This morning Good Morning America aired a very inaccurate nutrition segment. GMA usually has some fantastic dietitians (RDs) talking about nutrition but today they had a “nutritionist” on there named Kimberly Synder from NY (“nutritionist” which is a word anyone can use, especially in NY where there are no licensure laws). Kimberly’s website says she went to Georgetown (which makes me quite sad for the a blood running deep in my family). G-town doesn’t have a major in nutrition. However, there are many people who haven’t studied nutrition but sure know a lot about one or more particular aspects of how food, certain macronutrients or micronutrients affect the body. In this segment however, Kimberly gave blatantly inaccurate and misguided information to the viewers.
Protein Bars Not Good for You According to Good Morning America Segment
Here’s a lowdown on what she said this morning (and the clip can be viewed at: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/):
– Protein bars aren’t health foods, you should eat a whole avocado instead (that’s like comparing apples to a Lean Cuisine; and by the way, a protein bar is a heck of a lot easier to eat in the car, while running through the airport or when you are walking out of the gym than an avocado is)
– Soy protein isolates is a very highly processed, genetically modified ingredient that is very difficult to digest and can suppress thyroid function (she didn’t mention any specific population but instead the implication is that soy will suppress thyroid functioning in everyone, including healthy individuals; not to mention genetic modification, which has been around over 100 years, has brought us better crops and pest-resistant produce in some instances)
– Avocados are a “non-clogging” plant fat
(clogging?)
– 100% fruit snacks make kids moody
(where’s the research?)
– Artificial sugars are high in the glycemic index and are bad for your skin
(again, where is the research?)
– Don’t eat fruit at night – it will “sit on top” of the heavier foods
(strange statement!)
I could spend all night talking about how off base Kimberly’s statements are. Some of them are incorrect and others are completely over-generalized. The irony is that this girl probably eats genetically modified foods daily yet has no clue about some of the myriad benefits of genetic modification. Heck, her avocados could be genetically modified (though since avocados are a fruit she better not eat them at night).
What’s the take home point here? Before you believe what you hear or read, make sure the person is an expert on the topic they are discussing. If they call themselves a nutritionist but don’t have the right credentials behind their name (RD or MD) or at least get their information from experts your flake alert radar should go off.
Off to eat a protein bar. Oddly enough my thyroid is functioning just fine.