RECIPE: TRYTHESE SKEWERS

Iam fascinated, but also slightly alarmed, by the nutrition information coming through social media and online media. I get that people want to lead healthier lives and look after themselves in a way they have control over; that just taking a pill won’t make it right. In some cases, people feel they aren’t getting enough answers from medicine.

Those of us working in the medical area don’t pretend to have all the answers but I wouldn’t be writing about this if I didn’t also worry about harm from misinformed nutrition information.

In some cases, people might have pushed themselves financially to purchase a new magic product when they can’t afford it. In other cases, there may be actual physical harm from malnutrition, for example, poor bone density linked to inadequate advice on milk free diets without checking that other good calcium, protein and vitamin B12 sources are still consumed.

It also bugs me that diets plugged on social media come with the expectation that you stick to them absolutely and any deviation leaves people wracked with guilt. A good read from the NY Times by Aaron C. Carroll called ‘‘Relax, you don’t need to Eat Clean’’ describes this well. Food is not like pills, there is no set, must-have dose, (except in very rare metabolic conditions). Eating should be a pleasure, not a source of anxiety or stress.

I read stories of new nutrition successes but am reading just as many stories of these online nutrition preachers getting into trouble. Some have been found to blatantly lie about such things as cancer diagnosis and others are recalling books and apps.

Social media ‘‘wellness warriors’’ are easy to spot but I also worry that bad nutrition advice seeps into general nutrition advice given by health professionals. I guess some think ‘‘It’s only food advice, it can’t be bad’’. But we should understand that, without training in a specific area, you don’t always know what you don’t know.

Recently colleagues alerted me to a video (posted to social media by someone who should know better) of a medical professor talking about why gluten is damaging to those with coeliac disease. The video seemed to have been cut and edited to make it sound like it was advice for everyone. We checked back and in the original recording, the professor was very clear gluten wasn’t damaging to everyone. The lesson for those of us in the nutrition industry is to be very careful about what and who you align with on social media.

For anyone trying a new diet, most diets will probably not be harmful short term. If you have good health, your body should cope with a temporary episode of food manipulation but be much more cautious if you have other health issues or the diet is for a child.

My advice for spotting ‘‘fake nutrition news’’ is: Does the person have any or credible training in the area of nutrition with clinical experience? Or do they just have a general science or health science background? Or, as we say in the health industry, are they working ‘‘outside their scope of practice’’? (Like if your hairdresser started giving advice on your car mechanics or your mechanic gave you fashion advice.)

Are they telling you this amazing new diet worked for them? Dietitians talk about evidence and clinical experience, not what works great for us personally. I have a colleague who is mad keen about 100 per cent home cooked everything from biscuits to yoghurt to ice cream and hardly ever buys pre prepared meals, but will never mention this to clients as something they need to aim for.

Are you being told 100 per cent compliance is required for the ‘‘treatment’’ to work? That there’s no room for trialling any new or additional foods on the longer term? Nutrition advice from a dietitian will include where the limits for certain foods are, when to include foods, such as trialling food allergens (except in cases of severe allergies).

Are you being convinced into an ‘‘up sell’’? Does the advisor offer something extra – supplements, books, apps – that they may financially benefit from, other than just their advice? Though there are lots of good apps a dietitian may recommend, we don’t benefit personally from them.

Are you being told everyone else is wrong? That the advice will cure everything wrong with you? As the wise old saying goes ‘‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’’.

Dietitians want to convince you of the health and healing properties of food, but we always have balance and good nutrition in the back of our minds. I recently told a client, who had been to a talk and was considering spending $1000+ on a dodgy diet package which promised to cure her medical issues, that dietitians do a science degree, not a marketing degree. We don’t rely on a charismatic personality to convince you of our advice, but would hope to influence through professional knowledge, credibility and trust.

So, if you are changing your diet around, consider checking with a dietitian that you aren’t missing out on something.

In these recipes, I share some great uncomplicated food ideas to savour and enjoy for the festive season with no guilt!

❚ Written by Rosemary Law, a NZ Registered Dietitian

Vege and haloumi skewers Haloumi - 1 block Olives, large green Red pepper Cherry tomatoes Slice the pepper into bite sized chunks and lightly fry in a small amount of oil. Cut the haloumi into bite sized chunks and pan fry until toasted. Thread all of the ingredients on to skewers (I cut standard BBQ skewers in half) starting with red pepper, olive, haloumi and cherry tomato to make a nice Christmassy colourful and tasty entree.

Vege and haloumi bake

2 orange kumara

1/8th pumpkin

1 aubergine

1 bunch of fresh asparagus

150g haloumi cheese

3 Tbsp sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp sesame seeds Cut kumara, pumpkin and aubergine into chunks. Coat in vegetable oil and bake in moderate oven for 45mins. Cut asparagus spears into thirds and add to baked vegetables. Bake a further 10 minutes While veges are baking, cut haloumi into cubes and toast in a small amount of oil in a frying pan until nut brown. Remove from pan. Add sunflower seeds and toast until start popping. Add sesame seeds and cook a further couple of minutes. Sprinkle cheese and seeds on top of the cooked veges.