On Being an “Irresponsible Health Expert”

Health Expert

I get my fair share of hate mail. Mostly it’s from Arbonne sellers, Soylent drinkers, Nutella fans, and professionals in the medical/science world who challenge my stance on Ensure, artificial sweeteners and the birth control pill. When I signed up to share my opinions as a health expert on controversial topics or popular paradigms, I knew the hate mail was part of the deal.

There is always room for contradiction, and discussion that is constructive, helpful and insightful. I appreciate this very much. It’s always valuable to understand opinions and perspectives of those who come from a different understanding than us. This opens up the opportunity for a conversation and to learn.

And then there are the personal attacks, which usually involve quotes around my being a “nutritionist”, “health expert”, “cured” – things like that. These usually just cause me to have feelings of compassion. I imagine it would be tough to go through the day taking everything personally, wearing insult like a personality trait (“I’m insulted!”) and feasting on offence as if the world is out to abuse your sensibilities. More over, I imagine it’s also tough as an expert with extensive training in a specific area to see other experts express opinions that challenge the theories in which you were trained. Insult and offence is a choice – we can take it or leave it. For the first few years in this field, I would respond to these comments and emails, until eventually I realized this was a complete energy drain and a total waste of my time.

I was letting their darkness invade the light I work very hard to channel out in the world.

There is no point in defending oneself to someone who has already decided you are very wrong and taken your statements as a personal attack. These reactions are their stuff and has nothing to do with us. And so my team and I go by the mantra “forgive and delete”, and move on with our day. The trolls don’t need feeding.

With my new cookbook out in the world, I have embarked on a cross country media adventure and this invites new people into my world. It’s awesome! (And if you are one, welcome and you may wish to start over here!). And of course, with that also comes those people who didn’t actively choose to come into my world, but were maybe just driving in their car listening to the radio and there I was. A couple of weeks ago I had a syndication of interviews with CBC that were broadcast across the country here in Canada. I received amazing feedback and a very positive response, which was reflected both in notes of gratitude and a spike in book sales.

I also received this note from a doctor. I don’t know what type of doctor he is, I just know he made a point of signing is name with Doctor. For the purposes of this post, I’ll call him Doctor Steve.

I just heard your piece on CBC radio Saturday morning October 11, 2015.  I find it frustrating when “experts” like you present some of your views as facts when these views are really just your opinion or theories. You mentioned a number of nutritional approaches for which there is no definite evidence – you mentioned them as if they were facts. I feel that “experts” have a responsibility to be clear about  what is fact, what is opinion, what is theory….

We didn’t respond to Doctor Steve directly through email. There wasn’t much point. Instead, I thought I’d share my response with you. Because you matter to me. I am responding for the sole purpose that I am tired of people, you and me, being told our experience of life isn’t enough validation for the choices we make about how we live and eat, because the way we choose to do so contradicts the most recent studies, or most often, just isn’t the same as the person who is challenging us.

I would also like to state very clearly that I have never made a claim that one style of eating or one set of nutritional guidelines would absolutely heal, resolve, cure or treat anything. No one ever should.

In my radio interviews, I spoke about how conventional medicine couldn’t offer me a solution to cure me of Crohn’s Disease. I explained to the host that I took on a healing approach that included cutting out processed foods, gluten and dairy, and changing up my lifestyle habits. I went on to explain that I think the most impactful change I made was in my attitude. I shared my personal experience and the results: that I have remained 100% symptom free for nine years. That is fact. It’s also a fact that I am not the only one. Most people who have taken natural approaches to their health, to aim to ‘heal’ rather than wait it out for a ‘cure’, just don’t have a platform to share their story. There are millions of us.

A Changing Paradigm

As I see it, my opinion if you will, is that there is a huge challenge with our current medical paradigm. For something to be considered ‘fact’, it needs to be proven in a scientific study. We learned about the scientific method in grade school. You have a theory, a hypothesis, you create a method to test it, reducing or eliminating all variables except the one you are testing, and then you have the control group. You run your experiment and then assess the results. The gold standard in evidence based medicine is to have these studies show, beyond any doubt or error, that the variable being tested proved something beyond the control (or placebo).

