Another month has slipped away... I'm loving the cooler mornings and changing leaves. Here's some food for thought as we get into the holiday season.
#1 Debunking the new Harvard study
In case you missed it, Walter Willett and his buddies at the Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health came out with a yet another flawed study last month on consumption of red meat and the increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes. I wrote a new blog post detailing the most glaring issues. As I was writing it, I couldn't help but feel disheartened. It's an uphill battle against forces that simply have more time, more money, and more zealous 'agenda' to continue promoting bad science to shape public opinion. Nina Teicholz and Zoe Harcombe, two of my fave people in the nutrition space, have both written excellent articles on this same study. Nina actually goes more into the behind-the-scenes on what continues to drive such studies when they've been disproven time and again in clinical trials. Zoe articulates with amazing clarity more of the nitty-gritty details of why this study is so bad. Their voices give me hope. Please check out my article and theirs - it will give you a very different perspective from the headlines that the media regurgitates from press releases that these same study authors write and circulate. In the meanwhile - just a quick glance at this graph will give you a sense of how grand the deception is:
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#2 The Food Industry and "Influencers"
Just a heads up, in case you haven't heard - companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé pay "influencer" dietitians and others in the health and wellness space to promote their products on Instagram and TikTok. Their posts encourage followers to eat candy, ice cream and other highly-processed, sugary foods by downplaying the health risks, and promoting what the industry lovvvesss to hammer on: moderation. One influencer actually told parents that they shouldn't restrict any candy intake during the approaching Halloween holiday because they don't want to make sugar consumption a "big deal" (eye-roll emoji). It's proper etiquette to identify such posts as an "#ad" or "#sponsored" message, but many don't. So beware and be careful.
#3 Shrink your food's carbon footprint and support local farmers
Thanksgiving is around the corner. If you haven't purchased your turkey yet, consider buying one from a local rancher rather than the grocery store. Not only will you get a better quality product that regenerates the soil and is better for the environment, you'll support local businesses and minimize your foods' carbon footprint. Most foods in grocery stores travel thousands of miles, requiring heavy amounts of fossil fuel inputs - whether that's fuel/transport costs, refrigeration costs or unnecessary packaging (plastics) costs. Check out My Health Forward, run by an enterprising and amazing individual, Matthew Greco, who links US consumers with regenerative farmers and ranchers in their area. I just love his content (#notsponsored!) and his mission.
Enjoy the upcoming holidays!
Remember, health is a birthright. Claim yours.
Chat soon,
Lubna
