In College I took a FILM CLASS.
Evidently, that qualifies as a “general elective” and makes you a liberal artist, or some BS.
But the truth is, I learned a LOT.
The one film that I really enjoyed was Elmer Gantry.
Elmer is a traveling con-man who shows up in a small midwestern town and gets the people there to join the revivalist church.
Long story short, he cons them into paying for salvation.
A fire happens, burns down the church (its a giant tent), kills his lady (the purveyor of the church) and he leaves town quoting a great line from the Bible when asked what he’s going to do next.
What’s Elmer Gantry Have to Do With Fitness?
Elmer Gantry is a con-man.
He’s selling something he ain’t got.
Eternal Salvation
Which Brings Me to…
Internet Gurus and Multi-Level-Marketing Schemes.
If you read it on the internet, hear it on a podcast or from your friend who has no credible credentialing in the field (and NO, being a “trainer” or “nutritionist” doesn’t mean anything), it’s probably STRAIGHT, made up, BULLSHIT.
Like ole Elmer, they’re selling you something THEY AIN’T GOT.
“People looking for nutritional advice to help with weight management should not turn to social media influencers, warn UK researchers, who found these influencers often had no relevant qualifications and their blogs lacked credibility and included unhealthy recipes.” – Medscape
It’s not uncommon for people in this field to literally just make shit up and regurgitate the nonsense of the minute.
“just one of the nine weight management blogs passed the credibility test, with a mark of 83%. The blog was run by the only influencer who had a formal degree in nutrition and was registered with the Association for Nutrition.” – Medscape
The claims usually have center around how thing or substance X, Y, Z is potentially definitely dangerous for you.
Its either,
Toxic
GMO
Chemical
and needs to be
Detoxed
or my favorite,
Don’t Eat What You Can’t Pronounce
You should be ignorant of the minutiae and BS.
If you’re a lawyer, dentist or accountant.
It’s not your Profession to Know.
I don’t need, or care, if my mechanic to knows anything about gluconeogenesis.
I care if my mechanic knows about car engines.
The problem is too much info in this industry is passed off as undeniable truth by a guru as their secret or new discovery, when its:
A. Nothing new.
B. Complete crap.
The reality is, all the above “reasons” something is claimed to be dangerous or healthy for you is usually somewhat true on some level but when applied to real life conditions it becomes total bullshit.
Toxic:
Toxic has absolutely NOTHING to do with the substance.
It has to do with the DOSE of that substance.
“A central concept of toxicology is that the effects of a toxicant are dose-dependent; even water can lead to water intoxication when taken in too high a dose, whereas for even a very toxic substance such as snake venom there is a dose below which there is no detectable toxic effect.” – Wikepidia
Sure 100 milligrams of “Toxic Substance A” might kill you.
But is that 100 milligrams over a day? week? year? accumulated through your life?
Or in a single bolus all at once?
Me thinks that might matter a smidgen.
By a smidge, I mean, MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
Example of a Dose-Response Curve from Merck Manuals
But don’t worry because you can always just do a “Detox”.
Or not, cause detoxes are bullshit too.
Detox Diets, Teas and Whatever Else:
You have skin, a liver, breath, pee and poop. you don’t need a detox.
“The human body has evolved highly sophisticated mechanisms for eliminating toxins. The liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal system, skin and lungs all play a vital role in the excretion of unwanted substances”- Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence
That’s what “detoxes” your system, not some green juice “cleanse” that cost you $59.
No matter how many non-GMO superfoods and whatever the hell else is in it.
Sure, its full of vegetables and fruits and (maybe) other really healthy ingredients and it might do wonders for your nutritional profile.
But the only thing it’s cleansing is cash from your wallet.
“At present, there is no compelling evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight management or toxin elimination-” Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence
You’re expensive green juice might give you the sh@ts, but it’s not detoxing you.
GMO vs Non-GMO:
Hate to break this one to ya but,
Pretty much everything you eat, and have always eaten is, in some way, GMO.
In the past week you’ve probably eaten crops that wouldn’t exist in nature, or that have evolved extra genes to reach freakish sizes. You’ve probably eaten “cloned” food and you may have even eaten plants whose ancestors were once deliberately blasted with radiation. – Alliance for Science, Cornell.edu
Watermelon, then and now. A product of genetic modification.
The result of selective breeding otherwise known as the far longer and less precise process of genetic modification.
