Nutrition Misinformation

So many things are touted and so many claims are made in regards to health and nutrition these days and it can be hard to figure out what sound nutrition advice really consists of. Just like every other subject out there, nutrition "claims" are thrown around and often turn up to be misleading. In doing a homework assignment for my Nutrition Related to Sports and Fitness class I came across an excellent article that dealt with this very subject. I thought I'd pass along an exceprt from it describing 10 "red flags" that the information or health claims you are getting are not coming from a reliable source. (the rest of the article focuses on mainly how dieticians and health experts can show people the truth about nutrition when they've been mislead to believe other things, so it's probably not that interesting to you all, but to give credit the link is at the bottom of the page)

Ten flags that you might not be getting the whole truth:
1. Recommendations promise a quick fix.
2. They claim dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen.
3. Claims sound too good to be true.
4. Simplistic conclusions drawn from a "complex scientific study". (be sure to look at the studies they are claiming to be complex and scientific...)
5. Recommendations based on one single study.
6. Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations or go against common nutritional knowledge.
7. Lists of “good” and “bad” foods, or "good" and "bad" categorization of food groups.
8. Recommendations made to help sell a product.
9. Recommendations based on studies published without being reviewed by experts or scientists (it's your job to check and see who is claiming what, and what their motives may be).
10. Recommendations from studies that ignore individual or group differences. (stating individual results may vary...)



So a word of caution to those of you looking for nutritional information anywhere you can. It's good to be informed, but be careful where you look and don't believe everything you read or every claim you come across. Put your brain to work and think if it makes sense. If several of those red flags are raised, it's a good indicator to look elsewhere to find your information. It is easy for people to look for those "easy" and "quick fix" solutions to their nutritional woes, but usually there is no other reasonable answer than "just do it". We all know essentially what our bodies need to thrive, and use that knowledge to empower your decision making when reading those articles or hearing about fads in nutrition and you can make good judgments about them.

Yeah, you will lose weight if all you eat is cabbage soup, or cut out a certain nutrient all together (fats, carbs, protein) but that is because you are depriving your body nutritionally and essentially starving yourself of essential vitamins, minerals, and calories it needs to function and maintain health. If you can't continue a diet, weight loss or weight management regime for life, chances are, even if it helps you lose weight at the time, that it is probably not going to carry on forever and will back fire in the long run. That is how yo-yo dieting and yo-yo weights happen. Be careful where you look and always use common sense.

link to article "Food and Nutrition Misinformation" (for full text, simply click on the .pdf link on the page) http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.aspx?id=8383