Questioning Authority–The Worst Cookbooks of 2011?

I kinda-really hate words like “healthy” and “unhealthy.”

On the one hand, we all have an intuitive understanding of what these words mean, but when we try to define it in a way that allows us to take action on it, things seem to go terribly wrong.

Exhibit A can be found in just about every “7 Unhealthy Foods You Shouldn’t Be Eating” story you’re likely to run across in most major media outlets.

While these headlines tend to attract readers (and thus advertiser’s money), it usually glosses over the fact that their definitions of “healthy” and “unhealthy” are based on an outdated paradigm that was disproved long ago.

Let’s look at an example, shall we?

The Unhealthiest Cookbooks of 2011

Recently, the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) released their annual list of the unhealthiest cookbooks of the past year.

Some of the books included are The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, by the venerated foodie magazine, and Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes, by the same guy who’s on a mission to get children worldwide eating healthy.

How could it be? These purveyors of fresh, unprocessed foods are being publicly shamed? Oh, the horror!

But wait… let’s drill down a bit here. Why are they declaring these books to be so unhealthy in the first place?

What kind of standard could they possibly be measuring these books with?

The Definition of “Healthy” and “Unhealthy” Foods

For all intents and purposes, the words “healthy” and “unhealthy” were defined decades ago by the U.S. Government and have changed very little since.

To break it down, healthy foods are:

• Low in calories
• Low in fat, particularly saturated fat
• Low in sodium
• High in fiber
• High in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron

That’s it.

You could theoretically walk into a laboratory and artificially synthesize a product that meets these specifications and slap a “healthy” sticker on the box and make millions.

…er, wait a second, food companies are already doing that.

What’s surprising is how little most people question the validity of this belief set.

Observations of healthy societies, scientific studies, and personal experiences have long been at odds with these guidelines, yet they still live on in most people’s minds as defining a “healthy diet.”

The Propaganda Machine

How could a group with a name as authoritative as the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine fall for this rookie mistake?

Just makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy and safe.

Let’s take a look at who’s involved with the PCRM, shall we?

It was started in 1985 by Dr. Neal Barnard, the author of many scientific papers and popular books advocating a vegan diet. He now regularly writes for PETA’s magazine Animal Times.

Their advisory board includes T. Colin Campbell (author of The China Study), Caldwell Esselstyn (whose writings helped persuade President Clinton to give up meat and all animal products), and John McDougall, who switched to a vegan diet after suffering a stroke at the age of 18.

Hell, even their director of public affairs (Elizabeth Kucinich) is married to the famously vegan Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

About the only one who doesn’t fit the mold is Andrew Weil, who lost quite a bit of weight on a low carb diet a few years back, though he still seems pretty cautious about animal-based foods.

To say that the PCRM is offering objective advice untainted by their personal choices is dubious at best.

Think For Yourself

The next time you see, read, or hear a story on “unhealthy” foods in the mainstream media, remember their arbitrary criteria for defining it as such.

Remember that the “objective” scientists behind these types of stories are just as blinded by their own congnitive biases as we are.

Think for yourself. Challenge authority.

And don’t believe any dietary dogma unless it is compatible with the way that healthy humans have always eaten, and until you have tried it out yourself.

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