Nutritionism

What is orthorexia?

An unhealthy obsession about eating healthy

How can we move beyond nutritionism?

-Nothing with a label -Eat whole food -Eat full fats

How does the food industry bypass the fixed stomach?

-"Vanishing caloric density"-get it out of the stomach, so the stomach doesnt have to do anything, so you still feel hungry -Liquid -Pre-digesting foods (McDonalds)

Explain "correlation does not imply causation"?

-Because A correlates to B, that doesn't mean A caused B

What determines food quality?

-Caloric density -Nutrient density -Speed of digestion -Removal of nutrients -Addition of nutrients -Addition of chemicals

What is the zero sum relationship?

-Eating more of one thing means eating less of another -AKA there is really no placebo in a diet study. In low fat diets, you are compensating with something-what is that something?? Carbs usually.

How do we study nutrition?

-Epidemiological trials/association (track a group of people) -Randomized controlled trial

Pollan advises us to "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Is this simple philosophy adequate to address the problems of nutrition today? Why or why not?

-Everybody is different -His target market are "foodies"-who can afford to eat that way. What about the food deserts?

What are characteristics of the Western Diet?

-Fat, salt, sweet -Processed -Larger ("super-sized") -Fast -Empty calories

Who benefits from nutrition confusion?

-Food industry -Nutritional industrial complex (NIC- supplements, researchers -Journalists -Alternative practitioners

What is the problem with moderation?

-Moderation is subjective. You can't define it. "What is a "little bit"? -There is so much choice, we could choose a lot of little things, which add up to a lot of crap -Is there a moderate consumption of certain things (alcohol, sugar, etc)

What problems arise when we wish to assess what people eat?

-People don't recall correctly -Measurements of food are easily miscalculated -People under-report calories -Data is "corrected"

What are some examples of nutrients at war? ????????????/

-Should I eat plants, meat? -Meats bad, soy is bad -Saturated fat is bad -Trans fat is bad -Sugar is bad

What is a problem with the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)?

-There's a lot of mis- and over-representation of data -It was designed to rank people on relative consumption, not how much they actually eat

What is parking lot science? What are some examples?

-What we can "see" is important-you can then measure it -Cholesterol -Thyroid -Anemia -You go in to the dr office saying you are tired. They test the above three and see that your cholesterol is high so they say they are going to treat you for it. "But wait a minute-I came in because I was tired! Not to do anything about my cholesterol!"

Compare and contrast food culture and food science.

-Where do we learn about nutrition? Media, school, mom and dad, friends, government.

Why do we eat?

1) Energy (ATP) 2) Protein ("building blocks")

What are the 3 pernicious myths regarding nutritional science?

1) Nutrients matter more than food (Nutritionism) 2) Need expert help 3) Eating scientifically

What makes a food protective?

Micronutrients (not fat, protein, etc)

What is meant by the term nutritionism?

Nutrients matter more than food

What is the nutrition transition?

The shift in dietary consumption and energy expenditure that coincides with economic, demographic, and epidemiological changes.

What is the significance of the 1977 Dietary Goals for the United States?

This was the birth of nutritionism. Looking at nutrients as good or bad and not as food -Blaming nutrients instead of foods