The Problem Is Everyone Is Trying To Make a Buck

The problem is that everyone is trying to make a buck...and I won't exclude myself from this: part of the Revolution, part of Bucking the American Dream, is that we find alternative ways to support ourselves and our families.

But too many people, companies, organizations out there are simply trying to make a buck, even if that seriously harms people.  For example, I was looking up information on food sensitivity. I have a strong suspicion that I'm lactose intolerant, or at least very sensitive to lactose. It has actually stopped me from drinking milk or eating ice cream (the latter is a good thing), because my belly hurts after I eat/drink these things. Cheeses can cause me problems, too. Pizza definitely bloats me, but I'm also like a pizza crackhead, so part of that may be just eating way too much pizza.

In any event, frozen yogurt, ice cream, milk, some cheese. . . these things all hurt me and make my insides go nuts.

I also wonder if I'm sensitive to gluten, because I can get very swollen on grains, very suddenly. Bread of any kind is not my friend. But I love, love, love dry cereal, even "healthy" ones like Kashi.

So, in any event, I have these concerns and was wondering how I find out if I am sensitive to these things, without, you know, torturing myself by eliminating them and re-introducing them and seeing how I feel (which seems like a lot of work, and I just bought active culture yogurt and I really want some, even though it will keep for another week or two just fine).

So I googled "science food intolerance."

And I got this site, from a pharmacist, disclaiming the food intolerance testing (IgG) industry.  The article says, in a nutshell, that IgG testing doesn't make sense, because IgG is a sign of tolerance in the body, not intolerance. So it's outlawing foods to which your body has actually grown accustomed (and therefore, isn't reacting negatively to anymore).

Now, I've listened to Dr. Oz and to Dr. Hyman, and both of them talk about "leaky gut", where, through inflammation, your body actually allows food particles into your bloodstream, your body freaks out, and it creates the IgG to allow you to, you know, keep living.

So the "Science-Based Medicine" site isn't comparing apples to apples, here.  It *is* true, though, that both Dr. Oz and Dr. Hyman have their hands in our pockets. They are really more infopreneurs than anything else: they give you lots of information and then subtly (or not-so-subtly) endorse products which you then are happy to buy, sending them a nice little kickback.

But the pharmacist can't sit there and pretend his industry isn't doing the exact same thing. When was the last time you went to the Dr.'s office and didn't see ads everywhere for drugs? If you didn't see them, then you were looking at your smartphone the whole time. The office is plastered with these things, and the Dr. is endorsing them by allowing them to be there.

So it comes down to: which side do you believe? Both are hucksters, IMHO.

Half of the "peer reviewed" science papers are paid for by pharmaceutical companies. Actually, more than half. And a whole bunch of those are paid for, or approved by, the big food companies (who are the ones purveying the unhealthy shit we're eating).

So what it boils down to is this: we can't take anyone's word for it. They're all bought. I'm bought, in my own way, as well. I'm writing this because I also want you to buy a book, or click on an advertiser, or find some way to help me live a life independent of the hucksters so I can stop being one, too.

We can't abdicate responsibility for our bodies. If I want to find out if certain foods are bothering me, I'm going to have to do the work of eliminating swaths of foods that are common to intolerance, and then slowly re-introducing foods that might be problematic to determine if they actually are. Starting "tomorrow" of course, because I have a bag of cereal next to me, strawberries, vinaigrette salad dressing (store-bought) and a Shake-N-Baked pork chop in the fridge.

And yes, I'm laughing at myself for wanting the world to change when I am so slow about the same process.