Hello!
I’ve been following Barbell Medicine for a while now and love how much nuance and thought you guys put into every response. I recently started posting on TikTok because I saw a good opportunity to help people and debunk misinformation.
I responded to a video promoting “clean eating” which dichotomized foods as “good” or “bad” by saying that it isn’t productive or realistic to do so. I received a very long winded response from someone who claims to be a medical resident, basically saying that “any biochemist will tell you that sugar and trans fats are inherently bad and shouldn’t ever be consumed.” He went on to say that sugar is a toxin to the liver, comparing it to alcohol (citing Robert Lustig MD), and that I “was thinking unscientifically to fit my ‘woke narrative’.”
He cited an epidemiological study showing higher rates in all cause mortality in those who consumed sugar sweetened beverages (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutriti…sugary-drinks) so of course I responded by saying that we have to consider recall bias and confirmation bias when looking at correlations like this. He went on to say that I “was a danger to public health” and I “rejected science.” He then said that he “doesn’t like to flash his credentials, but he researched at Harvard” (which seems like an appeal to authority to me).
I never advocated that we should regularly include sugar and trans fats, I simply stated that they were harmless in the context of an overall balanced diet and lifestyle. Furthermore, since health is biopsychosocial, one small component of your diet will not automatically make you unhealthy.
My question for you all is: am I really rejecting the science as he says? In other words, are either sugar or trans fats inherently dangerous, or is this another case of “the dose makes the poison?”