The challenge with this method, however, is that not everything that works for our health can be distilled down and proven in this way. As well, as more and more chemicals enter our environment, the conditions we are dealing with are becoming increasingly complicated, common and unexplainable by peer-reviewed, double blind studies.  We can’t control for everything when it comes to health and nutrition, especially as it relates to natural healing. See, healing isn’t the same as popping a pill and having all of your symptoms seem to disappear. Healing isn’t always measurable in the same way that medicine is. The cause and effect isn’t as clear cut.

Healing unto itself is a variable approach, something that can’t always be proven or replicated in a lab setting because what worked for you may not work for me. Most of all, a healing protocol may not pass that gold standard of double blind placebo studies because when we look at healing a whole person – not just eliminating the symptoms – each and every one of us will have varying results based on more than just the specific intervention itself. And likely, that protocol is going to shift and shimmy around as we continue tuning in.

Healing isn’t a single prong approach, popping a pill, and carrying on with things. To fully heal, we need to take into account our diet, for sure, but also:

In short, we each need to design our own UnDiet approach to our health.

Real Food + Happiness Always Wins

I don’t ever like to get into the game of defending myself, however Doctor Steve did state that I gave nutritional advice where there is no definite evidence. Now, this accusation, I can only attribute to his ignorance of the field of nutrition. The only strict nutritional advice I ever give is to eat real food, that has as few chemicals in it and has had minimal processing, meaning nutrients were neither removed, nor synthetic versions added.

And here is evidence, a study that reviewed 400 studies:

The weight of evidence strongly supports a theme of healthful eating while allowing for variations on that theme. A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention and is consistent with the salient components of seemingly distinct dietary approaches.

Katz, David, and SL Meller. “Can We Say What Diet Is Best for Health?” – Annual Review of Public Health, 35(1):83. N.p., 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.

(There is of course also evidence of improvement of IBD with removal of gluten here and here, as just two examples.)

But even still, let’s for a minute pretend that there wasn’t any scientific evidence at all for eating real food. Let’s also pretend there are no scientific studies that have proven our thoughts, exercise routine, stress levels, relationships, cleanliness of our water, and exposure to toxins affect our health – wouldn’t we know this anyway? Isn’t it common sense that what we use to feed ourselves and how we live would either build health in the body or disease?

Is it really irresponsible of me as a health expert to inspire you to tune in to how you feel on a daily basis, and make lifestyle choices that promote your own health?

What’s the worst that can happen if we eat quality food, support sustainable community initiatives, move more, smile more, sleep more (if we need it), take in less chemicals, and pay attention not just to our food but to our lives? The worst that can happen is that nothing changes. Nothing at all.

But what’s the best that can happen from doing this?

The best is that we live a healthy and awesome life, enjoying the process as we dive deep into ourselves, become empowered with knowledge, and find fulfillment in the process of fuelling our lives.

Photo: Catherine Farquharson for The UnDiet Cookbook

93 Comments

  1. Thank you for this post Meghan! As a CHN I am constantly being challenged and often find myself defending the simple notion that eating real food is health promoting and eating processed foods is not. I’m still struggling myself to deal with the ‘haters’, but you continue to inspire me! Thank you so much for sharing your story and yourself with the world!

  2. Hi Meghan,

    It may be naive, but I’m so surprised that you get hate mail. You are so positive and only encourage others to live their best lives. Happy to hear you are not letting this affect you and continuing to be your awesome self! I can see certain people (more so certain industries) being intimidated by your messages, and so try to belittle your “expertise”. At the end of the day, eating healthy, cutting out garbage food and negativity, exercising and taking a positive outlook has only improved my health and well being. It’s common sense! Keep doing your thing and thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes and insights :)

  3. I have only just discovered you and think you are totally whacky, great fun, probably a fruitcake but a healthy happy joy to watch and read.

