Current News and Personal Opinion is produced
by
John Hardman RPA-C as a volunteer service for Minnesota PA's.
(October 26, 2000) Back in the saddle again, or so it seems. Writing articles for the benefit of Minnesota PA's should be it's own reward, and believe me it is. However, the ability to balance time and a reasonable expectation of what can be accomplished on a volunteer basis is the secret to success. So, let me know what you think about these ramblings, and consider contributing some of your own. I am sure many readers would love to hear what you think.
I recently read an article, "Based on What We Know Today...," from a nutrition email service that I subscribe to, whose web site can be found at: Nutrition News Focus.
Follow the above link to the web site, to see for yourself what this service has to offer. I think you will agree that it does provide a fairly unbiased accounting of the nutritional ideas that seem to float around in the popular press.
The article, mentioned above, summarized a reference article titled: Bottom line: Is it good for you? Or bad?
This last article, appeared in the Sunday Newspaper magazine, USA Weekend (Feb. 28, 1999). You can review the article yourself by clicking on the title.
This article, although more than a year old now, still makes a valid point, that consumers have to sift through apparently conflicting sources of dietary advice that advocates such practices as drinking coffee, only to reverse itself later with admonitions to avoid the poison at another point in time according to the current expert!
The take home message here is that consumer dietary advice is sure to change continuously as new studies are published. As PA's, we are often called upon to decipher for our patients, the myriad of "news" that the average person is bombarded with through exposure to TV, newsprint, and web sources of information. So how do we know what to say?
One thing that I do is subscribe to the free nutrition email service,
Nutrition News Focus.
Other sources of nutritional advice include:
Medscape.com
Just type in "nutrition," in the search box and go from there. Be as
specific as you wish.
WebMD.com
Here is a special link to nutrition 101 at a reputable site. For you
or your patients.
National
Institutes Of Health, National Library of Medicine
Now here is a special link to a page from the NIH that should keep
you busy for awhile.
It describes Vitamin and Mineral Supplements and what's the latest
news.
There are obviously many sites that you can access. Most will be reliable sources of information, however you do need to be aware, and check the validity, for your own knowledge, but also to be sure that you are passing on the best information for your patients.
If you know of any particularly helpful sites regarding nutrition, and
certain recent popular misconceptions or myths, then contact me at the
email link below, and I will be sure to pass on your comments, in
a future article.