Health Options Alan Titchenal  & Joannie Dobbs                   Wednesday, January 7, 1998

Accurate information 1998 goal

After much thought, we settled on what we think is the most important New Year's resolution we can make for this column. Our goal is to provide our readers with accurate information and concepts that serve as the tools needed to be knowledgeable consumers in the areas of nutrition and health.

This is no simple task for a variety of reasons. First of all, a very large percentage of best-selling nutrition and weight-loss books are written by people with little or no formal education in the fields of health, nutrition or food science.

Consequently, if you have not been educated in these areas, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to determine what sources are reliable and to separate fact from fiction.

After reviewing more than 100 books on nutrition and health currently available in one local bookstore, we found that less than 12 percent of the authors had any reasonable credentials. We con­sider writings by most of the other “experts” to be a mixture of fact and fiction. Remember, freedom of speech allows people to write what they want. Their writing does not have to be true, it can simply be their opinion.

About the only way an author gets into trouble is if a reader sues the author for being seriously harmed by the book's advice. However, disclaimers found in nearly every health book are designed to remove responsibility from the author.

Another major challenge for the knowledgeable consumer, is that most of the information presented in the public media has been simplified to the point of making it wrong. Complex issues in health are frequently difficult to simplify even by true experts on a topic.

A third important problem occurs when the media reports impart a greater level or importance to a single research study than it deserves. Research by its very name requires more than one study to prove something. We're very complicated animals.

Generally, many studies (some­times hundreds) are required to inch our way to the truth. Real scientists insist that research results be repeatable by other researchers and not just a fluke.

A fourth problem occurs when popular media figures report the findings of a scientific study and then proceed to say that they do not believe them. This biased reporting places a great burden on the consumer. Should they base decisions on science or their favorite reporter? A scientist versed in a field of study has a sound basis for expressing an opinion about a particular study. The reporter generally does not. The science of nutrition is based on a growing body of knowledge in medicine, biochemistry, physiology, food science, psychology, sociology, and even politics.

A fifth problem stems from the multitude of nutrition infomercials. Because some of the information is correct and some is incorrect, only very knowledgeable individuals will be able to sort fact from fiction. And sometimes these info­mercials are so slick that the words spoken are technically correct but the impression they leave is wrong.

Many people have developed rigid beliefs about the health effects of certain foods and supplements. You can find an “expert” out there to support virtually any bias in your thinking. For some people, beliefs about health and nutrition are based primarily on faith. For most of us, faith is the major element supporting our religious beliefs.