Don’t be a muddy stick. Why critical thinking is essential for your health and diet – and what Jimmy can teach us by special guest blogger Jack Oughton. I don’t usually do guest blog posts like this, but Jack has a rather unique perspective on things that I wanted to share this with you my readers while I’m on my way back from vacation.
He is a mixed media creative from Croydon, Surrey in the UK. As a freelance journalist and copywriter he’s contributed to the likes of FHM, Empire, The International Astronomical Union and Computeractive. Jack is also a digital artist and photographer, and writes complicated, commercially improbable music under the alias of Xij.
Most interesting to you will be the fact that Jack eats a Paleo diet and most of his friends and family think his food choices are “insane” (sound familiar?). But as he says, “What the Hell do they know anyway?” Don’t you like this guy already? Jack can be found disguised as an owl on Twitter as @koukouvaya if you want to follow him. And you can see a portfolio of what he’s creating in various disciplines at http://www.koukouvaya.co.uk. ENJOY!
Metaphorically speaking, a stick in the mud is a person set in their ways. Someone who has stopped progressing and growing, at least in some area. Being a stick in the mud is a speedy way to get yourself into a rut.
Image Credit: nimble photography
So don’t be this guy.
And being in a rut ain’t no good. Especially when health and wellness is an issue. But, there’s a little something about Livin’ La Vida Low Carb that can help stop you ever becoming set in your ways. It sets the show apart from so many other health resources, and it’s hidden in Jimmy’s approach.
Can you guess what it is?
OK, here’s an obvious clue. Despite this being a low carb blog, Jimmy has always advocated that we find what works for us individually. For example, he’s had guests on his podcast who aren’t always singing from the same page as the rest of the LC community. This encourages debate and is healthy (perhaps in more ways than one!). It stops our collective getting stagnant in it’s thinking. It helps us all overcome our natural human tendency to focus only on what we believe in and then have that focus compound over time into a rut.
After all, how many of us are keeping up with the developments in the high carb vegan community? I’m not. A few of us are, I’m sure, but I’d think overall, most of us don’t much care for what is happening there. Or at least not to the point of going out of our way to see what news has them talking. And ditto for them with us.
So if you hadn’t guessed – the little magical something working away in the background at LLVLC is critical thinking. And it’s a great thing to do, especially in something like diet and nutrition where truth runs muddy with bad science, ulterior motives and misinformation. Put simply, critical thinking is the ability to look more objectively at information and question assumptions. Critical thinking is your shield against bull and a herd mentality. About 100 years ago we assumed that smoking was healthy. Obviously, we don’t now. What are your current assumptions? How do you know they are true? Have you tested them lately?
Image Credit: NY Times
What the heck is ‘throat scratch’ anyway?
Making progress, testing stuff and spotting ‘magic thinking’
Often, progress and ‘the next big thing’ can appear wrong. Especially if we’re set in one school of thought. ‘New’ can appear so far out beyond the paradigm that it just looks ridiculous. So ridiculous that it must be wrong, and not worth critical examination. And that’s the spectre of close mindedness rearing it’s head, or a rut waiting to happen. Nobody is immune!
And I mean nobody. Here’s an example, Einstein (who we’d all agree was a pretty smart guy) rejected quantum mechanics on the basis that such a chaotic universe didn’t feel right, despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. He spent the later half of his life chasing a competing theory that he could never complete, and gave science next to nothing compared with what he had in his earlier years. He was an enormously intelligent man, but the rut got him good.
Now something closer to home. Someone advocating a diet of 30 bananas a day? That probably makes most low carbers/Paleo people shudder (it scares the Hell out of me!). Yet for Harley Johnstone/’Durianrider’, this seems to be working, at least according to his blood sugar results. But does that mean 3000-5000 calories of bananas and cycling 50km+ a day it is right for everybody? Probably not. Similarly, many of Harvey’s vegan buddies would shudder at the idea of bacon fried in butter, eating pounds of meat a day, limiting ‘cardio’ and restricting fruit consumption. But it is works for most people on low carb!
And that brings us to another thing that helps aid our critical thinking and that Jimmy practices. The N=1 tests. Changing one variable and keeping data on the results. Like Durianrider has, Jimmy can prove how well his approach is working. And both of these guys seem to have good numbers.
And because bloodwork and numbers don’t lie (unless we read them wrong or fudge them), it seems to be evidence that people can be successful on wildly different plans. And, it’s why a lot of doctors (maybe yours too?) have had to deal with the uncomfortable truth that low carb is really working for many of their patients. Remember that scene when Tom Naughton goes to his doctor in FATHEAD? The numbers don’t lie! And, perhaps these doctors need to critically examine their own assumptions about those ‘healthy whole grains’ and ‘artery clogging saturated fats’–But will they?
