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Look. Paleo dick. Whoever you are, there is a very good chance you need to fuck off. For some weeks now, I have been visited and contacted by you, a rubbish thinker who cannot even spell the names of their Big Pharma Agro-Industrial Complex adversaries let alone meaningfully decry them. I would like this to stop. I don’t know which tedious tank of raw human mind-waste it was that dumped this stink on my blog and nor do I care but let it be said: fuck off. Fuck off and stop linking to me and shitting in my inbox. We have nothing to say to each other.
To be very clear, I am not interested in remediating your behaviour. I do not personally care if you ascribe healing powers to a crystal, believe that We Are All One or think that some of the problems of contemporary medical practice can be addressed by a celebrity chef whose primary labour it otherwise is to tell unpleasant, boring people on the television their haloumi appetiser lacks appropriate tang. Go for it. Join whichever cult you fancy, pray to the gourmet non-dairy cheese god and pin your hopes for salvation on reality TV. It is your defensible right to consume any nonsense upchucked to your mouth by a critically deluded mass-culture mummybird you wish. If this sick-feed allays the hunger for meaning we both know would starve you if you took even a short break from feeding your suggestible face with easy pseudo-knowledge, fine. FINE.
Eat Like Your Ancestors, even though they demonstrably didn’t eat that way. Fill the heads of your children with irrational suspicion of science, even though it is exactly this irrational suspicion that actively stops meaningful address of climate change. Pretend that measles is the goddess’ own special way of rewarding humanity and that immunisation is not a marvel of medical science but a blight. Just stay out of my way.
Even if we agree, and I believe that sometimes we do, that late agricultural practice is wanting and medicalisation can create as much disease as it cures, we cannot agree that you could find your arse with two hands. With two hands, Google Maps and a year of intensive arse-finding workshops.
It is not your stated goal but you that is fundamentally stupid. No good can come of you and no good can come of our communications. So, please stop troubling me with notes about A Wholesome Future as my opinion that you are a dick whose failure to see beyond the picture-book caricature of good and evil would be cause in a just world for incarceration is unlikely to change.
To call your intellectual weakness childish would do disservice to kindergarten. I do not wish to understand your views because it is my view that your views do not require understanding. They just require faith. Your “views” are useful to me only insofar as they reinforce the fact of my good sense in electing not to have children. If my Little Harriet attended daycare with your Little Sanskrit, I would certainly be arrested for spiking her almond milk with triple antigen and disinfectant.
And, don’t give me “But Helen. Paleo is a long way from anti-vax. Don’t tar us with the same brush”. The intellectual journey from a belief that we need to “get back” to “natural” eating to that which holds that infection with measles is “natural” and, therefore, implicitly good takes about ten seconds. Even if you never take that brief unfortunate tumble into seriously bad behaviour, what you have begun to do is fundamentally rotten. And I can’t abide this stench.
You Paleo people have claimed that you believe in “science” and that it is “science” that provided you with the means to manfully argue with my claim that you are, in fact, monumentally deluded cocks. Now, I am not a scientist and I have not previously, nor shall I ever, argue with your nonsense chiefly in the terms of scientific evidence. Yet, when you are not hurling shit at my inbox, it is you who throws globs of what you mistake for scientific evidence.
In many cases, this “evidence” is simply personal anecdote. One nong told me that he had run a marathon without carbohydrates. That we know that life itself cannot be sustained without carbohydrates aside: personal anecdote is not “evidence” and can be undone by other personal anecdote. I have also recently run a marathon and I was largely fuelled by jelly beans. This is not “evidence” of anything aside from my partiality to jelly beans.
Other mildly less touched antagonists have said to me, “but I have lost weight on the Paleo Diet”. This personal anecdote is evidence of nothing new and just informally affirms the rather ordinary truth that a reduction in calories will often result in a reduction of body fat. I am happy you have attained a hip-to-waist ratio that pleases you. I am not happy that you mistake either this or the sensation that “I just feel better!” as proofs of the “science” of Paleo.
To those many of you who have sent me sometimes specious and often small-scale studies on the benefits of Paleo: a fragment of science is not the same thing as science itself. When isolated and underdone studies are presented as theory, that’s when the trouble begins. This is not science. This is not established scientific theory. This is something you read on the internet that appears to confirm your bias.
