Ireland AM viewers’ ire at gardener’s diet advice for children
‘Incorrect’ oat milk tip prompts sour reaction
IRELAND AM has come under fire for showing a gardener distributing nutritional advice and recommending plant-based dairy alternatives for children.
Fiann Ó Nualláin, who is known as ‘the Holistic Gardener’, appeared on the Virgin Media One show on Thursday to speak to host Tommy Bowe about natural ways of boosting children’s immune systems as they return to school.
Mr Ó Nualláin stressed the importance of a good breakfast for children, identifying oats as a key source of beta-glucans, which ‘boost your natural killer cells’. In the case of children who refuse to eat porridge or muesli, Mr Ó Nualláin recommended serving their favourite cereal with oat milk or almond milk, or a mixture of cow’s milk and plant-based alternatives.
He added that his advice is primarily aimed at children aged four to seven. The segment sparked fierce criticism online, with one Twitter user posting: ‘Ireland AM have a gardener on giving NUTRITIONAL advice. You could not make it up. Recommending Host: Tommy Bowe introducing alternative milk... The incorrect nutritional advice in this is staggering.’
Another wrote: ‘This is so disappointing & disgraceful from a national broadcaster.’
Cork-based dietitian Niamh O’Connor told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘It beggars belief that an ex-rugby player [Bowe] is interviewing a gardener on live TV about kids’ health; the segment was about “immune-boosting diet and supplements for kids”. No food supplement is immune-boosting, and foods cannot even legally carry this claim because it is completely untrue.’ Ms O’Connor added: ‘It beggars belief that any researcher or producer allowed that segment to go ahead on Thursday.’
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland identifies cow’s milk as a ‘key food’ in the diets of children aged between one and five. The FSAI recommends that children of that demographic consume 550ml of cow’s milk, or other dairy products, on a daily basis.
The FSAI has also warned parents against substituting dairy products with ‘beverages such as almond “milk”, coconut “milk” and rice “milk”, as milk substitutes such as these are nutritionally inadequate’.
Virgin Media Ireland was contacted for comment.