The ascendancy and rapid descent of the various macro and micro-nutrients in Nutritionism’s armamentarium continues unabated. Vitamin D is the current darling, with its effects now apparently so wide-ranging that it may actually be a wonder drug (or so they say….for now). New research shows that it affects hundreds of genes in their expression. And while the authors focus on the potential effects of Vitamin-D deficiency, no one seems to mention what may happen to those same genes if you take too much; a well-known tendency among passionate orthorexics. In fact, there is little clarity around how much is enough, optimal, or too much.
And as Vitamin-D ascends, another former “miracle” micro-nutrient descends into its own special Hell, following in the footsteps of Beta-Carotene and Vitamin-E (remember the hoopla around Vitamin-E?). It seems that Calcium is definitely out as a supplement, unless it’s specifically prescribed for osteoporosis, is taken with Vitamin-D, and the patient is closely monitored for heart-related side-effects.
And so it goes. We are all guinea pigs on the altar of Nutritionism, where eating has been reduced to consuming specific nutrients for their purported benefits. Forget taste, satisfaction, pleasure, happiness, and tradition. K’ching, k’ching, go the cash registers.