I am not deriding your belief so much as I am terribly impatient with your belief that belief is the same as fact. This does not mean I am opposed to wholesome foods and it does not mean that I believe that we should spray everything with glyphosate. This does not mean I think eating vegetables and unprocessed foods is a terrible idea—a recommendation made by dietary science for decades, by the way and hardly a Paleo first. It is, however, to say that bits of science that suit your thinking are not fact or scientific theory.
Other things that are not scientific theory are (a) moving personal stories about your weight loss and improved bowel motions and (b) instinct. Which is to say, you may feel that Getting Back To Nature is the right thing to do—and let’s remind ourselves that palaeoanthropology does not confirm the fancy of Paleo Diet books that no pre-industrial hominid ever ate dairy etc—but you cannot make the legitimate claim that this instinct is backed by science.
You can have your instincts. I have mine. For what little it matters, I eat a diet which, while it is largely meat-free due to a personal and ethical dislike for eating creatures, is high in vegetables that are fertilised and managed without recourse to synthesised chemicals and grown from always open-pollinated and often heirloom seed. My own diet happens to be Paleo-ish in that it tends to whole-foods and is derived from small-scale pre-industrial era agricultural techniques. I am prepared to bet that my veg are more “Paleo” than most. FFS, I wiz on my compost and use microbial and solar heat to help remove pathogens from the soil. In other words, my own dietary life is a dreary hippy experiment in sloppy ethics and pseudo-knowledge. I understand this urge.
For the most part, I keep this organic noodling to myself and the bees. I don’t claim it as science or proof. I know only slightly north of fuck-all about domestic horticulture and its ability to effect meaningful local or widespread change. My food production is a hobby and a means to calm myself the fuck down. But, that’s all it is. It is not science. It is not a retort to science. It is not a “lifestyle” and if I ever begin evangelising about food production and diet as you do, may I be doomed to an eternal McDonald’s drive-thru meal.
Jesus shat, we all know that eating crap is probably a terrible idea. And those who either do not know it or cannot escape it are likely to be those actually consigned to the culinary and nutritional hell of a McDonald’s drive-thru. And, what about such people? How do they figure in your expensive Paleo plan?
There are people who simply do not have the wealth of time or dollars to eat anything but convenient shit and if you DARE fucking pull a supercilious Jamie Oliver and tell me that The Poor only eat that way because they’re ignorant and lazy, then you are a mindless greedy piece of innumerate shit-burger who cannot face the simple calculation that having no money plus having no time equals poor nutrition.
Much of the “developing” world is newly cursed with obesity related illness and the least wealthy citizens of first-world nations are more likely to pork up to a potentially debilitating degree. There are nearly one billion medically obese people in the world, peculiarly, almost the same number there are of starving people on the planet. Obesity has overwhelmingly become a marker of poverty. And you want to tell me that the way to fix this is to listen to some dill in a chef’s hat ladling out non-knowledge on the telly? Two billion people aren’t eating right. And this is just because they didn’t read Paleo Poison For Bubs With Idiot Mums? There are very complex reasons some of us shove shit in our faces. And the way to address these complex problems is not in the bottom of your bowl of bone broth.
No one planned it this way. But, one of the most unfortunate by-products of capitalism, which does not have a human face, is that it fucks the poor.
Another unfortunate by-product of capitalism is that it produces stupid idiots who (a) blame the materially poor for their own plight and (b) confuse anecdata for science. And then, come to my blog, find my email address and ruin my fucking inbox with their raging arrogance which they mistake for informed anger.
Paleo is, at this time, nothing but bullshit. It might “work” for you just as my insect-infested veg patch works for me. And that’s as a sedative diversion. But, you don’t get to say that it is a scientific or ethical cure for the world’s many food and nutrition problems. Well, you can say that but not to me without being told to get fucked. A response you can, and have and likely will, tell me is the angry talk of someone who eats too much sugar. But, leaving aside the fact that I rarely eat sugar, me telling you to get fucked is nothing compared to the idiotic abuse I have received these past weeks from fans of Pete Evans.
When I tell you to get fucked, what I mean is that you must choose. You must either truly examine the veracity of your claims, which currently have no real basis in evidence, or keep your possibly dangerous ideas to yourself.
Yes. Dangerous. Advice by our primary dietetic scientists that the Pete Evans diet for “bubs” is potentially fatal is one worth heeding. And if your answer is “that’s just Big Food talking”, then be aware that that is just big arse talking. You narcissistic, beef-stinking bore.
