Reading an online story from NPR.org, I learned about truthiness--a term made up by Stephen Colbert--which essentially means that truth is relative; whatever you feel to be true. How do you feel about that statement? Supposedly that dictates whether it is true or not. A U.S. representative was reported saying that 80 of the Democratic congress members are members of the Communist party. Following research, this was said to be untrue, but he stands by his statement. This leads me to consider the vast amount of information available on the internet, in print, and on television. There has long been a saying "Don't believe everything you read," but for some reason many people believe everything they read online. This is a dangerous practice.
As an example, I Googled "best nutrition plan to lose weight." First, there were over 28 million matches. Runner's World advocated a swapping plan, eating lower calorie choices vs. their higher calorie counterparts. However, they included white frozen bagels, soy burgers, and Subway sandwiches. Too much processed flour and other processed food. To be fair, they did include lentil pasta and spaghetti squash, two foods I would vote for.
In dramatic contrast, Tim Ferriss says to eat only protein foods like eggs & meats, and legumes, and vegetables 6 days a week, and whatever you want on the 7th day. He lost 20 pounds in 30 days. You can make very good food choices on this one, but I found it hard to get enough calories during the 6 meat/beans/vegetables days. If you don't eat enough calories, your metabolism can slow down. And did you notice--no bread at all, unlike the Runner's World diet.
LiveStrong says the Mediterranean Diet is the way to go--"large amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes." Whole grains included, no processed food, minimal eggs and red meat.
Other diets will have you eating one type of food every day, such as soup. Others drastically restrict carbs, but allow unlimited fatty protein sources. So which is the truth? They can't all be right that they are the best way to lose weight.
Where does truth come from? It's popular to say today there is no absolute truth--that truth is where you find it. But then how do you arrive at a sense of right and wrong? Where does that come from? If someone thought it was all right to steal from a neighbor, would that make it true? What about returning extra change you are mistakenly given at a store? If you figure it was the cashier's mistake and they deserve to pay the price, does that make it true? If anything goes--whatever I believe to be true--I would choose to believe that I could eat whatever I want and it had nothing to do with my health. We all know that doesn't work. What is
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/29/151646558/if-a-fact-dies-in-the-forest-will-anyone-believe-it?ft=3&f=111787346&sc=nl&cc=es-20120506 (2012)
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-312-2193-0,00.html (2002).
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/457085-the-best-meal-plans-to-lose-weight/ (2011)
As an example, I Googled "best nutrition plan to lose weight." First, there were over 28 million matches. Runner's World advocated a swapping plan, eating lower calorie choices vs. their higher calorie counterparts. However, they included white frozen bagels, soy burgers, and Subway sandwiches. Too much processed flour and other processed food. To be fair, they did include lentil pasta and spaghetti squash, two foods I would vote for.
In dramatic contrast, Tim Ferriss says to eat only protein foods like eggs & meats, and legumes, and vegetables 6 days a week, and whatever you want on the 7th day. He lost 20 pounds in 30 days. You can make very good food choices on this one, but I found it hard to get enough calories during the 6 meat/beans/vegetables days. If you don't eat enough calories, your metabolism can slow down. And did you notice--no bread at all, unlike the Runner's World diet.
LiveStrong says the Mediterranean Diet is the way to go--"large amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes." Whole grains included, no processed food, minimal eggs and red meat.
Other diets will have you eating one type of food every day, such as soup. Others drastically restrict carbs, but allow unlimited fatty protein sources. So which is the truth? They can't all be right that they are the best way to lose weight.
Where does truth come from? It's popular to say today there is no absolute truth--that truth is where you find it. But then how do you arrive at a sense of right and wrong? Where does that come from? If someone thought it was all right to steal from a neighbor, would that make it true? What about returning extra change you are mistakenly given at a store? If you figure it was the cashier's mistake and they deserve to pay the price, does that make it true? If anything goes--whatever I believe to be true--I would choose to believe that I could eat whatever I want and it had nothing to do with my health. We all know that doesn't work. What is
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/29/151646558/if-a-fact-dies-in-the-forest-will-anyone-believe-it?ft=3&f=111787346&sc=nl&cc=es-20120506 (2012)
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-312-2193-0,00.html (2002).
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/457085-the-best-meal-plans-to-lose-weight/ (2011)
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