nutrition isn’t a regulation job, so anyone can call themselves one with little or no qualifications. As a group the also suffer from stating something as absolute fact, when it usually isn’t.

if you want fact rather than opinion, it’s best to work out what are the scientific terms for things and then type in those terms + abstract.
eg ‘bioavailability of calcium from non-dairy compared to diary sources + abstract’ will usually give you a range of peer reviewed articles which you can form your own opinion on.

even them you need to be wary of bias - in the above example, research for example commissioned by the vegan society or the milk council (if that still exists) is likely to be biased.

Far better to demonise food group for the old bank balance and Instagram clout.

Yup. There are people claiming not drinking water is healthy🤷

I actively look for people in this space who change their minds when the data disproves their biases. Layne Norton is absolutely fantastic and unlike most of the fitfluencer types is a qualified nutritionist and Dr.

It's very telling to me when he engages with quacks they refuse to debate him or respond because they're outgunned. Some of his YouTube takedowns of Jason Fung and Paul Saladino are things I frequently watch just for the comedy of it.

I didn't eat carbs, or at least was very low carb for 7 years. I thought this would help my IBS.
It didn't, it grew worse.
I reintroduced some rice and made my own flatbreads and do much better now, so I think a lot of this stuff is really personal and doesn't apply to everyone.
I don't eat much in the way of 'bad' carbs, iyswim, but saw no improvement without them. Have never been overweight though. To the best of my knowledge a reduction in carbs can be helpful for people with diabetes but I am no expert!

I think it's all a result of decadence tbh, since the west is abundant with both healthy and unhealthy foods. Our culture has exploded with divisive dietary advice, and there is often a lot of arguing wherever it is discussed online. Those who follow a strict regime that works for them often make the mistake of preaching to others that the same will apply - and it so often does not!

I went old style a bit and it worked wonders for my intestines as someone who has ibs like symptoms during high periods of stress.
Proper bread, proper bone broth, fermented food are the biggest changes. I lived on that in my native country, but lost my ways in UK because it was a pita at some point to find the food or ingredients. I mean like how fucking hard can it be for tesco to have bag of bones on their butvher ounter like they did in my country. Halal butchers I discovered later saved me. Cheap and plentiful bones. 4 out of 5 standatd butchers in my area looked at me like I asked for Alien rump steak🙄
Twice a week broth, kefir daily, fermented veg at leaat 3x a week. Bliss, no pain in my intestines!

Is Michael Mosley that very low calorie diet extremist? Like 800 calories? When even toddlers need more than that?

Not a fan.

Yeah he is. I looked at it once and it's a mishmash of diets. Fast, low cal, low carb and whatnot.
This bit from wiki is quite something
"On the programme Mosley asserted that people can lose a stone in 21 days by calorie restriction to only 800 calories a day. This advice is considered dangerous by medical experts and the programme received a backlash on social media platforms.[11] Beat, a UK charity supporting those affected by eating disorders, stated that "the programme caused enough stress and anxiety to our beneficiaries that we extended our Helpline hours to support anyone affected and received 51% more contact during that time".[12]"