Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to think critically, question everything, use logical perspective, and above all, seek to cultivate common sense…for the rest of your life.
This is no one-week, learn-a-new-skill mission, folks.
As I mentioned yesterday on Facebook, this week is “common sense week” at Kitchen Stewardship.
There have been quite a number of topics and thoughts brewing in my head recently, and one common theme is quite simply common sense.
Perhaps I’m naïve, but I’d like to think I have a healthy dose of common sense, whereas it seems like many around me are lacking.
The conversation on Facebook when I mentioned the phrase kind of confirms my suspicion: That common sense isn’t common anymore. It’s practically become something that needs to be taught (not to you, of course). 
Choose Your Own Side
Swallowing something anyone tells you – even me, dear kitchen stewards! I’m just a (frightfully busy and multitasking) human being – is not a good idea without examining it on all sides first.
If you read an opinion, are given some research to back something up, stumble across a new diet, read warnings about something on the market, or generally are trying to figure out, “What do I eat? What do I buy?” then you need to make sure you can find and understand all the sides of the story.
For example, one of my former students, now a junior in high school, contacted me this spring as a source for a school project he was doing on organic meat. Although I know the choices I make for my family, I also know I’m still muddling through the issue and don’t know everything. I had a great time answering his questions, but I also wanted him to be well-rounded in his research and not just seek out a source that would support his opinion.
I sent him to my longtime challenger here at Kitchen Stewardship, “Tonya,” who always brings the voice of big agriculture (and little agriculture) to the conversation whenever I talk farming. I knew she would be overwhelming for him, but I felt it was important not to let him get away with one-sided research. In order to be your own person and choose your side, you have to know what they all look like. Once a teacher, always a teacher!
Asking the Questions
If this post is “Common Sense 101,” our curriculum goal is to learn to ask the right questions.
When evaluating any information, I like to step back and ask things like:
- What is the source? Personal opinion, expert in the field, actual scientific research? If research, how big was the study? Was it peer-reviewed? The more sources, the better – always.
- Who stands to gain from the information? Follow the money…
- How does this line up with what people did a hundred or two or three hundred years ago? I believe in a just God who created the world for His beloved children; how does this information reconcile with a benevolent Creator? (Yes, some will say that any faith is in opposition to logic, that faith is the antithesis of common sense. My senior year high school term paper, for an atheist teacher, was on the subject, “God exists.” Logic can get you to God, but it does still take a leap of faith to get to religion. I choose to take that leap. Period.)
- What are the long-term effects? Does anyone know the long-term effects?
- How does my personal experience and the experiences of my family and friends reconcile with this information?
- What are the risks of either side? The benefits?
- Is there anything immoral involved?
- Is the person giving me the information open to other ideas, or are they so attached to their belief that constructive discussion will never happen?
- What do the naysayers say? Dig as deeply into the “other side” as you do into the side that seems right at first.
- Can I sustain it, or will this new information suck all the joy out of life and have unintended repercussions?
- Does it make sense? Does it fit into the big picture?
I’m quite looking forward to talking about things like white flour, sun exposure, traditional foods, new (fad?) diets, and American obesity with you this week, all through my hyper-critical lens of…common sense.
We’ll seek the balanced middle ground together (or the far end of the spectrum, if it’s sensible and correct!) and have fun – and good discussion, I imagine – doing it.
The Common Sense Posts
Here’s what we’re talking about:
- Strawberries: Do They Have to Be Organic?
- That Whole Grains Question: Is it Time for “To Soak or Not to Soak?”
- Balancing Sun Exposure with Sun-O-Phobia
- How Much is Too Much? (if you eat eggs, almonds, coconut…you’re going to want to explore this post)
- …more coming!
Sale on Common Sense
No, common sense can’t really be bought, but Common Sense Health can. This eBook by Laurie Neverman has captivated my eyes today (when I was supposed to be writing). She has the most concise, compelling, and dare I say, sensible arguments for lots of things, from organic gardening (I learned a ton of new tricks) to earthing to avoiding GMOs (a subject I may just have become truly scared of). I learned more in a few minutes about dry brushing and the benefits of cold showers than I would have imagined, and I have a few pages marked to show my husband when he gets home.
