Failing to Inform
Friday, February 21, 2014
A recent show of Dr Oz’s inspired me to write
this blog and see if I can’t help educate or get people to ‘look at the bigger picture’ to make more informed decisions.
Our brain is hardwired
to constantly on high alert for anything that is potentially dangerous to our existence.
Hence, when you watch the news most every story is about
crime, poverty, or any other potentially dangerous threat to us. Why? Because
it keeps the attention of our brains and we are almost forced to continue to watch.
Do you worry about terrorism? 9/11 had us on-guard in or around any airplane or airport looking for any signs of danger right? The
sad truth is that these ‘dangers’ are a small part of a much larger picture. I wrote
a blog a while back about obesity related deaths. Did you know that about 3,000
people were killed during 9/11? But did you also know that 300,000 people are killed
every year due to obesity related deaths? That’s like 9/11 happening once every
3.65 days. I don’t want to debate the
importance of keeping our airports secure but looking at these numbers, obesity
kills far more people than a terrorist attack.
So when a show as popular and well respected
that reaches millions like Dr Oz’s claims that Shakeology Greenberry is
unsafe due to it's lead levels it raises some questions in my mind. Am I dealing with a 3000 type of situation or a 300,000 type of situation? While both are important I know that fighting the larger battles is much more conducive to my time then the smaller ones.
So I dug a little further into this particular example and found this...
Beachbody (makers
of Shakeology) in a response to his report said this “…while they seek to inform consumers, they may
be actually misleading consumers by not distinguishing between harmful heavy
metals and those that are naturally occurring in plants, vegetables and
minerals (including naturally occurring lead.”(1)
In another response they say, “A glass of Shakeology has far less lead than a
serving of organic spinach or Brussels sprouts, and in fact, you could drink 15
glasses of Shakeology a day and still be under the guidelines established by
the FDA and World Health Organization.”(2)
So should we stop eating spinach and Brussels
sprouts? Are these not recommended too?
Wikipedia says this about lead poisoning “...exposure to lead include contaminated
air, water, soil, food, and consumer products. Occupational exposure is a
common cause of lead poisoning in adults. According to estimates made by the National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), more than 3 million workers in the United States are
potentially exposed to lead in the workplace.”(3)
This episode of Dr. Oz is not the first time I've seen a show, a blog, or an article FAIL to ask the most important question of all,
To me this is similar to asking the question, 'am I important?' Well I think I'm very important but as the universe is concerned, I'm a very small spec (if that) in regards to the larger picture.
Conclusion
This blog is in no way meant to persuade you into
buying Shakeology. That’s your decision. I’m also not here to critisize Dr. Oz but instead to make the viewers of these
shows ask the fundamental question when these reports come up of, “what does
this mean in the grand scheme of things?” "Does what I'm hearing leave any unanswered questions, or are they just trying to keep my attention?"
Also think about what has the greatest affect in your life. While lifting weights and chewing food both burn calories, if I want to lose weight I'm not going to focus on just chewing my food.
For all the people out there that have influence and a voice to reach others, please take some responsibility in your reporting. Sure maybe 0.01% of something that isn't perfect but that doesn't in any way tell the entire story. Consider the other 99.9% of it that really is helping people.
1 comments