The Bad Food Bible

The Bad Food Bible

Adult nonfiction
"We live in hard times for people who simply want to eat--
normally, that is, in a way that would be recognizable to our
ancestors, aiming for no more than a tasty meal, eaten to
satisfaction, with a feeling of pleasure. Now, instead, we sit down
to dinner in trepidation, our heads swirling with a chorus of wasps
whispering, Eat only good foods, avoid the bad..."
If you've been on this planet any length of time you've
experienced a series of scary food revelations proclaimed by experts
and reported faithfully by the press. Just about anything you enjoy
(including the coffee I'm drinking as I write this) has been shown to
cause heart disease, diabetes, some other dire illness, or, that
ultimate of penalties, premature death. There are good foods and bad
foods. Only you never know when a formerly benign substance will be
revealed to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.
In The Bad Food Bible: How And Why To Eat Sinfully (I can't
imagine anyone passing up a book with that title!) Dr. Aaron Carroll
urges readers to take food panics with a grain of salt (another of
those demonized substances, BTW). He shows us that much of the
research upon which food alarms are based is rife with faulty
methodology or interpretation.
Want an example? In 2008 the journal Obesity published a study
on the relationship between weight and diet beverage consumption.
Over 3,600 people were followed over seven to eight years. The more
diet drinks the subjects consumed, the heavier they were. A more
recent study following over 1,450 people over about ten years reached
similar conclusions. The media was quick to pounce on the irony of it
all.
Pretty damning, right? Not really. As any University of Maine
statistics student who has been paying attention in class can tell
you, correlation is not the same as causation. Two things happening
at the same time does not mean one causes the other. In fact reverse
causality (getting the order mixed up) could be in play). What if
heavier, more weight conscious or other people's biases conscious
people are more likely to reach for a diet beverage when feeling
thirsty?
There are a lot more flaws in studies which Carroll translates
into layperson language.
Each chapter concerns a highly controversial substance. Being
what Carroll would call a moderate drinker, I was very interested in
the chapter on alcohol. Much research has shown moderate drinking to
protect against perils like heart disease and cognitive decline.
Recently increased risk of breast cancer has been tossed into the mix
with some researchers declaring abstinence to be the only safe
policy. After scrutinizing a wide range of studies, Carroll comes to
the conclusion that:
"But if you're a healthy person who drinks alcohol responsibly,
you can feel confident that you're not doing yourself any harm. In
fact, you may actually see some benefits from your light or moderate
alcohol consumption."
I'll drink to that!
Seriously, the media in America presumes that viewers and
readers have the attention span of hamsters on speed. They operate
under the assumption that dramatic and alarming sells. They (and
unfortunately many researchers) are searching for the one magic bullet
that will solve quite complex problems. If you want a more nuanced
look at the risks and benefits of foods and beverages, The Bad Foods
Bible is a really good read.
On a personal note, I went a little wild when I started working dining
services in a place where I could have hot, crispy fries, root beer
floats, pizza, cookies, doughnuts...when I worked without having to
cook them. Recently I declared the honeymoon over and am working on
more balanced nutrition at work. It doesn't mean, however, that I
won't pick less nutritious foods, such as my favorite jam filled
cookies, for sometimes treats.
A great big shout out goes to out dining services chefs and CAs who
prepare the foods that make meals memorable.
jules hathaway


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