These doctors, like the venerable Mr. Einstein, are pretty smart cookies. But a lot of them are overweight and sick, following their own advice to no avail. Do these guys critically examine what they believe is right and what they tell people? Often they don’t. After all, they’re doctors, they learnt everything they needed in med school! Yes, I’m being sarcastic, and clearly not all doctors think this way, but there’s definitely something wrong here, right?
Part of what separates science from a ‘religious’ or ‘magical’ approach to nutrition is the ability to think critically about the subject. Even if you are a ‘believer’ in a certain approach. Low carb can have magical effects, but perhaps it is good to remember that low carb is the means to good health, not the end in itself.
Image Credit: cottonseedoil
You could probably pull off an unhealthy version of low carb if you wanted to (with tons of polyunsaturates…?)
And yes, finding a new diet that actually works after years of trying causes an evangelical response in some. And why shouldn’t it? If something’s worked so well for you, surely you do a service to everybody else by telling them all about it. The thing is, what is ‘right’ for you might not be right for others. And what is ‘right’ for you might not be ‘best’ for you. Let me explain…
Perhaps you have made remarkable improvements in a certain area but have hit a plateau. Those last 10 pounds? You could lose them but that next improvement could come from outside of your comfort zone or the things you believe to be ‘right’. Those last 10 pounds may require some thinking outside of your current LC frame of reference. And that can be a tough shift to make. Beliefs must be challenged.
Often you don’t even know you have hit a plateau until you discover something that shakes up your beliefs. You may know it as an ‘aha’ moment, accompanied by a sudden shift in your perspective. This can be either a good or bad thing. A good example of this may have come when you found low carb was working for you, and that mainstream dogma might not have been best.
And the thing is, muddy sticks don’t allow themselves too many of these important realizations.
I’ll close with one last example. A few years ago, there was some consensus amongst the Paleo community that a very low carbohydrate intake was best. But then Steffan Lindburg uncovered some information about the Kitavans of Papua New Guinea. Yes, they do eat coconuts and fish, but it turns out those guys loooove their carbs, getting around 70% of their calories from them. These are naturally occurring carbs of course; not ‘healthy whole grains’. Yet CHD, ‘bad aging’ and the diseases of civilisation are pretty much absent amongst the Kitavans. They smoke too!
A lot of people in the paleo and LC camps took Steffan’s evidence in their stride and started to allow themselves a few more sweet potatoes at dinner. I was one of them! Still, even by mainstream standards, most paleolithic eaters are still low carb. If you’ve tried getting 250g carbs a day from root vegetables then you know what I mean.
Image Credit: Steffan Lundburg/The Kitava Study
This man is Kitavan. He loves carbs and cigarettes.
So we’re never really quite ‘right’ about anything. Or at least, we’re as right as we can be until the next thing comes along. That’s progress! And where’s the next thing coming from? Who can say? But keeping an open mind will probably help us spot it for what it is.
Personally I don’t think there are too many muddy sticks in the extended LC/Paleo community. We take our advice from people who follow scientific developments quite closely. We argue about dairy. And as I’ve said before, we’re quite a progressive bunch. Did I come to this deduction through critical analysis? No, but I do have a strong feeling about it …
Summary and some critical thinking tips:
- Sticks in the mud get stuck.
- Many gurus want to tell you what to think, many corporations want to tell you what to buy. To do this, they very often have to misinform you. Diligent critical thinking can prevent them.
- Serious about getting ‘hard data’ on your progress or proving a point in a health debate? Measure your results with numbers. N=1 comes in many flavours, but can be achieved simply and cheaply with a blood glucose meter. The same that diabetics use to check their own blood sugar. Check out Tim Ferriss as a magnificent example of someone who takes N=1 to prodigal extremes!
- Do you ever find yourself agreeing with everything someone says? It’s not necessarily bad, though some amount of disagreement is often healthy. Variety is the spice of life!
- Watch out for that next ‘aha!’ moment and note how the belief it affected has changed. What caused that shift in perspective? It could be a sign that the source of that change is worth listening to.
- When considering something, ask yourself ‘How do I know this to be true? Do I have empirical proof? Could it be possible that it may not be true?‘ try this with your most cherished beliefs and see how hard it is.
And to use a likely misquoted phrase from another critical thinker…
“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher, his age or wisdom. But if after due examination and analysis, you find it to be kind, conducive to the benefit and welfare of all beings, then take that doctrine as your guide.” —Buddha