Go and become the climate science denier you just know is itching to get out. Either that, or have a think.
Now for the sake of sweet sugar, leave me alone. If you persist in saying that science is something that it is not and that Paleo is something like science, we have nowhere to go. Which is why I am now off to the garden.
(If you enjoyed this post and/or you are someone with an interest in exploring the various and widespread kinds of Stupid that infect our era, please consider purchase of this recently published book I wrote with my friend Bernard Keane. And if you hated this post, buy it anyhow because the royalties may serve to keep me relatively quiet. You could also come and listen to me talk about the end of reason next Tuesday, April 28 in Sydney’s Glebe. Book here.)
160 thoughts on “Fuck Off”
This has got to come close to the best thing I’ve read all week! Great piece.
My philosophy is “I don’t believe in anything that you have to believe in to make it work, except the placebo effect, which only works if you do.”
Gold. Makes me want to get click clacking on my old keyboard , must find something to rant over. Paleo has been done to death. Bravo.
Is is really possible to run a marathon fuelled only by jelly beans ? Hahahahahaha .
So Helen ,you are playing that a healthy diet will make you feel better but it’s not science to say that it can improve or heal diseases !?!?!?!?. Truly ???
Is this what you are saying because it is absolutely absurd .
So by this means that you can go and eat McDonalds every day and you will just feel a little worse but it would make no difference to a disease state or even cause disease to occur.
You surely must be joking .
No. I am saying there is a difference between what people full of cacao brownies and sneaky wine say in blog comments at midnight and science. And I am reminding you what science is not.
And I am also making the claim, informed by medical science, that food is not medicine. Ask a doctor.
Finally. Someone talk sense and does a hilarious rant at the same time. I have a girl crush now. Will buy your book just to have more chuckles…
Bless you, Ms R. I’ve been slogging through a long vax/anti-vax comment thread on Facebook with a guy who has been responding with some of the anti-vax community’s best shots – and, honestly, it’s amazed me.
‘Cos, y’know, it’s this whole movement, and you’d think there must be *some* good science in there somewhere. A few studies you could bank on, that’s all – it wouldn’t have to be a lot – but *some* scientific foundation that meets my (limited) understanding of what should pass muster.
The latest one I got had the thrusting forward of a study that demonstrates a significant link between neonatal Hep B vax and autism! And you think “this could be a decent challenge here – I don’t expect it to overwhelm the vast body of evidence to the contrary [I practise methodical doubt In moderation :)], but hey, let’s give it a shot”.
And then you look at the methodology and your heart sinks. “1400 of 7520 (19%) of the non-autism group had had the vaccine; 9 of 31 (27%) of the autism group had. So we can conclude that there is a significant…” ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? NINE OF THIRTY-ONE??? Dude, I don’t think science Is any use in this discussion, because I honestly don’t think you know what science is. Here’s a hint: when your survey sample is three times smaller than Family Feud’s…
And the conversation kinda goes downhill from there, and it never seems to get to the bottom. But what are you supposed to do – leave ridiculous posts unchallenged? Be a gentle encouraging voice saying “Well, that’s one way to look at it, but have you considered”? This shit is dangerous and seems wilfully ignorant, and of course I’m forgetting that all scientists are money-hungry puppets on the strings of Big PharmAAARGH
Wow, a lot of negativity going on here. 100% paleo may not be everyones cup of tea, but promoting whole food is a not a bad thing; empowering people is also a positive not negative…. you’ve got some anger issues going on here lovey!! why not put your energy into something really important like the homeless and mental health issues – that needs a lot of swear words and outpouring…. leave pete to follow his passions and whoever wishes to embrace them thats their choice! Personally I love bone broth – fantastic!
Why get angry about pseudo-science? Because this pick’n’mix attitude to theory is one that permits ongoing action on climate change. Because the scientistic non-discipline of psychiatry fails to address the very real problems of the mentally unwell. Because vaccination is being abandoned by tens of thousands of Australian parents each year. Because the toxic idea there is a “natural order” is the foundation of racism. Our growing disdain for reason and science and the belief that we know best in all things elevates the opinion of the individual. I don’t give a shit about Paleo other than its use to me as a current and popular example of the rotten first principle that an imaginary “nature ” will save us all. This shit is no more scientific than the Genesis creation myth.
If you want to eat stock, fine. Bathe in it and attribute to it all the pseudo -scientific fantasy you wish. But don’t legitimuse your fairy story by saying “science says ” when it doesn’t.
