Misconceptions & misinformation

Eat in moderation, and don’t forget to exercise – Pythagoras

Published 1st September 2024 By Rosemary Stanton, OAM
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Food, diets and nutrition have attracted plenty of odd theories. Way back in 570-495 BC, Pythagoras felt the need to reject crazy dietary ideas.

Misconceptions and misinformation thrive with whacky ideas about foods and diets spreading via the Internet. 

About 33 years ago, I wrote The Diet Dilemma, a book that exposed some of the absurdities of slimming scams prevalent at that time. These days, it’s not just crazy weight loss diets that attract attention. Merchants aiming to make millions out of a gullible public offer supplements, convincing their customers that the more expensive a vitamin or herbal mixture is, the better it must be.

We have plenty of quality medical and scientific journals dispensing the results of continuing research. Sadly, the reliable journals have been joined by literally thousands of online journals publishing rubbish.

Many of these actively predatory journals solicit ‘experts’ to supply papers, charging the ‘experts’ hefty fees for publication. Each week I get at least 4 requests from such journals asking me to sit on their editorial boards, or publish or peer-review papers. Others offer me a plum speaking role at a conference in some popular overseas venue. This may be a way to claim travelling costs as tax-deductible expenses, but some who have been taken in by such offers find few people there.

My lack of expertise in many areas appears to be no barrier to these requests. Some recent examples include invitations to contribute papers in biomedical engineering, business marketing and management, civil and also applied chemical engineering, computer science, and most worrying, surgery for the heart, head or neck! All I need for such publicity is to pay the publication fees.

In my genuine area of expertise, there’s also no lack of people selling diets and various nutritional products. The result is soaring sales of shonky products and supplements.

Celebrities of stage, screen and sport have become online ‘influencers’, often with some crazy ideas. Gwyneth Paltrow pushes various ways to ‘detox’ and promotes intravenous vitamins. The human body has inbuilt detox systems in the liver, lungs and kidneys and there’s no advantage – but potential damage – in having vitamins fed directly into the veins. There’s also a current shortage of intravenous fluids needed for hospital patients fighting for their lives, so why use them to give people vitamins that are available from pills – or food!

Novak Djokovic has a very healthy diet made up of vegetables, beans, white meat, fish, fruit, nuts, seeds, chickpeas, lentils and healthy oils. But he also promotes some crazy ideas such as claiming you can purify water with positive thinking. He also does a daily morning ‘detox’ with lemon juice and water.

As I write this article, my inbox pings with an unsolicited email offering me a “Brain Box chock full of amazing snack foods”. The wordy message tells me that these supplementary products will support “an ongoing supply of energy to the brain”. Not much evidence of any understanding of biochemistry in that claim. Apparently celebrities are ‘obsessed’ with these “varied functional foods and beverage items specifically supporting focus, concentration, attention, memory, mental energy and other critical facets of brain health”. At least the sender informs buyers These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Misinformation is rife. Many people reject the advice of genuine public health experts preferring their own ‘research’. There’s plenty on offer. It takes only a few minutes on the Internet to find modern ‘influencers’ and even some medical doctors with no training in nutrition (and often with their registration to practise medicine having been revoked) ready to convince you that your problems can be solved by avoiding particular substances in foods and purchasing their ‘exclusive’ (and expensive) supplements.

Many people who claim they are nutritionists have qualifications from a shonky private college or institution. I once sent off a form (and the required fee) for Samantha Stanton to join the American Association of Nutrition Consultants. Back came a fancy certificate inscribed with Samantha’s name, announcing she was now a professional member of the AANC. A package of forms also entitled her to discounts for rental cars, some motels and hotels in the USA plus the offer of laboratory tests, including hair analysis, for various nutrients. Had they done even a cursory check on their new member, they would have discovered she was our old English sheep dog, now deceased.

Some misinformation arises from a lack of understanding. A popular example concerns warnings about lectins. These are actually naturally-occurring proteins found in most plants. Foods with the highest levels include legumes (lentils and dried beans and peas) wheat and grains. Other sources include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and most fruits.

Although food sources of lectins feature in the diet of the longest living populations in the world, a prominent diet book author and supplement seller now claims they are a major cause of many ills, including obesity, cancer, heart disease, bloating, fatigue and acne.

In plants, lectins play a protective role during growth, defending them against predators. We also make some lectins within the body. They function as part of our immune system.

It’s certainly possible that consuming large quantities of lectins could have some negative effects for humans. Indeed a lectin in raw kidney beans that can cause red blood cells to clump together has long been a reason to advise people not to try to chew on a raw kidney bean. However, heat and cooking break down lectins, allowing us to take advantage of the great value of the antioxidants, protein, iron and other nutrients in kidney beans and other legumes.

Taking things out of context can also cause confusion. The World Health Organisation recommends keeping added sugars to a maximum of 10% of daily kilojoules, preferably 5%.

A recent article in a major Australian newspaper rated different fruits by their sugar content. However, WHO’s recommendation is for the daily intake of free sugars. The only time the sugars in fruit would be classified as ‘free sugars’ is if the juice is removed from the fruit and concentrated for use in so-called ‘health’ bars. Fruit juices can be problematic because it’s easy to consume the equivalent of many pieces of fruit if you drink the juice rather than chewing through the dietary fibre that makes a piece of fruit filling.

Take home message: be wary of supplement sellers, especially if they claim their product is superior to other brands – vitamin C is simply ascorbic acid whether it costs $2 or $50/bottle.

Check the source of information with recognised experts. For example, the Cancer Council knows more about cancer than an unknown online source offering expensive pills or potions.

If you need to lose weight, it’s hard to go past Pythagoras’ recommendation: eat in moderation, and don’t forget to exercise.

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