Blog Review: Junkfood Science

I read a lot of health-related news stories and I probably take their accuracy for granted too often. Did the reporter cherry-pick data points from a report? Does the reporter understand the subject well enough to represent it correctly? It's hard to know without examining the study or report itself. Lately I've been following up my health news reading with a perusal of the blog, Junkfood Science.

I found Junkfood Science while reading about a story that made headlines a few weeks ago, new clinical guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics calling for cholesterol screenings in children from age two and serving only low-fat dairy from age one, and approving cholesterol-lowering drugs for children. Junkfood Science made a strong, multi-faceted case for why the cholesterol guidelines are alarming.

The author behind Junkfood Science is Sandy Szwarc, MSN, RN, CCP. It is her mission to examine health-related stories reported in the mainstream media. As she puts it:

Science is being misused for marketing and political purposes. Evidence is being distorted and bias has inundated media, research, government policies and clinical guidelines... And all of this is costing, frightening and hurting people... I believe people deserve to know the truth and not be taken advantage of, needlessly terrified or put at risk.

Szwarc brings with her the weight of her 30-plus years as a health professional: as a nurse, researcher, and most recently, a writer. She is a contributor to science and policy institutes in Washington D.C. She has over fifteen years' experience in professional and consumer medical publications and she has published articles in magazines and newspapers such as The Washington Post, Saveur, Los Angeles Times, and Gourmet.

Junkfood Science jumps into plenty of controversies and Szwarc has some very strong opinions. Many of the posts are about debunking long-held beliefs about health, such as advice to drink 8 glasses of water a day and to limit salt. Szwarc even takes on sugar.

It only takes a few minutes of reading to discover Szwarc's opinion on nutrition in the media: we worry too much about fats, cholesterol, and obesity. In fact, she fears our obsession is unhealthy, teaching counterproductive attitudes towards food and even depriving people of much-needed benefits from fat in food. Szwarc joins other writers like Nina Planck and Connie Leas who believe that the dangers of high-fat foods and of obesity are overblown and that it's more beneficial to just relax and enjoy a wide variety of foods.

In a post on a Time Magazine article about school lunches, Szwarc takes on the calorie/fat/salt-limiting approach to healthy eating, pointing out assumptions not supported by evidence. What's missing from the article, she says, is "the scientific information that could help parents and young people better understand the range of nutrients growing bodies need, and the heartening information to help them develop healthier, more relaxed relationships with food, eat normally and enjoy food."

I want to believe... and because Szwarc take such a thorough and critical look at the evidence, I find myself being persuaded by her point of view much of the time.

Most posts on Junkfood Science are on the long side. This is not the place for a quick read. Then again, her purpose is to inform, so she's giving you as much information as possible. There are no tags or archives, which makes searching for topics somewhat harder, though you can do the usual blogger search. Towards the bottom of the page you will find the "Obesity Paradox Series," a collection of Junkfood Science posts addressing the topic of obesity. 

Now when I read an article about children's diets or the dangers of cholesterol I wonder, "hmm, what does Suzy think?" I don't always have the time to find out, but I'm glad there's a knowledgeable, critical thinker out there reading health reports with a grain of salt.

Comments

[Mike Brotherton]

I just had junkfoodscience brought to my attention and as a scientist who finds science journalism poor to miserable much of the time, I am interested. However I am shocked at some of the links to "good books" she has as some of her fellow skeptics are sham artists. Milloy of junkscience.com, for instance, has been paid by the tobacco and oil industries to cast doubt on the risks of smoking and global warming issues. If she really thinks Milloy's work on these topics is good (I can evaluate the physical science he discusses and most of it is BS), I am skeptical I can trust her. It could just be a case of identifying an audience and cross-marketing, but it makes me suspicious.