Beliefs sometimes trump science in how people eat

By Joannie Dobbs and Alan Titchenal

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 22, 2013

~~<p>There is no shortage of confusion when it comes to popular ideas about how certain foods and nutrition promote good or bad health. Part of this confusion stems from the fact that food is personal. How we eat is influenced by culture, personal beliefs and even religion, to name just a few factors.</p>
<p>For some people, ways of eating can take on the veil of a religion based more in a belief structure than on current science. Even so, selective scientific information often is used to support and promote questionable ways of eating. Fueling this confusion is a common lack of understanding of the difference between correlation (association) and causation.</p>
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There is no shortage of confusion when it comes to popular ideas about how certain foods and nutrition promote good or bad health. Part of this confusion stems from the fact that food is personal. How we eat is influenced by culture, personal beliefs and even religion, to name just a few factors.

For some people, ways of eating can take on the veil of a religion based more in a belief structure than on current science. Even so, selective scientific information often is used to support and promote questionable ways of eating. Fueling this confusion is a common lack of understanding of the difference between correlation (association) and causation. Login for more...