Happy New Year!
At this time of the year, nutrition news can be overwhelming! Eat this food not this other food, fast twice a week, eat all you want, but wait! this is a bad food and this one is a miracle food . It seems like every day headlines are contradicting each other making us suspicious and wondering what to believe!
Althought I don’t have all the answers, the following tips may help you make sense of breaking nutrition news:
Promise a quick fix – Those wild claims can be tempting. Please don’t fall for them!
Claims sound too good to be true – Is that simple, if it sounds too easy and too good to be true, then is probably a scam.
Recommendations based on a single study – As health professionals, we rely on multiple if not hundreds of studies done in different countries with different populations, different age groups, different climates, etc. The key is that all of them find the same results. So when a single study claims something different from hundreds of studies; we need to dig deeper into research to back those findings.
Lists of “good and “bad” foods – We all have different likes and dislikes and as health professionals we need to incorporate likes and dislikes so you can be more successful.
Discredit reputable scientific organizations – Bashing reputable organizations should make us all suspicious. These health organizations mission is to help you not hurt you. There mission and vission are set on high standards and althought not one is perfect, they do provide science base information.
Claims made to help sell a product – One can point out the benefit of a product with no harm (disclosures up front please), but when a company tells you that they have the miracle product that not one is telling you about…then you should be very suspicious of a scam.
Claims based on studies without peer review – A reputable study is reviewed by other experts in the same field. This way experts can evaluate your study methods, results, conclusions and point out any issues.
Claims from studies that ignore cultural and individual differences – We are all VERY different and require individualized meal plans. A science base study would have the study done in different parts of the world with different populations and still get the same results. That is science at it’s best!
Let me know if you have any questions. I welcome your thoughts 🙂
