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You are here: Sports Features Perspective … Coach’s Korner: Sheep Don’t Walk Backwards, Intro

Perspective … Coach’s Korner: Sheep Don’t Walk Backwards, Intro

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When Anita first told me sheep don’t walk backwards I laughed until I nearly cried. Perhaps it was the calm, expressionless way she said it, but it was still one of the funniest things I had ever heard. Weeks later, it’s still laugh out loud funny. However, as I gradually toned down my laughter (though still chuckling) I could see that Anita appeared to be serious.  She told me this was a story her mother, who had owned sheep told her long ago.  Was it true or was she pulling the wool over my eyes? I wanted it to be true, but while listening to her I accepted that I knew absolutely nothing about sheep apart from their genetic origin.  As a researcher I knew something was there, and as my tendency to investigate kicked in I started asking around and doing my own research. I soon discovered that other people, though not all believed the same thing that sheep don’t walk backwards.

SHEEP DON’T WALK BACKWARDS is not a column attacking the truth of the statement, but it will be used as a column series that speaks to a much larger issue, how misinformation regarding nutrition and supplementation is packaged and made available for our consumption.  So as we go forward together know that every time you see SHEEP DON’T WALK BACKWARDS there is a genuine attempt to help you safely navigate oceans of misleading and confusing information regarding food, nutrition and supplementation.

The first step in capturing the consumer’s attention is to have an eye-catching title. I think we nailed that one. After getting our attention with a catchy title, the next step is to make broad research claims and use limited studies that appear to apply to everyone. And finally, through the Empire of Language use $500 words that suggest something is true or accurate without ever providing complete information to help the unsuspecting consumer to make informed choices. Words such as “may,” “could,” “probably,” “possibly” or “indicates” is the perfect bait to snag you without you ever realizing that you’ve been hooked.

To give a better idea of where we’re headed let’s start with information I trust you find interesting. In later columns we will explore topics in greater detail. Here we go…

• First and most important – You never needed a degree in biochemistry to have perfect nutrition.

• Mother Nature always produces a seed for the food she creates. Muy importante!

• Foods are routinely marketed as “organic” but they neglect to tell you that organic only applies to naturally grown foods, meaning food must contain the minerals carbon, hydrogen and oxygen at its core to be considered organic. You cannot reproduce the essential mineral carbon in the laboratory.

• General Mills recently settled an $8.5 million dollar class action suit for marketing a product as Greek Yogurt that wasn’t even yogurt.

• Alkaline is not a diet, it’s the makeup of the entire planet.

We don’t want to fight with big business but we deserve the right to make informed choices. You cannot have it both ways, that is mislead the consumer and then blame the victim.

Coach G

By Greg McNeil

Greg McNeil is a StrongFirst Instructor, Professional Strength & Conditioning coach, Licensed Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Life Coach, Author, and the owner of Gallup School of Strength (www.gallupschoolofstrength.com)