this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
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So maybe the huge worry people had after the news that WHO would classify it as cancerous was a little too much. I think the media could have reported on it in a bit more responsible way.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Not a shock.

Food scares are almost always over blown (except obviously tide pods).

People thought MSG was going to kill everyone. People thought Cholesterol was the key to good health. Even fat in moderation is perfectly fine.

But Fish will kill you with mercury, uncooked pork will kill you with everything (which is unlikely to happen in the first place, but also most pork you get is already cooked, at least sausage and hams). Salmonella is definitely going to kill you. Your kitchen is going to burn down, Fried food will end your life, and all processed food is bad.

Remember Supersize me? Remember the guy who ate two big macs a day for multiple years. That SINGLE guy should have been the end of the entire documentary, because he basically showed "Yes you can eat McDonalds in moderation and have a healthy life." But instead "McDonalds is going to kill you with super sized food."

The fact is you're probably more likely to get Ebola than most of these things actually contributing to your death.. though speaking of disease myths...

These things rush in, kill a business or a company, and then are forgotten, and then 10 years later new science comes out and goes "Btw it wasn't as bad as people thought... try it out"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

About the MSG hysteria, it's not even rooted in actual medical data, just run-of-the-mill xenophobia, which in itself is absolutely wild to me. It's like a whole chunk of the population collectively decided to develop the palate of a toddler, turning up their nose to "foreign" food.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate "Researchers, doctors, and activists have tied the controversy about MSG to xenophobia and racism against Chinese culture,[62][63][64][65][66] saying that East Asian cuisine is being targeted while the widespread use of MSG in other processed food hasn't been stigmatized.[67] These activists have claimed that the perpetuation of the negative image of MSG through the Chinese restaurant syndrome was caused by "xenophobic" or "racist" biases.[68][69]"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I didn't dive deep on MSG just to not sound like I'm ranting about that specifically but you nailed it. It was more about Chinese restaurants (at least that's how I heard it) and I remember my parents saying we don't go to Chinese restaurants during the hysteria.

Sucks because I love Chinese food, and Thai, Korean, Japanese and more.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As a side note, i don't think the skinny guy from Super Size Me who eats 2 Big macs a day is a picture of exemplary health. Dude is either a genetic outlier or he will drop dead of a coronary one day.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

All of those could be explanations. Here's another one.

Big macs are 583 calories... two big macs are about 1100 calories... aka perfectly reasonable in a healthy diet. I forget if he ate two a day or two in some meals, but a nutritionist would ok that Calorie count.

Morgan Spurlock pushed "no one can eat here and be healthy" but he constantly pushed for combo meals ate in one sitting, and supersized every time they asked. That's like someone going into a bar and saying yes every time the bartender goes "Want another one" and then going "OMG I'm so wasted and got alcohol poisoning" he set the rules up to make sure he failed, because no one is saying eat a combo meal at Mcdonalds for three meals a day.

The thing is it WOULD be interesting if he looked into why he can maintain a reasonable weight while eating it.... but of course they didn't because that would prove Mcdonalds isn't the worst thing ever. Morgan had two goals. Prove Mcdonalds is unhealthy (And ignore contrary evidence) and make an entertaining documentary. He did the later, but I feel like he never even came close to the former because his methodology was shit.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Supersize Me: "Wow, if I eat garbage at a 3000+ calorie rate a day, I'm gonna feel like shit! Please give me awards and adoration and play me in every high school health class!"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Don't forget TV shows, more documentaries and more.

Morgan Spurlock did VERY well for himself based on that completely bias "Study". Sadly that became the style of documentary for a while (and potentially still is). Fuck the facts, let's make entertainment!

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Everyone knew McDicks is bad for you. It was an entertaining doc. That's why people loved it. Also, most Americans are 100% ignorant to nutrition. Count your blessings it's a no brainer for you.