    I went to my so called doctor expert with many, many ” food allergies” , he was useless. I have sorted myself out with the help of experts who were talking from life experience, probably a histamine thingy in my case. Give me the advice and help from someone who is talking from their own journey any day , they are not usually motivated by their training or money / perks from drug companies, they are motivated by a desire to help others move to a healthy happy and whole body.

    These people who send hate mail or disagree are threatened, in my opinion, okay there are people putting out incorrect theories or repeating parrot fashion stuff they have found via google. Genuine life experience is most helpful though, a big thank you from me.
    Kind regards, every blessing

  4. Love this and love you! This is fantastic & so helpful to me in my work on so many levels! Keep up the awesome work ?

  5. Bravo!
    What an eloquent response to Dr Steve.
    We are what we eat!(think and do).
    Thank you for keeping such a positive outlook!

  6. Thank you for writing this! This is the perfect response to Doctor Steve, and to all trolls out there who for some reason want to hate on a profession that causes absolutely no harm to others, and only inspires people to take better care of themselves. Seriously, awesome blog post.

  7. I am just beginning to understand what I will be up against as I pursue more knowledge of how food choices affect our health. Even people who follow a healthful lifestyle will not always be open to hearing the whole truth from me. As an example, I have a large community of friends who eat a predominately Paleo diet. Telling them that meat (depending on its source) can cause cancer pretty much sent a few of them into a tailspin. They maintained their opinion that meat isn’t the enemy, just sugar. They were not interested in hearing the whole story. My theory on why this happens is that admitting a truth means admitting you need to change. You can’t unknow something, but if you don’t admit to knowing it you can go on your merry way without guilt. This will be a struggle for me, and something that I will hopefully be able to “forgive and delete”. Thanks for your insights on this subject and for sharing how you have chosen to handle the “haters” ;)

  8. This is great! I’ll take that advice any day over Doctor Steve’s randomized control trials, systematic reviews, and never-quite-conclusive scientific mumbly jumbly. You share digestible (pun intended), evidence-based, common-sensical nuggets of knowledge that people can use and apply in their lives – right now- and they’re certainly not harming anyone. Go you!

  9. I was given a Crohn’s diagnosis about 6 years ago. The doctor recommended prednisone. I declined and cleaned up my diet instead. When I told him what I was doing, he was surprised and not convinced that it would help. I have not needed to see him since, because I have been symptom free ever since.

  10. I’m also surprised to hear about all of the hate mail! I understand people have emotional attachments to their processed food and cheap, chemical-laden products, but is anyone really so defensive of something we all know isn’t great for our health? There will always be trolls I suppose, but even if you are an “expert” rather than an Expert it seems silly to bash your message of healthy, happy living. You never promised anyone a miracle cure, but you have inspired healthier choices and changed lives for the better. I hope you continue to forgive and delete and spread your message. This blog has helped me manage my Ulcerative Colitis med-free for years and I will always be grateful to have found it. I’m sure my improved quality of life can’t be measured in a lab, but I for one couldn’t care less. Thank you for all that you do!

  11. Meghan thanks for being vulnerable enough to share with the world your joy. We all hold our own power to good health and living. I just love your work.

  12. I am a scientist, and I think there is an enormous misconception in the medical community that studies provide proof. Studies either show a correlation or show that a hypothesis was false. Scientists (dare I say good scientists) spend their entire working lives proving their theories are false and never finding “proof,” never being “right.” It is the only career I know of where your job is to actively look for your ideas to be wrong.
    Personal experience is absolutely valid. Thank you for continuing to share your message.

