Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: Focus on Health Outcomes, Not Scary Mechanisms
When it comes to making decisions about our health, it's easy to get caught up in the mechanics of how certain foods or practices affect the body. With an overwhelming amount of information out there—especially on the internet—there’s a tendency to focus on the mechanisms behind why something may be “good” or “bad” for you. However, it’s more important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture: the outcomes. Let’s explore why prioritizing outcomes over mechanisms is crucial and break down a few examples to highlight this.
A “Bad” Mechanism That Turns Out to Be Good: Plant Defense Chemicals
One of the clearest examples of this is plant defense chemicals, such as lectins. When studied in a lab, lectins—found in foods like beans, lentils, peanuts, and whole grains—can appear harmful. They have been shown to interfere with nutrient absorption and potentially cause inflammation. On paper, this mechanism sounds like a reason to avoid these foods altogether. However, when we shift our focus from isolated mechanisms to real-world outcomes, a different picture emerges.
Long-term studies and randomized controlled trials on people eating foods high in lectins show the opposite of what the mechanism suggests. In fact, regularly consuming these foods is linked to a variety of health benefits, including reduced blood sugar levels, lower inflammation, and a lower risk of chronic diseases like stroke and heart disease. This underscores the importance of looking beyond the theoretical mechanics to see the actual, long-term results.
Inflammation and Exercise: Another Example of a Misleading Mechanism
Exercise is another great example of how mechanisms can be misleading. When you exercise, your body creates inflammation as part of the acute stress response. From a mechanistic standpoint, inflammation is usually seen as a bad thing that can contribute to diseases. However, the bigger picture tells a different story.
Regular exercise reduces your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. While the short-term inflammation from working out might seem harmful if you only look at it through the lens of mechanism, the long-term outcome is overwhelmingly positive. This highlights the importance of shifting our focus from short-term processes to long-term health benefits.
When Something Appears Positive but Has Negative Outcomes
On the flip side, there are examples of practices or substances that seem beneficial based on their immediate effects, but can have negative long-term consequences. A good example is sugar. In the short term, consuming sugar provides a quick burst of energy, and some research even suggests it can momentarily lift mood. However, long-term consumption of sugar, especially in excess, is linked to a host of negative health outcomes such as obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
This is a clear example of why focusing on the immediate, mechanistic effect of something (e.g., sugar providing a quick energy boost) can lead to poor decisions for long-term health.
A More Neutral Example: Aspartame and Ultra-Processed Foods
Recently, there’s been growing concern about chemicals and ingredients used in ultra-processed foods. When we look at mechanistic studies on high doses of certain ingredients, such as aspartame, we see links to health risks like cancer. This kind of information can create fear and lead to avoidance. But again, the bigger picture is more nuanced.
Aspartame, a common artificial sweetener, is often cited as a harmful ingredient based on lab studies where animals are given extremely high doses. In reality, when consumed in normal amounts—such as in diet sodas or sugar-free products—there’s no solid evidence of harm. In fact, replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with those that contain non-nutritive sweeteners like aspartame can improve outcomes like weight control and blood sugar regulation. For context, an average diet soda contains about 250 mg of aspartame, while the acceptable daily intake is around 3,500 mg, meaning you would need to drink more than 14 cans of diet soda per day to even approach potentially negative effects.
Focusing on the Bigger Picture
It’s important to remember that health and nutrition are complex fields, and focusing solely on mechanisms can lead to misunderstanding or fear. Whether it's avoiding foods because of misleading mechanistic studies or feeling anxious about certain ingredients, we need to prioritize what really matters—outcomes. What helps us feel better, reduce the risk of chronic disease, and improve our long-term well-being?
The internet is filled with scary-sounding mechanisms about various foods and practices, but remember that real health comes from focusing on long-term outcomes, not short-term processes. When we step back and look at the bigger picture, we make more informed, practical choices that help us thrive.