Food vs. Supplements and Real Advice vs. Fake Advice

Note: This post is participating in an "RD Blogfest" in honor of National Registered Dietitian Day (March 11)

I read many online articles, forums, message boards, Q & A, and the like. Too often, I am frustrated by what I read by bloggers, parents, and journalists about nutrition. I have seen blanket advice to supplement kids' diets with unnecessary vitamins and supplements; advice for pregnant moms to take 2 regular vitamins instead of one prenatal vitamin; and advice to breastfeeding moms to take unsafe amounts of herbs to increase their breast milk. I could go on and on. The running theme is that the advice usually doesn't hold water. Much of the advice on the internet is not grounded in research, but rather folklore, feeding nonsensical nutrition advice that will forever be ingrained on the world wide web.

I am bothered when people advise others to take vitamin supplements or herbs without taking into account their diet or health status. It's important to see the whole picture. And I am really bothered when the reason that poor advice is given is that someone is trying to sell you something or increase their Google search hits.

Food vs. Supplements:
Here is a Registered Dietitian's review of some good journalistic articles from February and March 2009 explaining in simple language the results of of some recent research about vitamin supplements. I hope I can convince you to focus on food rather than supplements, and to seek out advice from qualified health professionals.

• A research study showing that kids who don't need vitamins are usually the one who take them anyway. The article states that the AAP does not recommend supplements for most kids over the age of 1.
  

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta's view on vitamins supplements emphasizing that there is no research proving supplements help make you healthier.

• Postmenopausal women saw no health effect from multivitamin in a recent study.

• This article questions the safety of nanoparticles in vitamins and the lack of oversight by the FDA.

• Multivitamins don't help prevent cancer or heart disease in this study.

• Prenatal vitamins don't contain the amount of iodine they claim to contain according to this report .

• Too much supplemental vitamin E might cause heart defects according to a recent study .

• A good review explaining how some anti-oxidants can act as pro-oxidants if taken in supplemental form.

The RD recommendation:

Get your vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals in their natural form from food, not pills, unless you can't (eg: health reason or food restrictions). If you think you might need to supplement your diet, ask a Registered Dietitian to help you.

Here are links to other bloggers participating in RD Blogfest:

Annette Colby- No More Diets! A Registered Dietitian Shares 9 Secrets to Real and Lasting Weight Loss

Ashley Colpaart - Dietitians working in food policy, a new frontier

Diana Dyer - There and Back Again: Celebration of National Dietitian Day 2009

Marjorie Geiser - RD Showcase for National Registered Dietitian Day - What we do

Cheryl Harris - Me, a Gluten Free RD!

Marilyn Jess - National Registered Dietitian Day--RD Blogfest

Julie Lanford - Antioxidants for Cancer Prevention

Renata Mangrum - What I'm doing as I grow up...

Liz Marr - Fruits and Veggies for Registered Dietian Day: Two Poems

Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen - Family Nutrition ... It's our "Beat"

Jill Nussinow - The Registered Dietitian Lens I Look Through

Wendy Jo Petersen - March 11 is our day to shine!

Diane Preves - Registered Dietitians and the White House Forum on Health Reform

Andy Sarjahani - Dr. Seuss Tribute continued: Green Eggs and Ham and a Sustainable Food System

Rebecca Scritchfield - Big Tips from a "Big Loser"

Anthony Sepe - RD Showcase: Registered Dietitian Day, March 11, 2009

Kathy Shattler - RD Showcase for Nutri-Care Consultation

UNL-Extension, Douglas/Sarpy County - Nutrition Know How - Making Your Life Easier

Monika Woolsey - Dietitians--Can't Do PCOS Without Them!

Monika Woolsey - In Honor of National Registered Dietitian Day

Jen Zingaro - My life as a Registered Dietitian

Menu Plan Monday: Starting March Right!

Menu planning, like blogging, has not been happening around here lately. However, I realize that we need to get out of our food jag and get back into menu planning (and blogging)!

Check out this week's menu below (it's a good one) and come back later this week/month to read posts about allergic food challenges, health food stores, vitamins, formula salesmen, a granola bar recipe, and orthorexia. Yes, orthorexia. It is apparently an eating disorder affecting children who harbor excessive concerns about eating healthy. Intrigued? So am I...

Presenting this week's menu in honor of National Nutrition Month:

Monday
Broccoli and red lentil soup and leftover meat stew.
The soup is cooking now and smells yummy!
Tuesday
Baked potatoes topped with collard greens, 3 types of cheese, and black beans
Wednesday
Hamburgers on Ezekiel Sprouted Buns and spinach salad
Thursday
Turkey meatballs with portobella mushroom-bulgur
Friday
Roast chicken with brown rice and snap pea salad
Saturday
Chunk light tuna sandwiches on mini whole wheat pita bread and veggie slices
Sunday
Leftovers!

If this menu sounds too healthy and you are concerned that I may have orthorexia, don't worry; we will also be eating leftover crumb cake, chocolate cookies and chocolate covered pretzels this week :)

For more BeyondPrenatals Menu Plan Monday posts click here.
For more Menu Plan Monday ideas from around the blogging world click here.

About Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Organizing Junkie. I try to post a dinner menu every week, but it does not always happen. All foods that I post are appropriate for a healthy pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and childhood. Most of the foods I use are appropriate for people with egg/nuts/seeds allergies (my son is allergic to those foods and I don't like to cook 2 different meals).