  13. Well said Meghan! I have been a member of your community for a few years now and have always found your passion for a healthy lifestyle and optimized nutrition to be spot on for my health challenges…….I no longer have IBS since going gluten free (and I did that before the study came out). There would be more clinical evidence on nutrition (and a much healthier population) if more studies were funded…..but most of the funding sadly goes to big pharma. Thank-you for all that you are and all that you do. xo

  14. I don’t think what you propose is ground breaking but your approach and suggestions are fresh and much needed! Haters will always hate and I’m sure some experts (especially academia) must envy you for your charisma and ability to produce so much fun as well as rich material. We love you Meghan and Josh and to all the haters out there: we can think for ourselves, some of us even have degrees in health/related topics therefore we are not being manipulated ! xxx

  15. Hi Megan,
    I too am surprised you get hate mail. I guess I shouldn’t be as no matter what you read on the internet that gives a comment space you are sure to find people spouting hate & disagreement.
    Your post is a good one & I agree that eating whole foods & moving your body as well as your attitude to life gives you the best fighting chance for a healthy life. I am still a work in progress as far as diet goes although I have eliminated most processed foods from my diet as well as gluten but still have to move more. I have Celiac Disease which depends on a healthy diet free from gluten & I am a senior so I really shouldn’t waste too much time getting on the program should I?

  16. It is so unfortunate that clinical trials and double blind studies have taken the place of lived experience and a holistic approach to wellness. Criticizing someone’s expertise because you don’t happen to agree with the information they are sharing is small minded and petty. If practitioners started working together rather than getting caught up in their own “expertise” the world would be a lot healthier place. I think it is fabulous that you are sharing all of this helpful and incredibly valuable information with the world, and while it is unfortunate that haters gonna hate, the positive impact that you are helping people achieve in their lives is evidence of of its importance. Kudos to you for keeping going with joy and spirit in tact in the face of this ridiculous negativity!

  17. Just received your new book. Just as lovely and informative as your first (still trying to make the inside of my fridge look like yours…getting there). Your sparkle, compassion and ability to make nutrition understandable – and perhaps more importantly – non-judgmental is much appreciated. Keep doin’ what you are doin’.

  18. Hi Meghan,
    I have just started following you and it is really great to have found someone who is so vibrant and enthusiastic about health and wellbeing and also so full of common sense and natural brain power. This post was fabulous. A really intelligent way to respond to the negativity that is out there. :-)

  19. Hi Meghan,
    Keep letting your bright light shine wherever the Universe may lead you! Haters gonna hate! The only reaction you can control is your own and you are doing that awesomely. No one is you. That is truer that true. Keep doing what you love and don’t worry about the rest.
    Thank you for all that you are and do.

  20. Meghan, I almost never comment, but I want to thank you for your bravery in speaking your truth and living with integrity. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, I appreciate what you do to to support you as you inspire others to live awesome healthy lives!

  21. Dear Megan, Hate email comes from people who feel danger and fear from the truth being told. If Dr. Steve does not approve of what you are saying, what is he promoting instead? Eating processed meat? We just heard about WHO’s report and the same time the attack from the meat industry all over the world. So in my humble opinion, whoever it offended by your beautiful diet, has something to lose, meaning has some hidden agenda. He can promote his hidden agenda some place else where people are uninformed and ignorant. Not you, not us. Thank you for everything you do, you write and you promote.

  22. Please continue with all of your efforts for those that resonate with your approach because you are greatly appreciated, bring smiles to my face, and leave me feeling great.

    Thank you for the amazing being that you are Meghan.

    Please continue shining your bright light (the world needs it)!

  23. Megan – I love this more than I can convey in this comment. You hit it all on the head for me and I appreciate reading your words. It helps me think about my own response so the “haters”…. You are great at what you do. You are just simply fabulous. Keep up the great work! Francesca

  24. Thanks for your courage Meghan! It is hard to create change in any environment but the world stage is a big mountain indeed. Thanks for your wisdom and grace!

