Educated Ignorance Is Holding Back Society
Citizens of modern society have instant access to all the latest technology providing news and information that they can absorb to learn about virtually any subject they want. For instance, hundreds of thousands of books, web sites, and articles have been written about diet and health with so many facts and opinions spliced together almost as interchangable entities that people don't even know what to think about them. They get frustrated and simply rely on what they "know" is true.
Perhaps this explains why obesity is still such a growing problem...LITERALLY! We are potentially the most educated culture in the history of mankind with all the information we have available to us. But what if the very principles and ideas that we have long held as facts were not as true as once thought.
That lays the groundwork for what I describe as "educated ignorance."
Take livin' la vida low-carb, for example. How is it viewed by society as a whole? It's a fad diet that requires you to cut out all carbs, including shunning all fruits and vegetables, while loading up on fat and protein as a means for losing weight. Why do people belief such nonsense about low-carb diets? Because that's what they have been taught through their sources of information such as newspaper columns, television broadcasts, and the Internet.
What about low-fat diets? Do they have such a negative perception as low-carb ones do? Not hardly. It's considered healthy, balanced, and the best way to shed the pounds because eating fat makes you fat, everyone knows that. We all grew up believing this to be factually true, undisputed information, right? Unfortunately, many STILL believe this even now, despite very clear scientific evidence that has proven and will continue to show fat consumption is NOT why obesity persists.
It's educated ignorance plain and simple. People have been taught what they want to hear, not what they need to hear for a wide variety of reasons. Protecting the economic interests of businesses that profit from the "fat is bad" message is one while refusing to admit the reality about fat is that it is not the great evil it has been made out to be. Why haven't we changed our thinking about it already since the information is staring us right in the face?
Educated ignorance strikes again!
At the same time, the lack of concern for excessive sugar and refined carbohydrate consumption is just as much a part of an unhealthy lifestyle, too. But where's the outrage? While trans fats and saturated fats are constantly hammered as universally "bad" for your health, that same distinction is never given to the damaging impact that these nasty carbs are playing on obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and worse. Why is sugar given so little attention while fat is of the devil?
This educated ignorance is precisely why I wanted to start this blog to begin truly educating people with information they can rely on that will not seek to keep you in the dark as you are learning about livin' la vida low-carb. A lot of what you read here won't show up in other outlets because there is an underlying message to keep people in the dark about some things while also spreading rumor and innuendo about other things. This can be incredibly frustrating to overcome the ignorance.
I don't fault the general public for falling for these underhanded tactics to prevent them from knowing the truth, but it is their responsibility at some point to realize what they thought they "knew" has been wrong all along. Recognizing educated ignorance is the first step to being freed from the bondage of the lies and distortions that have dominated our lives. That is quickly followed by a dose of self-realization and self-enlightenment that comes from being exposed to the truth.
Without a doubt, this educated ignorance concept I have described is as real as the nose on your face. You can choose to reject it as conspiratorial with no basis whasoever to believe it. Or, instead you can decide to accept the idea that educated ignorance does exist and is holding back society in so many ways, including keep us fat by prohibiting the truth from being heard about what "healthy" living is really all about.
The more people acknowledge educated ignorance and do their part to overcome it, the faster the citizens of modern society will be able to take their blinders off and discover perhaps for the first time in their lives how to think, evaluate, and process information on their own without having it filtered through the many channels of censorship that now exists.
Release your mind to a whole new level of discovery. End educated ignorance NOW!
Perhaps this explains why obesity is still such a growing problem...LITERALLY! We are potentially the most educated culture in the history of mankind with all the information we have available to us. But what if the very principles and ideas that we have long held as facts were not as true as once thought.
That lays the groundwork for what I describe as "educated ignorance."
Take livin' la vida low-carb, for example. How is it viewed by society as a whole? It's a fad diet that requires you to cut out all carbs, including shunning all fruits and vegetables, while loading up on fat and protein as a means for losing weight. Why do people belief such nonsense about low-carb diets? Because that's what they have been taught through their sources of information such as newspaper columns, television broadcasts, and the Internet.