This fear of organised reason and the attribution to one of the few things we have got right in the west of corruption and arrogance is so close to the anti -Semitic, anti -science rantings of actual nazis, I am repulsed.
You don’t know best in matters of science . For all its faults, science does.
I’m confused ….
So if you’re articulate and opinionated, you’re allowed to swear at other people who are also articulate and opinionated … If their opinion doesn’t match yours ?
Is that right?
Just curious cos I’ll be sure to be aware of who i share my opinions with …
I derided ideas. Deriding people is not useful. Perhaps you’d care to Google ad+hominem+logical+fallacy.
Helen you are still a genius and I totally agree!
Had some kunt at a David Bowie concert tell me to read The Findhorn Garden. Did. It’s bullshit. Like Pete Evans on crack bullshit. For the sake of all sound gardening, please o please do a take down of BS in horticulture.
The entire concept of the Paleo DIET is patently obvious to anyone with two brain cells to rub together and create the fire needed to cook their organic grass-fed steak. But in order for Pete Evans and the like to monetise a simple diet it needed to become more, hence the Paleo Way. Now Paleo is a “lifestyle” (I would say cult) and the tribe members are buying everything the Enlightened One is selling, defending the faith from attacks and preaching the word to all will listen (although all too often it is to those of us who would very much like you to fuck off).
Have you ever thought about why you, as an anonymous person on the internet, felt the need to defend an eating plan to someone who wasn’t even talking specifically to you? It boggles my mind how people can take food and instead of just consuming it like a rational person, they craft it into part of their identity.
And don’t get me started on the holier-than-thou attitudes displayed by the disciples of the Church of Paleo. In my experience, their interactions with the “unclean eaters” tend to parallel their abysmal relationship with food. One order of orthorexia with an extra helping of guilt coming right up!
what a joke university have to pass people so that is no recommendation
Anyone will find that if they cut out wheat a lot of their problems will be solved. This does not mean Paleo. It just means that a lot of people can’t cope with wheat. I am one of them. I used to get skin rashes, bloating and constipation after eating wheat. Clean eating – eating without wheat and gluten – was first thought of by James Duigan years ago. It is not Paleo. It is clean eating. Paleo is restrictive eating not clean eating.
No. “Anyone” will not find this out.
Thank you for this brilliantly written and argued piece, Helen. I read it (and your responses to the comments above) in awe of your communication skills and thought processes.
So what you are saying is that he basically copied Atkins and re-packaged for himself so that he could make some money. I suppose you could say nice work Pete. Meat, veg and fat, no carbs, no sugar, no fruit = Atkins. Oh except he took out dairy so that you can ensure a calcium deficiency.
Thanks Helen, you’re a wit and a warrior.
Well thank fuck for that. Consider your book purchased, Helen Razer.
As they say ” Bullshit baffles brains ”
A brilliant and hilarious article .
Helen, I think I love you. I don’t think there’s a line in that article that I don’t wish I’d thought of first.
Thank you.
My sister is called Helen and she rants … I can see a pattern emerging
This is not science. This is half-arsed pattern recognition. Like Paleo.
Helen,
Is the language you use really that nescessary,
Yes I’m on the Paleo diet…
Why?
because I have MS and was willing to try just about anything to help my chronic illness..
Let me tell you something, Pete evens aside because I didn’t Even know he existed before starting this diet.
I started my clean eating in February 2014, along with my prescribed drug for MS – Tecfidera recommended by neurologist, after starting my paleo eating I noticed I didnt have IBS anymore or any of the other unpleasant effects from certain processed foods, my skin, hair and appearance is clear, clean and healthy, I have more energy (MS symptoms asside) yes I lost weight but I never went on a paleo eating to lose weight, my intentions was to give my body healthy, clean, natural foods and eradicate chemicals and artificial additives and to consume anti inflammatory foods…
Let me tell you something us “hairdressers” may not be as educated as you but my clients/family/friends give me all the feedback I need to know that my paleo eating is the best thing I have ever done & they can’t believe I look so healthy & have noticed a change in my energy levels also..
By the way I don’t actually do hairdressing anymore due to my MS but as an uneducated “hairdresser” I own three hair & beauty salons and employ over 20 staff members..
Not bad for a uneducated school drop out with MS hey?
