We're all so manipulated, myself included.
I remember getting caught up in the "low fat" craze...which I still believe "low fat" is the way to go, but the marketing and psychology of that fad lent itself to less and less fat, and "no fat," as the actual goal. Fat-free cookbooks abounded and “list-serves” on the budding internet sucked in the health-conscious in droves (i.e. ME). Grocery product manufacturers started labeling their goods as “low fat,” “non-fat,” and “fat free,” as well as shrinking portion sizes to achieve the threshold required to bear the glorified nutrition stamp. Reducing fat became the national obsession, and there was a ton of money to be made from it. There was no real distinguishing between sources or quality of fats—it was just a continual message that fat is the enemy.
The presence of fat in food made me feel guilty, or like I was failing. It was easy to blame unwanted weight on "too much fat" in my diet. Then one day I read Udo Erasmus' book "Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill." Udo visited a local health food store to sign books, and I told him I was a vegetarian and asked if my eating habits could be contributing to the dark circles I had under my eyes at the time. I don't remember what else he said, but I do remember him saying "You look like shit!" Very professional!
That experience really got me questioning. I started to realize that though my vegetarian diet and obsession with eliminating fat was superior in many ways to the Standard American Diet (aptly nicknamed SAD), I was probably missing some key nutrients. A diet that lacks essential or advantageous nutritional aspects is FLAWED and not really healthy. It’s not God-inspired. It’s “other”-inspired.
Marketing manipulation is nothing new. In the late 1800s, the Kellogg brothers reshaped the idea of breakfast and permanently inserted into the American psyche the notion of breakfast being "the most important meal of the day." Even if you don't eat cereal or breakfast, this is probably still taking up space in your thinking. And they didn't have high-tech back then! They put these ideas in writing, and on the radio, and on TV, and gained the support of the medical community and various farming and food industries, and it was repeated and repeated and repeated for decades upon decades until everyone knew it, even if they couldn’t remember why. Imagine how effectively modern-day technology influences our thoughts and beliefs about nutrition and virtually everything else. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Put an expert or PhD behind it, and repeat, repeat, repeat....until you know it, but can't remember why. The same strategies Satan uses, marketing companies use! Repeat. Cast doubt on truth. Suggest lies. Repeat.
And above all, make lots of money!
Then the “powers” flipped to high fat/low carb. Now we’re told it’s all about protein, protein, protein. All the “science” that proved and backed these various fads over the years magically morphed or disappeared to make way for the latest-greatest money-maker. And health-destroyer.
This is why I love WHOLE FOODS! Whole foods are those that God created. Simple yet complex. Complete. Whole foods contain the phytonutrients needed to digest and utilize the macronutrients, unlike processed foods, partial foods, and vitamin & mineral supplements. Whole foods agree with common sense, and you don’t need a degree to understand this: God created three macronutrients – carbohydrate, fat, and protein. You might include a fourth, water. All of these are GOOD and all are ESSENTIAL. If you eat a predominantly whole foods diet and consume a variety of foods, you will naturally and easily ingest healthy carbohydrate, healthy protein, and healthy fat. Sometimes we have to avoid certain foods that bother us or cause medical trouble, but generally-speaking, God’s nature has things pretty balanced.
I am very cautious these days when consuming internet “expertise” on ANY subject. Because there almost always IS an agenda. I am a consumer to be consumed, and so are you. I am not discounting hearts of gold, altruism, and people just making a living. But we all should know that the marketplace is an arena of manipulation, control, deception. Sometimes for greed, sometimes for reasons far more nefarious.
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
Disclaimer – everything I said is overgeneralized and there are always exceptions. Do what works for you!