LSP35: Big Fat Frauds and Other Cautionary Tales from Science and Religion

About a month ago, I first read an article by Peter Whoriskey entitled "Top U.S. nutrition advisory panel poised to withdraw longstanding warnings about cholesterol in diet" (Washington Post, February 10, 2015). I was reminded of this article when I read Margaret Wente's recent commentary on the power of fads in the health and nutrition industries.

Ms. Wente has this to say: "Just about everything we thought we knew about the evils of cholesterol and fats has turned out to be wrong. The doctors, the nutritionists, the dieticians, the heart societies, the experts at Health Canada, the food pyramid that hung on the wall in school -- the entire health and medical establishment, in fact, have been perpetuating a big fat fraud."

Ah, yes. The power of "the Big Fat Fraud." You'd think by now we'd be more conscious of the power of the Big Fat Fraud to control our thinking and our decision-making. You'd think that, because we now have the tools of advanced science at our disposal, we'd be immune to the Big Fat Frauds that have controlled our religions, economics, politics, and wars for millennia.

You might think we'd be immune, but you'd be wrong.

Living as I do (with angels who pop in to chat with me about the science of the human brain and other angels who like to talk with me about quantum physics as it actually exists), I've gradually developed an extremely sensitive "nose" for Big Fat Frauds. This is why I've been eating high fat dairy foods -- and plenty of them -- since 2003.

That's the year my guardian angel, Zak, finally persuaded me that all religious teachings on asceticism are pure crap.

Do I believe there are special wonder foods that can overcome all the health problems created by living a life without balance, common sense, or intuition? No, I don't. Photo credit JAT 2021.

If you were to open up my fridge, you'd see the high fat, high salt foods I eat each day because my practice as an endogenous nature mystic (i.e. a cataphatic mystic) places very high energy demands on my biological brain. Far from starving my brain to get closer to God (as taught by idiotic apophatic mystics around the world), I give my brain all the biological nutrients it needs to constantly build new neurons and glial cells, constantly build new connections, and constantly do the "housecleaning" of sweeping away connections that are no longer needed.

For breakfast each day, I really pack in the calories. I do this intentionally. I do this because I like to boost my blood sugar levels for the physically active part of my day. I start my day by having a glass of real orange juice, a cup of freshly brewed coffee (usually with cream and bit of sugar, but sometimes black), and a cookie for some quick fats, sugars, and salt. This is my first breakfast. Then, like a hobbit, I have "second breakfast." Second breakfast comes about an hour after first breakfast. For second breakfast, I start with a piece of fresh fruit (e.g. banana, pear, orange, or seasonal fruits). Then I have non-fat-free yogurt -- usually Astro set style yogurt with 6% butterfat. (Astro's new lemon, lime, and caramel flavours are really yummy!) Then I have a chunk of full-fat cheese (usually old cheddar, though sometimes mozzarella or havarti) plus a calorie-laden baked good (e.g. a piece of cake or a walnut butter tart or a piece of apple pie). I wash all this down with a second cup of coffee.

Count the calories. This is a ton of calories. Any recently trained nutritionist would be absolutely horrified at what I eat for breakfast. But I don't care. It's what I need.

Oh yeah . . . I weigh between 125 and 130 pounds on a 5'6" frame without ever dieting. (I don't own a scale, so am guessing somewhat on my weight, but I wear a size 6 pant in brands such as Jones New York, so I'm still reasonably trim at age 56).

Me in 2014 (even after all those "second breakfasts")

Did I figure out my "perfect breakfast" by myself, through simple trial and error and careful observation, charting, and research?

Hell, no. I had angel help every time I went to the grocery store until I finally got the hang of eating according to my body's real needs instead of the latest Big Fat Frauds pronounced by both science and religion.

And, just in case you're wondering, I sometimes have bacon and eggs and white toast with lots of butter and natural jam -- same as my childhood years when my Mom made us bacon, eggs, toast, and juice for breakfast.

Thanks, Mom, for having the common sense to feed our family a sensible, balanced diet with all the fats, salt, and proteins a healthy brain needs! You got me off to a great start in life!

Addendum January 1, 2022: In this essay, something I could have mentioned is my abstinence from alcohol. Although I never drank much in my younger days -- just an occasional glass of wine or, on special occasions, a small liqueur -- I stopped drinking alcohol when I realized that no amount of alcohol is really safe for the brain. I can't function in my mystical life without a really healthy brain; ergo, I don't drink. Even a rousing social event can't induce me to do something I know will hurt my brain.

Now, after many years of patiently waiting for medical science to realize they might have committed a Big Fat Fraud in telling people to drink a glass of wine every day to improve their health, along comes this article by Laura Brehaut in the National Post (Dec. 31, 2021): "It turns out a glass of wine a day likely doesn't keep the doctor away." 

Naturally, this is just one more reason for me to thoroughly dislike the sacrament of the Eucharist.

 

LSP30: Spirituality: Don't Let It Become Your Personal Addiction Playground

I wrote the following paragraphs in response to a question posted recently in an online spirituality forum. The question was, "Why must those who claim to be Spiritual be so afraid of honest debate?"

Honest debate is a good antidote for the problems created by top-down philosophical authority (a.k.a. Revelation). But first it's helpful to understand the obstacles that get in the way of honest debate.

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It's easier to see the effects of status addiction in spheres of life such as politics or business, as highlighted in a recent Atlantic article by Jerry Useem about the "power paradox." But the same thing happens in spiritual and religious circles because, like it or not, we only have so many brain networks. The biological networks you use to build knowledge, authority, relationships, and organizational planning in the business world are the same networks you use to build knowledge, etc., in the religious or spiritual world. You can't separate the networks (though many unethical spiritual teachers will tell you you can). So if you're vulnerable to the problems of addiction -- especially status addiction -- you're not immune to the problems caused by too much power or too much infallibility in the spiritual world. Like everybody else, you have to deal with the biology God has given you -- not the biology you'd like to think you have. Photo credit JAT 2017.

Another point to consider is the neuroscientific perspective, since a person who's on a spiritual path is still a human being who's dealing with all the realities of biology, chemistry, and physics. 

The human brain is vulnerable to addiction issues. (Actually, many other species are vulnerable to addiction issues, too, but this isn't the place for that discussion.) Addiction issues can really get in the way within spiritual circles, especially when the "drug of choice" is status.

Status addiction is a physiological addiction -- a biological addiction -- that's no different (as far as the brain is concerned) than better known addictions such as alcohol or substance abuse. It hasn't been examined much in scientific studies. I hope this lack of scientific interest will soon change.

Status addiction often expresses itself as the "Right to Be Right" -- a psychological need to present a belief or an opinion as a "universal truth" that can't be challenged. This status-driven "Right to Be Right" is often seen in both scientific and theological circles, where the payoff for being "right" can be quite large. (Note that acquiring money isn't the key issue here; acquiring status points is the goal, so an ascetic who's given up all his or her money and belongings can still be suffering from a self-devouring status addiction.)

When a status addict's "Right to Be Right" is challenged, he or she will respond as all addicts do (until they begin to confront their personal addictions): they'll do whatever they have to do to protect their daily "fix."

I've had personal encounters with a number of status addicts who've chosen the spiritual world as their personal addiction playground, and let me tell you -- it ain't pretty when you confront them.

As with any form of addiction, a Twelve Step Program could prove very helpful for dealing with the intense cravings of status addiction and the unloving behaviour that often results.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,
Jen