Distinguishing between good and poor quality health information

Apologies for my absence. I have been preoccupied with returning to uni and the return of some of my really bad eating habits! But more about that later. This is an ‘informative’ blog post, rather than one focussing on my health and fitness journey.

I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago, but only just got around to finishing it today, being inspired by last night’s 12wbt e-mail, which mentioned some of the exact issues; “super foods” and “high protein diets”, that I have been thinking about lately. I have so much more respect for Michelle Bridges after that e-mail. She is so much more than a personal trainer. She actually knows what she is talking about and is genuinely interested in promoting health.  

I was originally going to make this a post on protein and high protein diets. But when I started writing it in my head (as I always do for a few days before actually getting around to putting pen to paper- or fingers to keyboard), I realised there was too much I wanted to say for just one post. So in this post I feel like I should talk about how and why we should critique the health and nutrition information that comes our way. This will act as kind of an intro for what I will be talking about next time.

Distinguishing between good and poor quality
health information

The reason I want to talk about critiquing health and nutrition information is because lately I have been astounded and very frustrated by the amount of misinformation (or blatant untruths) being bestowed upon the general population, who, more often than not, don’t know any better.This whole thing sort of started when I joined a gym earlier this year. As part of the start-up package I received some personal training sessions and nutrition consultations.

The first personal training session involved going through my goals, expectations, current eating habits etc. This was all fine until the personal trainer informed me (after asking how many serves of protein I eat a day- typical!) that yogurt and eggs don’t count as animal protein. Alrighty then!

Now, the old me would have had a lot to say about that. I feel the need to correct people when they are wrong. Unfortunately people don’t like to be corrected, so I am slowly learning to just keep my mouth shut unless people actually ask. Instead I made sure he knew that I was studying nutrition. He didn't offer any more nutrition advice after that.

The nutrition consultations were a bizarre experience. I figured there wouldn't be a lot they could do for me since I already know how to, and generally do eat healthily. But the consultations were free and I was eager to meet some people who actually work in the field that I am interested in. However, the strangest thing happened. Not only did the first consultant I saw basically ignore the fact that I was one subject away from a nutrition major (qualifying me to register as an associate nutritionist), she completely belittled my food diary, which I still believe was very healthy.

My breakfasts were (I quote) “crap”. Why was I eating a slice of toast with my egg when I could just eat more eggs? Why was I eating fruit at breakfast time? You can’t eat fruit! Protein, protein, protein. Eat more protein!

I explained that I need carbohydrates in my breakfast because I don’t have the energy to exercise otherwise and her response was “okay, but you’ll get used to it”. At the time I didn't know all the facts about high protein diets and was not aware of how unnecessary and even detrimental they can be, so while I knew enough to basically ignore everything she said, it still made me doubt myself.   

The other problem I had with the consultation was that my mum (we had our consultations at the same time) openly admitted that she drinks too much alcohol and it needs to be addressed, however, this fact was completely ignored in the suggestions that were made. She also basically told my mum that she doesn't need to lose weight (2-3kg maximum) because she is older, and therefore allowed to have more body fat. My mum is clearly overweight and unhappy with her appearance. Her waist circumference and waist/hip ratio are also way too high- factors that weren't even acknowledged. This is just plain bad advice! This consultant was not interested in tailoring her advice to suit us as individuals. She was just interested in pushing her high protein regime and other extreme beliefs (that are not based on evidence) onto us.

The second appointment was with a different consultant. A nutrition student, like myself. Looking at the notes from the last consultation she said, “How’s everything been going? It says here that your fruit consumption was too high. Have you addressed that?”
I replied, “No, I only eat two pieces of fruit a day and I think that is completely acceptable.” 

To which she agreed with me. She assumed from the comment that I must have been eating 5 or 6 servings a day. After talking to her for a little longer she told me that I was on top of things and knew what I was doing.

