Nutrition Misinformation and You

I have been debating about what to write my next blog about, but one thing keeps coming to mind.

Where do you get your nutrition information?  Who can you trust?

It's no secret that the weight loss and diet industry in the US and many other areas of the world rakes in billions if not trillions of dollars each year.  The freedom of information on the internet and TV allows anyone to advertise their ability to DROP 30lbs in A WEEK! or whatever their miraculous claim may be, and the advertiser may have never even stepped foot in a basic nutrition class.  While some claims may seem obviously fabricated, there is that gray area.  What if a DOCTOR recommends a diet pill or amazing diet plan?  Does that suddenly make it legit?  Here is a simple litmus test to follow when evaluating nutrition information to see if it is valid.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  This may seem like common sense, because it is common sense.  Remember the last weight loss advertisement you saw on TV with miraculous "before" and "after" photos -- the ones where the person goes from frumpy and fat to ripped and lean like a professional body builder?  Many companies hire formerly fit athletes who were recently injured or hospitalized and may have gained some weight due to being inactive.  When they lose weight, their bodies will be able to get back to that extremely toned physique that the average couch potato is not going to be able to train their muscles to achieve no matter how hard they try.  The ephedra diet supplement (also known as ephedrine or ma huang) was marketed for weight loss for years -- only to find out that, by the way, it can kill you -- but you can still easily find it sold on the internet and likely in several stores.  Maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism when approaching any nutrition information is not only safer for you, it's just plain smart.  Take the time to find unbiased research that backs up the information you're given.  PubMed, Cochrane Reviews, and the National Institutes of Health are some good places to start.

What is the source of the nutrition information?  A friendly, good looking doctor espouses the benefits of an extremely low carbohydrate diet.  Coming from a doctor makes it sound legitimate and safe, right?  What if I told you that doctor's degree is in journalism or marketing, and he's never taken a nutrition class in his life?  This is a more common phenomenon than you might think.  Gary Taubes, who hails himself as a self-proclaimed medical and nutrition guru, has Master's degrees in applied physics, aerospace engineering, and journalism.  I don't know about you, but I certainly don't go around the country lecturing about physics -- I've never taken a physics course in my life and don't know the first thing about it, so how Mr. Taubes can presume to know anything about nutrition AND people believe him is beyond me.  Jeffrey Smith, the man behind the "Institute for Responsible Technology", a leading proponent against genetically modified foods (GMOs), has a marketing degree -- absolutely no science background.  Two doctors of biochemistry and food science made a website refuting every single claim in one of Smith's books, backed with research evidence.  Yet Smith still tours the country and gets on TV as an expert on GMOs.

So where should you turn for nutrition information?  Your neighborhood Registered Dietitian (RD) is a good source -- but again, maintain a healthy dose of skepticism.  Even the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) has corporate sponsors that include Coca Cola, Hershey's, PepsiCo, Mars Incorporated, General Mills, Kellogg's, Soyjoy, and the National Dairy Council.  A Hershey bar and a 2-liter of Coke sure don't sound like good nutrition to me, and whatever they may say, I can't believe that corporate sponsorship like that is not going to make an organization at least a little biased.  Not every RD specializes in weight loss therapy or nutrition for a particular disease, so again, do your homework.  Find a resource you are comfortable and feel safe with, and keep asking questions.

Be on the lookout for biased research.  The Corn Refiners Association puts out all of the ads about how great high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is.  Not to be outdone, The Sugar Association puts out almost as much material about how fantastic cane sugar or beet sugar is.  Research studies both parties site were funded by, guess who -- the Association that wants the result that says their product has some benefit over the other.  While the HFCS debate is a topic for another blog post, the point is: find out who did the research quoted and how they were funded.  Any legit research study must state any conflicts of interest for the authors, usually towards the end of the article.

In most cases, every popular diet or nutrition guru has a grain of truth somewhere behind what they're touting.  Unfortunately, the rest of what they promote may be a lot of smoke and mirrors.  But if you do a little research yourself and keep questioning what you're being told, you won't fall victim to the next potentially dangerous nutrition fad promoted by Joe Schmo with research paid for by the company that makes the product.  It's your health and nutrition; take control of it.
               

Keep asking yourself, "Why?"

I have a vivid memory of a nice dinner my now ex-husband Brian, my daughter Audre, and I had together several years ago.  At the time, it was a fun, family meal, we were all happy and enjoyed each other's company and the food we shared.  Audre would have been about 3 years old, coming into her intelligent and fun-loving personality.  But looking back on it now, I see a much more grim picture that invokes feelings of disgust.

The meal took place at McDonald's.  In rapid succession I ate 2 Big Macs, an extra-large serving of fries, a 44oz cherry coke (with a refill), and apple pies for dessert.  I have vague recollections of finishing Audre's uneaten fries, and we may have also shared a 10-piece Chicken McNugget.

At the end of the meal, I was still hungry.

Tipping the scales at 300lbs with enough fat stores to survive a worldwide famine, having ingested enough calories to feed a village for a week, and my body was still screaming, "Please, sir, may I have some more?".  Breaking down the fog of nauseous hindsight, I can't help but wonder... Why?

I have often questioned whether I have diabetes.  My blood sugar was checked in May of 2003 and I remember it being around 200mg/dL.  I had no idea what that meant at the time, except that it wasn't good.  I had eaten some oatmeal for breakfast that morning, but by standards now I was pre-diabetic if not diabetic.  In type 2 diabetes, the hormone insulin can't do its job very well.  Its most important job is to serve as the key opening the lock on glucose (sugar) transporters on most cells in the body, to allow glucose from the blood into the cell.  In type 2, the keyhole becomes distorted so that insulin cannot fit into it, and glucose builds up in the blood (hyperglycemia) and starts to damage smaller blood vessels and capillaries especially in the eyes, kidneys, and extremities.  On top of that, the cells are deprived of glucose (their preferred fuel for energy) and start sending out S.O.S. messages to the brain that they're starving, even if you've just eaten a McDonald's buffet with several buckets of pure sugar-laden soda.

9 years later and after losing 120 pounds, regaining it, and losing it again, my blood sugars were last hanging out with a HbA1c of 5.5.  Although I still occasionally have slightly high fasting blood sugars, this puts me into the "normal" category -- even though you technically can't "cure" diabetes, just control it.  One of the secrets the doctor doesn't specifically tell you is that there's a back door to get glucose from your blood into your starving cells: Exercise.  During exercise, a different glucose transporter on cells gets opened to allow glucose to come in without needing insulin to unlock it.  Your cells get fed, glucose doesn't build up in the blood, and everyone is happy again.  A balance still needs to be maintained between what you eat (how much glucose / sugar / carbs), when you eat (regular small meals!) and how much you exercise (plus what kind of exercise and intensity), but the jist is, exercise is good for you, folks.  And not just in that, "oh, just diet and exercise" way your doctor may casually remind you to do but not really believe you'll do it.  When you do it and stick with it almost every day, it works.  On days I don't get in a good sweaty, heart-pumping workout, I feel hungrier.  My cells start screaming for fuel.

For those of us who are insulin resistant or have type 2 diabetes, we should start asking why we always feel hungry, and listen to what your body is really trying to tell you.  If you've already eaten, your cells may be screaming, "Go for a walk!" instead of telling you to reach for that next Big Mac.  Speaking of which, my cells are telling me I should go to the gym right now.