#16 - The Religion of Diet Culture, with Dr. Alan Levinovitz

What does religion have to do with diets? Probably more than you
think. In this episode I talk with professor of religious studies
and author of the book, The Gluten Lie, Dr. Alan Levinovitz.


We’ll discuss why “cleansing” and forms of restriction we see
with today’s diet culture is not about health at all. Alan shares
his personal story of his “holier than thou” feeling he got from
a very short term “challenge” he did with his wife in the name of
book research.


You’ll hear why we both think the “sugar is going to kill you”
headlines are utterly untrue and unhelpful. Alan shares a few
food trends he think will grow in 2017 and I share how we can
make improvements to our eating patterns without going too crazy.


About Alan


Alan Levinovitz received his PhD in religion from the University
of Chicago where he specialized in classical Chinese thought. He
is now assistant professor of religious studies at James Madison
University, where he teaches classes on religion, Chinese
philosophy, and the connection between religion and medicine. His
work in journalism focuses on food, science, and culture, and has
appeared in The Atlantic, Wired, The Washington Post, Slate, Vox,
and elsewhere. He is the author of The Gluten Lie: And Other
Myths About What You Eat, and his only food taboo is fake cheese,
which he believes is irredeemably evil.


Follow Alan


Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/alanlevinovitz

Book: The Gluten Lie - http://amzn.to/2k1WpUi

Articles:

The Atlantic – Purity Through Food: How Religious Ideas
Sell Diets - http://theatln.tc/2k1WKpK

NPR – How Diet Gurus Hook Us with Religion Veiled in
Science - http://n.pr/2k1WSpe

Slate – The Logical Failure of Food Fads -
http://slate.me/2k1VBi6





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