Nutrition and wellness culture BS + myth-busting

The title of this newsletter is “no BS nutrition” so I think it’s appropriate that I’m going to call out some BS I’ve seen floating around lately in the food and nutrition world. Also, as I write this I’m feeling a little salty… you have been warned.

Pink Himalayan sea salt and apple cider vinegar chips
If this isn’t a perfect example of taking advantage of a health “halo”, I don’t know what is. And also, messing with what I think is the world’s most perfect chip. First and foremost, there is no benefit to using pink Himalayan salt as opposed to regular salt or sea salt. It’s just pink, and presumably comes from the Himalayans, which sounds fancy and exotic, and is more expensive. THAT’S IT. As for ACV, DITTO! Research on any health benefits of apple cider vinegar are extremely lacking. I stand by my thoughts that ACV is best used as a salad dressing ingredient. Do not be fooled into thinking these chips are “better” for you, unless you really like the taste (of which I have heard is not comparable to regular salt and vinegar chips). If I ever try them, I’ll report back.

Soy lecithin in foods
This may sound random, but hear me out. I recently came across an influencer (with no nutrition education/credentials) examining a Trader Joe’s chocolate covered treat. They were saying how good they looked, and then turned the package around to the nutrition label and said they wouldn’t be buying them because they contain “soy lecithin.” I wanted to pull my hair out for a few reasons. One, this is fear mongering to the hundreds of thousands of individuals who follow this person. Two, I am pretty sure this influencer couldn’t explain what soy lecithin actually is or what it does. So, I am going to tell you. Soy lecithin is one of the most commonly used food additives on the market, and it’s typically used as an emulsifier. This means it helps hold ingredients in a food product together to maintain texture, consistency and taste. For example - oil and water do not mix, and in order to prevent them from separating they need some help. Enter: an emulsifier like soy lecithin. Soy lecithin is derived from the soybean and processed into its usable form, but only a trace amount of soy protein is found in soy lecithin. That means if you have a soy allergy, you may not have a reaction if you consume a product that contains soy lecithin. And if you are avoiding soy for other health reasons, there is likely no need (see my post on nutrition and breast cancer myths for more). That’s it! So if you see soy lecithin in an ingredients list, know that its purpose is just to hold together ingredients in your food and that it’s perfectly safe.

The “internal shower”
I am hesitant to even mention this because if you don’t know what it is, ignorance is bliss. But in short, this is a trend going around the TikTok that involves drinking a concoction made of water and chia seeds. Like a lot of chia seeds. Apparently it’s purpose is to “cleanse” the system and prevent or treat constipation. And of course, seems to have been developed and promoted by a chiropractor pretending to be a nutrition professional. Let me tell you, chiropractors received as much training on nutrition and I did on making chiropractic adjustments (that would be none). And just as I hope you wouldn’t trust me to crack your back, I’d discourage against trusting chiropractors who are trying to doll out nutrition advice. Anyways, for many people this is too much fiber at one time, especially if they’re not used to consuming adequate fiber. That can either backfire and cause more constipation, or prevent you from being able to leave your bathroom for several hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chia seed - they’re a great source of omega-3 fats, iron, protein and yes, fiber - but they can be incorporated into the diet in more sensible (and less gross) ways. I love sprinkling them on oatmeal or yogurt bowls, or adding them into smoothie.

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