A Dietitian's Response to the Worst Diet Advice Given in History

A few days ago I read an article, that was shared on Facebook and written by a personal trainer/ medical student who has spent years reading books and studies on nutrition. It was about the "Worst Nutrition Advice" given in history and alluded to the fact that much of this advice is given out by dietitians and doctors, or the "so-called experts" he remarks. I fumed after reading it and looked for a comment section, however I could not find one, and decided to leave my comments here.

So, what is this horrible nutrition advice?

1) Throw away the egg yolks, only eat the white. This one is often up for debate, but I do not educate my patients to do this, nor do I know many RDs who do anymore. Why? The yolk is an great source of choline (super important for pregnant women) and Vitamin D. And yes, the yolk is high in cholesterol, but as long as you are eating your eggs prepared healthfully and mindfully (not loaded up with butter, grease and cheese), they are an egg-cellent (yup, went there) source of low-cost protein in the diet that may have little effect on your cholesterol level. In fact, I encourage my budget conscious patients to eat eggs frequently to save money on meat and to load up their egg dishes with veggies.

2) Everyone should eat a low-fat, high carb diet- even diabetics. What? Again, I do not advise this. Low-fat means low-satiety and can cause you to eat all day! Fat is very important to get enjoyment and a feeling of fullness after meals and I encourage it in its most nutritious forms (think nuts, seeds, avocados, oils etc.). I also encourage including carbohydrates, not necessarily high-carbohydrate, especially for diabetics who do need to be aware of carb intake. I encourage being more aware of the types of carbohydrates you choose to eat, opting mostly for whole-grains, fruit and low-fat dairy in place of processed snack foods and soda (among others).

3) A Calorie is a Calorie. Food Quality is Less Important. I very much believe that the quality of your calories matters AND I never encourage meticulous calorie counting. I often ask my patients to think about their diets and how their health would be if they consumed 1,500 calories worth of soda and honey buns or 1,500 calories worth of wholesome, nutritious foods. We need nutrient-dense foods to fight disease, give our metabolism what it needs and to regulate our satiety.

4) Use Polyunsaturated Cooking Oils for cooking. I have never recommended using corn, cottonseed or soybean oil to cook with. Yes, I am guilty of often recommending patients use olive oil or canola oil to prepare foods with (which are mostly heart healthy monounsaturated fats by the way). Why? For many of my patients this is a huge change already and a much better choice than deep-frying. The author's remark does not take into account that dietitians do not give blanket nutrition advice for all populations--we have to meet our patients where they are to help them improve their health. Some of the folks I work with are mostly concerned about preventing another hospitalization and getting food on the table, and it is easier to provide them with realistic and easy to understand recommendations vs. explaining their proper Omega 6- Omega 3 ratio. It is true that at high temperatures olive oil's healthy benefits are destroyed. So it is best to use this oil for salad dressings or drizzling over cooked food etc. I could do a whole blog post on cooking oils, so I will stop here and pick this up another time! I do want to mention the author of the article did not suggest any alternatives to cook with however, I guess he has not read that book yet!

5) Replace Butter with Trans-fat Laden Margarine: I have never heard an RD recommend this one! Yikes! In fact, for most patients who want to, I encourage the real stuff--butter--in very small portions vs. using margarine which can negatively harm both our good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol levels. I do frequently recommend Earth Balance or Smart Balance as well. Dietitians teach cooking and flavoring without adding butter too.

I hope this is not too harsh, but it is frustrating to read an assumption that dietitians are stuck in the dark ages with their recommendations. Nutrition advice has changed over the years and as more research is conducted, dietitians do their best to make sense of it all for the public. I do praise the author for learning about nutrition, but perhaps he could have interviewed some RDs to see what they are recommending. There is so much nutrition advice given out and sometimes, when offered up by someone without credentials and training, it can be harmful, or without your best interest in mind. If a professional is telling you need to break the bank on special supplements or crazy food combos, it might be time to visit a registered dietitian who will work with YOU. I am sure my fellow RDs agree, I cannot believe the number of times that I chat with people who balk at the price of fruits and veggies, but drop lots of cash on the latest miracle supplement Dr. Oz mentions!

Check out the article here: Worst Diet Advice