I wish I had a dollar for every time I get a question about a popular diet. Actually, let me give you a confession – sometimes I don’t tell people that I’m a dietitian because I don’t want to talk about the latest headline or diet! At other times, however, I can’t help myself and I want to stand on my soapbox with a bullhorn…save your money!! Fortunately, most of the time, I just want to have a conversation with my friends and pull them toward the facts – somewhere in the middle where the truth lies. Also, I never comment unless someone ASKS for my opinion. Even then, I confirm, “do you really want to know what I think about that?” LOL! I’m not the food police and I don’t want to be, but if you ask, I’ll give you my opinion.
The reality is that it can be really hard to figure out what’s true and what’s not! A search for “diet books” on Amazon returns more than 50,000 results. Articles and new studies, food products, and supplements come on the market every day. If you don’t know how to sort through, it really can seem like there’s no way to know what’s true and what’s not.
In our latest conversation on the podcast, we chat with one of my favorite fellow registered dietitian nutritionists. She’s a solid proponent of the facts when it comes to food and nutrition – a champion for evidence-based information with a career that has been built on a reputation for reliable information. We had such a great chat – in fact, the show got a little long, so we decided to split it into two parts! This week, we’re sharing Part 1 that’s all about some important red flags when considering any claim about a diet or health information.
Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD has been the director of nutrition for WebMD for more than fifteen years. During her tenure she has helped build a state-of-the-art food, diet and nutrition portal. Recently, she was named contributing editor to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic’s Food & Nutrition Magazine and a member of the board of directors of the True Health Initiative, Inc. She’s a speaker, writer, author, and a teacher of both professionals and consumers. She has done a million different things in her career and I cannot do justice to her many accomplishments, including being the recipient of many professional awards, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ media excellence award and the Lena Cooper Francis Award, one of the highest honors in our profession. She’s also a really amazing mentor and friend to me. Get the rest of Kathleen’s impressive bio here.
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