Beans, beans, the magical fruit;
The more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So eat some beans for every meal!
I remember this lyric from my childhood. I remember chanting it with other kids, and how we cracked up about anything related to farts. My kids are in the same age range now. I’m not sure they know the rhyme. But they know how hilarious farts are.
Most of what I knew about beans came from that lyric. It’s like an anti-bean advertisement memorized my millions of kids. It’s been a nightmare for the bean industry. These little bits of culture frame our perceptions, and framing matters.
Years ago I read Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink. He describes a number of fascinating studies showing the impact of perception on eating. One of my favorite had to do with wine. Wansink and his team presented people with red wine at a wine and cheese party. Half of the people got the ‘real’ thing, a California wine. The other half received the exact same wine, but re-labelled as a “North Dakota” vineyard. Although it was exactly the same wine, of course people rated the California wine significantly better. Not only that--they rated the cheese that came with the California wine higher as well.
Framing is magnified when it’s intertwined with culture. The meat industry doesn’t have to work too hard to keep meat first in line when people think of protein, because both are related to strength and masculinity in our culture.
A guy I work with talks about his food choices as if they were an extension of his “I live life” persona. He smokes, he rides a Harley, he won’t settle down, and by God he will savor every new burger or taco that McDonald’s or Taco Bell cranks out. He’s the Marlboro Man of McDonald’s, living free and tough and strong. McDonald’s could put him in a commercial.
McDonald’s alone spends nearly a billion dollars on advertising annually. They know food can taste better or worse depending on a person’s mindset. Marketing works, and perception matters.
In 1977, a Senate committee report recommended that Americans decrease consumption of meat, eggs, and other foods high in fat. Meat and dairy producers feared that this new framing would devastate their business. They pushed back hard, arguing that the report should not include language about eating “less” of anything. The final report recommended that people eat… more… as in, eat more meats low in saturated fat.
That was 40 years ago. The agency responsible for our food guidelines (the USDA) is still the same agency responsible for supporting the agriculture industry. No conflicting priorities there, right?
I was looking for some little ways to improve my own diet, and uploaded several different nutrition podcasts to sample. Only one passed the “based on real science and not trying to sell stuff” test: Nutrition Facts with Dr. Greger. I listened and liked what I heard. He mentioned that he had a book out, and that all the proceeds go to charity (which includes his own not-for-profit, NutritionFacts.org).
The book’s unfortunate title is How Not to Die. Despite the morbid title, it is an important book in my life. I’ve read other good books about food: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and Mindless Eating. The book that impacted my life is How Not to Die.
There are now decades of research about food and health. The results of this research are consistent, decisive, and unambiguous. The book lays it all out.
Across all categories of health, plant foods support health, and animal foods increase disease. It’s not just about obesity. Virtually every category of disease increases along with an increase in animal product intake.
Am I saying that fatty beef is bad, and chicken and fish are good? No. They are all bad in different ways and to different degrees. Am I saying that animal products are only healthy when eaten in moderation? No. Even moderate amounts of animal products in our diet promote disease.
That’s tough to hear. Tough to believe. What about three squares a day? What about a meat-and-potatoes man? What about the food pyramid? What about meat for protein and milk for calcium? What about milk does a body good? Food culture is strong.
I’ve been so impressed at the reactions when I talk about this book. You’d think I was telling people I’m quitting my job to go live in a commune. I just refer vaguely to the research, and how I’ve personally reacted to that knowledge (I basically eat a lot less meat and other animal products). It doesn’t seem at all extreme to me, but people react as if it is extreme.
It happened so naturally for me. It’s like… let’s say Joe’s Restaurant is your favorite place for lunch. If in the morning, you see a news report that Joe’s food causes health problems, you will likely opt to have lunch somewhere else. You don’t need a big plan to eat somewhere else; the decision just naturally follows the new information. That’s what has happened to me. How Not to Die has changed what I choose to eat. There was no big decision or health scare or diet strategy. Different choices naturally followed the new information.
I also want to defend Dr. Greger’s approach. He agrees that food choices are relative. Eggs are better for you than sausage. A baked chicken sandwich is healthier than a fried chicken sandwich. But he doesn’t think it’s his role to hide the results of the research to appease our cultural sensitivities.
Human progress can be a real paradox, and I have an analogy for that: “Humans put men on the moon before we put wheels on a standard set of luggage”. We can achieve amazing technical results, like putting men on the moon. But we achieved the amazing technical achievement of walking on the moon before wheels became a standard feature of luggage.
We have decoded the genome and have the ability, in some areas, to match individuals to the best possible medication by knowing their genetic code. It’s an amazing technical achievement. But many more lives would be improved if people just ate less animal product and more plant food.
Dr. Greger has an app called “Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen”. He presents a twelve item to-eat checklist. It’s the same every day. The first item on the list: beans. The magical fruit.
The list continues with fruits, vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, greens, and so on. I didn’t so much try to cut back on meat as I tried to hit the daily dozen. Now that I know the research related to these foods, and the research related to the animal and processed foods you don’t find on the list, it’s clear that beans really are magical. The foods on the list, and many other whole natural plant foods, are all magical. Their health effects are impressive.
Read the book. If you don’t like thick books, check out the NutritionFacts.org website for videos. Download the Daily Dozen app and give it a try. If you don’t want to change lots of your diet, try changing just a little.
Speaking for myself--it’s been easy to embrace the changes, because of how much better I feel.