Domestication generally involves selecting for beneficial traits, such as high yield. Over time, many generations of selection can substantially alter a plant’s genetic makeup. Man-made selection is capable of generating forms that are extremely unlikely to occur in nature. – alliance for science
Listen, there are legitimate concerns over the modification of food and its potential effects on both people and the environment.
But the truth is, on evidence, so far, GMO’s been the bees’s knees,
“Genetically modified technology has potential to overcome agricultural problems, such as biotic and abiotic issues by enhancing pests and herbicides resistance, drought tolerance, fast ripening, and finally enhancing yield and nutritional quality. Besides these revolutionary advantages, during the last decades some potential human, animal and environmental risks have been taken in account for these organisms or foods. However, no scientific evidence exists adequately about their harmful human or animal effects, and also, some new scientific and management methodologies (new technologies and regulations) have been developed to mitigate the environmental risks. Some challenges such as pest adaptation are being solved by refuge technology, gene pyramiding and insertion of best-coupled primers through the known conditions reducing unintended outcomes including silencing, activation or rearrangement of non-target genome pieces. However, it does not mean that no harmful effect will happen in the future.” – Genetically Modified Foods: Promises, Challenges and Safety Assessments
Like all things technology related we should be careful, thoughtful and watchful as we move forward with that technology.
That doesn’t mean its inherently dangerous technology as its applied today.
Did your guru tell you about the advantages of GMO’s?
Or did they only talk about the “dangers”?
“The question of whether or not humans should eat food from genetically modified organisms – and, therefore, if they should develop and propagate them – is clearly not amenable to a simple “yes” or “no”. Indeed, a wise answer comprehends a diverse array of scientific expertise, not only in files of molecular biology, but also in agricultural economics, animal and microbial ecology, food technology, and immunology – a breadth of expertise unlikely to be found in one person.
The arguments, pro and con, reverberate the whole history of human technological development, pitting the clear advantages of intended consequence against the mucky possibilities of unintended consequence. One needs to think only of the fossil-fueled industrial revolution versus global warming. Or of that much-heralding replacement for fossil fuel, nuclear power generation, versus Tokushima. Certainly, many of the risks of GM crops, noted above, are speculative, but they are scientifically plausible, and offered in good faith. Ignoring them in a euphoria of immediate advantage is equally unscientific.
Drawing from past experience it seems unlikely the technological momentum toward genetically modified foods can be stopped dead in its tracks. Or should be. The immediate advantages are too tangible to ignore or set aside out of fear of the unknown and unintended disadvantages.” – Genetically modified foods: A critical review of their promise and problems
I know how the logic against the use of GMO products go’s…..
GMO foods are just chemicals and not real food…
They’re not the way nature intended (we kinda busted that one already through the use of selective breeding)
Right
GMO’s are a chemical, they’re also real food.
Cause, real food is a chemical too.
Know why?
All Things Are Chemicals
Literally EVERYTHING on this earth is a chemical.
Please, Please, Please, don’t go,
“Yeah, all things are chemicals, but you know what I mean“
No, I don’t “know what you mean”.
Because, when you say “such and such is a chemical” to justify how dangerous you think it is ,but probably isn’t, that’s really like saying,
“I don’t understand chemistry at all“
Which is fine, I don’t blame you.
You probably don’t really need to know any chemistry to function perfectly fine all day long.
But if that’s the case how do you know the Guru on the Mountain is right about all those “dangerous, toxic chemicals”?
YOU DON’T
Once you really understand EVERYTHING is a CHEMICAL your perspective kinda changes
“Chemicals are elements, or a combination of elements, with a specific composition and structure. All matter is made of chemicals!” -Scientific American
and you wont fall prey to the last way these revivalist preachers hook you,
Don’t Eat Anything With an Ingredient You Can’t Pronounce
This tactic is just a play off of the “It’s a chemical” tactic.
“If You Can’t Say It, Don’t Eat It. Don’t buy products with more than five ingredients or any ingredients you can’t easily pronounce.” – Michael Pollan via NPR
This is the logic of a 3 year old.
So once you can pronounce it, that “chemical” suddenly becomes safe?
If you Fall for this BS, WATCH THIS VIDEO
Here’s Some Awesome Chemical Names I Can’t Pronounce:
- 1,3,7-trimethylpurine-2,6-dione
- 2-[Carbamimidoyl(methyl)amino]acetic acid
- Dihydrogen oxide
Those are also called:
Lots of scary looking unpronounceable names…yet very tasty!!!!
