nutrition research

Trends - Self Doubt - Peer Pressure…our media promotes and cultivates these at every turn. Our founder, Anton Szandor LaVey, coined a term—the “Invisible War"—denoting the stresses contemporary society and "big business” have wrought on our populace meant to keep people behaving as docile consumers. A study has shown that at least 30% of the nation’s populace now wants to buy and eat gluten-free products. When a group of self-professed “gluten-sensitive” people were tested on various diets (the nutritional content of which were not revealed until afterwards), they fully expected to feel worse at the end of the study. And they did, for all of the diets—including those that were fully gluten free. This has been called a “nocebo” effect. While only an estimated 1% of Americans suffer from celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten), many who likely are not in any way sensitive to gluten have decided to remove it from their diets. Sales of gluten-free products are estimated to hit $15 billion by 2016. There may be other sensible reasons for abstaining from consuming gluten, but one has to wonder how many are just following a trend that is evidently quite lucrative for those offering gluten-free products.It would appear that the “Invisible War” continues and the herd, as always, consumes as directed by those who understand the gullibility of the human animal. —Witch Morivond

nutrition research

The “Nocebo Effect” and the “Invisible War”