The rise of the nutrition gurus

Why you should be cautious about who you take nutritional advice from (even the good-looking ones!)

Post courtesy of Angry chef.

“There are people out there who look healthy, have winning personalities, nice smiles, perhaps a few famous friends or clients and exploit cognitive ease and the halo effect to sell stuff. The success of Joe Wicks (Body Coach) and Ella Woodward (Deliciously Ella) demonstrates how such individuals position themselves as nutritional experts and foster the myth that anyone who looks healthy and fit has clearly unlocked some hidden secret of great nutrition.

Let us be clear here- PTs are not the enemy. They have an important role in tackling obesity and promoting the benefits of exercise.

Personal Trainers should certainly encourage their clients to change their dietary habits to encompass recognised and evidence based healthy eating guidelines.

PTs should avoid giving advice which is based on fads, trends or has celebrity endorsement.

PTs should avoid giving advice which calls for the omission of food groups or encourages restricted eating patterns.

Finally, PTs should recognise that they should not write specific, individualised nutrition programmes for their clients unless they can legitimately use the title ‘dietician’.

If you hear any of the following claims from your ‘superstar health guru’, alarm bells should start ringing:

Don’t eat in the evenings.
Only eat in the evenings.
Only eat chicken and pineapple.
Eggs are bad for you.
Never eat eggs for breakfast.
Always eat eggs for breakfast.
Gluten is bad.
Gluten makes you fat.
Dairy is bad.
Caffeine is bad.
Don’t eat fruit (worryingly common).
Don’t eat carbs.
All food eaten after 6.30pm is stored as fat (I like the exactness of the time here – as if you should cram it all in at 6.25).
You must eat carbs and proteins separately or you will not digest them.
Only cook with coconut oil.
Diet drinks make you fat.
Grapes are the most fattening fruit.

PTs giving out good dietary advice are doing a huge amount of good. However, as is all too common, seductive messages from the role of pseudoscience can easily drown out common sense!”

We recommend you read more from angry chef here;

http://angry-chef.com/…/the-irritating-superstars-of-health…

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