Know-It-All
Where does one draw the line between being passionate about something and being a know-it-all? This is a question I continually face in my life with regard to nutrition, with the most recent dilemma occurring in class this morning.
In my Determinants of Health Disparities class, one of my classmates asked, “So, is Splenda safe?” My professor, a sociologist by trade, replied that she was not familiar with the safety of various sweeteners; she presumed that Splenda is the least safe due to its relatively recent introduction to the market. As an interested consumer, I have spent a considerable amount of time learning about artificial sweeteners and their varying side effects. While I personally choose not to use sucralose (aka Splenda), the consensus among the sources I have read is that Splenda is likely the safest and most extensively researched artificial sweetener currently available, while others such as aspartame and acesulfame-K are more questionable in terms of potential side effects.
Anyway, I wanted to share all this information with my classmates and my professor…but I feared that I would perceived as a know-it-all and kept quiet. As per usual, my shyness and general self-consciousness dominated my behavior in this situation.
What would you have done? Do you ever fear that you sound like a know-it-all?
Sigh. Yet another post delving into the psychological underpinnings of Ms. Broccoli Hut. Let’s get to the food, shall we?
Thursday
Before heading over to Seth’s house for a little study session, I treated myself to a big honkin’ bowl of tortilla soup. FYI, everything tastes better when eaten out of a jumbo mug.
Friday
This morning was another rushed one, but I still attempted to squeeze in a few extra minutes of study time for my test. I was so distracted by my study materials that I ended up with Greek yogurt all over my face…Fage face, indeed. If I weren’t in such a hurry, I would have taken a picture 
Due to the narsty weather today, all I was craving for lunch was yet another bowl of soup. This time I changed it up with some Chickpea, Veggie, & Barley Soup, inspired by one of my favorite cookbooks.
Now I am off to class and a field trip to Kroger…details to come. Have a great weekend!
Filed under: Meals
Hello and welcome! I have created this blog for people who love food, especially healthful, vegetarian food.
I have just graduated from Duke University with degrees in English and psychology. I plan to pursue a master's degree in nutrition starting in Fall 2010. Ideally, I would like to combine my love of food and the written word someday as a health writer.
I do sometimes fear sounding like a know it all, but I think it is okay to be knowledgeable
Your eats are fantastic! Have fun at the grocery!!
Oohh Kroger, I may be going there tonight
or HEB, our other local grocery.
Love the look of that soup! T’is the season.
I tend to be shy about sharing my knowledge in class beyond a few hand raises because I quickly become recognized as “the smart one,” which really has nothing to do with intellect but about who has done the homework and who hasn’t. The professor will like you, but the rest of the class will be leery.
I think you should have spoken up! You’re clearly a smart cookie, and I’m sure your knowledge would have been appreciated.
A question. Do you still eat the cocoa covered almonds and were those blue diamond brand or another kind? I used to love the blue diamond but they have sucralose on the ingredient list and I’ve been looking for all-natural ones since with no luck
I’m exactly the same way- I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but it would bother me! It’s interesting actually…I hear my friends/peers talk about health stuff and a lot of the time it’s false or they’re confused but I’m afraid to chime in cuz I don’t want to be “one of THOSE people”
Fage face – haha, I love it! Funny you should mention the ‘know it all’ thing because there are definitely times when I bite my tongue. When it comes to healthy eating/nutrition/working out I keep my mouth shut unless I’m asked for advice. Everyone is different so I don’t want to push my views on others.
That mug is awesome!! Haha could you imagine drinking coffee or something from it!
I face this scenario ALL the time in my nutrition nursing classes!! I usually speak up and accept the glares from my fellow classmates…I’m there for the grade, not friends! haha…i’m friendly I swear! Splenda is table sugar that has been removed of it’s ‘sugar’ and in place of glucose has had CHLORINE (Cl) molecules bonded to it. It doesn’t turn into Chlorine inside your body, the reason for this bond is that your body doesn’t recognize the molecule, therefore it goes undigested….and who knows what happens to the undigested molecules! (a lot of people complain of bloat and upset stomach..) I am anti-artificial sweetener because not a lot is know about them..
WOW I’m sorry I just rambled! Your eats look delicious! You always come up with such tasty food-pairings! I hope you have a great weekend! xoxo!
oh man i totally understand your mental debate on this! especially with nutrition realted things i always struggle with “do i speak up or keep my hand down so people aren’t tempted to hurl spitballs my way?” i think we should both work up the nerve to speak our minds about what we know, that’s the point of discussion in college anyway! i think we both have enough social smarts to not ramble on for days or sound really uppity about it!
ah i get so worried that in certain situations people will think i am acting like a know it all, but i think it is good to speak up!
