In cooke’s corner
OPINION
In this column, Charlie shares his thoughts on the modern problems faced by nutrition professionals. Here he considers how inaccurate and over-simplified social media health messages can be created through Chinese whispers.
CGR Cooke, ANutr CGR Cooke has qualifications in nutrition and a history in fitness, varying from coaching boxing to international marketing. www.cgrcooke.com cgr_cooke cgr_cooke
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If I were to try to clarify every error in any popular health myth, it would either require a whole article dedicated to each myth or a highlight reel covering such little information on each that it would be savagely disappointing. To be entirely honest with you, I generally find the object of debunking health myths to be rather pointless and divisive. We need to approach this from a different angle. . . I would assume that the average reader of Network Health Digest is likely to have taken a degree, or similar, in dietetics, nutrition, or a related field, so I want to avoid preaching to the choir about how preposterous so-and-so diet is and instead propose that we consider the essence of health myths and how they spread, so that we can actively aim to subdue their significance by utilising our own influence in the modern digital health space. THE MYTH
I am a big fan of pagan mythologies, particularly the Norse myths. In one tale, the god Thor is unable to outwrestle Elli, the elderly nurse of the giant king Útgarda-Loki, only to find out that she is in fact the personification of old age itself. Do we really have to believe that this event actually happened, that this is true? No, of course not, because that would be ridiculous. However, it’s an excellent tale to demonstrate that not even the God of Strength and Thunder is able to fight growing old. So, perhaps when we rephrase a particular methodology or nutritional theory, 46
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we are simply re-engaging a listener who wants to believe, for example, that by fasting,1 taking resveratrol2 or building a sauna in their yard to beat their heat-shock proteins into submission,3,4 they too can fight the fact that they’re getting older. After all, these options are far more engaging and easily understood than having to read endless amounts of information to fully grasp the concepts of ageing. Let’s all just eat watercress instead.5 Simply put, the ‘myth’ will begin to materialise as the information spreads from the nucleus of the research and becomes more simplified and mystified to add interest along the way. Using watercress as an example, there is existing primary research titled, ‘Watercress supplementation in diet reduces lymphocyte DNA damage and alters blood antioxidant status in healthy adults’.6 This research was referenced by Ms Rhone RD in her blog-post for Healthline, stating that watercress is the best anti-ageing food,5 a message simplified into three sentences supported by five bullet points. As we spread farther from the nucleus, this blog post is then referenced by the gym chain Anytime Fitness in their own article for anti-ageing foods,7 which in turn is then ‘pinned’ on the social media platform Pinterest8 alongside many other blogs…and so on and so on, until there are articles in The Daily Mail hosting titles such as, ‘Eat your way to a facelift: Watercress is the latest wonder food in battle against ageing’, and statements including, ‘If you want
