Comments (6)

By jamie, February 25, 2010 1:42 pm

This chapter made me more sad than scared. Before I write about it, I have to say that the one thing that really bugs about this book is that Jillian (or her editor) chose not to properly cite sources. The “selected” bibliography might be extensive, but it’s often impossible to know whether the specific piece of information was taken from a newspaper article or from an actual study. The citations are divided by chapter – and Chapter 3 is heavy on academic journals – but there are no proper end notes. I suspect that this was done to make the book more readable and less “academic,” but it opens the door for doubt – a big problem for a book about health. I have read enough of the environmental literature to believe what she is saying in this chapter, but I can’t help but feel like it might be worth my time to fact check, just in case.

Chapter 3 makes some pretty serious claims, and, while many of them are backed by specific studies (she usually gives credit to the university without naming either article or study), it’s really impossible to tell whether they all are. It’s too bad, because the general public SHOULD know about the dangers of environmental toxins, especially the ones we voluntarily bring into our homes.

If you don’t intend to buy/borrow this book, you probably owe it to yourself to at least skim Chapter 3 in the bookstore (don’t tell them I sent you) and then check out some of the most interesting information at a university library, or even through Google Scholar, if that’s all you have access too.

Here are some highlights (NOT fact checked by me, so buyer beware):

• Many major municipal water supplies have been found to have detectable levels of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, sex hormones, and mood stabilizers. Guess how they got into to water supply – through our toilets.
• Those flame retardants sprayed on baby pajamas contain toxins, but so do the fragrances in fabric softeners (which are not to be used on baby pajamas, because they remove the flame retardant).
• Toxins known to have a negative effect on hormones added to perfumes and fragrances to make them last longer (and we spray them on ourselves).
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is very bad (regardless of what the corn industry tells us in their current PR campaign), but it’s not the only terrible food additive.

Okay. I have to stop now. I thought this book was just going to tell me how to eat so that my metabolism would start zooming like a teenager’s. There is more it then that, obviously (which I knew, but it’s much easier to have a fitness guru tell you how to eat, no?). I could start a discussion about Big Business and how regular people – but especially the poor – get screwed in the quest for the almighty dollar. It’s more sad than scary, especially because we end up supporting this behavior despite our best interests. And now I really do have to stop, go drink some (possibly toxin-laden) water, wash some laundry (maybe I’ll skip the fabric softener), and check my fridge for food additives.

Scroll down for other posts about Master Your Metabolism:

Other posts about Master Your Metabolism:
Review
Part 1: So Long, Chocolate, Old Friend
Part 2: I KNEW It – My Hormones are Out of Whack!
Part 3: Nothing Funny About Chapter 3
Part 4: “There’s No Food in Your Food”
Part 5: Artificial Sweetener Can Mess Up Your Brain?
Part 6: “Okay, I’ll Admit it. Organics Can Be Pricey.”
Part 7: Ice Cream and Chocolate are Allowed!!!
Part 8: Really, Jillian, I Just Wanted a Cute Butt
Part 9: Protein! I Need You Protein
Part 10: Now, Off to the Market

Comments (3)

By jamie,

Every now and then I see a bumper sticker that reads “Welcome to America, now speak English!” It bugs me whenever I see this, and I try not to think less of the driver, because I know it’s just politics. Spanish-speaking immigrants adopt English, on average at the same level as immigrants have historically done, with their native tongue lost in a generation or two (I study Mexican immigration, so I will give you a reference for this when I find a fresh one in my readings).

The trouble with (and for) Spanish-speaking immigrants is that they are our current feared/despised immigrant. If you look back, you will find that others (Irish, Chinese, the list goes on…) have been the “bad” immigrant at different times in U.S. history. We have changed the laws to make it difficult for others to come here too, as we are now attempting to do with Mexican immigrants. At one time, we had laws on the books to make it easy for Mexican citizens to work here, and we invited them to do so (for example, through the Bracero Program) – now we need a scapegoat for economic troubles (as we have in the past) and currently it’s easy to point the finger at undocumented workers, even though we have welcomed them here at other times in our history, and relied upon their labor.

Even people who are otherwise intelligent often equate Mexican (and possibly anyone from a Latin American country) immigrants as illegal immigrants, not even bothering to find out the history of the people in question. And you know how this country feels about illegal immigrants. Danger! Danger! They will take our jobs! They will ruin life as we know it! Enough has been written on this that I won’t belabor the point – I will just say that we are pointing our fears and distrust in the wrong direction. (And, of course, especially because I read many books on the subject, you will eventually hear me hold forth about Mexican immigration more than you will probably want to.)

So, about the book (and I have only read Chapter 1 so far): In part, it is a companion volume to the CNN documentary bearing the same name. Soledad O’Brien, who reported in this television special, includes more in-depth information about the her own story, as well as more details about the people and places included (and left out of) the telecast. O’Brien, born of a Cuban mother (half black, half white) and an Irish father, does not speak Spanish. She is just one of many examples of people with Spanish-speaking ancestors who have lost their native tongue. I am another one, although I have taken Spanish classes in school (as do O’Brien’s children). O’Brien’s mother immigrated from Cuba. My parents were born in the U.S., as were their parents. On my mom’s side of the family, most of our ancestors lived in the U.S. since before it was the U.S. – the border crossed us, and not the other way around. Some of my father’s grandparents had to take a boat to get here. We all arrived here through so many different avenues, that it seems almost wrong to put us all in the same category, but if we have to share a singular category, I guess “Latino” is the best term for us.

O’Brien, who obviously interviewed Spanish speakers for this piece and had to defend her own lack of Spanish skill in the process, points out that, regardless of language ability, Latino/as always recognize shared blood. Regardless of country of origin, she says we “have a deeply vested interest in being many.” The more numbers we have, the better represented we can be in government and elsewhere.

Back to my experience with speaking Spanish – growing up, I felt bad that I didn’t speak the language, particularly because I grew up in San Diego and look as though I should be fluent. People (of various ethnicities) often criticized me for not speaking “my language.” When I would try to say that English is MY language, and that it’s the one my parents and grandparents speak, some people would accuse me of trying to be something I’m not, some would not believe me, and others would demand that I remedy the situation. Everyone seemed to have an opinion. It made me sad and uncomfortable to be criticized for being myself, and it probably made it harder for me to learn to speak “my” language, because of all the years of defending my inability.

So, to those with bumper stickers about speaking English – mind your own business and stop getting your information from politicians! Spanish-speaking immigrants will work out their language in their own time, just as your foreign-speaking ancestors likely once did. Then their children or grandchildren may have to defend themselves for speaking only English. If this sounds ridiculous, it is.

Other posts about Latino in America:
Post 1: On Speaking Spanish
Post 2: No One is Illegal
Post 3: Puerto Ricans are U.S. Citizens
Post 4: Hate Crime Victims and Child Laborers