  25. Our world is definitely changing, and it always surprises me to see how threatened some allopathic professionals are by the rise of alternative therapies and holistic healing. If they truly believed that these centuries-old, traditional healing methods were so much bunk, why would they be concerned at all? Wouldn’t people simply discover for themselves that the “quack” therapies didn’t work, and rush back in droves to their conventional doctors? The fact is, patients are moving more and more every year toward alternative therapies, EVEN THOUGH they are disparaged by allopathic doctors and EVEN THOUGH they are paid for (often at a high price) out of pocket, when most allopathic care is either “free” (ie, paid for by taxes, as here in Canada) or covered by insurance (as in the US). Could it be that people choose holistic health because IT WORKS? I have nothing but admiration for MDs who recognize the value of alternative therapies and choose to work alongside NDs, functional nutritionists and holistic nutritionists rather than try to tear them down. After all, if the ultimate good of the patient is really the goal, shouldn’t MDs take every possible opportunity to examine any treatment that might help lead to that goal more effectively?

  26. I love this post! Good for you! I find that as I put myself out there more and more as a Holistic Health Coach, the haters pop up. ?? I wonder, “Don’t you have anything better to do?!” The one thing I’ve heard that I love is that we are all experts–experts regarding ourselves. I am an expert on me and you are an expert on you. Congrats for healing your Crohn’s and taking control of your health through food. And yes, I agree with you–it is common sense that eating healthy food leads to a healthy life. ?

  27. I am incredibly surprised that you get hate mail – why is the first question that comes to mind. I have been part of your Tribe for some time now and love how much you share and how much you give back. Good for you for addressing Doctor Steve. It is mind-boggling as to why some health practitioners fail to see the correlation between what we eat and how we feel. Keep up the great work!

  28. This is so awesomely said Meghan! I love your argument against the double bind study challenge, we are so often confronted with in this field! Healing is often not scientifically measure able or “seen”and is sometimes subjective, just like falling in love. We all need reminders of this at times during own own health journeys that healing is a synergistic, complex, supercalafragalistic inner dance of everything you mentioned- sleep, movement, the quality of our relationships, stress level balance, diet and attitude towards it, quality of food, absence of toxins and lastly, openess to different healing modalities. What works for one, may not work for another.

    Thanks Meghan, and thank you to Doctor Steve for sharing your view too, and being the seed for this discussion!

  29. I always find it amazing some people think you can only be educated in lecture halls with textbooks other people have written; the learning we do within four walls is a foundation to build on through our own experiences and experiments.
    Expertise come with doing your 10 000 hours (Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell) out there in the world fueled by your passion.
    Your work is incredible Meghan. The fact you are also able to package and share it through so many accessible and fun formats is next level. And then your optimism is a whole new level again.
    I had an eating disorder and am working on sharing the 10 things that got me over it. But I keep hearing a voice in the back of my mind say “but you’re not a doctor” (maybe it’s “Doctor Steve”?!) But for the 10 years I was sick I didn’t want to talk to a doctor, I wanted to speak to someone who had been there and back. I wanted proof it could be done.
    What you’ve offered to people with Crohn’s Disease and anyone who wants to experience all the positives of eating real food, etc. is not only a solution but hope through your shining example. And it is incredible what hope can achieve.

  30. What’s the worst that can happen if we eat processed food, move less, smile less, sleep less, take in more chemicals, and pay no attention to our food or to our lives?

    When faced with having to defend a healthy lifestyle, I often imagine an argument for the opposite. It’s good for a laugh. :)

  31. My niece, now in her late 40s, was diagnosed with crohn’s at 16. After suffering for years, she devised her own eating plan in her early 20s. No wheat, rice, or other grains, no dairy except homemade yogurt made with goats milk, no sugar or processed foods of any kind. Only organic fruits and vegetables, lentils, honey, coconut milk, almond milk, free range eggs and organic no anabiotic meats. Her doctors were so impressed that they asked for a copy of her diet to help other patients. She has had some relapses as her Crohn’s is severe has had to have some intestine removed and is on an immunosuppressant. But she’s able to go years without a flareup as long as stress and other illnesses are controlled. I have hadIBS since I was a toddler and I find that if I stick to a variation of her diet I feel much better. Seems she was Paleo before Paleo was in style.