I did not for one second suggest that anyone who did not pursue some sort of tertiary education was to be despised. People do not have to be credentialled in order to hold an informed opinion. What I am saying, however, and I know that your neurologist will confirm this with you, is that the assertion that food is also medicine is one that cannot currently be supported by neuroscience or any of the medical sciences.
The longitudinal surveys of the impact of diet on MS disability scale do not show conclusive improvement. This is not the same as saying that you do not feel better or that the avoidance of certain food stuffs may be worth a go just in case. It may be possible that your particular drug program works better with certain dietary habits; I don’t know much about immunology so I couldn’t comment. But what I do know is that in the last twenty years, it is drug therapy and not dietary awareness that has given hope to MS patients who no longer slide in such great numbers down the disability scale.
You feel better. That’s great. As I said, I also follow a “healthy” program of eating and it makes me feel better, too. But, this is not science. It’s two people feeling better having complied with certain dietary habits. To say that one person feeling better is proof that Paleo works is a bit like saying “it’s cold outside today so those climate scientists must be wrong about global warming”.
It is not disrespect for you. It is respect for science that drives me to write such things. Please understand the difference.
Now that, is interesting. I’d love to see those studies. I’ve always labored under the impression that it was us pinko commie alarmists who wanted to get back to nature.
I can see how we might think that progressives (I refuse to call people who don’t give a shit about economics “Left”) are more inclined to embrace “natural” medicine. But the mistake is in thinking that Right leaning people are conservative. They’re actually quite radical. But, not in a good way. Look at the Health Freedom Movement which is a politically influential US alliance and see how it eschews science in favour of instinct. Many anti-vax people may pop mandalas on their walls etc but this does not mean they believe in a program of social support. Anything that places the wisdom of the individual above the welfare of a society is, by definition, a Rightist. It makes absolute sense that the Right has now begun to exploit these ludicrous beliefs.
Please. My education and how you believe it is misused is irrelevant. There is an argument here and even if you believe it to be poorly expressed, the way to counter it is not with a sparsely punctuated assault on me but an assault on the argument.
If you disagree that science is misused or selectively used by proponents of the unscientific Paleo diet and in other cases, make that case. Well, if you want to make that case. If you care to just keep insulting an individual, then knock yourself out.
Just a suggestion, but if you’re not struggling financially, perhaps you could find it in your heart to buy Joel some punctuation keys?
BTW, I’ve been really enjoying your articles. Thank you.
bloody good show….I am sick of this crap too. Love healthy eating and hate the thou shalt nots……..What a pack of eggs
applaud…..the word is applaud
I would infer that science is what’s up with her. Evidence rather than hypotheses. You are so far off the mark that you can’t even see the mark any more, it exists in another parallel universe that you shot past on a comet of capitalism, false information and half truths.
I agree that there isn’t enough focus on the sociological issues surrounding obesity and class (if that’s a point you were making!). It all depends on lifestyle. Most of my uni friends live off mi goreng and red bull, due to no money and not much time (esp. if law student). Loved the article.
Bacteria are way older and much more relevant than the silly term paleo and while bacteria diet is not easy to promote .. it does fit in with the latest findings around neural plasticity and the effect of the environment on our genes… here’s a good summary
http://neurosciencestuff.tumblr.com/post/38271759345/gut-instincts-the-secrets-of-your-second-brain
Oh no you di’n’t, lol. You sent her a link to Marks Daily Apple, in response. Wow.
That was a bit of a coarse assessment of the opinion piece.
?
Dear Helen, Your anger is only matched by my friends who are palaeontologists. They study ancient things like fossils and fail to see the link to human eating habits. With their help I have developed the “bacteria” diet which I can assure you is much more your style. First you have to capture some bacteria to seed your second brain in your bowel. Kids know how to do it and it involves catching rain directly in your mouth (trickier than you think but loaded with special sky bacteria). Then jump in the sea and suck down a least a billion bacteria (just a teaspoon full should do it). Eat a little bit of nice dirt, some of your snot and kiss your dog on the lips.
So now in the bacteria diet you have a really good colony in your butt, they want to be fed and harvest some energy freely available from ultra violet rays by exposing your tummy to the sun until it feels good. Bacteria don’t like Mr Pete Evans… in fact they would call him a mother fucker as well. That’s because they like high fibre foods such as legumes, grains, leeks, onions, garlic, eggplant and cabbage. A bit of pickles and vinegar go down well and small amounts of meat are okay if that way inclined. Barley risotto, Raghu, gnocchi …. t’s all good.