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post to the eBook from which I will earn some commission if you make a purchase. See my full disclosure statement here.
Common Sense Health 25% off
Need More Baby Steps?
Here at Kitchen Stewardship, we’ve always been all about the baby steps. But if you’re just starting your real food and natural living journey, sifting through all that we’ve shared here over the years can be totally overwhelming.
That’s why we took the best 10 rookie “Monday Missions” that used to post once a week and made a printable checklist so you can track your progress.
Sign up to get the checklist and weekly challenges and teaching on key topics like meal planning, homemade foods that save the budget (and don’t take too much time), what to cut out of your pantry, and more.
Alexandra says
Katie I really appreciate your blog, your common sense and your willingness to research.
I had read “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon years ago and felt overwhelmed yet really intrigued. I stumbled upon your blog when looking into soaking grains. Now I read your blog every chance I get.
Having said all that, I don’t agree with all you say. Shocker! Ha. I don’t expect anyone to agree with all I say either.
By allowing a forum where we can see HOW others got to their conclusions, checked things like ” follow the money” and who is benefiting from this study, we can make the best decision for ourselves and our families.
That is worth it’s weight in gold.
And we might change our minds! I read a ton about the paleo diet, tried it, and started reading Chris Kresser’s blog. The answer “it depends” goes a long way when we are looking at so many complex issues in our food world. I have since dropped that approach but find i lean towards Weston A Price foundation principles.
I recommend your blog often and truly appreciate your work. I have bought some of your e-books because I want you to stay in business.
Hooray for Common Sense!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Thanks, Alexandra, I’m truly honored!! 🙂 Katie
Leigh says
I’ve been seeing a lot of “mob mentality” lately when it comes to healthy living, and I agree – we need to get back to common sense!
Ps – I read KS in a feed reader, and I would like for you to bring the entire post back to the readers. I typically don’t click through to read a blog article, and if I consistently don’t read a blog, I remove it from my reader. 🙁 please bring back the long blog posts for the readers?
Mary says
I, too, prefer the longer posts I get via email. Since we live in the boonies, we still have dial up and it is much easier for me to read an email than to wait for a full blog post to load.
Robin says
Agreed. I read your posts in my email, and I’m less likely to open it in a new window/tab because I already keep so many tabs open. So I prefer the longer emails. 🙂
Penny Simmons says
I totally agree that I DO NOT like to have to click through to read a blog post!
In fact, the sole reason I clicked through to read this one is because I really enjoy your blog and so wanted to ask you to please switch it back!
I have found with another dear blogger of the quilting persuasion, that I am skipping a lot more of her posts (even though I adore her) because she has chosen to go the click through route and I just do not do it consistently.
So please, if it is six to you one way, or half a dozen the other, go back to the full blog post emailed!
Thanks for your consideration!!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Done! thank you!! 🙂 Katie
Rebecca says
Looking forward to this discussion! I have always valued common sense and balance in my life… but I always find it very interesting to read everyone’s point of view on subjects, especially health!
Tonya says
Hey, I made KitchenStew (again?). 😀
On the topic of common sense, it seems that who funds a study is always a sticking (picking) point, in spite of the fact it’s peer reviewed research, however, articles from biased sources, like natural news are acceptable. If you’re going to use bias in your favor, then you must recognize it goes both ways. that said, having been on the inside of the peer review process (my former boss was a peer reviewer, so i saw what she put article submitted for publication through), peer review is TOUGH. things do not slide by on the merits of the authors or the hype of the findings.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Good to know – so you’re saying that “peer reviewed” should hold WAY more weight than following the money? Yes, Natural News.com isn’t the most unbiased source, is it? 🙂 Katie
Tonya says
My former boss probably reviewed 8-10 articles for possible publication each year for 3 years while I worked for her. Of all those, she only approved ONE without sending it back for either “major revisions” or denying it altogether. Peer review is stringent & important & no joke.
