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Ask Yourself These Five Questions
Understanding Health and Diet Information
Patricia J. Mericle B. A.
The plethora of information regarding diet and health can be overwhelming. New claims are made daily regarding the efficacy of this diet or that, the healthfulness or dangers associated with various foods and the quickest path to weight loss. Many of these articles cite scientific studies as proof and it is, therefore, important to approach dietary information carefully in order to ascertain its value. Here are five quick questions to ask when reading about diet, weight loss, and health.
1. Is there evidence to support the claim?
If there is a dark side to freedom of speech it is that in a public forum like the internet anything goes. Anyone with a computer and minimal technical skills can put up a website and use it as a personal bully pulpit or a source of income. First rule, then, is to look for supporting evidence. Most savvy authors understand the value of using professional sounding names and routinely cite scientific studies to support claims. Be sure to dig enough to determine if the cited study actually supports the claim.
2. What are the claimant’s credentials?
This can be ticklish since there is nothing that says that a lay person can’t thoroughly research a subject and present a good argument. However, if a businessman turned diet guru is asking you to pay for his information, it’s important to use good judgment before buying. What is the basis of the claim? Is it proven safe and effective? Where is the support? A smart consumer will conduct independent research before buying any product.
In the case of scientific citations it can get complicated. There is a general acceptance that certain names are reputable. For example, major medical journals are considered reliable as are well-known magazines and news outlets. It is assumed that the people behind the stories are checking sources before the stories are released. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Also, during the 1950’s, early scientific studies supported the use of Thalidomide for the treatment of morning sickness in pregnant women. When the use of the drug led to deformed babies, the publishers of the studies were, hopefully, as surprised as anyone. So, before accepting citations of scientific studies as gospel truth, some research is imperative.
examples ... inserted by Dr. Mericle
Below are statements concerning what happens when you eat and what the hormone insulin does. Some of them are from a basic text of Human Biochemistry written by Lubert Stryer M.D. (professor of Biochemistry at Stanford) and used as a textbook for biochemistry at the University of Arizona. Some of the others are from Colin Lim -businessman turned diet guru. See if you can spot the imposters. The answers are at the end of this article.
A: "Our bodies need to eat the right food at the right times of the day in order to fire up our fat burning hormones such as testosterone, insulin and growth hormones as well as your metabolism."
B: "Insulin. This 6-kd protein (p. 25) and glucagon are the most important hormonal regulators of fuel metabolism. In essence, insulin signals the fed state: it stimulates the storage of fuels and the synthesis of proteins in a variety of ways." translation: insulin stores energy including excess energy as fat
C: "The diet plan is based around the fact that our bodies do one of two things when you eat food, it either fires up fat burning hormones and thus burns off the fat in the food you are eating as well as fat stored in your body, or it fires up fat storage hormones which basically means you add more fat to your body."
D: "Glucagon. This 3.5-kd polypeptide hormone (p. 594) is secreted by the alpha cells of the pancreas in response to a low blood sugar level in the fasting state. The net result of these actions is to markedly increase the release of glucose by the liver. Likewise, glucagon raises the level of cyclic AMP in adipose cells, which activates a lipase that mobilizes triacylglycerols." translation .... burns fat!
E: "I'll have two of everything on the menu and make it quick, and don't skimp on the pate."
F: "The blood glucose level begins to drop several hours after a meal, which leads to decreased insulin secretion and increased glucagon secretion. The effects just described are then reversed."
3. Who funded the study?
One of my favorite examples of this is a study that touts the importance of breakfast and concludes that ready to eat breakfast cereal is the optimal food for satiety and peak performance; it was funded by the Kellogg Institute. Funding information can be found online by searching the title, authors, or journal name and date. Unfortunately, online journal access is often limited to paying customers. Many journals, however, allow access to archives so an older study may be available free of charge. Access is also possible through university and college libraries since these institutions subscribe to various databases that link to scholarly sources. Libraries at state institutions are usually open to residents free of charge.
4. What did the study really say?
Again, using the example of the importance of breakfast for adults and children, an Ask.com article cited a scientific study as support. The reference, however, only measured academic performance in poor children who participated in the federal school breakfast program. The author assumed that this information could be applied to well-fed affluent children and, even more questionably, to adults. From a personal perspective, I have found that skipping breakfast, rather than leading to diminished mental alertness or increased eating later in the day, actually keeps me more alert during the morning and has little or no effect on my hunger. My experience is supported by my physiology which dictates my body’s response to food. I am more alert because I don’t go through the insulin phase that must follow food ingestion. Later, I make sure I have a nutritious lunch.
5. When was the study done?
Since the arrival of the internet and cable news networks consumers have been barraged with information on a daily basis. ‘New’ is assumed to be better. It is important to understand that scientific journals routinely publish articles that include promising but unproven theses. Often, the authors will state that more research is necessary but this is usually, at best, tacked on as an addendum to the main story. Science is not perfect and doesn’t claim to be so but the ongoing demand for ‘news’ makes hyperbole attractive. Generally speaking, if a claim is based on long-standing scientific understanding, e.g. the body’s insulin response cited above or studies that have withstood scrutiny over many years, a consumer can feel confident to use the information. In the realm of scientific studies, recent information can be interesting and hold promise but conclusive evidence requires years of study and practice to be accepted as valid.
