I watched the two-hour-plus podcast hosted by Doctor Mike pitting a doctor who is peddling "clean organic no chemical" junk against scientist Dr. Andrea Love, regarding the misinformation being spread by a legion of influencers and conspiracy theorists, and worse, those selling "wellness." The clinician wrote a book that asserts we should be eating only "organic" food and that "chemicals" are probably bad for us. Dr. Love points out that there is no evidence at all that this is true. Absolutely zero. In fact, much of this "wellness" industry makes claims that aren't real at all, and not backed by any scientific consensus. The result is that people are buying into the nonsense and spending a ton of money on things they don't need to spend on.
This is particularly problematic coming from a board certified doctor, because they're supposed to deeply understand science. It's bad enough that so many people are calling into question the expertise of experts, but here's one that should be an expert. A massive percentage of people who buy into this stuff, and especially the "influencers" and personalities that sell it, tend to lean into the wrongness because that's how they explain things that they don't understand. It's the same phenomenon that conspiracy theorists suffer from. If you're unwilling to trust experts, or attempt a deeper understanding of science and history, you can "explain" things by making them up.
The playbook is pretty universal as well, and extends to the people who sow doubt in government and other institutions. They all insist that they're "just asking questions." They say they're doing their own "research." Both of these claims are actually legit if you are in fact genuinely curious and open to being wrong. But when you instead move toward conclusions that are not based on empirical data and observation, you're doing it wrong. As a result, misinformation flows freely, unabated by actual facts.
Take for example the subject of that podcast. The book author's core tenet that organic is better is based partly on the idea that organic food doesn't use pesticides. It's widely assumed that this is true. It is not. They use chemicals found naturally as pesticides, only without the rigorous scrutiny that synthetic pesticides undergo. Something found in nature isn't necessarily better or safer. I mean, arsenic is a naturally occurring chemical, but too much of it is definitely going to kill you. Even excess water can kill you.
And then there's the fear of GMO's. You know how many people in history have been hurt by GMO's? Exactly zero. You know how many people survived famine with GMO's? Likely a billion.
So if you see stuff about "detoxification" and "clean eating" and organic avocados, it's probably bullshit. Spending money on that is a waste. Ask any reputable dietitian. The cheaper vegetables are still good, healthy food. Vaccines still don't cause autism either.
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