Researchers bad attitude towards the diet prevent the development

The five scientists says in their op-ed that it needs to be established is an independent operator that examines the hälsoböcker before they are published, because it is through them spread lots of baseless claims on how diet can affect our health. The undersigned agree that they often make exaggerated health claims in books, but these are hardly more ill-founded than what nyckelhålsmärkningen of ice cream and sweetened yogurt once was.

the Article is permeated by the bad and the sometimes arrogant attitude that the scientific community has had for decades, to the diet can make people healthier, an attitude that hampers scientific development. In the article puts the researchers in many places an equal sign between the lack of science and lack of effect, as if the absence of scientific studies on, for example, an anti-inflammatory diet would be a proof to that form of diet would not be able to function.

”...First do no harm” with Meryl Streep in the lead role. the Film is based on director Jim Abrahams experiences of having a child with severe epilepsy. No drugs helped his son, and the many attacks threatened to cause lasting brain damage. But Abraham found a book that described how a strict low-carbohydrate diet, a ketogenic diet, in some cases, help against the attacks. In the film he portrays the doctors ' reaction to this diet: they believe that the diet is extreme, difficult to follow and lacks scientific support.

These doctors also put an equal sign between the lack of scientific support and lack of effect. But in Jim Abraham's son got the diet a dramatic effect. He was anfallsfri in a few days.

the Film came in 1997. Had the had to undergo a quality review like the one which the researchers suggest in his op-ed had failed. In the place spread now the film to the thousands of families and has saved many children from brain damage.

Jim Abrahams also founded a foundation, the Charlie Foundation, which has actively worked to provide the ketogena diet a scientific basis, and last year put the authority of the State's preparation for medical and social assessment (SBU) a seal of approval on it. The ketogenic diet is now being used in clinics around Sweden for epilepsy, in some cases, it has an almost miraculous effect.

The question that doctors should ask themselves is: why is there a director from Hollywood for a dietary treatment should be taken seriously?

because ”they have been developed by expert groups consisting of more than one hundred leading nordic researchers.” Of the history of science they should have learned that ”hundreds of scientists” are not a reliable quality measure.

instead, one should examine the method that has been used to develop the advice. For scientific evaluations to be objective, the scientific community developed a system for this, Grade. The system has been accepted by the SBU, but, remarkably, not by the Nfa.

IN the SBU's review of ”Food in obesity”, conducted according to Grade, is one of the conclusions: ”Overall, the scientific evidence for intake of saturated fat leads to impaired cardiovascular health is considered to be fragile.”

nor do the warnings for the salt, or red meat. The fact is that many public dietary advice is and has been just as bad founding that the hälsoteser presented via some hälsoböcker. Some recommendations, for example, that small children would avoid the allergenic food in order to avoid allergies, is likely to have even been harmful.

My recommendation to the five researchers: devote the next article to to require that public dietary advice should be evaluated according to the Grade. Ask yourself also the question: why sell hälsoböckerna so good? The next time you hear of someone with ulcerative colitis that won't have their flare-ups thanks to an anti-inflammatory diet, learn from Hollywoodregissören and see it as a spread to the research. The experience could in fact be true.