ENGAGE. INVESTIGATE. CONTEMPLATE.

Did you know that it takes seven years for swallowed gum to digest? Did you also know that you can use algorithms to predict college basketball scores and make millions? Are you aware that we only use 10% of our brains? Here is a popular one, turkey makes you sleepy. Or, how about that chocolate acne.

I imagine that at some point you have heard one of these myths, maybe all of them. If you are still performing the Heimlich on children in order to ward off a colon blowpop…stop.

My advice: Engage the proclamation. Investigate its validity. Contemplate your own thoughts and conclusions.

I know, it’s easy to accept certain proclamations as fact. Hell, I once told a slow kid at my junior high school that reading backwards helped people study better. He believed me, and tried it for several weeks…also, at nine years old I told my classmates that I was the lead singer of STYXX. Later, they realized that I did not even know the lyrics to the #1 single, Babe. Back then, I thought if you were stupid enough to believe it, then you deserve to look like an idiot. Although, later on in life, I realized giving people good and factual information is very important. We all as individuals make decisions based on what we believe is FACT. When people give me information…I engage, investigate, and contemplate.

Recently, I heard a proclamation that diet sodas can increase insulin production and cause weight gain. Really? C’mon. What is sad, is that certain individuals, that hear this sort of thing, will definitely quit drinking soda. Then they will tell friends not to drink diet soda, without ever validating the claim. Yes, basic common sense tells me that diet soda is not optimum versus water. Duh!

I love learning about nutrition, there is certainly a lot to learn. However, there are so many different interests out there that some nutritional facts get pushed out into the world based on someone filling in the blanks.

Okay, let me try one:
The number one cause of male impotence, worldwide, is _________.

Now, I will fill in the blank:
The number one cause of male impotence, worldwide, is due to prolonged sun exposure.
It doesn’t sound too ridiculous if you are the person trying to get it up and you are totally willing to stay out of the sun for the rest of your life…Thusly, when I heard that someone believed that diet soda was about to send every diabetic that drinks non-caloric soda into a coma, I had to engage.

My investigation led me to that following (beware: this is a blog, so I am not going to cite references, just go look for yourself):
A study, reported by the Journal of Nutrition on Nutritional Epidemiology, found no evidence of the claims regarding insulin. The study included 2500 subjects. They tested insulin levels on three control groups. One of the groups was a “zero calorie diet drink” group. The study concluded that insulin was not affected by diet drinks.

And the weight gain from diet soda? A study was done, but it appears someone is only reporting half of the truth on this one. Among the group of surveyed diet soda drinkers, 57% were likely to eat more calories because they were drinking a diet soda. There was correlation, but no causation…And yes, when you combine diet root beer with ice cream, it’s not the root beer that is making your ass look bigger.

As I pondered these findings, I also remembered that calories are essentially energy. Insulin, in so many words, is about energy conversion. It would be doubtful that a diabetic would risk his/her health by drinking diet soda …

Studies on nutrition are being done daily. Engage. Investigate. Contemplate

Now, excuse me, I have to go rub peanut butter on my feet. Someone told me that it helps get rid of bad breathe.