Health, evidence and identity
(Nimue)
I’ve always had a wonky digestive system. Trying to figure out what offends it, and what doesn’t has been an ongoing issue for me. Given that periods and stress also mess it up, identifying problem foods has taken a while. With some foods, it’s about a level of intolerance, with others its about how cooked they need to be. This process has taught me some curious things about belief.
About a year ago I started exploring whether sourdough bread would be better for me than regular bread. I quickly established that it does help, but I still wasn’t right. I went on to set up a white starter alongside my brown starter. Over the months it seemed like I was doing better with the white than the brown. It took me a long time to trust that evidence and switch over to white full time. The impact on my gut health has been dramatic.
We all know that higher fibre diets are better for us. Clearly there’s something in wheat bran that my gut objects to. I’ve been resistant to accepting it – and it became obvious that the resistance is a belief issue. I’m invested in the idea of brown bread, and in being the sort of person who eats brown bread. Giving it up demands that I give up something I’m invested in as part of my sense of self.
I went round comparable issues when I started adding small amounts of meat to my diet. I was obliged to accept that between the wonky gut and the monstrous periods, I could not meet my own iron needs any other way. My sense of self included ‘vegetarian’. I’m still not comfortable with my choices.
Changing what you do in light of new evidence is easy enough if you don’t have an emotional investment. Switching over to something better isn’t a difficult idea, normally. But, having observed my own resistance to ideas at odds with my sense of self, I can see what a struggle it is to take those onboard. This, no doubt, is an issue for many climate deniers. When your beliefs are part of your identity, the evidence is a lot less persuasive.
We all know about people online who cannot accept evidence and would rather take on any preposterous idea that lets the keep their core beliefs intact. Changing people’s minds is an urgent issue, but I’m aware that bludgeoning people with facts isn’t going to shift them.
You can have a significant change of belief without having a total loss of self. I’ve been through a few along the way, and they are always scary. I don’t quite know where to go with this at the moment, but it’s an experience that has given me a bit more empathy, and a bit more insight into why people reject evidence.
