Have We Lost All Common Sense?

8th September 2013

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

“Please just tell me what to do!”

When did we become a society of followers? Once amazingly self-sufficient and full of common sense, we now depend upon the hundreds of popular theories surrounding everything from how we should eat, how we should move to how we should think. Most are strongly conflicting in their viewpoints and interestingly, they all claim to be based on “research” and claim to have supporting research debunking their opponents in theory!

Amusingly, the only research that either side will typically accept is the research that supports their own claims.

Research can easily be designed to prove the very thing you want to prove. The way that I see it, if research is adapted to suit a specific agenda, then how credible is that research?

Conflicting view-points

Let’s take a look at some of the more popular trendy diets. Though extremely different in their premise, each one has strong research supporting its use for optimal health:

Paleo Diet (based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals)
Vegetarian Diet (a diet without meat products)
Vegan Diet (a diet without animal products)
Raw Food Diet (consisting of uncooked, unprocessed, organic or wild foods)
Blood Type Diet (which recommends distinct diets for each blood type)
Mediterranean Diet (inspired by the traditional diets of Greece, southern Italy, and Spain)
Zone Diet (consuming carbohydrates, protein, and fat in a balanced ratio of 40:30:30)
Fast Food Diet (for those who really don’t care about their diet at all!)

And then there are all the caveats. Each one (of course) has strong research supporting its benefits:

Low Fat Diet
High Fat Diet
Low Carb Diet
High Carb Diet
Gluten Free Diet
Dairy Free Diet
Salt Free Diet
Sugar Free Diet (sadly those on this diet typically consume more artificial sweeteners than all other diets combined)

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Of course, there are also the different combinations of these diets, and a bunch I didn’t list….

And then there are the all the foods you “should” and “shouldn’t” eat. Interestingly, they are often the exact same foods! And this becomes even more complicated with the added controversy of the conventional farming vs. genetically modified vs. organic debate.

Yep, you guessed it! Each one has strong research supporting its health benefits:

Meat (animal products)
Milk (all dairy products, raw vs. pasteurized)
Soy Products (fermented vs. unfermented)
Corn
Alcohol (wine, beer, liquors)
Sugar (Raw sugar cane & all other “sugars”)
Salt (table salt, sea salt)
Potatoes (and other nightshade roots)
Peanuts
Fruit (this one always shocks me when I see it on the “don’t eat” list)
Grains (wheat, oats, rice, etc)

Then there are questions of whether supplements are effective, whether pharmaceutical drugs (FDA “approved” of course) are safe, and whether it’s best to drink tap water, bottled water or filtered water. And, how much water? Please tell us because we have no idea anymore!

There is even confusion surrounding exercise. Advocates are passionate about certain types of exercise over others, and will fight you to get their opinion heard. Luckily fighting is a form of exercise!

Let’s say it together this time – “Each one has strong research supporting it!”:

Exercises that “protect” your joints (most exercise & fitness classes)
Exercises that promote “full range of motion” of the joints (ie. CrossFit)
Exercises that “trick” you to exercise (dance fitness classes – ie. Zumba and Jazzercise)
Exercises that promote strength and heavy lifting (like Bodybuilding)
Exercises that promote stretching and core strength (like Yoga)
Exercises that you can do 10 minutes a day and that guarantee you will have all the benefits of all the above listed! (advertised on TV infomercials)
Exercises on machines with a TV to keep you entertained while exercising (to aid the new human trend of ADD)
Exercise classes taught by weekend certification “experts” who perceive themselves as actual experts charging premium prices (most cardio-kickboxing classes, fitness dance classes, fitness yoga)
Exercise classes taught by actual experts who have to cheapen their worth to compete with the weekend certified “experts” (taught by black belt martial artists, experienced dancers, experienced yogi)
Exercise outside or inside? (of course now even the sun is controversial, don’t you know?)
Exercise with the “correct” type of shoe, or should we be barefoot? (just be safe and buy the most expensive shoe, especially one that is “like” being barefoot!)
Exercises to show us how to breathe! (Maybe take a Laughing Yoga class… latest research has found that laughing is directly related to breathing)

Then there is the controversy of whether we should run, jog, or walk. And for how long? Uphill or downhill? How many days a week? OMG, what if it is raining??

So what have we learned so far?

Because we wait for others to tell us what to do, there is controversy and confusion about what a human being should eat and how a human being should move.

Personally, I wish there was an exercise to clear up the controversy regarding blinking. I am convinced that I am not blinking correctly! I jest of course… and that will no doubt cause controversy. But all kidding aside, if you step back and really take a look at all of this, it is both amusing and sad. Blind to the answers that once revolved around common sense, we now need to be told how to do things that were once innate to all of us!

How have we come to this? How is it that we have forgotten how to eat? How to move?

Thank goodness for the internet where we can find “all the answers”! And bonus… it even tells us what to do, no matter what you are looking for! So, if you want to lose weight, look like a bodybuilder, not exercise, and only eat fast food … you’ll find a program for it! … and somehow it’ll even be backed up by “research”!

That is an interesting concept: Research

If the FDA approves a drug – based on research – and it is later recalled for causing human illness or death, what does that say about the research?

What about “health experts” who try to convince us those dangerous and toxic chemicals in our drinking water are not bad for our health… based on “their research”? Have we lost all common sense?

Research can easily be designed to prove the very thing you want to prove. And, as though in some sort of trance – and against all common sense – people believe it!

A ‘common sense’ revolution

If the new TV show ‘Revolution’ really became a reality, many of the controversies I listed above would simply cease to exist. [*the plot is basically about how humanity survives in a world when all electricity is turned off… forever] The trip to the fancy market like Whole Foods to buy healthy exotic fruit – such as pomegranate or açai and perhaps heart of palm with a little coconut water – would be a thing of the past. The diet of a vegan or vegetarian would no doubt change when they simply didn’t have the energy to cut wood, prepare for the winter to keep warm, and find food.

Don’t get me wrong… I love those exotic fruits and many others. My point is that we argue for diets that are only available to us due to modern technologies. Do people even know how to live only on foods that are local and native to the climate they live in?

The idea of whether we should protect our joints by moving in limited motion would also go to the wayside due to activities such as chopping wood. Full motion of your joints would become the norm in your daily routine. And how much should you walk would be a ridiculous question since the answer would always be… you walk until you find food!

Simple.

Our society has become so dependent on others to tell us how to live, how to think and even what to believe, that old fashioned common sense has been lost. It seems to me that it’s the loss of common sense that gives rise to a loss of balance. And loss of balance breeds a society of people who forget how to think for themselves.

Start believing in yourself and take off the blinkers! That’s the first step in regaining real common sense and making innate healthy decisions!

… and just for the record, walking in the rain is amazing! Try it sometime!

Resources:

[1] Dr. Michelle’s good ol’ fashioned wisdom.

Previous articles by Dr. Michelle:

About the author:
Dr. Michelle Kmiec is a licensed chiropractor who also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology. She is life-long athlete who after curing herself 100% naturally from autoimmune neurological symptoms and anxiety, became an avid nutrition health researcher/promoter, author of Healthcare Freedom Revolution: Exposing the Lies, Deceit and Greed of the Medical Profession, and Founder of the website Online Holistic Health.

You can follow Online Holistic Health on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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