Build Up Catch Up - 9/22/23
The Prejudice of Processed Foods, Supermarket (non) Sense, Podcast Picks...memes and more!
“Whole Foods” (not to be confused with grocery store) is one of those terms people often use without explanation or context, e.g. ‘Don’t eat processed foods - eat whole foods.’
We sometimes use certain words and terms to elevate chosen foods to convey their superiority: natural, real foods, healthy, organic, less than 5 ingredients, locally made, good food.
But what about words and phrases that convey the opposite, i.e. foods that some people decide we should avoid? They might be referred to as: junk foods, bad foods, cheat foods, crappy foods, processed, fake foods, artificial foods.
Which brings us to the all-encompassing term being used now: ultra-processed which seems to have become the current way to sum up the worst food choices possible. (Note: there are a variety of classification systems to use to determine what constitutes “ultra-processed food” (UPF). See our 9/15 Newsletter for more on the NOVA classification system …fun fact, infant formula, ONS, and tube feeding formulas would all be considered UPFs.)
Podcast Pick:
“Ultra-Processed Foods: Center for Food as Medicine Panel Discussion”
This is worth a listen just to hear some of the points of view on this topic and especially the comments of NIH researcher, Kevin M. Hall, Ph.D.
Supermarket (non) Sense
Some debunking of this image is in order:
Appeal to Tradition - 100 years ago (1923) there were very few grocery stores. The first was Piggly Wiggly in 1916. By the 1920’s there were a few small regional chains that primarily stocked dry goods (not produce or meats —
why? REFRIGERATION wasn’t widely available.)
Appeal to Nature - The implication is that the food we ate was somehow more natural or better for us or that snack foods were unavailable 100 years ago: FACT CHECK
-1880’s - sodas were first sold in the US
-1895 - (Saratoga) potato chips were first sold in stores
Appeal to Tradition - Implication: We’re dying from diseases now that didn’t exist. (Oh, right, there is Covid).
-1920’s - Leading causes of death: Influenza/Pneumonia, Heart Disease, Tuberculosis, Stroke, Kidney Disease, Cancer, Accident, Diarrhea/Enteritis, Premature Birth & Childbirth.
-2021 - Leading causes of death: Heart disease, Cancer, Covid, Accidents, Stroke, Chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, Diabetes, Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis
Bottom Line: Images and text demonstrating logical fallacies, exaggeration and inaccuracies should be easy to debunk….let’s do this!
Podcast Pick - “Making it Awkward”
Listen as Jessica Wilson, MS RD interviews Robert Lustig, MD - Professor emeritus of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology at UCSF and author of the books “Metabolical”, “Fat Chance” and others. As Jessica aptly put it, ‘this podcast was like Mr. Toad’s wild ride’…Prepare to be on a listening roller coaster of dismay, discomfort and perhaps disgust as you listen to Dr. Lustig’s comments, responses and mansplaining. One example: Lustig recommends a homeless person, rather than eat processed Chef Boyardee should ‘buy a Trader Joe’s salad and eat it over two days...’. Total props to Jessica for being calm and professional throughout this chat. If you’re not following her podcast, we encourage it.
4 Things You May Have Missed
On our main Facebook page — a comment was posted by Julia M.
(Why we at Build Up Dietitians do what we do):
“…I am surrounded by people who are told to eliminate food as a first response to anything and then the same docs push supplements (that the office sells) bc well, now they're deficient due to the food they're eliminating…These are holistic, functional medicine, and chiro docs who claim, “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". Doesn't it seem ironic that WE'RE accused of profiting from what we recommend …And those doctors recommending taking food OUT of the diet and also selling supplements are not? How do people not see this paradox?
Build Up Dietitians thank you for weeding most of this out!
From McGill OSS - “What’s trending in the world of Pseudoscience?”
Read their SIX trends. Especially recommend reading Trend #3 (Integrative Medicine) and Trend #4 (Wellness).
Small and Special
One of our favorite visual artists is Japanese miniaturist, Tatsuya Tanaka. He often depicts various foods in his feed, and he’s known for using everyday objects in his miniature worlds. Recommend you follow him on Twitter/”X” and Instagram.
Keep Up! It’s No Longer Called TPN
If you aren’t in clinical dietetics or haven’t been practicing for a while, you may not know that it’s no longer referred to a “TPN” but simply “PN” for parenteral nutrition. PN-Myths-Practice-Tool.pdf (nutritioncare.org)
Regarding trends in pseudoscience, it’s also worth noting that anti-GMO activism, dietary supplements and integrative medicine were discussed as aspects of anti-science aggression in Dr. Peter Hotez’s just-released book ‘The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning’