Diet Advice: Sorting Good from Bad
How to find practical nutrition advice amid all the hype and BS
Whatever food you think is good for you, or bad for you, odds are you can find an article, video or podcast out there that touts it or demonizes it. Between the flip-flopping scientific findings and all the nutrition nonsense spouted by adamant non-experts, it’s hard to know what to eat.
“Calories and certain food groups have been vilified by diet culture,” says Joyce Patterson, a registered dietitian and diabetes care and education specialist at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor.
“With every new study, there is a new headline, causing whiplash among patients and health professionals alike,” says Patterson, author of the new book, Think Like A Dietitian. “Whether people are counting calories, carbs, fat, sodium, or other nutrients, the interpretation is often ‘less is more.’ Instead of focusing on healthy food choices and overall balance, some people get caught up in the minutiae of nutrients. They feel food is something to be avoided, as opposed to being the fuel that provides power, strength, and protection.”
In today’s diet-obsessed society, with all the marketed quick fixes and silver bullets, there’s an argument to be made for paying less attention to all the advice and, unless you have a medical…