It’s also important to look at the journal. Not all are created equal. Journals have what’s called “impact factor”. The higher the impact factor, the more prestigious the journal & the more stringent the reviewers are. lesser known journals would be more apt to accept a paper that did not have enough numbers behind it to truly show a trend or was not properly controlled.
Also, universities are very picky about being on the up & up where conflicts of interest are concerned. If a professor or researcher wants to do consulting for a company, it has to be reviewed and approved by the university beforehand & it gets reported. no university wants to have to deal with the shame & fallout of retracting papers due to bad research or some CoI issue.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Tonya,
Would the article itself say “peer-reviewed” right on it? Or the whole journal? I can honestly say that I hear the term but don’t know how to look for it necessarily…
Thank you!! 🙂 Katie
Tonya says
I am not familiar with seeing “peer reviewed” actually labelled on a paper. It’s the journal the paper is published in that provides the “weight” behind the findings. For all practical purposes, all scientific journals are peer reviewed. It goes back to the impact factor as to which ones carry the most weight. If you go to the homepage of any journal, you’ll see the editorial board & editors listed. those are the “peers” of the peer review process, picked at random by subspecialty (so they’re experts in the area the paper is written on) & then they confidentially review the paper. their review is anonymously given back to the writers who submitted the paper who can then make changes based on the comments & questions posed by the reviewers. when the reviewers are satisfied (it can take a long time & sometimes never happens) the paper is published.
here’s an example article from the “Nature Reviews Cancer” journal. http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v13/n6/full/nrc3521.html
Note the editors declare where their funding came from & conflicts of interest. This information is also present when the article is submitted, so the reviewers are aware of all that info from the get go.
Here’s their impact factor from their homepage: 2011 ISI Impact Factor 37.545*
IMPACT FACTOR
The 2011 impact factor for Nature Reviews Cancer is 37.545, according to the ISI Journal Citation Reports. This makes Nature Reviews Cancer the number one monthly review journal in the field of oncology.
The 2011 impact factor represents the number of citations in 2011 of papers published in 2009 and 2010, divided by the total number of citable papers published in 2009 and 2010. A more detailed explanation of impact factors appears on the ISI web site. (http://wokinfo.com/essays/impact-factor/)
Their editors: http://www.nature.com/nrc/info/about_editors.html
Tonya says
& here’s an itemization as to why the recent article about pigs & gmo’s is junk science….published in a journal basically no one is heard of & does not appear in pubmed (database of journals) written by authors with clear bias who did not list it, using flawed methods.
http://doccamiryan.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/from-i-smell-a-rat-to-when-pigs-fly-bad-science-makes-its-rounds/
Shana says
Hi! I prefer the long posts in the email 🙂
Sarah says
I love this topic of course and love you Katie, but was disheartened to read at the end of the post that it was attached to yet another person selling another ebook on their blog. All of these posts on these nutrition blogs are selling something and it gets tiresome to know what is just honest getting by and what is scratching each others business’ back….I am guess a good dose of common sense is in order. 😉
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Sarah,
Point taken! Laurie had asked if I wanted to do a special promotion for her book months ago, and I had it on my “post ideas” list, so when I realized that this week’s topics so perfectly aligned with the title, I had to include it. I didn’t want to take an entire post and run a giveaway, though, so she has the giveaway on her own blog at my request. So…I am finding the balance, but I definitely understand that it seems like there are a lot of ebooks being sold (there are!) and the affiliate programs mean that bloggers will often help each other out. Thanks for sticking around anyway; I definitely try to provide most of my stuff for free! 🙂 Katie
Melissa says
Looking forward to reading more from you but I’d prefer to see the entire post in my reader/email.
Thanks
Melissa says
I love your blog, Katie! Thanks for helping me use my own ‘common sense’ in order to feed and take care of my family in the best way I can!
