“You Can Live to Be a Hundred — But Should You Want to?”
Woody Allen may have been onto something when he remarked, “You can live to be a hundred, if you give up everything that makes you want to live to be a hundred.” Beneath the humor lies a profound insight regarding the conflict between pursuing longevity and seeking enjoyment. In a time fixated on dietary fads, cleanses, and eliminating “toxins” from everyday life, various wellness influencers — such as the well-known blogger and author “The Food Babe” — present themselves as mentors on the journey to perpetual health. However, this quest is often misguided, not due to the flawed goal of longevity, but because the approaches advocated by some self-proclaimed health experts are, at best, misguided and divert attention from the genuine public health issues at hand.
Let’s delve deeper into this contemporary challenge: how to achieve a long, healthy life without lamenting the years spent getting there — and why exchanging taste, enjoyment, and knowledge for fear-mongering food myths is not the solution.
The Food Babe Phenomenon
In recent times, Vani Hari — more commonly recognized as the Food Babe — has gathered millions of supporters through her campaign against what she designates as harmful substances in processed foods. Her assertions primarily focus on GMOs, food colorings, preservatives, and other chemical additives, cautioning that they are slowly poisoning the populace. She advocates for “natural” eating, promotes organic food, and has contributed to greater transparency in food labeling.
But are her priorities backed by science?
Experts and regulatory bodies — including the FDA, WHO, and numerous scientific inquiries — have consistently confirmed that the GMOs available in the market are safe for consumption. Most chemical additives, like food dyes or preservatives such as potassium sorbate, have undergone stringent safety assessments and are utilized in concentrations well below toxic levels.
Conversely, pervasive and unavoidable issues such as obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and sedentary lifestyles — well-documented by research — garner exceedingly little focus on these influential platforms. While generating media attention and altering marketing strategies, food activists like the Food Babe frequently incite fear where comprehension is necessary, ultimately diverting the public’s attention from making lifestyle modifications that could genuinely enhance health outcomes.
Why Healthy Living Is Challenging — and Inherently Unnatural
Let’s face it: we essentially understand what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. Years of nutritional research have advised us to increase our consumption of vegetables and whole grains, reduce processed and red meats, avoid added sugars and excessive saturated fats, and maintain regular physical activity. The American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society echo similar sentiments in their recommendations. And nowhere in those guidelines do we find “avoid GMOs” or “ban potassium benzoate.”
So why is it so challenging to adhere to what’s evidently beneficial for us?
Evolution. Our forebears thrived in an environment characterized by scarcity. High-fat, high-sugar foods were uncommon but energy-dense, so those who indulged when encountering honey, fatty meats, or ripe fruits were more likely to survive. The brain rewards such foods with a surge of dopamine. Even in contemporary times, our “lizard brain” reacts with pleasure at the smell of pizza or the crunch of French fries — because craving these foods once ensured survival.
Yet now, in the modern industrialized setting, food is plentiful, seasoned for maximum attraction, and frequently engineered to target all our primal pleasure centers. Suddenly, the cravings that helped us survive are working against us.
Cultural Forces Don’t Help Either
Our culture perpetuates these tendencies. Every celebration, from birthdays to holidays to sporting events, is laden with sugary, salty, fatty comfort foods. Workplace culture thrives on donuts and birthday cakes. Cooking and sharing indulgent meals are ways to express companionship and affection. It requires significant effort — sometimes leading to social alienation — to decline comfort foods in these situations.
Meanwhile, physical activity — once a natural part of life in pre-industrial societies through daily labor — is now something we must schedule time for, often after long hours in sedentary positions. For parents, lengthy workdays and family commitments leave minimal opportunities for regular exercise. The systems perpetuating unhealthy lifestyles are deeply embedded in both our biology and our daily existence.
That’s Why the Easy Target is So Tempting
So what does that leave us with? Most individuals instinctively recognize that swapping soda for kombucha or consuming pesticide-free kale won’t offset a sedentary lifestyle or daily fast food habits. However, the lure of concentrating on “toxins” or seeking out “natural” labels is that these strategies seem manageable. You can steer clear of high-fructose corn syrup or avoid “artificial” flavors without much effort or forgoing the office birthday cake. It allows you to feel as if you’re making a valiant effort without engaging in the truly challenging work — like reevaluating your entire relationship with food, movement, and time.
That’s the real harm being done by