What about low-fat diets? Do they have such a negative perception as low-carb ones do? Not hardly. It's considered healthy, balanced, and the best way to shed the pounds because eating fat makes you fat, everyone knows that. We all grew up believing this to be factually true, undisputed information, right? Unfortunately, many STILL believe this even now, despite very clear scientific evidence that has proven and will continue to show fat consumption is NOT why obesity persists.
It's educated ignorance plain and simple. People have been taught what they want to hear, not what they need to hear for a wide variety of reasons. Protecting the economic interests of businesses that profit from the "fat is bad" message is one while refusing to admit the reality about fat is that it is not the great evil it has been made out to be. Why haven't we changed our thinking about it already since the information is staring us right in the face?
Educated ignorance strikes again!
At the same time, the lack of concern for excessive sugar and refined carbohydrate consumption is just as much a part of an unhealthy lifestyle, too. But where's the outrage? While trans fats and saturated fats are constantly hammered as universally "bad" for your health, that same distinction is never given to the damaging impact that these nasty carbs are playing on obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and worse. Why is sugar given so little attention while fat is of the devil?
This educated ignorance is precisely why I wanted to start this blog to begin truly educating people with information they can rely on that will not seek to keep you in the dark as you are learning about livin' la vida low-carb. A lot of what you read here won't show up in other outlets because there is an underlying message to keep people in the dark about some things while also spreading rumor and innuendo about other things. This can be incredibly frustrating to overcome the ignorance.
I don't fault the general public for falling for these underhanded tactics to prevent them from knowing the truth, but it is their responsibility at some point to realize what they thought they "knew" has been wrong all along. Recognizing educated ignorance is the first step to being freed from the bondage of the lies and distortions that have dominated our lives. That is quickly followed by a dose of self-realization and self-enlightenment that comes from being exposed to the truth.
Without a doubt, this educated ignorance concept I have described is as real as the nose on your face. You can choose to reject it as conspiratorial with no basis whasoever to believe it. Or, instead you can decide to accept the idea that educated ignorance does exist and is holding back society in so many ways, including keep us fat by prohibiting the truth from being heard about what "healthy" living is really all about.
The more people acknowledge educated ignorance and do their part to overcome it, the faster the citizens of modern society will be able to take their blinders off and discover perhaps for the first time in their lives how to think, evaluate, and process information on their own without having it filtered through the many channels of censorship that now exists.
Release your mind to a whole new level of discovery. End educated ignorance NOW!
Labels: educated ignorance, low-carb, low-fat, truth
posted by Jimmy Moore at
12/13/2006 09:15:00 PM
6 Comments:
Brilliant article, Jimmy! Indeed this "educated ignorance" is at the root of the problem. Excellent analysis... the next step should be to get the message out. Maybe it's time to think about how to get the attention of the mainstream media!
"loading up on fat and protein" as you put it is what people _should_ do because that's what makes low-carb work. And unfortunately it is low-carbers emphasizing the ton of oh-so-healthy (extra) veggies they eat as opposed to eating so much of the bad bad fat which makes people believe even more that fat is bad for them - hey even the low-carbers tell people to eat more veggies and bash fat...
The first thing people - and that includes the low-carb world - have to learn is to stop being afraid of eating fat and protein. Read your own post from Thanksgiving on the necessity of fats in our diet.
You'll get no arguments from me about fat and protein, detox. I'm not fat phobic in the least and you've never heard me say anything to the contrary except about trans fats. Fat is the very lifeblood of livin' la vida low-carb and I've preached that message for nearly two years! THANKS for adding to the conversation!
Gotta agree with Detox:
How many times in the past few months have mainstream low-carbers trot out that Feinman study that shows how veggie consumption doubled by low-carbers which shows that low-carb is more than meat and eggs. Then there's the comment from your low-carb podcast buddy who tried to claim that too much saturated fat is bad for you. I think the mainstream low-carbers want it both way.
And talk about educated ignorance...how many times have we heard about sugar being rat poison, yet veggies are trumpeted as good and healthy, even though all carb sources be it sugar, starches, veggies, grains, all break down to glucose. On a molecular level there is no difference between sugar and veggies and starches. And that's not even taking into account the Franken-lowcarb-foods that are pushed heavily on this site.
