Nutrition fads and frauds are rampant in this day and age. People are looking for the “magic pill,” or in this case more so the magic food, that will make them feel wonderful and cure all that ails them. Everywhere you look, you will ?nd “the new” diet, supplements promising amazing results, ergogenic aids touting increased athletic performance, and health claims on practically every product! Foods, indispensable to life, have always been thought to either heal or harm, and these myths persist, even if they are inconsistent with scienti?c evidence.
The primary problem associated with these food fads and frauds, and the beliefs they instill in their subscribers, is that these food regimens go against sound food/nutrition practices. Believing in such claims may keep people from seeking complete and appropriate medical care and promote unhealthy mega-dosing of vitamin/mineral supplements. People adhering to fads often excessively restrict their diet by limiting the variety of foods or food groups, take “natural” substances with potentially toxic effects (see issues discussing herb- al remedies), and spend money on these regimens or substances that would be better spent elsewhere. People spend billions and billions of dollars every year on unproven fads and diet regimens that may not help them (as a population, we are only getting heavier!) and may actually be dangerous.
According to the Food and Nutrition Alliance, a well respected nutrition “authority,” the following are “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science.” A combination of these signs should send up a red ?ag of suspicion about a product or service.
1. Recommendations that promise a quick fix. Healthy weight loss, and weight loss that is composed of fat rather than water and muscle, is GRADUAL weight loss. Your goal should generally be about 2 pounds per week after the ?rst couple of weeks (when their will be additional water weight loss).
2. Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen. They are probably trying to scare you into believing in their product.
3. Claims that sound too good to be true. If they sound exaggerated, they probably are.
4. Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study. If the topic is particularly important to you, go to the actual study and ?nd out what conclusions the researchers themselves came to. For example, some companies will quote a study and draw their own conclusions; but when you go to the actual study, the researchers expressly state NOT to draw those conclusions and will explain why you cannot.
5. Recommendations based on a single study. If a study’s results can’t be reproduced, then the study probably had some type of procedural problem that made the results invalid. If the issue was worth studying once, you can bet that there were many other studies on the same topic.
6. Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scienti?c organizations. Reputable scienti?c organizations are made up of the best minds in the ?eld. Take their word for it. For example, three reliable groups are the
American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association, and the Food and Nutrition Science Alliance. Keep in mind, however, that some other groups may make their name sound the same as one of the reputable groups. If in doubt, research the name on the internet or in the library.
7. Lists of “good” and “bad” foods. Nutrition is much more a science of gray than it is of black and white.
8. If they do, look at it as you would any advertisement. If the author uses phrases such as “energy boosting,” “man-made,” “stripped of nutrients,” etc. they are trying to “sell” their idea or product. Take what they say as an advertisement.
9. Recommendations based on studies published without peer review. Peer review means that other experts in the ?eld have had an opportunity to critique the study, pointing out any ?aws.
10. Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups. Everyone is not the same! Nutrition fads and frauds usually direct their claims toward those who would most bene?t from their product if the claims were true; such as people with diseases or speci?c health issues, the elderly, and especially athletes who are always trying to get the best performance from their bodies.
Use these tips to fully evaluate claims, so that you may truly bene?t from the products available, rather than be a victim of fads and frauds.
The primary problem associated with these food fads and frauds, and the beliefs they instill in their subscribers, is that these food regimens go against sound food/nutrition practices. Believing in such claims may keep people from seeking complete and appropriate medical care and promote unhealthy mega-dosing of vitamin/mineral supplements. People adhering to fads often excessively restrict their diet by limiting the variety of foods or food groups, take “natural” substances with potentially toxic effects (see issues discussing herb- al remedies), and spend money on these regimens or substances that would be better spent elsewhere. People spend billions and billions of dollars every year on unproven fads and diet regimens that may not help them (as a population, we are only getting heavier!) and may actually be dangerous.
According to the Food and Nutrition Alliance, a well respected nutrition “authority,” the following are “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science.” A combination of these signs should send up a red ?ag of suspicion about a product or service.
1. Recommendations that promise a quick fix. Healthy weight loss, and weight loss that is composed of fat rather than water and muscle, is GRADUAL weight loss. Your goal should generally be about 2 pounds per week after the ?rst couple of weeks (when their will be additional water weight loss).
2. Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen. They are probably trying to scare you into believing in their product.
3. Claims that sound too good to be true. If they sound exaggerated, they probably are.
4. Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study. If the topic is particularly important to you, go to the actual study and ?nd out what conclusions the researchers themselves came to. For example, some companies will quote a study and draw their own conclusions; but when you go to the actual study, the researchers expressly state NOT to draw those conclusions and will explain why you cannot.
5. Recommendations based on a single study. If a study’s results can’t be reproduced, then the study probably had some type of procedural problem that made the results invalid. If the issue was worth studying once, you can bet that there were many other studies on the same topic.
6. Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scienti?c organizations. Reputable scienti?c organizations are made up of the best minds in the ?eld. Take their word for it. For example, three reliable groups are the
American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association, and the Food and Nutrition Science Alliance. Keep in mind, however, that some other groups may make their name sound the same as one of the reputable groups. If in doubt, research the name on the internet or in the library.
7. Lists of “good” and “bad” foods. Nutrition is much more a science of gray than it is of black and white.
8. If they do, look at it as you would any advertisement. If the author uses phrases such as “energy boosting,” “man-made,” “stripped of nutrients,” etc. they are trying to “sell” their idea or product. Take what they say as an advertisement.
9. Recommendations based on studies published without peer review. Peer review means that other experts in the ?eld have had an opportunity to critique the study, pointing out any ?aws.
10. Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups. Everyone is not the same! Nutrition fads and frauds usually direct their claims toward those who would most bene?t from their product if the claims were true; such as people with diseases or speci?c health issues, the elderly, and especially athletes who are always trying to get the best performance from their bodies.
Use these tips to fully evaluate claims, so that you may truly bene?t from the products available, rather than be a victim of fads and frauds.
SHARE
