The promoters of nutriceuticals and other products are operating in a grey area which unfortunately is unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration. So what's a body to do? It is just so simple, you wonder why you didn't think of it. Eat a varied diet, eat foods that taste good and enjoy them. The old saw; "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you shall die," or something to that effect is true and it sure makes living more enjoyable.
When it comes to seeking expert advice, what is the unwashed, unschooled, panic-stricken consumer to do? Two heads are better than one even if one is a goat head.. Get another opinion before you risk body and soul on a product or a diet that is recommended by self serving advocates. Before you listen to a "nutritionist" advocating a high-vegetable, low-meat diet, think about it. Considering supplementing your diet (that's what you do when you take vitamins)? Think twice.
Statistics and health warnings
To put the recommendations of so called experts in perspective, take a gander at the track record of our pharmaceutical industry.
All prescription drugs on the market indicate that there are side effects and they warn if you experience any of these unpleasantnesses, you should discontinue use and/or see your doctor. They emphasize that only one or two percent of the subjects in a small research experiment, seem to have problems so it isn't considered all that important. However, if you look at what they are actually saying, here's a group of four or five things that could go wrong, as example, stomach cramps, headaches, dry mouth, diarrhea, blurred vision, &c. So let's assume that the magic percentage is 2.0% and that there are some six problems that "may" be encountered. Six times two is twelve so, this seemingly innocuous statement means that perhaps one in eight persons may experience some difficulty. Probably wont happen to you, but I bet you know at least eight people; which means that one of them may fit the criterion specified as having experienced a side effect.
That's life in the statistical jungle.
I can hear the drug companies shouting foul! All I am trying to do is help them avoid the painful experience that too often befalls them when a product is marketed with much hype and glitz only to discover that, yes, there are some rather unpleasant side-effects (to their bottom line as well.)
So what's a body to do?
AN INSTANCE OF A SELF INFLICTED VITAMIN DEFICIENCY
It happened in St. Louis as I recall. One particular beer drinker liked to have an egg in his beer, in fact a lot of eggs in his beer, or was it a lot of beer with raw eggs therein? Now this may sound a bit distasteful to most but for a nation that has embraced goldfish swallowing, eating raw oysters, chocolate coated ants and other delicacies such as honey with the comb intact (perhaps with bee larva as well), it just represents one more unusual dietary practice. Some may even recall that swallowing raw eggs was popular at one time and may have been combined with eating cakes of yeast in an attempt to gain weight or increase muscle mass. But I digress.
The beer drinker developed a biotin deficiency. How could that be? As was discovered at about the same time, eggs contain a protein called avidin. Avidin has a new life in biotechnology but at the time its main claim to fame was that it bound biotin. Hence, beer plus raw eggs in quantity equals a biotin problem.
You have got to admit that this is stretching the envelope of diet and disease, but it does show that such a relationship can exist even in lowly man. And, there are consequences for inappropriate dietary practices.
TRENDY DIETS
Along comes "trendy diets that sizzle", which is another way of saying eat meat. Lots of meat! Is this really a practical solution to our unhealthy condition; obesity, poor muscle tone, high cholesterol, bad mix of hormones, hyper-activity, &c.? Doubt it! More likely that a good dose of exercise would do us all wonders, but in the mean-time, a varied diet makes a lot more sense and remembering that since the body's metabolism can take a lot of insult, an occasional binge isn't all that bad for the body and soul.
It's really too bad when nutritionist gather behind their cloaks much like the wizard of Oz and make pronouncements that; "well, you may loose weight in the short run, but it'll come back because it's only water your losing." Wouldn't it be better for them to just go back to their books and face-up to the facts that there are alternatives to those that they have embraced?
Regardless of what you choose to do ^r, never place your child on one of these dumb diets that will predispose him or her to a life of potential misery. It's one thing to screw up your own metabolic system and life but it's criminal to do it to a child, your child!
NB: The author has no bones to grind, or profits to be made. But, if just one more person thinks about nutrition, so much the better.
****
Joe Wortham's Home Page,
About Joe Wortham,
Directory
Questions? [email protected]