Excerpted from the NDSU Publication Nourish Your Mind and Body With Accurate Health Information How to Sort Fact From Fiction
Have any of these happened to you?
- While reading your favorite magazine, you notice an ad about a new diet supplement to melt pounds.
- A friend forwards an email pointing out the risks of a food additive.
- You hear a celebrity discussing a new diet on a radio or TV talk show.
- While flipping through channels, you pause on an infomercial about a life-changing fitness device, special diet or supplement.
- An ad appears in your mailbox for a new dietary supplement or diet food.
- You pick up a newsletter advertising a new health food or grocery store.
- While surfing the Web, you click on an ad for a website with a nutritional product for sale.
- Someone posts a message on Facebook about an amazing new vitamin supplement.
What’s the harm, anyway?
Misinformation and product scams can be harmful to people in a number of ways. Some of the more likely harmful results are:
- Failure to seek needed medical care Early and timely diagnosis and treatment of some conditions can be lifesaving.
- Failure to continue essential treatment You decide to take a supplement in place of your prescribed high-blood pressure medication.
- Nutrient toxicities - Too much of essential nutrients, such as iron, can be harmful.
- Undesirable nutrient-drug interactions Example: Even though high doses of vitamin E may not be toxic, they can interfere with vitamin K action and enhance the effect of anticoagulant (blood-thinning) drugs.
- Interference with sound nutrition practices - A balanced diet is basic to good health.
- Wasted money - You’ve lost money that could be spent on healthful foods when you spend it on remedies and cures that do not work.
Ask yourself some questions
Ponder these questions as you explore nutrition and health information:
- Who is the author?
- What are the author’s credentials?
- Is a credible sponsoring institution identified?
- What is the purpose of the information?
- Is the site promoting or selling a particular product? (Commercial websites often end in “.com”)
- Is the information based on scientific research or opinion? (Government websites ending in “.gov” offer free information without commercial bias.)
- How current is the information? Is a date listed?
- Does the information have links to other sources of information? (This sometimes provides a clue to reliability, but not always. Anyone can link to another organization’s website.)
- Are the facts documented with sound scientific references? Or is the information solely based on personal testimonials?
- Does an editorial board oversee the content?
- Is the information well-written in terms of grammar and spelling? What is the tone of the writing? Does it take a balanced approach?
The adage still holds true: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”