Pay attention to these nutritional red flags to help spot false nutrition information.
From the days of well-dressed salesmen selling snake oil to the sleek, professional websites on the internet today, you need to know how to protect yourself from nutrition quackery. If you don’t, you may be wasting money on fraudulent nutrition services that are ineffective or risky to your health. Nutrition quackery is the promotion, for financial gain, of devices, treatments, services, plans, or products claimed to improve health, well-being, or appearance without proof of safety or effectiveness. Expanding this industry has been a problem, often hard for government regulation or enforcement. Would you know how to spot nutrition quackery if you saw it? Here are the top ten ways to identify it and to prevent you from being duped into something you don’t need:
1. Sounds too good to be true or promises a quick fix
When anything claims to offer easy and fast solutions to complicated issues, it is appealing to what people desire to hear. We all aspire to shed 10 pounds in a week, but it fails to mention that the chances of maintaining the weight loss are low. Similarly, a nutritional supplement may claim to “heal diabetes, gout, ulcers, and cancer,” but it is impossible for a single product to treat such a wide range of ailments.
2. Wants to make you suspicious about the food supply
This plays on people’s fears and wants to create distrust of the food supply. Usually, supplements are being sold that will supposedly make up the difference in what our food offers. Eating real food is still our best source of nutrients and is how our bodies assimilate and absorb nutrients. The farmers and ranchers of this country do an excellent job of growing, harvesting, and supplying us with nutritious food to enjoy and nourish our bodies.
3. Testimonials
We’ve probably all seen the “before” and “after” photos of weight-loss products. However, it’s essential to recognize that just because those individuals experienced success doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will achieve the same results. These results are often different from a control group or evaluated through scientific means, so it’s unrealistic to assume similar outcomes for others.
4. Fake credentials
You must ask about the seller’s credentials when purchasing a nutritional supplement. What is their background in nutrition? Have they obtained a degree in any type of human nutrition? It is crucial to understand the basis of their knowledge in this field.
5. Whole food groups are eliminated
If someone advises you to cut out a food group, like dairy products, altogether, it should raise concerns about the quality of the diet. A balanced and healthy diet should include a variety of foods from all the food groups. By consuming food in its natural form, possible from each food group, we can obtain the essential vitamins and minerals required daily. This ensures we get the correct combination of important nutrients such as fiber, protein, fat, antioxidants, and phytochemicals to maintain good health.
6. Meaningless medical jargon
Here’s an example you might see on a nutrition supplement label – “Beats the hunger stimulation point or HSP.” Huh? I’ve never heard of HSP. If there is unknown medical jargon on a food or supplement label, this is usually a phony term to hide a lack of scientific proof.
7. Use of the word “natural”
The term “natural” is often used in many foods and nutritional supplements. We all love seeing the word “natural” as we associate it with pure or not contaminated, but it has no legal definition when used on a label and can pretty much mean anything. Natural is not necessarily any better or safer and is used more as a selling point.
8. Pushes megadoses of supplements
It’s common for sellers of nutritional supplements to suggest taking a much higher amount of a nutrient than what’s necessary, known as megadosing. A megadose is defined as ten times the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for a nutrient, which is based on clinical studies of what an individual needs for that nutrient. However, it’s important to note that the supplement industry is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and can make various health claims. It’s important to remember that their main goal is to sell nutritional supplements and may want to make you wonder if you’re getting what you need.
9. “Supplements” and “health foods” are recommended to everyone
People selling supplements and health foods will tell you that regular food is not good enough or has deficiencies. Therefore, all of us need to take a nutritional supplement. Scientific research suggests that eating normal food contains components that interact in a synergistically complex manner that benefits our overall health. “Health food” is a deceptive term. Our dietary intake should be based on our comprehensive diet and food choices. All grocery stores have healthy foods, but it’s up to us to make the right choices to keep us healthy. The supplements and health foods they are trying to sell you are often more expensive than just purchasing regular food.
10. They offer special tests to determine your nutritional status
If you are recommended or suggested to have done a hair analysis, amino acid analysis of urine, or some other unscientific test to assess your nutritional status, don’t bother. You can be guaranteed the test will show you are nutrient deficient and need to buy the supplements they are selling. Tests to determine nutritional status should be done by a medical doctor or registered dietitian, including a physical exam and blood or urine tests performed by a medical laboratory.
Who are the nutrition experts?
Qualified nutrition experts are registered dietitians (RD) or licensed dietitians (LD). They have specialized degrees in dietetics, nutrition, public health, or a related science from an accredited university. Many hold advanced degrees such as M.S., M.Ed., Sc.D., M.D., or Ph.D. Continuing education must be done regularly to maintain registration status and keep current on new nutrition research. To find or be referred to a registered dietitian, check with your physician or local hospital or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) website to find a dietitian in your area: www.eatright.org.
This article was initially featured on Dr. Samadi’s website ©. To read more, follow this link.
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