Build Up Catch Up - 3/17/2023

Dirty Tricks and the 'Dirty Dozen', Unbalanced Misinformation about 'Balancing Hormones', UPF's ( not the same as SPFs), and a Book Recommendation.

Mar 17, 2023

Dirty Tricks and the Dirty Dozen

The “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” are a creation of the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Each year the EWG releases their lists of produce items we shouldn’t and should eat because of (gasp) PESTICIDE RESIDUE. In doing so they recommend buying organic produce. What they fail to mention is:

QUANTITY - the Dose Makes the Poison - EWG data comes from the USDA and is measured in parts per BILLION.

May be a Twitter screenshot of 1 person and text that says 'Kevin Folta @kevinfolta Parts per million seconds in 11.5 days Parts per billion seconds in 32 years Parts per trillion seconds in 32000 years. We can detect chemistry at parts per trillion. Think about that. If anything it says that your food is safe. Really safe.'

Alliance for Food and Farming puts this in perspective with their pesticide residue calculator .

Alliance for Food and Farming ...Calculate - Safe Fruits and Veggies

QUALITY - What is EWG? (Not) stellar woo-mister himself Mark Hyman, MD and actress Michelle Pfeiffer are on their board. EWG has a history of being anti-GMO and anti-vax and of being funded by organic brands and organic marketing groups:

Bottom Line: The problem with the “Dirty Dozen” is that it might actually dissuade people from eating fruits and vegetables if they can’t find organic versions and that’s the last thing most dietitians want to see happen!

By promoting buying organic and claiming that certain conventionally grown produce items are “dirty” with pesticide residue, EWG ignores or deliberately tries to disguise the fact that organic farmers do use pesticides.

May be an image of 4 people and text that says 'NIBIASIEID Unbiased Science Podcast SICIIENICIE PODCAST @unbiasedscipod ORGANIC FARMING USES PESTICIDES. ORGANIC PESTICIDES ARE CHEMICALS THAT KILL PESTS, JUST LIKE CONVENTIONAL ONES. ORGANIC PESTICIDES ARE NOT BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT OR FOR OTHER SPECIES. REGARDLESS OF THE CHEMICAL. THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON. AS ΑΝ EXAMPLE, COPPER SULFATE, AN ORGANIC PESTICIDE. IS TOXIC ΤΟ HUMANS IF INGESTED AT CERTAIN LEVELS.'

Balancing Hormones

A term that appears frequently on Instagram, TikTok (aka #TRASHtok) and blogs is “hormone balancing”. This is usually coupled with claims that certain foods and supplements can “balance hormones”. These messages and posts are often geared towards women who are especially vulnerable to this type of misinformation. The supposed “balancing” of hormones is linked to claims of being able to improve sleep quality and energy levels to fertility and weight loss, etc.

When you see or hear “hormone balancing” or “balance your hormones” it should prompt some questions:

1. Who’s promoting this? It’s often alternative medicine, functional medicine, and those in the wellness space —and not medical doctors like endocrinologists who are trained to order appropriate tests, interpret information, and diagnose actual hormone issues.

(How) Are they testing individuals to see if their hormones are out of “balance”? Are these tests actually legitimate and being interpreted correctly? Or are these DIY tests with limited validity?
What hormones need balancing? Do they even specify? Cortisol? Estrogen? Testosterone? Insulin? Epinephrine? Melatonin?
What foods are recommended? How are individual foods supposed to affect these different hormones that are regulated and controlled by different parts of the endorcrine system?
Are they recommending and selling specific supplements and profiting from this?

Bottom Line: A hormone “balancing” diet that focuses on better nutritional choices may improve overall health, but claims that individual foods, a diet or supplements can “balance” hormones is medically and scientifically incorrect. Individuals should be referred to an endocrinologist or gynecologist.

Podcast Pick - Danielle Belardo, MD - Wellness: Fact vs Fiction - “The Hormone Myth-Is Imbalance Just a Buzzword”

Research of the Week

Ultra Processed Foods and Diabetes

This study (hyperlinked above), and some of the headlines:

“Some, Not All, Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Type 2 Diabetes” - Medscape

“The FIVE ultra-processed foods that aren't unhealthy” - Daily Mail

As it turns out in this study; not all UPF’s (ultra-processed foods) were equally culpable when it came to increased risk of T2 diabetes.

Bottom Line: Does this mean if people don’t eat UPF or specific types of UPFs they won’t get T2 diabetes? Does this mean we condemn some or all of these UPFs foods? Not necessarily, but it’s good reminder that: it’s complicated, we don’t just eat individual foods - we eat meals and there are many other factors that influence our health and the risk of T2 diabetes.

(See our Build Up Dietitians and Diabetes Group.)

Book Nook

“The Elephant in the Room” by Tommy Tomlinson

May be an image of 1 person, outdoors and text that says 'beautiful book. .For anyone who has ever loved person of not ust few extra pounds but 00 or more and wondered, How the heck did that happen? -it will make you understand a way you didn' before. THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Tommy Tomlinson'

An autobiographical account by North Carolina journalist and podcaster, Tommy Tomlinson. A raw and unfiltered look at his life, his struggles with obesity and journey towards better health. This is a book recommended in our Build Up Eating Disorders and Build Up Dietitians Weight Management (and Bariatrics) groups.

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