The powerful current that a message arrives on is what predicts its impact, thus I don’t expect this message to come close to douse the forest fire that exists in the industry, nor do I expect it to put out just one tree. I do, however, hope that less people get burned.
We live in strange times, as Dave Chappelle would call it “The age of spin”. The contradictory messages around what is healthy and what is not would leave some disillusioned and some nihilistic. The people that make an impact on us are successful, have social worth and we are drawn to trust them, it’s just human nature. We can and often are, fooled without knowing it.
Some influencers don’t know they are causing damage though, I’m sure. Some people though, know that they are not balanced in their opinion or in their stance/beliefs/identity and therefore run the increased risk of being both wrong and damaging, This is why I take a harsh stance on those that have large followings, influential power and self evidently unconventional beliefs.
Case and point: The Happy Pear Boys.
Let’s focus on the information and give the lad’s the benefit of the doubt in assuming that they would see the error in their ways if confronted with the truth and maybe turn it around for the betterment of their audience/fans.
What are my Qualms?
Qualm no. 1: Guilty by Association
In a recent Youtube Video the Happy Pear Boys (HPB) hosted best selling author and quack, Sarah Wilson, writer of “I Quit Sugar”. A quote from that video which the HPB should have deemed worthy of editing out or calling quits on the video itself – either way, we shouldn’t have seen it, was: “Sugar is more damaging for your skin than the sun…True story”.
Skin cancer rates have increased rapidly in Ireland and the UK in the past 30 years. There are estimated to be 250’000 cases of skin cancer in the UK from 2012 statistics. In the same year 2558 people died from skin cancer in the UK. (source)
In Ireland 11’181 people were affected by skin cancer in 2016 (source)
This is caused by the sun. There is no question. Sugar does not cause such damage to the skin. There is no evidence for anything sugar can do to the skin that causes anything even remotely close to the damage of the sun, that is not up for debate. We shouldn’t have seen this video. It’s shameful.
Now, for those that have watched the video, I am fully aware that the lads downplayed sugar a little bit and finished by saying something along the lines of ‘eat mostly whole foods and don’t drink your sugar’. That being said, they own a smoothie bar…
So, why is it okay that this video went out?
Because they just don’t know any better? That’s a dangerous amount of ignorance to pair influence with.
Why is it that people will have a hard time accepting this message and will instead say that I’m picking on the HPB? Because they do so much good? Because they have great recipes?
It’s not good enough.
There really is no positive spin you can put on this, nothing I can think of anyway.
This isn’t my only qualm with the information supplied by the HPB but it’s as much as most will have time for right now.