Ten Good Reasons to Question the Nutrition Experts

It seems like every month brings some new revelation from nutritionists about what constitutes a healthy diet. One day they're telling us to avoid fats in favor of carbohydrates, the next they're saying carbs are bad while fats are good. We are told to eat more fish, only to be told to avoid it because it's loaded with mercury. Then, of course, there's coffee conundrum. Good or bad for you?

In the end, it's enough to make your head (or should I say stomach?) spin. How are we, the consumers, supposed to make sense out of it all? How do we make an informed decision about something as important as our diets when we are being hit with so much disparate information from so many different directions? What are we supposed to do?

Well, maybe the time has come for us to start questioning the so-called nutrition experts. Or better yet, simply employ a little common sense and decide for ourselves what we should eat. After all, that's how our parents (at least for most of us) and every single generation before them ate.

Besides, has listening to the nutrition experts made us any better off? Are we any healthier because of it? In lieu of the current health crisis in this country, with rising rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity, I would say not. I understand that these complex health problems cannot be solely attributed to diet and we can hardly point the finger at the field of nutrition science.

However, there is no doubt that our diets play a significant role. So with this in mind, I would like to offer ten good reasons to start questioning what the nutrition experts are saying and begin taking charge of your diet, and ultimately your own health.

1. They keep changing their minds.

Intuitively I would surmise that when the experts change their minds, it might be attributed to the fact that they got it wrong the first time. But everyone makes mistakes, right?

Well, sort of. When we make mistakes that affect our own lives, it's generally accepted as a fact of life. To err is human, as the saying goes. But when you convince the general public to make a significant change in their lifestyle, only to shift your position after realizing that you were wrong, then it's a pretty big mistake.

When that mistake has lead to decades of misinformed guidelines, then it's a travesty of public health policy. I think of margarine as a prime example of this. For years I ate that "stuff" instead of butter because "they" told me it was better for me, only to learn after twenty-five years of consumption that it isn't. In the end, I guess I have nobody to blame but myself for unquestioning devotion.

2. They can't agree with each other.

With so many different camps concerning nutrition, who do you listen to? On the one hand there are the pro-fat people who encourage us (a sensible idea, mind you) to include more essential fatty acids in our diet while reducing carbohydrates, or even eliminating them altogether, while there are others who expound on the virtue (also sensible) of carbohydrate consumption and tell us to get rid of fats. And then, of course, there are those who tell us that proteins are where it's at.

Why can't they agree? Why is there so many rifts among nutrition scientists? It is frustrating and confusing when they promote such disparate ideas, and in my opinion, undermines their credibility.

3. They don't always have the consumer's (i.e., you and I) best interest in mind.

It makes perfect sense for the food industry to have a vested interest in the findings of nutrition experts, and as a consequence, they sponsor studies and provide a great deal of funding. It therefore stands to reason that nutrition researchers might be influenced by the interests of their employer, and can you blame them? Nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them.

Sound like paranoid conspiracy theory? Consider this - researchers at Boston's Children's Hospital in conjunction with The Center For Science In The Public Interest recently published a study that indicated a high potential for bias which favored the companies that funded the research. The study focused on the non-alcoholic beverage industry, and while some may cite this as not being indicative of the food industry as a whole, one can also argue that it is only the tip of the iceberg.

4. We're not any healthier.

If you take a moment to consider the enormous amount of nutritional information that is out there, then assume that we are following the advice of the experts, and then factor in the overall health of this country, where heart disease, diabetes and obesity are on the rise, I think it's reasonable to conclude that nutrition science has not accomplished it's said goal of making us healthier.

True, you can't lay the blame completely on them for the health woes of the public since there are other factors involved, like lifestyle and environment. We must ultimately take responsibility for our own lives. On the other hand, you can't credit the nutrition experts for accomplishing their goal of making us healthier (assuming that this is their goal) if we aren't.

5. Our parents didn't eat this way.

If you were born before 1970, there's a good chance that your parents' meals were not too heavily influenced by nutritional guidelines, which were instituted as result of rationing during WWII. The food pyramid as we know it largely came about after the war.

So while they were growing up, mom and dad's diet was probably pretty straightforward. They ate foods that were chosen and prepared by your grandparents, and were probably naturally produced and traditionally prepared. There was no science dictating their choices, and they were all the better for it.

6. Science oversimplifies things.

In medical research, one of the most difficult and frustrating realities is that most ideas make perfect sense in theory but often do not work in practice. This is not the fault of the researcher. It is simply due to the complexity of a living system.

Science gets around this by using a simpler version of the system, or a model. They are then able to study one or two key aspects, or variables, albeit out of context of the whole. The problem is, what worked in a test tube just doesn't seem to work in a living organisms (including the human body). Go figure.

Nutrition science seems to succumb to the same problem. When we digest food, we are breaking down an incredibly diverse web of nutrients whose complex interactions with each other are hardly understood. Out of necessity, nutrition science oversimplifies things by studying only a select few nutrients because it is unable to study the complete picture; it's just too complicated. The question is, what if the things that are being omitted are actually the keys to good nutrition?

7. A little common sense goes a long way.

You don't need some person with an advanced degree to tell you what to eat, any more than you need one to tell you how to live your life. Every one of us knows, to some degree, what constitutes healthy food. It's not rocket science, and we shouldn't let anyone convince us otherwise.

But if you still can't decide, then ask your parents. Or better yet, if you're able to, your grandparents. They'll have firsthand knowledge based on the foods they grew up with.

8. Embrace family traditions.

Traditional foods were not influenced by scientific guidelines, they were chosen and prepared based on, of all things, traditions. Traditions, mind you, that often spanned generations, so there was a great deal of empirical evidence supporting their wholesome benefits.

Besides, traditional foods hark back to a simpler time when meals were important for the time shared with family and loved ones. When we long for a good, home-cooked meal, we aren't pining away for our recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals. We want comfort food, thoughtfully prepared and, more importantly, stamped with mom's seal of approval. You can't beat that.

9. Food should be enjoyed.

Perhaps more than anything else, our obsession with food and nutrition has taken a lot of fun out of eating, and food should be enjoyed. Plain and simple. How can you do that when you're overwhelmed with so many details about what you eat?

While I acknowledge the importance of putting some thought into what we eat, it doesn't have to consume us like it does. With the abundance of food options out there, it's easy to make healthy, yet enjoyable, choices.

10. Exercise your right to make informed decisions.

In the end, the field of nutrition science provides us with a great deal of insight into our diets, but it should be remembered that it is all just information. And while knowledge is power, it must be employed wisely. The responsibility ultimately lies with us to sift through the mountain of wisdom and decide for ourselves. Blindly following what some third party entity dictates do does not always lead to a good result (again, I think of margarine).

In the end, I'd like to point out that I'm not in any way out to vilify the field of nutrition science. I myself acknowledge that they are a valid source of information and have even come to rely on some of their insights. It's just that the situation has gotten a bit out of hand.

So rather than simply rushing out and embracing their every decree, take some time to mull it all over. Take it all with a grain of salt, chew on it and give it time to digest.

And question everything. It's your health, after all, and a little common sense and self-empowerment can go a long way in accomplishing what some people will lead you to believe only they are capable of doing.

Finally, whatever you do, enjoy your food (being sensible, of course). It's one of the few simple pleasures in life that you can still be in control of.

And you don't need an expert to tell you that.