Why “Clean Eating” is a Myth

“Clean Eating is a Scam”

— JC Deen

It’s a scam that’s promoted by athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors, government officials, schools, diet book authors, and pretty much everyone else who eats.

“Clean eating” has no objective definition and no scientific support.

It’s also an eating disorder.

Why “Clean Eating” is a Myth

What is the most overused food buzzword?

Healthful. Just all those words trying to get you pay attention to health when in fact everything that’s being sold to us is basically unhealthy.

20 Questions: Alice Waters on McDonald’s, Obama and Blue Apron

Triclosan Antibacterial Soap No Better at Killing Germs Than Regular Soap

There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in bactericidal activity between plain soap and antibacterial soap at either test temperature. However, antibacterial soap showed significantly greater bactericidal effects after 9 h. These results suggest that although triclosan-containing soap does have antibacterial activity, the effects are not apparent during the short time required for hand washing.

Bactericidal effects of triclosan in soap both in vitro and in vivo

How Much Harm Can Sugar Do?

Was it the sugar or the calories? The film makes the good point that a calorie is not simply a calorie—your body processes different kinds in different ways, and added sugar rarely provides benefits. Yet, like the anti-fat credo of my youth, “That Sugar Film” places too much certainty in the belief that a single food can be the problem. If only it were that simple. Many nutritionists believe it’s time to stop demonizing individual components of our diet—whether it’s fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol, or even sugar. It’s time to acknowledge that the special diets that obsess us—whether they consist of fruit or eliminate fruit, rely on meat or banish it—don’t work.

How Much Harm Can Sugar Do?

Should I Eat Three Big Meals Or Lots of Small Ones?

There’s also the fact that the most convenient foods tends to be junk foods. Finding or preparing healthy meals is a challenge. So if you’re eating six times a day as opposed to three, you’re going to have a tougher time sticking with good stuff, Longo says.

…

Longo says studies that support a grazing approach tend to be flawed in predictable ways. They often look only at the short-term effects of increasing meal frequency. While your appetite, metabolism and blood sugar might at first improve, your system will grow accustomed to your new eating schedule after a month or two. When that happens, your body will start expecting and craving food all day long instead of only around midday or dinnertime.

Should I Eat Three Big Meals Or Lots of Small Ones?

Seminario de Filosofía de la Ciencia: "Idolatría por las correlaciones. El éxito de la mala ciencia en nutrición"

7 de octubre de 2015, desde las 18 hs, en el Aula 8 (Subsuelo Pab. 2), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Ciudad Universitaria. La entrada es libre y gratuita.

Las recomendaciones nutricionales en el mundo se fundan en investigaciones científicas de baja calidad: estudios observacionales, correlaciones sin prueba de causalidad. La compleja y multideterminada naturaleza del fenómeno de la alimentación hace difícil estudiarla en condiciones controladas, algo que debería aclararse cuando se formulan políticas públicas basadas en ciencia débil. La mitología urbana transmitida de boca en boca y la adopción acrítica de pseudo-verdades incorporadas al sentido común hacen el resto del trabajo. Debería resultar al menos llamativo que, en un planeta global con difusión masiva de ciertas pautas alimentarias, la epidemia de obesidad y de diabetes sea cada vez mayor: ¿el fenómeno crece porque las personas NO cumplen con el consejo nutricional? o, por el contrario, ¿el fenómeno crece porque la población SÍ cumple con recomendaciones inapropiadas y sin fundamento? Analizaremos dos mitos de hondo arraigo cultural: (1) las grasas saturadas de la dieta causan enfermedad cardiovascular, y (2) es necesario hidratarse permanentemente ingiriendo agua, en particular durante la actividad física.

Idolatría por las correlaciones. El éxito de la mala ciencia en nutrición.

Should I Drink Diet Soda?

So next time you’re craving an aluminum can of carbonated non-food constituents like artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners, remember Nettleton’s voice in your head. If you’re thirsty, she says, drink water. If you’re tired, have a cup of coffee. And if you want a weight-loss aid to squash those hunger pangs, “Take a walk around the block.”

Still feel hungry? “Then eat,” she says. “You are hungry.”

Should I Drink Diet Soda?

Artificial sweeteners produce the counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements

The negative impact of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages on weight and other health outcomes has been increasingly recognized; therefore, many people have turned to high-intensity sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin as a way to reduce the risk of these consequences. However, accumulating evidence suggests that frequent consumers of these sugar substitutes may also be at increased risk of excessive weight gain, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. This paper discusses these findings and considers the hypothesis that consuming sweet-tasting but noncaloric or reduced-calorie food and beverages interferes with learned responses that normally contribute to glucose and energy homeostasis. Because of this interference, frequent consumption of high-intensity sweeteners may have the counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements.

Artificial sweeteners produce the counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements.

How Coke Is Subtly Blaming You for Obesity

“If you want to live a healthful life and maintain a healthy body weight, you need to go out of your way to live abnormally in an environment where normal isn’t healthy,” says Freedhoff. “It should really be the other way around.”

How Coke Is Subtly Blaming You for Obesity

How Soda Affects Kids’ Cholesterol Levels

Children consuming more sugared drinks had higher levels of triglycerides, which are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, and when Van Rompay looked at children who changed the amount of sugared drinks they consumed over the year, she found that those who drank one serving less on average from the start to the end of the study showed higher levels of HDL, the good cholesterol that can protect against heart problems.

How Soda Affects Kids’ Cholesterol Levels

Distraction, restrained eating and disinhibition: An experimental study of food intake and the impact of ‘eating on the go’

while those higher in restrained eating consumed less overall and fewer calories after watching TV or talking, they consumed more overall and more calories (specifically five times more chocolate) if the cereal bar was eaten while walking. ‘Eating on the go’ may disinhibit restrained eaters either as a form of distraction or by offering a justification to overeat.

Distraction, restrained eating and disinhibition: An experimental study of food intake and the impact of ‘eating on the go’