That ALC study says it all. Doubled veggie consumption, no increase in red meat, increase in low-fat meat choices like chicken. It's often banded about as a way to counter all those "negative" associations that Atkins is nothing but meat eggs and cheese.
Also, try and spot the piece of beef on the Atkins official website. In fact, 75% of the pics of what Atkins is all about shows veggie upon veggie upon veggie. Go ahead and take a look. Does that look like a site that emphasises fat and protein? I don't think so. If you can find anywhere on the "Superior Nutrition" page where they emphasis the wonder of saturated fat, please let me know.
Face it folks. You're on a diet that 95% of the world finds disgusting. It's fine to tell the dietary truth once, but no amount of rephrasing, repackaging or rebranding is going to change that.
The accepted high-carb diet is like alcoholism. The impetus to change must come from within. It's perfectly alright for you yourself to know the truth and apply it, but you don't have to convert others to make the diet any more valid.
So if the mainstream and the world rejects your diet, so what? In the end, very very few people will be able to eat this way over the long term anyway.
"veggies are trumpeted as good and healthy, even though all carb sources be it sugar, starches, veggies, grains, all break down to glucose. On a molecular level there is no difference between sugar and veggies and starches."
I have to disagree with this. There a world of difference between sugar and starches, and green leafy veggies. It's called essential micronutrients! While it's true that in the end they all convert to sugar, but there's a major difference in how they convert to sugar and what they can do for the body. The Glycemic Index says it all, and so does your overall health.
It's not surprising, isn't it, that the Atkins website strongly advocates veggies - after all, we have all these idiots running around "warning" everybody that Atkins is all about cheese and bacon and red meat. Of course they try to counter all that shortsighted stupidity by showing them wrong. But if you read the book (which everybody should do) and do some proper research you'd find that Atkins is indeed all about healthy, green leafy veggies and nutrient-dense wholesome foods like meats and other quality protein sources, as well as healthy fats.
Maybe 95% of the world thinks our diet is disgusting, but that's 95% of the uneducated world. That's why Jimmy's book, blog, and efforts are so important and paradigm-shattering.
We have to break through this mountain of educated ignorance and stupidity, for the sake of the future of mankind! If we want to maintain a sustainable civilization for our children, we have to do something.
For their sake, YES, it does matter what the rest of the world thinks of low-carb and the dietary and scientific truth.
"In the end, very very few people will be able to eat this way over the long term anyway."
Come on, you know better than that! Millions are doing it, entire populations have been doing it for thousands of years... what's so difficult about it? It's simply the only intelligent, scientific way of eating, and it's much more tasty and healthy than anything else out there! What's so hard about that? I really don't understand that remark.
Both are true! The point is that you have to consider this from a more holistic point of view.
The Inuit, in their natural, virtually unpolluted habitat stay perfectly healthy (in fact they are among the healthiest people on Earth) on their natural zero-carb diet.
But we, in our -by comparison- heavily polluted environment, affected by smog, smoke, industrial waste, all kinds of (electromagnetic and Herzian) radiation, free radicals, unnessarily (even dangerously) floridated water, depleted soils, unnatural industrial agricultural and bioindustry practices, stress, low-grade, high-calorie overprocesses foods, and so forth and so on, do need extra supplementation in the form of the protective phytonutrients in the form of green, leafy vegetables as well as adequate supplementation of high-quality, high-dose fats, vitamins and minerals.
In fact it has been proven that most people in our so-called "civilized" world get less than 30% of the required daily doseage of most micronutrients - and those are the ones following a so-called "healthy" diet!
So the conclusion is simple. So-called "primitive" societies can very well evolve, thrive and survive on the fat of the land, but we, in our environment, can no longer.
Yes, it is very well possible for the human body to stay perfectly healthy on a zero-carb diet. Carbs are, after all, non-essential. That's a scientific fact. But in the context of our "modern" society, for the reasons aforementioned, it is wise to "get all the help we can get", so to speak, and indeed also consume the healthy options we have available in the form of vegetables and a little fruit, like berries. Vitamin and mineral supplementation is something that I recommend to anyone, given the sorry state of our foods.
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