Case in point: the connection between red meat and heart disease. Basically, we were told since the 50s that the consumption of red meat will lead to heart disease and premature death due to its saturated fat content.
Disclaimer: I am a convinced carnivore and may or may not have eaten a NY strip steak for dessert after eating a shell steak for the main course.
But lets look at the evidence: Randomized controlled trials show that there is no difference between the two groups ( lower saturated fat intake vs red meat eaters) in regards to coronary heart diseases even though cholesterol levels were higher in the non-restricted groups.
” There were no differences in all-cause mortality and non-significant differences in CHD mortality, resulting from the dietary interventions. The reductions in mean serum cholesterol levels were significantly higher in the intervention groups; this did not result in significant differences in CHD or all-cause mortality.”
So cholesterol is not the villain it was made out to be, the same goes for carbohydrates etc.
This brings me to larger issue: cherry picking science and singularity .
examples;
- processed foods cause cancer
- organic food cures cancer
- eating (pringles, gluten ) will mess up testosterone
- taking more of (insert cool fruit here) will triple your testosterone
People! As my old coach said: Maik, stuff is complicated. Leave the thinking to the horses, they have bigger heads.
Seriously, if we knew what causes cancer ( which on a side note, describes 1000s of different kinds, some of them are cured) we could probably fix it by now.
The same goes for hormones. Mind you, we are still finding new messenger enzymes ( Hi Tunc!). It is not that simple to change hormonal levels, aside from injecting said substances.
The human body is an incredibly complex machine and singe actions rarely cause earth shattering changes. So the next time, someone is trying to sell you a 600$ cleanse to prolong your life, simply head to a nice steak house instead!
Maik