Anyone can become a careful, well-informed consumer but it takes some time and practice. Regardless of the source it is imperative to determine who is paying for a study, what the original study says, and whether the claims are controversial before using the information. After all, the information is being used on an important person – You!
answers
A: This statement is from Colin Lim businessmen turned diet guru and founder of the ?diet program "Weight Loss for Idiots."
B: This is a quote straight from Stryer Biochemistry 4th Edition.
C: Another quote from Colin Lim
D: Another quote from Stryer Biochemistry
E: This is from the latest and greatest diet to hit the internet. Just kidding. Actually this was a "trick" question. This is from Monty Python "The Meaning of Life." Also, who won the English football cup in 1943? You'll have to watch the movie for the answer.
F: Another quote from Stryer Biochemistry.
discussion
You really don't have to know biochemistry to be able to spot the imposters. Just a reasonably
tuned "BS" detector will do. Look for the generalizations and groupings of phony knowledge. The quotes
from Stryer Biochemistry are very precise and specific. The quotes from Colin Lim speak in these vague
generalities "fat burning hormones" not for a second knowing which hormones actually burn fat and which
hormones store fat. "Our bodies do one of two things when we eat?" Not from any text of human biochemistry
or physiology I have ever studied. When we eat human digestible food our "bodies" secrete insulin. Maybe the real title of "Fat Loss for Idiots" should be "Fat Loss by Idiots for Idiots."
As a final note here I would like to leave you with a nutshell version of human
energy metabolism.
Insulin is excreted by the beta cells of the pancreas when we eat and "stores" energy.
Glucagon is excreted by the alpha cells of the pancreas when we don't eat for at least two or three hours
and utilizes the energy that insulin has stored. Insulin stores energy as glycogen and "fat" while glucagon
mobilizes this energy to maintain the blood glucose level and "burns fat."
reference
Lubert Stryer M.D. Biochemistry 4th Edition
John Mericle M.D. D.A.B.R. The Metabolism of Weight Loss
Thanks for your time and your attention.
Copyright © John Mericle M.D. D.A.B.R. 2000-2011 All Rights Reserved
We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled
Programming
For The Following Message:
Europe passes a ban on seal products, driving another nail in the coffin of the cruel commercial seal hunt.
****************************************
The Humane Society of the United States
STOP CANADA'S CRUEL SEAL HUNT
https://community.hsus.org/ct/WdSzND914S1z/
May 5, 2009
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear John,
Today is a day to celebrate. The European Union has slammed shut the door on trade in the products of the commercial seal slaughter.
The Canadian government used every trick in the book to try to derail the ban: massive lobbying, misinformation, and even threats of trade reprisals. But the EU stood its ground and honored its citizens' opposition to this trade in cruelty. By doing so, the EU has saved millions of seals from a horrible fate.
Every year, the ProtectSeals team has endured hazardous conditions to document the seal hunt. We are committed to showing the world that the Canadian government is lying when it claims that the hunt is humane.
On our trips to the ice, the ProtectSeals team has brought key opinion shapers such as Paul McCartney and Swedish Member of the European Parliament Carl Schlyter. After their trips, neither has wavered in speaking out against the hunt. Shortly after his trip to the ice, Schlyter drafted the first version of today's EU ban. Our hunt footage was directly responsible for convincing the rest of the EU to agree to the ban. It gives me enormous satisfaction to know that we haven't just documented the hunt, we have made history.
What Does It Mean?
This is the beginning of the end for the Canadian seal hunt. The Canadian government estimates that losing this primary market will cost Canada's sealing industry $6.6 million (CAD) each year. The hunt brought in less than $7 million last year. It's not hard to do the math.
Just the promise of an EU ban was enough to drive the prices for seal fur down to $15 (CAD) per skin -- a decline of 86 percent since 2006. As a result, many sealers stayed home. Out of this year's quota of 280,000 harp seals, fewer than 60,000 have been killed so far.
Now that the EU has banned its trade in seal products, countless more seals will live their lives in peace from this year forward.
What's Next?
Canadian seal hunt supporters won't give up just yet. With government subsidies still in hand, the sealing industry will be chasing down new markets. The ProtectSeals campaign is working to convince all targeted nations to follow the EU's example.
We're keeping the pressure on the Canadian fishing industry and government with the global boycott of Canadian seafood products. Since the boycott began, the Canadian fishing industry has suffered a $750 million (CAD) drop in the value of snow crab exports alone to the United States.
Canadian Senator Mac Harb has introduced his nation's first bill to end the hunt. The ProtectSeals campaign is striving to convince other members of Canada's Parliament to support the bill.
Yes, there is still much to do -- and if you'd like to help, visit humanesociety.org/protectseals to learn how. But for the moment, please join me in celebrating this historic victory. Thank you for fighting alongside me to make this day possible. The seals could not ask for stronger allies.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Aldworth
Director of Canadian Wildlife Issues
The Humane Society of the United States
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where the sugar freeway ends ...page 38
- high fructose corn syrup
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- Fats (triacylglycerols) and Essential Fatty Acids
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- 14 Simple Things To Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer
- Osteoporosis
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- rugrat ... Lymphoma -The Dangers of New Carpet
- Your Stomach Knows Best The Dangers of Sports Nutrition
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