My Not-So-Excellent NY Times Adventure

Before telling you about my not-so-excellent adventure in the NY Times blogosphere, allow me to quote Paul Krugman, the Princeton economist and columnist for the NY Times, on another matter:

"Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn't scream. Hilary Clinton didn't say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn't impugn John McCain's military service"

In light of that, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at some of the (over 750 and still counting) comments about my work by angry NY Times readers commenting on Tara Parker Pope's health blog.

Ms Pope- one of the most fair minded and intelligent science and health reporters in America- published a blog that quoted liberally from a piece I had written on healthy foods. The article- entitled "The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating"- was the NY Times most e-mailed article for the week.

The purpose of the article was to suggest some foods that you might be overlooking that were great for you for a host of reasons.

Somewhere around comment 600, I was being accused of saying that sardines cure cancer.

Later, a smarmy comment: "Is Bowden a Registered Dietitian?" implying that without this credential nothing I said should be taken seriously. That's like questioning the knowledge base of an expert on religion by asking to see his Taliban credentials.

Another dismissed my information on nutrition because I'm not a medical doctor, which is like dismissing a tennis pro's information on tennis rackets because he's not an accountant.

Poster 536 suggested everyone disregard this list because it was all processed food (there wasn't a processed food on it unless you count the processing necessary to stuff sardines into a can)

So what's the take home?

Perhaps the Times readers would have preferred me to say: "There's absolutely no provable scientific evidence for the health benefits of any foods or supplements, and I've got a doctor right here who says so. (See him? He's standing right next to that guy from the Swift Boaters.) So don't worry, be happy and keep eating your McDonald's. Enjoy and good luck.

PS- And while you're at it, we're not so sure about global warming either.

Comments

[SilentShout]

Web comments mean and uninformed? What a shock. I'm surprised the writer was surprised, or took it seriously. He must not read comment sections much.

[vincealy]

" There's absolutely no provable scientific evidence for the health benefits of any foods or supplements, and I've got a doctor right here who says so."

The statement is just incorrect. Many studies have shown benefit for fish oil and vitamin d. One wonders if the NYT is kissing up to the drug industry. PS. I have a Doctor here who will state just about anything you want

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Did you read the article?

He was being sarcastic.

[kevingianni]

You know we never landed on the moon either... it's all a scam. Special effects, lenses, the New Mexico desert, etc.

There's absolutely no WAY that food could actually help improve your health. That's why we have vitamins and drugs. I vote for a movement to eliminate ALL food from our diets!

No food, just pills!

;-)

Kevin Gianni
http://www.renegadehealth.com

PS. Yes, this is extreme sarcasm...

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

"There's absolutely no provable scientific evidence for the health benefits of any foods or supplements, and I've got a doctor right here who says so."

Well, finally a quote from the NY Times that I can use! ;-)