By Richard Tardif
Be careful of the nutrition advice and science you read these days. Their conclusions may be the work of idol minds.
These“Idols of the mind”as spoken by English statesman and seventeenth century scholar Francis Bacon, are false images of the mind, referring to the unlikelihood that scientists would seek to disprove their own hypothesis, while blindly accepting perceived results favouring it, preventing mankind from knowing the truth.
In Novum Organum, Bacon claims that four “idols” corrupt and block science from developing a proper understanding of nature. Bacon offers that “there are four kinds of idols besetting human minds,” namely Idols of the Tribe;[mfn]”Idols of the Tribe”, which refers to a tendency of human nature to prefer certain types of incorrect conclusions. … The Idols of the Tribe have their foundation in human nature itself, and in the tribe or race of men.[/mfn] the second, Idols of the Cave;[mfn]”Idols of the Cave” (or “Idols of the Den”), is a type of logical fallacy whereby the peculiar biases of individuals lead them to errors. … The Idols of the Cave are the idols of the individual man.[/mfn] the third, Idols of the Market Place;[mfn]Idols of the Market Place” or “Idols of the Forum”, are a category of logical fallacy which results from the imperfect correspondences between the word definitions in human languages, and the real things in nature which these words represent.[/mfn] and the fourth, the Idols of the Theatre.[mfn]”Idols of the Theatre.” The Latin was coined by Sir Francis Bacon in his Novum Organum—one of the earliest treatises arguing the case for the logic and method of modern science.[/mfn]
Each “Idol” he writes “besets” the mind and impedes a true understanding of the world. Bacon insists, that “true truth is of course the proper remedy for warding off and clearing away these idols” reveals the radical nature of science.
How besetting are the scientific minds of yesterday
I’ve written about Ancel Keys who in the 1950s to 1980s soundly believed, and was soundly convinced, that dietary fat equaled heart disease. He proved it to himself and his academic followers in one landmark study known as the Seven Countries Study, but believed that it was for others to disprove him. He fought dissention at every turn. The result: in the 1990s, public health policy told us to limit fat, especially red meat, eat more grains and fruits, and moderate sugars.
Politicians and Doctors continue to be intemperate in the belief that grains, fruits and moderate sugars, and low-fat diets is best for Type 2 Diabetes and weight loss. An abundant amount of research in the last 40 years says otherwise, which is baffling. Apparently, we have an obesity epidemic. Sarcasm has its place!
How besetting are the scientific minds of today
Today’s nutrition scientists, seeking to curb the obesity epidemic with the same old dogma, specifically 37 experts from 16 countries specializing in health, nutrition, environmental sustainability, economics and politics, have drawn up a “planetary health diet”. This diet is also to safeguard the Earth from environmental disaster and ensure enough food is available for its booming population to be healthy, lose weight, gain muscle, and live longer.
The “planetary health diet” would require cutting red meat consumption, again, in half across the world. In developed countries, Canada, the US and the UK more than 80 percent is required. Dairy and sugar consumption would also need to decrease drastically, while the proportion of nuts, fruit, vegetables and legumes like lentils and chickpeas needs to double. This is how we can minimize the damaging effects of climate change, deforestation, and the loss of animal and plant species, while preventing 11 million premature deaths a year.
The solution, and prevention of 11 million premature deaths is based on 40 plus years of statistical modelling, apparently using selective studies, and a diet consisting of around 35 percent of calories obtained from whole grains and tubers, and protein mostly derived from plants.
The grand food transformation
Maybe I’ve become soft in my criticisms lately, but I’m back. This grand food transformation is going to be tough on us, in particular us meat-eaters. It will be all fake, created by the processed-food industry The vegan burger, the most popular known as Beyond Meat, is bragging that is as close as possible in look and taste to the real thing. It’s not. The Beyond Meat plant-based burger is predicted to bring in $550 million a year, if anyone is counting. The idea here is that this fake-food burger uses 99 percent less water in its production than does beef.[mfn]Producing Beyond Burgers uses 99 percent less water, 93 percent less land, creates 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires 46 percent less energy than producing beef burgers, according to a September report commissioned by Beyond Meat.[/mfn] Maybe? Maybe not?
We need a cultural paradigm, first
Before we are all eating fake meat and saving the plant, there are considerable challenges in shifting population diets. It requires a cultural paradigm not only in diets, but the costs of food. For example, the cost of fruits and vegetables being disproportionately unaffordable: two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables per day per individual accounted for 52 percent of household income in low-income countries, 18 percent in low to middle income countries, 16 percent in middle to upper income countries, and two percent in high-income countries, according to a ten-year study (2003-2013) released in 2016[mfn]he peer-reviewed Global Burden of Disease analysis published in The Lancet suggests one in five deaths (about 11 million) are linked to unhealthy eating habits. People didn’t consume enough nuts, seeds, milk and whole grains, according to data from 2017. Instead, they consumed too much processed meat, sodium and sugary drinks. [/mfn] by the Global Health study in The Lancet.
There is actually no scientific consensus around what constitutes a sustainable diet. Your guess is as good as anyone’s. Certainly, cutting off real meat for fake meat cannot be sustainable for the human body. It isn’t real food. Low-fat foods weren’t real food, and look what it’s done to us?
- Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
- In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese.
- 39 percent of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13 percent were obese.
- Most of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
- 41 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese in 2016.
- Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.[mfn]https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight[/mfn]
Idols of the mind remain at work here, based on modelling data of 40 plus year-old population studies, the same ones that told us eggs and fat were all bad for us in the 1990’s. But it’s okay, what we don’t know won’t hurt us?
Just. Eat. Right.
Richard Tardif is an award-winning investigative journalist, fitness trainer, speaker, author based in Montreal. Richard’s first book Stop the Denial: A Case for Embracing the Truth About Fitness, challenges, surprises, and inspires you to embrace a fitness lifestyle that will work in achieving your individual goals. 
Richard’s second book, Still in Denial: The Reasons for Embracing the Truth About Fitness,will be released in June 2019.
