Fitness instructor: I’m sorry over claim my diet can ‘cure cancer’
Says it was all a ‘mistake’… but continues to run ‘health ponzi scheme’
A CONTROVERSIAL fitness instructor and chef, who claimed a new diet she teaches could ‘cure cancer’, has apologised.
Polish native Ania Szewczyk, 38, runs a number of companies, including Ania’s Fit Kitchen and Malahide Catering, and describes herself as the development director of AFK Personal Training and Nutrition.
On her Facebook page, Ms Szewczyk states that she studies nutrition in Dublin City University. But her claims about the ketogenic (keto) diet – a new low-carbohydrate diet that has taken over from the Atkins – have left a sour taste in the mouths of doctors, dietitians and the Irish Cancer Society, which said such false claims are ‘a health Ponzi scheme’.
Her six-week programme of diet and exercise costs €6,700, while shorterterm packages are available at €1,300 for one week and €3,500 for a three-week programme.
One page of her website, which has since been removed, stated: ‘At AFK Lifestyle centre we prevent, treat and cure cancer patients with ketogenic diet. A strict ketogenic diet for cancer patients, which calls for minimising carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats and moderate amounts of high-quality protein can offer hope against cancer – both for prevention and treatment.’
In recent days, a disclaimer has been added to the site, which states: ‘This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.’ Earlier, Ms Szewczyk, a mother of two, repeated the same claims on her Twitter account but has since deleted this.
However, the ‘cancer cure’ message is still contained on pages associated with her other businesses.
On one website, Ms Szewczyk posts about ‘retreats’ in Rush, north county Dublin. An eight-day boot- camp next takes place in January – in a five-bedroom house overlooking the sea, at a cost of €1,300. Again she cites ‘health benefits’ but without offering any medical evidence.
Her advertising page on the Retreat Guru website states: ‘There is a ton of hype surrounding the ketogenic diet. Some researchers swear that it is the best diet for most people to be on, while others think it is just another fad diet. However, the ketogenic diet also has plenty of solid research backing up its benefits. ‘In fact, it has been found to be better than most diets at helping people with: epilepsy; type 2 diabetes; type 1 diabetes; high blood pressure; Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; chronic inflammation; high blood sugar levels; obesity; heart disease; polycystic ovary syndrome; fatty liver disease; cancer and migraines.’ Dr Robert O’Connor, head of research at the Irish Cancer Society, told the Irish Mail on Sunday he was ‘appalled to hear there is another website where these recently highlighted false and misleading claims are appearing’. He said claims from people with no specialist medical expertise in nutrition and disease is ‘essentially a health Ponzi scheme’ to get ‘vulnerable others in on unproven and false claims of improved health. Unfortunately, in Ireland there are no regulators to take responsibility for this.
‘Even for a healthy person, a proper keto diet is very difficult and can only be safely undertaken with the support of specialist registered medical professional teams, including specialist dietitians.’
Dr Sumi Dunne, Laois-based doctor and the new face in the next series of RTÉ’s Operation Transformation, described the claims as ‘dangerous bunkum’ that is ‘exploiting a very vulnerable group’.
When approached by the MoS at a yoga class in Holywell, Swords, on Dublin’s northside, Ms Szewczyk said she had no comment. Later contacted by phone, she said: ‘We don’t claim to cure cancer. We don’t have and never had any cancer patients. I have explained that there was a wording mistake in the post [on the website].’
Asked if she wished to apologise, she said: ‘Yes, I can apologise. I’ll send apologies in writing. I’ll send apologies myself to the Irish Cancer Society.’