And… I agree with Leigh… I read KS in a feed reader and I will not click over to the website each day. Please bring back the whole post to us!
Thanks! 🙂
Stacy Makes Cents says
🙂
Grace S. says
Yes, I know……it really doesn’t take much work to click over to your website…..but I really don’t want “one more thing to do”. I’d rather have the whole post.
Blessings!
Tracy V says
I have to say I agree. Especially when trying to read the article on my phone. Thanks!
Kate says
I’m with Grace 🙂
Talia says
I’d also like to just have the entire post available in the email.
Cheryl P says
Sounds good! Looking forward to the rest of the week. 🙂
And I’m one more for the whole post. It irritates me no END that the other bloggers do that – I don’t always have time to be opening up websites when I’m trying to clear my many blogpost emails. If I can’t read the post from my email, I will rarely click over – I just delete the whole thing. If I CAN read the whole post, most often I end up clicking over, so I can read the comments. 😉
(that and the “check the first comment for link” thing all the bloggers seem to be doing on Facebook – who is teaching everyone all these annoying habits?!)
Cheryl P says
Oh, and THANK YOU for asking us your readers about it! 🙂
Louise says
I believe the bloggers are doing that on Facebook because Facebook is limiting the audience for posts that contain links. The bloggers have a better chance of reaching you if they “hide” the link. I’ve seen bloggers with 10K+ followers say that FB is showing linked posts to approximately 1% of their followers.
I do completely agree about the long posts, though, Katie. I tend to poke through my inbox last thing as I shut down the computer for the night, and may choose not to read a post rather than re-opening a browser I just closed in order to read it.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Cheryl,
Thanks for your feedback! Changing back by tomorrow… 😉
The FB thing is because of Facebook’s new algorithms that show certain types of updates more than others – links are not often shown, which hurts bloggers.
🙂 Katie
Mindy R says
Great topic! I do hate when a friend or family member sends me a link to a site for a new weight loss program, money making scheme, new product, etc., and the site is obviously bogus! I know so many people who need to know the rules of internet research! Can’t wait to see what’s to come 🙂
I prefer the longer emails for sure. Saves me a click sometimes…not a huge deal but I like it. Thanks for asking!
Anastasia @ eco-babyz says
I’ve been seriously amazed by the lack of common sense in the general public lately, especially among teenagers and young adults. I arrive at many decisions by simple common sense and logic. I mean, even something as complex as the vaccine topic – to me the common sense is that I cannot allow highly potent, carcinogenic toxins along with viruses to be injected into my perfectly healthy, thriving children. There is no logic or common sense in that. (but that’s me, and if someone believes differently it’s their right)
Tracy says
Katie – I love your posts and I read everything – no – I devour everything. I read in a reader, though, and won’t click over to the website to finish the posts. Please, please put it back! I promise that I do still visit your site occasionally, and I try to support the sponsors I see there or the ones you mention in posts. Please return the whole post!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Tracy,
You’re one of many! They’ll be back by tomorrow’s email.. 😉 Katie
Tess says
Hi Katie,
I just unsubscribed from a list that did post “previews”.
I signed up to get the email, so I can read my email at my leisure. Not get a reminder to click to go to the blog. It’s very annoying to me.
I hope you keep the longer emails.
thanks much,
Tess S.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Yes, already changed! 🙂 Katie
Tess says
Awesome, thanks so much Katie!! 🙂
Catty says
I prefer longer posts. I would rather scan down a long article, than have to click on links,which causes a delay during download, which I then have to scan down the long article.
Mona S Casselman says
I love common sense stuff!
As a 55 yr old Boomer raised off the beaten path and living in Alaska, I do struggle sometimes with access to local foods, etc that are affordable so the “real food” is sometimes a challenge. Since both my husband and I have physical challenges, subsistence living is tough. We do as much as we are able (gardening, homemade everything possible, upcycling) and are blessed by friends who bring us fish, etc.
Anyway, just the comment that, for some of us, access is an issue in the changes we can make!
Thanks for the fun and interesting posts.