Found and noted
a roundup of things I thought were worth sharing
An article about gluten sensitivity
Note: this is a The New Yorker article, so it might be paywalled when you click it.
"Against the grain", by Michael Specter (New Yorker, 2014)
What is so bad about gluten? This article discusses the bad rap that gluten gets in our society. It is an article from 2014, but the interest in gluten-free products hasn't waned since then, and keeps on growing. The broader offer of gluten-free products is great for celiacs, to whose small intestine gluten causes severe damage, but is it that important to the general public?
Reports of gluten sensitivity are on the rise, but much of it is self-diagnosed or suggested by others without an official diagnosis. In fact, there are still no blood tests, biopsies, or other markers that can confirm a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity. Nonetheless, gluten has been demonized for all sorts of problems, even if humans have been eating it for more than ten thousand years.
This piece by Michael Specter is a good review of the general issues surrounding this topic. Many still open hypotheses are discussed: Are gluten sensitivity symptoms caused by something else? Is it just a new diet fad, as were low-fat and low-carb, that tries to find an explanation for our diet troubles? Is it because wheat is not processed as it used to be? For example, traditional bread making involves long hydration, fermentation, and kneading steps. All of these are now frequently skipped while extra gluten (in the form of vital wheat gluten) and other additives are added for convenience and to enable mass production.
Going gluten-free can work for some people because they cut out processed foods and refined carbs, but choosing gluten-free processed products can sometimes be worse, due to the presence of additives incorporated to achieve palatability.
Maybe avoiding gluten really is the solution for some people, so do what feels best for you, but either way, the trick might be to choose a variety of whole foods most of the time.
Here's an older post discussing whole foods vs ultra-processed foods.
A podcast about wellness misinformation
“Science for Sale”, by Unbiased Science Podcast (2024)
In this podcast, I found an interesting and relevant conversation about misinformation. This conversation in particular addressed some concerns about Huberman's podcast. I sometimes listen Huberman’s podcast myself, but I thought I'd share this discussion as there are important points to be aware of and pay attention to when, in general, we get information from the internet and social media.
In this digital information era, much of the content we consume is based on whether it caught our attention - good design, clickbaity titles or thumbnails, promises of easy fixes for our problems, and charming hosts, are all common marketing strategies. Even though I have a science background, it is also easy for me to be drawn to these over plain text.
The participants of this Unbiased Science podcast mentioned how, although Huberman does present a lot of real information, his conversation gets interspersed with information that hasn't been proven or whose sources are isolated anecdotes or opinions.
Even though I have been guided through critical analysis of many articles during scientific education, I still find it hard to detect some flaws on some studies’ scientific design or rationale, so I agree that, if one doesn't know how to distinguish a good and a bad study, it is important to be wary and consider the bulk of the evidence rather than a random individual study.
Here are some points that came up during the conversation and may be important to highlight:
Often, and probably in some cases rightfully, the big pharma gets blamed for prioritizing profits and growth over anything else. It's important to remember that the wellness industry is also huge, now worth even more than the pharmaceutical industry. Many times, misinformation comes from people who make bold unproven claims and then go on to sell their own alternative treatments or supplements. Even if these are not harmful to your health, they can be quite harmful to your wallet and simply end up being useless. While in science we are often taught to remember that things are nuanced and not simple truths, the bold claims tend to be more appealing, which brings me to the next point.
These people use bold statements to catch attention and make others believe there's a straightforward solution to their problems. Listeners become excited because they feel in control, but actual science is not always like that. Actual science sometimes is just not "sexy" - it is multifactorial, nuanced, and often there are no black or white answers. This is harder to sell - it may be boring, and people tune it out.
Bold statements coming from the beliefs and marketing interests of different individuals, rather than the scientific body of evidence, gradually erode the trust of the public because of all the contradictions they find. Medical organizations get expert clinicians and researchers together to interpret evidence, update and come up with consensus statements and guidelines that are adequate to the average person, so most of the time these will be more useful.
A quote
by Sylvia Plath, in The Bell Jar
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
I hope you found something interesting/useful! Let me know if there is something specific you would like me to share or write about in this newsletter!
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A piece of art
