Welcome to the blog from Kennis-Smaken!
As you know, Kennis-Smaken is all about helping parents and caregivers learn about (child) nutrition. It is already a known fact that overweight and obesity are affecting our children (and also adults). Whenever you hear it in the news, the same thing always happens: experts are invited to talk about nutrition and numerous articles are written. If I may be painfully honest (it is my blog so I might as well be) that is all nice and well but in the end the information given always ends up being kind of vague (or even abstract) to the general population. This vagueness causes another problem: when people start looking for information about nutrition, they find themselves flooded with various sources of information and do not know who/which to trust. Some may be written by people that claim to know about nutrition when they do not. Any information or recommendation from these people needs to be taken with a grain of salt (in other words, be skeptical about it). How can you spot them? Well, there is one important thing....look at what (and where) they studied (thank you internet and Linkedin). I added the "where" because there are certain institutions that offer certifications that by no means leave professionals with a good and sensible knowledge about nutrition. Gone are the days in which a degree with "nutrition" written on it was guarantee enough. Always check that the university/institution is a trustworthy one in your country of reference.
Here is a list of potential red flags when reading advice about nutrition:
The author/interviewee did not obtain a degree in nutrition and/or dietetics.
The only link the author/interviewee has with nutrition is a certificate in nutrition with "fancy" or "vague" words (e.g. holistic nutrition, orthomolecular nutrition).
The article/interviewee recommends special diets (e.g. detox, paleo).
The author/interviewee is always recommending supplements for otherwise healthy people.
Names of some nutrition degrees/certificate programmes that can be suspicious: Holistic Nutrition, Orthomolecular Nutrition, Natural Nutrition.
Here is a list of signs that the nutrition advice given can be trusted:
The author/interviewee has a bachelor´s degree in nutrition and/or dietetics from a trustworthy university (extra points if they also have a postgraduate degree in nutrition).
The author/interviewee has a degree in an area that is linked to healthcare (e.g. medicine, public health) and a postgraduate degree in nutrition from a trustworthy university.
The article comes from an institution that is specialised in nutrition topics and/or where nutritionists and dietitians work (e.g. Voedinsgcentrum for the Netherlands, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for the USA, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública for Mexico).
The author/interviewee has a degree in a different area, a postgraduate degree in nutrition from a trustworthy university and works/has worked in an institution/project specialised in nutrition (the longer, the better).
The author/interviewee has a degree in a different area, a postgraduate degree in nutrition and has followed one or several nutrition specialisation programme(s) from a trustworthy university/institute.
Names of some legit nutrition degrees/specialisations (always check the institution/ university as the name is not guarantee enough): Clinical Nutrition, Nutrition and Eating Behaviour, Nutrition and Public health, Nutrition and Food science, Nutrition and Dietetics, Nutrition and Health, Molecular Nutrition (if by "molecular" what is meant is Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics). There are nutritionists that have postgraduate degrees in the area of sensory science. There are also nutritionists that have postgraduate degrees in sports nutrition. Advice in this area should always be done by a nutritionist: chances that a sports coach/trainer has adequate nutrition knowledge are slim.
I hope this list helps you!
Luz
PS: If you, as a professional, do not recognise yourself in the trustworthy source criteria but you believe you have enough nutrition knowledge, contact me (luz.romkema@kennis-smaken.nl) and we can talk! Who knows? I may have to add another point in the list after talking to you!
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