How I Came to Really Love Real Food: Part Three
At this point, it might be good to talk about sources and how to know who to trust. My husband has been the one who's opinion I really value on all of these matters. So if I'm unsure of something I have read, I go to him. He did a lot of health research back in his 20's, and he has always seemed to have a sixth sense about whether some information was phony or not. And when he was unsure himself, he always referred back to the Bible. For example, artificially engineered fats. Like margarine. Can a man-made food "product" compare to the fats God made - especially butter? If God brought the Israelites to the land of "milk and honey", how can butter be bad? A lot of what I have learned has been a result of my faith in God and my faith in my husband. When I would bring up something new I had learned from the internet, we would talk together to work out whether it made sense or not.
I know not everyone has that same advantage of having a husband like mine, but having someone to talk things through with is very important. It helps to get your ideas out in the open so that someone else can shoot holes in your theories if they're not completely logical. (sidenote: It is also a good humility-building exercise. You talk about your idea, and someone else shoots it down! Fun!)
Another thing to remember when considering your sources is money. Can you trust organizations and companies that have a financial interest in the outcome of the research they fund? Personally, I find that the research results coming from pharmaceutical companies, food companies, the federal government, and even supposedly good community organizations like the American Cancer Society to be suspect. Those without a financial interest in the outcome are the ones most able to make a clear, logical assessment of study results. Unfortunately, those studies are rare, because who can pay for them? Most people have been led to believe that scientific studies are objective assessments of truth. However, as human beings, all scientific studies are biased in some way. Some more than others, but there is always an element of subjectivity in any study you might come across.
Another way to look at it is to think of the creation/evolution debate. People's views on this important topic depend upon their underlying presuppositions. If you don't believe there is a God, obviously any scientific proof for creation will not mean a thing to you. You will believe in evolution because of your presuppositions. It is similar in the world of health. People will mold just about any health-related study into something that matches what they already believe. Take a look at cholesterol for example. There is really not much evidence that keeping your cholesterol levels low means good health. In fact, in some instances higher cholesterol can actually be protective. But since the theory that high cholesterol = heart disease is so entrenched within the medical community, almost any study concerning cholesterol levels either is based on (possibly false) assumptions or it is twisted to fit the theory.
We must think things through for ourselves. Consider whether something is logical or not. Talk with others who have thought about this themselves. The important thing is not that you come out agreeing with everything I think. The important thing is to take responsibility for your own health and the health of your family and not delegate that important duty to people you really don't even know that well. Not that doctors and nurses are ill-intentioned. In fact, I don't really know anyone in the medical profession that doesn't want to help people. But their sources for information are many times biased, and a good percentage of their training is paid for by corporations and government organizations. It is my opinion that we can't always trust the information they give us.
Next time I will talk about two books (other than the Bible) that changed the way I think about food and the way I live.
I know not everyone has that same advantage of having a husband like mine, but having someone to talk things through with is very important. It helps to get your ideas out in the open so that someone else can shoot holes in your theories if they're not completely logical. (sidenote: It is also a good humility-building exercise. You talk about your idea, and someone else shoots it down! Fun!)
Another thing to remember when considering your sources is money. Can you trust organizations and companies that have a financial interest in the outcome of the research they fund? Personally, I find that the research results coming from pharmaceutical companies, food companies, the federal government, and even supposedly good community organizations like the American Cancer Society to be suspect. Those without a financial interest in the outcome are the ones most able to make a clear, logical assessment of study results. Unfortunately, those studies are rare, because who can pay for them? Most people have been led to believe that scientific studies are objective assessments of truth. However, as human beings, all scientific studies are biased in some way. Some more than others, but there is always an element of subjectivity in any study you might come across.
Another way to look at it is to think of the creation/evolution debate. People's views on this important topic depend upon their underlying presuppositions. If you don't believe there is a God, obviously any scientific proof for creation will not mean a thing to you. You will believe in evolution because of your presuppositions. It is similar in the world of health. People will mold just about any health-related study into something that matches what they already believe. Take a look at cholesterol for example. There is really not much evidence that keeping your cholesterol levels low means good health. In fact, in some instances higher cholesterol can actually be protective. But since the theory that high cholesterol = heart disease is so entrenched within the medical community, almost any study concerning cholesterol levels either is based on (possibly false) assumptions or it is twisted to fit the theory.
We must think things through for ourselves. Consider whether something is logical or not. Talk with others who have thought about this themselves. The important thing is not that you come out agreeing with everything I think. The important thing is to take responsibility for your own health and the health of your family and not delegate that important duty to people you really don't even know that well. Not that doctors and nurses are ill-intentioned. In fact, I don't really know anyone in the medical profession that doesn't want to help people. But their sources for information are many times biased, and a good percentage of their training is paid for by corporations and government organizations. It is my opinion that we can't always trust the information they give us.
Next time I will talk about two books (other than the Bible) that changed the way I think about food and the way I live.
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