My initial plan for this blog post was to talk about how creationists might believe that dinosaurs never existed, but as I laid in bed yesterday morning listening to the chorus of drunken spring jam goers outside my window and scrolling through my instagram, I found something even more brilliant. It all started when I found a post that said "Food is not just calories, it is information. It talks to your DNA and tells it what to do." I made the decision to bite, and checked out their account. Since Robin suggested I leave the snark out, I won't venture a comment on what I found. But my very favorite were videos from a guy named Dr. Robert Morse. He advocates against meat, grains, dairy ("one of the most mucus forming foods out there.... causes your body to be filled with tumors and makes your head pressure go crazy!") you name it. My impression is that he is a frugivore, aka only eats fruits and vegetables. Which is not a healthy diet. What's also interesting is that he does look overweight, which leads me to believe that either the diet doesn't work, or he's not being honest about what he himself is eating. Which leads me to ask "who the hell would believe this shit??"
Plenty of people, apparently. The comments section has loads of people praising him for his work. My best guess for why they would believe this (I say guess because is it possible for me to truly know what's going on inside their heads?) is because these are people are on their own health journey looking for the right answers to do what's best for their body. I made my own mistakes at one point on my own journey, and I was under the impression that dairy and gluten was bad. Now I look back and ask "how did I believe that shit?" Maybe someday these followers of Dr. Morse will find a better route. Trial and error does wonders, after all.
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This is such a great example of how easily people will believe in unrealistic, simple solutions to complex problems. Because many of us do not understand the inner workings of our body, saying something like"food changes your DNA" might not seem that insane to some people. The promise of a better, healthier life with little work on your part is a tempting one, which is why I think so many fad diets sell so well in this country.
ReplyDeleteI of course do not believe milk/dairy causes cancer, and this Dr. Robert Morse is really preaching some wild stuff that I don't know how people are on board with. However, I have found that dairy for me, although I'm not severely lactose intolerant, causes more problems for my body than good things. When I consume dairy I deal with hormone imbalances and skin issues, among other things. So although people preaching these weird (and usually very unhealthy) diets to people on the internet, every body is different and sometimes cutting out certain food groups can really be beneficial to some people even if they're not necessarily/technically 'allergic' or something.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. Fad diets are so fascinating. It's crazy how people get prayed upon because they are desperate to be healthy, and in turn they end up preaching extremely unhealthy views themselves. I wish there was a way to reach these fad dieters and let them know that there is a better way. That they don't have to resort to extremist views to create the life they so desperately crave.
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