  32. I LOVE this article. As a student of nutrition, I even have close people to me question the whole concept. In a lot of cases, people are scared to look at the other side, or they trust the government/companies of world to not poison them. They will only accept this if they’re willing to look at it from this perspective.

  33. I think that people get their feathers ruffled when people suggest something to be true that cannot be proven in a scientific study, because of the many charlatans out there that are only interested in helping themselves and not other people. I know the importance of evidence based practice and try to make my own decisions based on it. That’s often how I end up questioning a paradigm! However, I know that there are some environments that are just near impossible to replicate in a study. That’s what I try to remember in these types of situations. I know that you’re a real person (I got to meet you!) and will keep enjoying your tasty recipes without ever thinking that your own experiences that you’ve shared with us aren’t valid.

  34. I love how you said the trolls don’t need to be fed. So true since they feed themselves on negativity and fear. People fear what is different and what they don’t understand. Perhaps Dr Steve is afraid of being alone. Because if we all (myself include, the desire is there, I’m just not motivated quite yet ?) embraced your approach, he would see a significant drop in his office visits. Just a thought ? Xoxoxo Ali

  35. Celiac disease is one example (of many) where nutrition can be a matter of life or death. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is one that IS based on scientific research, and has been proven to be effective for those with celiac and Crohn’s. Much of what you promote, Meghan ties in well with the SCD and although you don’t need to prove anything, a great deal of what you recommend to people naturally touches on SCD. So if that doctor (or anyone else) needs “science” then they should know the science is there (plus there is a lot of science out there on the free radical theory of disease). More importantly, eating unprocessed foods from nature is the way eating is intended to be. Science strays from nature and that is frightening.

  36. It amuses me how doctors like to make everyone else believe that every study that has been published by a “Real” doctor must be true. Even if those studies were funded by big corporations with the intention to sway said study in their favour.

    I’d rather trust nature. A majority of the medical community only cares about money. Not their fellow humans.

  37. This is such a fabulous blog. Aside from being a great response to Dr Steve, I especially love how it demonstrates one way to turn something negative into a positive: his grumpy criticism became a great teaching tool, and in the end only amped-up your brilliant light. Receiving hate mail from him got you this article, which shows off your loving personality and your inspiring philosophy: a big, honking, huge win for you. Well done, and thank you!!

  38. Meghan, I just wanted to say thank you for this wonderfully thoughtful blog post. Thank you for leading the way once again for this community of lovers, movers, and shakers to get inspired and find truth in the many ways it is offered to us (research, intuition, trial and error, chance, etc). As much as there are “haters”, there are also many who are ready and willing to dive into that deep connection with themselves and learn to love themselves and the Earth a little more every day.

  39. Dear Meghan,
    I admire the way you approach insults and hate mail! Your suggestions on diet and food for healing the body were one of the first I read 3 years ago when diagnosed with Crohn’s since year and taking meds that were just making me feel worst. I read so much on food and healing and changed completely my diet even thought I was already healthy. My GI didn’t really understand my choice but was respectful of it and is now seeing the impact of diet change.I am now feeling great and people like you are the ones that makes the difference. Thank you for being who you are and for sharing your knowledge with us!

  40. Keep doing what you do! I have been working at my diet, sleep, exercise for just over a year following your tenets…and guess what? I haven’t been sick once, not even a cold. Granted that can’t go on forever, but I think it says something about improving overall health and immune function.

  41. I find the doctor’s statement very fascinating as in most med schools they get minimal amount of nutrition lectures I’m talking hours not days or weeks. I’m still trying to convince my doctor that I get proteins from vegetables (I’m vegan). I’m looking forward to your course this September. Also have the seen the food patients get fed in hospitals across Canada nothing nutritious about it (I’ve been nursing in hospitals 20+ years)

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