Column #83

Avid students of life (social, economic, and physical sciences) are outnumbered by those who are just students of their trade. Both groups are outnumbered by people who assume graduating from school means their studying days are over.

Think back to your last conversation with your peers about nutrition. Don’t they agree on most points? Yet nearly all of them are overweight, under a doctor’s care, taking drugs, or exhibiting chronic diseases. What does that tell you about their knowledge of nutrition and its impact on health?

High intelligent quotients (IQ) indicate exceptional learning ability. The average IQ is 100 with one percent of the population being above 130. Albert Einstein’s IQ was estimated to be 160 which meant he had an extraordinary ability to learn. At an early age he became a prodigious student of the sciences and today is still hailed as one the outstanding geniuses of the 20th century.

Einstein’s quotes are great lessons. There’s “Once you stop learning you start dying.” And “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Also “Truth is what stands the test of experience.”

Einstein recognized it wasn’t his IQ that made him smart, but his persistent study coupled with continuous observation. Obviously individuals with IQs above 130 must study and observe or their potential will not be realized. The same applies for those of us with average IQs except we have to study harder. It’s not that we are incapable of learning, it just takes us longer.

Now back to what our peers believe about nutrition. They may agree sugar is bad, but do they understand the severe damage sugar does to a body and how it interacts with fungi? Do they know which foods are sugar sources? Do they understand Glycemic measures?

They’ve heard of carbohydrates, but do they know how the body uses them and that they’re not essential?

Do they realize that few modern food selections provide proper nutrient diversity and density required for good health?

They’ve heard about Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs). But do they understand that it is the RATIO of Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFAs and not just the amount of Omega-3 that impacts nerves, the immune system, and the brain? Do they know which foods have balanced EFAs and which do not? Do they know “Omega-3" labels are often shams?

Do they still worry about saturated fats and therefore continue to buy low fat foods? Do they have fruit juice and oatmeal for breakfast? Do they buy whole grain products? Do they buy foods based on labels such as organic, gluten- and GMO-free, natural, low salt, no hormones, and local? Or do they buy foods based on their glycemic numbers, nutrient density and diversity, and balanced EFAs?

If your peers fit the normal profile, they haven’t studied nutritional and biological sciences to any extent so their knowledge of nutrition is mostly myth. They believe what everyone in the mainstream says which gives them the impression they know it all. So even if they have IQs of 130, they are not that smart about nutrition. They stopped learning and, just as Einstein said, they’re already dying.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

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