In the new bacteria diet… your second brain will now be healthy and supplying all the serotonin and dopamine you want for optimum mental health as well as improving the immune system. You may not lose weight though but then again you might. My bacteria diet is not actually a diet but it proves you Helen are right and that fuckwit Pete Evans is a bacteria killer.
Of course. I was simply pointing out that fascist and ultra-Right organisations have a long history of discounting science and embracing nature. It’s a good fit.
I think your wheels have fallen off. You sound like someone that has downed two bottles of red before smoking a packet of durries, then decided now was the perfect time to unleash.
I’m not defending Paleo. I actually eat a lot like you, Helen. But come on? You’re claiming common sense? You have to research but I don’t? There wasn’t one single fact in this opinion piece.
Have some standards.
You may have misread or selectively read. I’d suggest that “durries” and binge-drinking were to blame for this poor comprehension if I were someone who did not know how to argue.
I have said the opposite of what you claim that I say. I say that outside scientific exchanges, claims based on “evidence” cannot be meaningfully made. One cannot take a bit of “science” and claim that this is all science.
I am hardly the first person to point out that pseudo-science and scientism, such as that we have recently seen the ABC TV program Catalyst engage in, are a problem.
To try to break it down for you: I am not saying that I know the truth or have “better” evidence. I am saying that claiming bits of science as science is flawed. If you are going to employ science as a weapon in debate, then you must employ science. A complex and laborious and wonderful means of finding knowledge that does not say that something is a theory based on a handful of studies. I do not need to be a scientist to undertsand the very basic principles of science. It takes about five minutes to understand methodical doubt and about one minute to see that “Paleo” and its associated “nature is always good” branches of stupidity have no understanding of methodical doubt.
This is intended as a humorous defence of science. I would tell you that I don’t smoke and consumer alcohol at about the rate of three units a month but it is really not relevant to the very ordinary claim that we must defend the practice of science.
struggling financially eh Helen?
This is irrelevant. But, if I were struggling financially, this is as nothing when compared to your terrible struggle to find a point that is worth making. I wish you great future success in evolving a reasonable argument and I am very sorry that you have thus far failed.
Hi Helen, Creative writing has always been part of my life, and I thought your article was a pure joy to read, and I wholeheartedly agree with you.These celebrity types are dangerous as they do not acknowledge their limitations. Crossing the line from teaching idiots on MKR how to boil water, is a far cry to giving advice on health, particularly for babies and children; and is nothing short of criminal. It is another “gimmick” to keep his ever so chiseled features at the front of the news. Bah Humbug! At least Nigella and Maggie keep it in the kitchen .ava good week :)
You Helen Razor are one rude, abrasive lady and writer.
Such an long, dribbling, boring article. You obviously have no idea about the basis of the Paleo diet – it is meat, veg and good fats – that’s it, easy. If you actually took the time to research it properly rather than writing over-worded, attacking articles like this then you would find out what positive effects it has had on thousands of peoples lives. How are feeling the way you are eating?
I am so disappointed, you used to be my favourlite DJ on JJJ and now all this negative crap – what is actually up with you?
Actually Helen, When you look at the defining characteristics of a persona with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, you pretty much define the ethos of capitalism —->
http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/narcissism-the-basics/
Which pretty much means the more capitalist our society becomes the more narcissistic the individuals in it can be expected to be. Evidently if we don’t either ban marketing in politics all together, so people have to focus on the arguments alone, we are all going to be dragged into a self imploding world of arseholery, whether we agree or not, because the volume of those hypnotised by hype seems to be growing. I don’t know if it’s even possible to turn around this stampede toward self-destruction, it’s gone so far already I’m not there enough people left to turn it around.
Just a thought.
To me, whenever I see Pete Evans I feel as if I’m looking into the loveless gaze of a Textbook Narcissist and can’t fathom why anyone is drawn to someone so false and so clearly undeservedly self aggrandising. who is talking about “natural” living while sporting the most plastic looking “touched-up” teeth (and head in general) currently on Aus TV. Have people really become so undiscerning about the shit people tell them that they actually think this money hungry, attention seeking, Ken Doll whose hair is sporting more chemicals than ansto is actually in any way a representation of Natural? Fuck them to Hell Helen. Fuck all of them and their grubby mitts, trying to cash in on people’s desire to be healthy and looking for help. There should be a rule in Australia that if you are giving health advice on TV you should have a minimum of a “Masters Degree” in your field from a Nationally recognised university (not necessarily and Australian one but one whose qualifications are recognised in Australia). If Pete Evans wants to explain the Paleo diet fine. But he is in no position to tell people it’s healthy because he’s not qualified.