Aren’t blueberries a “superfood”?
Ohh, right, if they were non-GMO they’d be ok to eat.
These are just some of the fear tactics tools of todays health, wellness and nutritional evangelists.
They have the answers.
They can unlock your “Best Life”.
All you need to do is join the congregation.
Lifestyle MLM, A New Church for a New You
Lifestyle Multi-Level- Marketing schemes.
You know the names.
You’ve seen you’re friends pushing them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Catchy ways to get you involved:
- 30 day Healthy Living Challenges
- Facebook Launch Parties
- On Month Sugar Detox
And whatever other BS the MLM home office says you should do to get up and running.
*My favorite is the Facebook Live Launch Party where the other people in your MLM leave random stock comments about how unbelievably awesome the product is and how they use it in their life.
Sh@t like:
“I put it in my morning shake everyday”
“It’s great when life is too busy and I’m not getting my veggies”
“It’s only been a week for me and I can feel the difference!”
Love it.
And if doing one of these “challenges” or “detoxes” gets you to reevaluate your craptastic lifestyle and the impact it’s having on your health, its probably worth spending $199 on a months worth of shitty protein and flavor packets for water.
But they’re nothing special.
Want to lose weight for 30 days?
Achieve a hypocaloric state.
Hypocaloric, that’s the scary, unpronounceable science, name for eat fewer calories than you burn, for 30 days of course. (What do you do on day 31?)
Want to eat healthier?
Put down the McDonalds and actually make a meal at home.
Need to Exercise More?
Take a 10 minute walk a couple times a day.
Want to Sleep Better?
Try sleep hygiene.
Yeah, you might have to give up the phone for an hour before bed. Maybe even…read a book..or go to bed on time.
None of these things are ground breaking, exciting or sexy.
Likewise, none of them require joining any movement or buying overpriced “lifestyle products”.
It seems to me that all of the Lifestyle MLM’s out there are just reinventions of the same game Elmer Gantry was playing.
Scare Everyone into Believing Danger/ Damnation Lurks Everywhere
In every food they eat, drink they drink, chemical they put on their skin or clean their house with.
Convince them that they get sick, tired, bloated, irritable, fat, anxious, depressed, whatever, because of the “toxic lifestyle” they live.
And somehow the newly crowned Guru on the Mountain, who just recently found MLM XYZ, and “used to be like you” but took the 30 day challenge will earn a commission off of anything you purchase through them, can show you the way.
Can help you join all the others who are in the congregation shunning toxic, dangerous, chemicals, eating real, nutritious, food, breaking their sugar addictions and living their best life.
And it’s all bullshit.
Look, I’m all about people living healthier, better lives.
Our society is in a bad way and it’s getting worse.
We’re getting weaker, fatter and sicker year over year and the end really isn’t in sight.
* Fun fact weight gain, BMI has actually stalled lately.
Know why?
Cause we have more fat, but LESS MUSCLE.
So, on average, same weight as a few years ago, just FATTER.
If some MLM scheme and their products or being part of their community helps you get your shit together and reclaim your health, that’s great and worth every penny.
But don’t believe for a minute that Herbalife, Arbonne, Advocare, Young Living, or any other MLM is going to provide your wellness salvation for you.
Only You Can Save Yourself
There is no New Discovery
You Don’t Need A 30 Day Challenge
and you’re certainly not
Detoxing
Follow these two commandments and you’ll have 80% of this stuff figured out (I’ll fill in the other 20%, just subscribe) and more money in your bank account:
” she (Sharon) responds that she has been called by God, he realizes that she is consumed by her mission, and retreats sadly to the back of the church. Sharon’s sermon inspires a deaf man to beg for her to heal him, and to the horror of both Gantry and Jim, Sharon, now believing herself a living conduit of God, lays her hands on the man and “cures” him. Just then, a man with a lit cigarette starts a fire. As the flames consume the church, a mesmerized Sharon entreats the hysterical crowd to stay and trust God. Gantry tries to rescue her but she breaks away and runs into the flames, her church collapsing around her. By the morning, Jim and Gantry sit among the wreckage. The reverential crowd asks Gantry to forgive them, but he explains that Sharon still loves them, and leads them in a psalm. Although Bill offers Gantry control of the ministry, promising to rebuild, Gantry responds by quoting the Bible: “When I was a child I spake as a child, I understood as a child. When I became a man I put away childish things” – Elmer Gantry
About Roy:
