Many aspects of nutrition science are flawed and it’s very difficult to make certain claims with absolute certainty – so when you come across absolutist statements such as the “worst” or “most inflammatory” or “toxic” foods, or a supplement or dietary approach that “fixes everything”, it’s to pause and reflect. Equally, the demonization of certain food groups or food elements (gluten in grains, lectins in legumes) as the cause of all chronic disease should raise alarm bells. Nutrition science is never that simple and if the answer in how to tackle a specific health issue appears too simplistic, it usually is.
A good example is a claim that the rise in the rates of obesity is due to the flawed government dietary guidelines – when in fact the average adherence to the guidelines (at least in the UK) is very low and very few people follow them.
The sort of narrative making wildly unsupported claims should raise red flags and be recognised as not a credible nutrition advice and definitely not grounded in empirical evidence.
So the next time you see a claim such as “one food that will banish belly fat” or “take this supplement to lower your biological age” that may appear to be from a legitimate source, consider the possibility that the person behind it didn’t adequately disclose that they were being paid for promoting the product. If you do require legitimate advice from a professional, consider contacting a Nutritional Therapist trained and qualified in clinical practice, which habitually support clients with diet, weight management, diabetes prevention and symptoms of diet-induced chronic disease.