Crazies where I work

[Silver]

It is a health store.  It has everything for vegans and vegetarians and even those who want to eat pills for their daily diet or those who want to buff up on protein.

It is rather disheartening to imagine that people will pay so much money in trying to be healthy, when all it really takes is common sense.  So much money is being earned by this store thanks to the ignorance of others.

Do not completely misunderstand me.  Healthy eating is essential, but not to the degree that this store and its shoppers take it.

Gluten free has become a fad.  Everyone wants it, and they have no clue what it means.  A recent article was published stating the truth of the matter that gluten free is only beneficial to those with Celiac Disease.  Otherwise, gluten is perfectly natural and necessary for the body.  

But hey, I am making good money there.  What should I care how dumb the shoppers are?  If they can afford to spend nine dollars on a small collard green wrap then I am not complaining that I make more than that sandwich per hour.  

[Minimalist]

It's easier to buy a pill than to exercise and eat properly.

[SteelCurtain]

Yep, people want all the answers without any of the work. I used to be one of those people. Creatine, Protein, ZMA, organic foods only. So stupid. I was still working my ass off, though.

And too much money. Now I just focus on portion size and high intensity, low resistance exercise. Stay away from processed foods (not always!) and get my nutrients from natural sources.

I don't need any herbs or worts or supplements. (Other than my fish oil.)

[vorlon13]

I worked with a guy that wouldn't eat anything with eggs in it after his heart attack, the cholesterol you know.

He still went outdoors, every 30 minutes, freezing cold, spring rains or summer heat, and had a cigarette though.

[arewethereyet]

There is a woman at work who goes out with her group of 6-10 smokers for breaks. She puffs on an a vapor cigarette while surrounded by those smoking regular cigarettes. I am pretty sure she is 15 months pregnant.

Oh, and it's a medical company.

[Cato]

 I am pretty sure she is 15 months pregnant.

Impressive gestation going on there.

[Alex K]

In Germany, I've also noticed that the many people are now either conviced that gluten is bad for your health, or at least have heard it from a friend. It's chic to have at least one dietary restriction, numbers of those who get told by their naturopath that they have gluten problems far exceeds the true number of celiacd. It lets me despair sometimes how mindless people are with these fads. I bought pure gluten for cooking in a health food store the other day and the lady at the counter and I were joking about what hazardous materials they sell.

[Ravenshire]

Oh, for fuck sake. What is it with people wanting to be ignorant and not being the least bit interested in researching anything. It seems that they see a package marked "whatever"-free and simply assume that "whatever" must be bad. I wonder, if Kool-Aid started labeling their products "dihydrogen-oxide-free" if we would start hearing about the dangers of "dihydrogen-oxide" soon thereafter.

Gluten is protein:

Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat (durum, emmer, spelt, farina, farro, KAMUT® khorasan wheat and einkorn), rye, barley and triticale.

Source

People are acting like it's some lab-created additive (MSG anyone) that they're better off without. They're wrong.

...Yet paradoxically, most of the people who reach for gluten-free products don’t have celiac disease and or even a sensitivity to wheat, Peter H.R. Green, MD, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, told WebMD. "The market for gluten-free products is exploding. Why exactly we don’t know. Many people may just perceive that a gluten-free diet is healthier."

In fact, it isn’t. For people with celiac disease, a gluten-free diet is essential. But for others, "unless people are very careful, a gluten-free diet can lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber," says Green.

Source


So, why are people freaking out over a naturally occurring, beneficial protein? Well, sites like this don't help: Link

Of course, it is far from being definitively proven that gluten causes harm in a large percentage of people and that most people would do best by avoiding it.

This area is in desperate need of some more research. However, the evidence that we DO have is pretty damning.

Until more research is done, I think the cautionary principle should apply… why eat something that is likely to cause harm, when you could eat something else instead that definitely won’t harm you?

(bullshit claims bolded by me)

[Thumpalumpacus]

+1 on eating fresh and unprocessed food. One of the best things I did to manage my everyday health and well-being.

[IATIA]

The U.S. government has convinced people (without evidence) that salt is bad for them.  We are saltwater animals and require salt.  Our bodies process salt just fine.  What is a problem, is the chemicals in our foods.  We went from butter to margarine (fake butter) and now we have fake margarine.

Between the bleaching, processing and chemicalization of all our foodstuffs, it is a wonder that we could survive on real food at all.