Food Kills

The title of this blog, Food Kills, sounds kind of a joke -- but the author is serious. What's interesting is I've been thinking about posting some of my own notes about what I've read about the dangers of various foods, to point out that there are so many contradictory claims about which foods are safe, which are unsafe, it really is as if food kills -- leaving one with nothing left to eat. For example, many leading medical experts say that saturated fat leads to heart disease, but there are those who say that it's transfat (in hydrogenated oils), or carbohydrates that lead to heart disease. The author of the book, "The China Study," T. Colon Campbell (see a critique here) is convinced that the root of all our health problems (at least those in the Western World) is animal protein, while countless others say that it's grains, or sugar, or refined carbohydrates, or processed foods, or even cooked foods.

There are oxalates in most dark green leafy vegetables, rendering the minerals in them difficult to absorb, yet many say that dark green leafy vegetables are a healthy food, and should displace dairy as a source of calcium. Many fruits and vegetables contain salicylates, which can cause insulin spikes, hyperactivity, and tinnitus, among other things, yet these same foods are promoted as full of healthy antioxidants. Just about every food has people who say that it's poison, and others who say it's fine or even health-giving.

It gets to the point where it's hard to believe any of it, and to sort through it all is more than a full time job. We can only really go by how a food makes us feel, and even then there are doubts, since sometimes a reaction may be delayed. It's amazing how much energy some folks put into it all.