I probably have done what you did, not say anything because you know it’s inconclusive and sounds like know it isn’t welcome to anyone.
Your tortilla soup is looking muy muy tasty! Sometimes I get shy too and dont speak up even when I know something is true. Im afraid of sounding like a know it all but then i question myself and why i wont speak up if im sure i know something.
Have a nice weekend
I probably wouldn’t have said anything either. If there was no professor there, I would have but since she’s supposed to be all knowing on the subject, I wouldn’t want to undermine her.
The soup with the pepitas looks delicious!
It is a tricky difficult dilemma, for me it depends who the other people I am with, and what the subject is about. Sometimes you might actually be helping the others in the group by spreading your knowledge about something they don’t know about, yet are interested in. However, I have to be fairly sure of myself, and so am said to be quite quiet within my heavily group based course… and I dislike blushing! For me, Splenda/sucralose, and its bad rep is a little of a sore point- my father’s lab group here in England having discovered the synthesis of sucralose, then being involved in its development and testing. I’ve talked to him a lot about the safety testing, and he has said it was unbelievably rigorous, due to the past issues with cyclamate etc, and that if there had been a shadow of a doubt about its safety, it would have been rejected by the food standards agencies (for example, here in Europe, stevia is still banned because of just a few studies that have shown slight abnormalities in rats fed with it). The company he was working for apparently wouldn’t have continued with development if they thought it wouldn’t come to market ‘cos of costs- and you can’t underestimate the power of the sugar industry in manipulating rumours apparently?! Granted, though, we all do seem to have certain sensitivities to different food products- don’t give me inulin, quinoline yellow or MSG, oh and xylitol, hello toilet!
I’m sorry, Caroline, I’ve taken up your comments space again. I should just start a blog of my own, but it wouldn’t be a patch on ones like yours and Allie’s! I hope the snowfall up North doesn’t cause too many problems where you are
Your know what? I am one of those people who won’t open their mout unless I know I am 100% correct. Therefore, I know that I come across as a know it all sometimes. But then again, someone usually beats me to it, because I hate speaking up in class.
Don’t worry about coming across as a know it all. You clearly are a very brigt girl and you deserve to have people aware of how brilliant you are!
Hm, this happened to me too, during my journalism class when my prof kept saying a Chinese character word wrong. It was grating, to say the least, but I kept my mouth shut because she seemed SO confident in her pronounciation.
I think it is okay to speak up, since your professor clearly invited other opinions, and even said she isn’t sure.
I probably would have kept my mouth shut…i’m not one to put people on the spot…and i wouldn’t have appreciated if someone did it to me. I dunno though, it’ll depend on the situation?
Your meals are banging as usual! Love the fage on waffle…that’s my favorite topping on waffles, along with a dollop of jam and strawberries!
P.s. Come check out my $50 safeway giftcard giveaway!! Every girl needs some extra grocery money!
I might have kept quiet depending on how big the class is – I can be shy at times in big groups especially. Your tortilla soup looks SO good and hearty, yum!
Personally, I wouldn’t have spoken up either because I would have been afraid of coming across as a know-it-all too!
But now that you brought up the issue, I *do* think it would be a good thing to speak up. I think as nutrition majors, sometime we don’t want to come across as ‘food police’ or smart know-it-alls, but since the girl was *asking* about it in the class, she most likely really wanted to have an answer. And, if your answer wasn’t too longwinded, she probably would have really appreciated it.
I’m going to have to remember this the next time I’m confronted with the same scenario…it’s always hard knowing if it’s okay to speak up or not!!
kroger field trip?!?! cant wait to hear about it!?
I always feel like a know it all!!! It actually prevented me from a promotion at my old job, and I hated that so I have worked on it , tried to be conscious of it ever since.
I think sometimes it can be helpful to think of it in terms of what you would contribute to everyone else- would they really find it helpful to know the information you wish to share? is it overwhelming to them, is it related or necessary?
I also think the way you word what you have to say to others is critical- if you were to pose your thoughts in the form of a discussion or questions, it might be a better approach to getting a valuable discussion going without sounding like “I know this and you should all know it too”
Maybe asking: “Has anyone else seen how much research has been done on splenda? Is research more prevalent now than when the others were developed?” … not playing dumb..but … ya know what Im saying?
hope you are having a great field trip!
I think it’s so unfortunate that people are judgmental to the point where we feel uncomfortable sharing our opinions in class. I’m guilty of the same thing. Often, I choose not to talk in class because I’m already labeled as “the smart girl.” I think you should speak up and share knowledge without worrying about what other people think (giving myself a pep talk here, too).
Love all the soup you’re eating! I made and froze a big batch of kale soup that I think I’m going to get out of the freezer today!