A Bad Thing

As a science, nutrition can be a little ... confusing (to say the least). I intend to address the reasons for some of this confusion later, but for now I want to write about some of the implications. Most, if not all people, have many ideas about what is and what isn't "healthy". Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where a little information, even if it is the right information, can be a bad thing.

For better or for worse, the landscape of food has been transformed into a jungle full of terrific and terrifying possibilities. We have both figuratively and literally deconstructed food into thousands of chemicals, added a few of our own, and re-assembled them in every way imaginable. Everyone has to eat, but there is simply too much information (and a paucity of evidence) to make an truly informed decision, so we simplify. We dichotomize foods and nutrients in our mind into 'good' and 'bad' based on what we know. I imagine it looks a little something like this:

It is all that any of us can really hope for in the vast and ever-changing food environment, but leaves us vulnerable to food advertising. Food companies are far more interested in your money than in your health. What's more, they are well equipped with a arsenal of impressive sounding nutrients that many consumers likely know little about (fatty acids like DHA, isoflavones like genistein, amino acid derivatives like HMB, and so on). Very few of these nutrients are actually required in the diet, but instead are endowed with drug-like properties and fanciful claims.

Our only shield against this onslaught is the government who have, quite regrettably, taken a pro-business, individual responsibility stance on the issue. The result - supermarkets are chock-a-block full of unhealthy products guised as being wholesome. Most are fairly innocuous such as our breakfast favorites (sugar-sweetened multivitamins with fiber), while others are downright alarming, acting as vehicles for the uncontrolled delivery of drugs. Sadly, the notion that the best products to avoid are those that appear healthy has some merit. A simple, yet elegant solution has been put forth by Michael Pollan:

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

This view asks us to embrace ignorance and eat like our grandparents. It's a good premise. If we put aside the little that we know, we are far less susceptible to nutri-fluence. However, I think this ship has sailed. Food and nutrition information is all over the place, and it is not in our nature to ignore it. Furthermore, there isn't much actual food left in the supermarket, and many consumers lack the skills and/or motivation to prepare meals from scratch.

So what are our options. I doubt that we are anywhere close to having nutrition figured out, and I don't think that this successful advertising approach is going to stop anytime soon. All that we can do is make people consciously aware of this ruse so that they are less easily deceived. Perhaps with time, our population will shift from pre-contemplation to contemplation, and we can start to address some of these issues at their source.

Take Home Message:

The presence (good source of omega-3s) and/or absence (cholesterol-free) of single nutrients does not make a food healthy.