I had assumed that all the consultants here were actually nutritionists and I was interested in learning about how they went about becoming registered. After talking to one of the women there who told me she was a nutritionist, but gave me extremely vague and unhelpful advice beyond that, I looked into her qualifications and realised that she had no formal nutrition education. So she was clearly not registered, yet was telling me she was a qualified nutritionist!

      

Luckily, because I am educated in health science, I didn't take everything that I was told for granted in these situations. And as it turns out, I actually know more about nutrition than the people who were meant to be giving me advice. That’s a scary thought! So now that I have shared my experience I will talk about the general ways in which this misinformation might get out there, which will hopefully allow you to better distinguish between good and bad quality health information. Not all of these scenarios are sinister, but some are.

The main reasons why health misinformation is perpetuated:

1. People giving advice or recommendations beyond their level of expertise

For example, personal trainers are given extremely minimal education in nutrition. This seems ridiculous, given the nature of their job, but that’s how it is. For this reason, personal trainers are only qualified to give very basic nutrition advice, however this doesn’t stop them from giving out information that is beyond their training. A health and fitness professional is unlikely to tell a client that they “don’t know” the answer to a nutrition question or are “not qualified” to answer. Or they might have taken it upon themselves to learn more about nutrition, but this does not mean that what they’ve learnt is from a reliable source, or that the information was understood properly. For this reason, it is good to be cautious with any kind of advice you receive in these kinds of situations, particularly if the person seems to have some very strong or extreme opinions.

2. The nutrition profession is poorly regulated

There is no compulsory registry for nutritionists. Basically this means that a person can call themselves a nutritionist without having to actually prove that they know anything about nutrition. The Nutrition Society of Australia offers voluntary registration for qualified nutritionists and registration is only available to those who have completed appropriate tertiary study as well as 3 years experience in the work force. So if you are going to seek the advice of a nutritionist, make sure that they are registered with the Nutrition Society. On a similar note, anyone can write a diet book or weight loss program, whether they know what they are talking about or not. You could write one tomorrow!

3. Ulterior motives

Basically, if the person giving you the information is trying to get money out of you, be sceptical of the claims that are being made. This is particularly relevant when a person or advertisement is selling supplements or anything that promises “fast and easy weight loss”. Even when the information appears to be based on scientific evidence, you should still be sceptical. On the off chance that the study used is actually good quality and unbiased, the results are often exaggerated, misinterpreted or straight-up misreported. 

But ulterior motives aren’t always so easy to spot. “Super Foods” are a great example. Ever notice that these miracle foods are all imported from exotic locations and cost a lot of money? You are better off eating some broccoli... It’s pretty super :). Pretty much, anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. And anything that is ridiculously expensive is probably unnecessary.

What makes me particularly angry is when supposed experts, such as scientists, decide to promote or endorse a product. This is one of the biggest marketing ploys that companies use, because psychologically, we are prone to believing what a man in a white coat has to say. These people get payed a lot of money for their “expert opinion”, which conveniently consists of exactly what the company wants us to believe about their product. I find this tactic particularly disgusting, because people who are educated in this stuff should know better. It just shows an utter lack of integrity.  

Final word 

I wish that people would stop trying to take advantage of those who desperately want to lose weight and become healthier. We should want to help and support anyone who is trying to make positive changes to their lives. I know I’m being idealistic, because I know what the world is like. There are a lot of greedy people out there and a lot of money to be made in the weight loss industry. It just makes me sad I guess. I haven’t even finished my degree, yet I've already found myself refusing to apply for a job that would have been great for my resume because I didn't agree with the idea of health and nutrition that they were promoting.

Even though it might be of detriment to me, I refuse to compromise my values and beliefs in terms of healthy living just to make money. The health industry should be about just that; assisting people in becoming healthy. Health is not a thing to be bought or sold, and this idea that health is only available to the highest bidder is ridiculous. Health is not about how much money you have to spend on the latest fads or products. Health is a lifestyle. A choice you make every day.

To be, or not to be... (yes, I am that lame!)

E-mail: creatinghealthykatie@gmail.com

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