Seriously though – Page 160 is where the description begins for NPD. I’m not an expert but I do like reading them… Actual experts that is.
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=dVauuLKZar4C&pg=PA601&dq=AMA+narcissistic+personality+disorder&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RHI0Vf29B8XY8gXEv4HoDg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=AMA%20narcissistic%20personality%20disorder&f=false
Thank you Helen! Confirmation bias drives me nuts, and so does righteousness. Loved that you’ve tackled this here :)
That article is a work of art.
I applause you Helen. I’m a university qualified nutritionist who busted my a$$ at Uni for 4 years 70 hours a week to get a degree. I have been vocal about my stance on Pete Evans and each time I do, my inbox is also bombarded with plumbers, hairdressers and beauticians (for example) who rant, rave and call me names and tell me to ‘do my research’ before sending me links to ‘naturalness.com as their source of information. I used to feel angry and throw eggs at the fence as that’s what I do to release anger (ha!) now I just shake my head and move on.
I love that you have highlighted the issue of poverty and food insecurity, as it’s a major issue. Amazing how the rich celebrities who are ‘changing the world’ in nutrition are simply making the rich healthier with no clue as to what’s happening deep below.
Have you heard of orthorexia? I’m seeing it a lot now, overwhelmingly a lot. A fixation on being the ultimate picture of health. I consider this to be as much of an issue as the obesity crisis.
Keep up the good fight.
Loved it. So much so that I immediately hit the book link to buy more. Alas – 30% more for bytes than paper and ink? I’ve never understood the rationale for that.
I really don’t understand it either, Doug. You’d think a material thing would cost more than a digital thing but capitalism is a peculiar system in the way it determines value. I believe you can get the item for Kindle at a more acceptable cost http://www.amazon.com.au/Short-History-Stupid-decline-reason-ebook/dp/B00MWHQKFI
Agreed. Emphatically.
Fuck yes. It’s hard enough to convince right wing lunatics that science is a real thing without having left wing lunatics frantically building straw men behind you.
Actually, Wes the assumption that any of these Paleo people are identifiably Left is tricky. I understand that “hippy nonsense” is associated with progressives but the real political connection, if there is one, is with the Right. American ultra conservative talkback hosts are frequent advocates ,and advertising beneficiaries, of “natural” cures like colloidal silver and the insane like and survivalists who believe in small government and expect the fact of government itself will result in the destruction of the planet are the biggest “natural” advocates going. (I HATE that sometimes their gardening sites offer useful advice.) Nazi “medical” textbooks contain unproven herbal treatment and of course it does because this fear of The Jews as an all-controlling, rich and medical elite who are poisoning the good and pure ancient race of Aryans with their “unnatural” ways has exactly the same structure as the current and very widespread belief in chiropractic, grains are evil et al.
I understand and I also thought, until I started looking at the matter a bit for Crikey and writing the Stupid book with Bernard, that “natural” people were a bit more Left. This is, apparently, hardly the case. There are a few good studies on the matter which I will find for you when I have finished work today or possibly tomorrow.
The natural home for simple explanations and conspiracy theories is the Right.
I have nothing but sympathy for you Helen. Whatever has happen in your life to cause this rant must have been terrible.
I was tortured by a good education at the University of Sydney and later deprived by years of working with professional editors and producers who demanded that I use logic to substantiate my arguments for a large audience. Those cruel bastards. Look what they have done.
This writer is the d!ck, what a load of rude rubbish, if I never read another article from this woman, it will be too soon.
What you say, may or may not, be as you suggest, however, it is often a case of not looking at both sides objectively!
Always worth exploring all of the angles, prior to espousing an opinion.
Some exponants do have a strong understanding of science, and some don’t, of coarse!
Opinion is more often than not, colourful bias, and by nature, designed to cause controversy.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/about-2/mark-sisson/#axzz3XoGsu8Lz
OH FFS. I know it’s super-fun, most particularly when one has nothing else to say. to pick up on obvious typos in comments. It’s also a waste of fucking time.
Oh, well said. Well said indeed.