Peace and God bless,
Matt
The more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So eat some beans for every meal!
I remember this lyric from my childhood. I remember chanting it with other kids, and how we cracked up about anything related to farts. My kids are in the same age range now. I’m not sure they know the rhyme. But they know how hilarious farts are.
Most of what I knew about beans came from that lyric. It’s like an anti-bean advertisement memorized my millions of kids. It’s been a nightmare for the bean industry. These little bits of culture frame our perceptions, and framing matters.
Years ago I read Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink. He describes a number of fascinating studies showing the impact of perception on eating. One of my favorite had to do with wine. Wansink and his team presented people with red wine at a wine and cheese party. Half of the people got the ‘real’ thing, a California wine. The other half received the exact same wine, but re-labelled as a “North Dakota” vineyard. Although it was exactly the same wine, of course people rated the California wine significantly better. Not only that--they rated the cheese that came with the California wine higher as well.
Framing is magnified when it’s intertwined with culture. The meat industry doesn’t have to work too hard to keep meat first in line when people think of protein, because both are related to strength and masculinity in our culture.
A guy I work with talks about his food choices as if they were an extension of his “I live life” persona. He smokes, he rides a Harley, he won’t settle down, and by God he will savor every new burger or taco that McDonald’s or Taco Bell cranks out. He’s the Marlboro Man of McDonald’s, living free and tough and strong. McDonald’s could put him in a commercial.
McDonald’s alone spends nearly a billion dollars on advertising annually. They know food can taste better or worse depending on a person’s mindset. Marketing works, and perception matters.
In 1977, a Senate committee report recommended that Americans decrease consumption of meat, eggs, and other foods high in fat. Meat and dairy producers feared that this new framing would devastate their business. They pushed back hard, arguing that the report should not include language about eating “less” of anything. The final report recommended that people eat… more… as in, eat more meats low in saturated fat.
That was 40 years ago. The agency responsible for our food guidelines (the USDA) is still the same agency responsible for supporting the agriculture industry. No conflicting priorities there, right?
I was looking for some little ways to improve my own diet, and uploaded several different nutrition podcasts to sample. Only one passed the “based on real science and not trying to sell stuff” test: Nutrition Facts with Dr. Greger. I listened and liked what I heard. He mentioned that he had a book out, and that all the proceeds go to charity (which includes his own not-for-profit, NutritionFacts.org).
The book’s unfortunate title is How Not to Die. Despite the morbid title, it is an important book in my life. I’ve read other good books about food: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and Mindless Eating. The book that impacted my life is How Not to Die.
There are now decades of research about food and health. The results of this research are consistent, decisive, and unambiguous. The book lays it all out.
Across all categories of health, plant foods support health, and animal foods increase disease. It’s not just about obesity. Virtually every category of disease increases along with an increase in animal product intake.
Am I saying that fatty beef is bad, and chicken and fish are good? No. They are all bad in different ways and to different degrees. Am I saying that animal products are only healthy when eaten in moderation? No. Even moderate amounts of animal products in our diet promote disease.
That’s tough to hear. Tough to believe. What about three squares a day? What about a meat-and-potatoes man? What about the food pyramid? What about meat for protein and milk for calcium? What about milk does a body good? Food culture is strong.
I’ve been so impressed at the reactions when I talk about this book. You’d think I was telling people I’m quitting my job to go live in a commune. I just refer vaguely to the research, and how I’ve personally reacted to that knowledge (I basically eat a lot less meat and other animal products). It doesn’t seem at all extreme to me, but people react as if it is extreme.
It happened so naturally for me. It’s like… let’s say Joe’s Restaurant is your favorite place for lunch. If in the morning, you see a news report that Joe’s food causes health problems, you will likely opt to have lunch somewhere else. You don’t need a big plan to eat somewhere else; the decision just naturally follows the new information. That’s what has happened to me. How Not to Die has changed what I choose to eat. There was no big decision or health scare or diet strategy. Different choices naturally followed the new information.
I also want to defend Dr. Greger’s approach. He agrees that food choices are relative. Eggs are better for you than sausage. A baked chicken sandwich is healthier than a fried chicken sandwich. But he doesn’t think it’s his role to hide the results of the research to appease our cultural sensitivities.
Human progress can be a real paradox, and I have an analogy for that: “Humans put men on the moon before we put wheels on a standard set of luggage”. We can achieve amazing technical results, like putting men on the moon. But we achieved the amazing technical achievement of walking on the moon before wheels became a standard feature of luggage.
We have decoded the genome and have the ability, in some areas, to match individuals to the best possible medication by knowing their genetic code. It’s an amazing technical achievement. But many more lives would be improved if people just ate less animal product and more plant food.
Dr. Greger has an app called “Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen”. He presents a twelve item to-eat checklist. It’s the same every day. The first item on the list: beans. The magical fruit.
The list continues with fruits, vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, greens, and so on. I didn’t so much try to cut back on meat as I tried to hit the daily dozen. Now that I know the research related to these foods, and the research related to the animal and processed foods you don’t find on the list, it’s clear that beans really are magical. The foods on the list, and many other whole natural plant foods, are all magical. Their health effects are impressive.
Read the book. If you don’t like thick books, check out the NutritionFacts.org website for videos. Download the Daily Dozen app and give it a try. If you don’t want to change lots of your diet, try changing just a little.
Speaking for myself--it’s been easy to embrace the changes, because of how much better I feel.
Peace and God bless,
Matt
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