Nutrition PhDc Answer: Vitamin A supplements can be both helpful or harmful, but the harms from vitamin A supplements can be severe. People often assume that supplements are safe because they are natural, but vitamin A in particular can cause liver damage that doesn’t show up for years. What
Below are the vitamin A recommended dietary allowances for all ages and stages of life. These are from the Office of Dietary Supplements from the National Institutes of Health. Many medical and natural health providers cite these pages, so they're a good neutral source of information. How much
Limitations are frequently discussed in the context of academic research. Limitations are a broad range of things that could influence the quality of the study's data and final conclusion. Examples of limitations are: * Missing data * Factors the researchers didn't consider * Not enough people in the study
The idea that we can control our health is powerful. It’s also false. Your whole health pie There are many slight variations on these percentages, but pooled resources and the most recent estimates consider a person's whole health picture to come down to several categories, including: * Genetics:
→ Want to read offline? Download this post as a PDF at the end of the article. 1. Expertise 2. Context 3. Accuracy 4. Liability 5. Proof 6. Rigor 7. Loyalty 8. Ethics Download this post as a PDF: Authority and misinformation in nutrition and diet content Factual Wellness8 things to
Short on time? Read the summary: → Terry Wahls, MD, MBA is the author of three books that have been (and still are) bestsellers. Her books occupy a substantial amount of consumer space online. If someone has MS, autoimmunity, or chronic disease and they search for nutrition or diet on Amazon
Short on time? Read the summary: → When professional academic inquiries are viewed as complaints or harassment, the consumer is the one who suffers. Factual Wellness centers the needs and perspective of people with chronic illness conditions. Paleo and AIP are frequently marketed to this population. * Sarah Ballantyne, a PhD in
Short on time? Read the summary: → Sarah Ballantyne, PhD (medical biophysics), is a bestselling author of Paleo books and Nutrivore, a food-scoring dietary philosophy. → Ballantyne has described Paleo and her former work as misinformation and pseudoscience but maintains an online presence on her Paleo-focused website. → Criticisms include the development of
Food insecurity is a term often discussed in health, wellness, and nutrition content, but not everyone has a clear understanding of what it means. Even as a nutrition grad student, I misunderstood the many ways that food insecurity could present in real life. A few years back, I saw a
Ultra-processed foods have been increasingly highlighted as a tension point among those who work in nutrition, health, or wellness. Ultra-Processed Upset A Time article from August described the efforts of Jessica Wilson, a registered dietitian fighting for ultraprocessed foods—and it's not because she works for the food
The GAPS diet is short for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. It was created and trademarked by Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, a neurosurgeon from the U.K. who obtained additional training in neurology and nutrition. Campbell-McBride described the GAPS diet protocol in the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism,
Red light therapy is having a moment. It’s all over Instagram, and it’s been featured as a topic on multiple podcasts, patient-focused seminars, workshops, and conferences. Clinics that provide integrative or functional medicine sometimes offer it as a service for their patients, typically for an additional charge or
Research
When studies are designed to look at cause-and-effect relationships, researchers have to consider confounding factors. What are confounding factors? Confounding factors are variables that can indirectly or directly influence a study's results. For researchers to accurately determine whether one thing has a direct impact on another, they have
Questions
There are many kinds of studies used in academic research. They involve different designs and types of data collection. The data and what the study investigates determines the kind of analysis method. What studies can (and can't) show Studies can be used for different purposes. Cell and animal
Fact Check
What is it? AG1 is a powdered greens supplement. One scoop (12 grams, or just shy of 1 tablespoon) is meant to be mixed with 8 oz of water and then consumed. What are its claims? AG1 claims it can replace multiple supplements while it "helps meet your foundational
Research
Sometimes an abstract is a good summary of a study's results. Most of the time, it leaves out vital information needed to accurately verify a study's data, evidence, and conclusions. If you don't read beyond the abstract, your takeaway could be half-baked or misinformed.