Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

FINDING ACCURATE SOURCES OF NUTRITION INFORMATION 107
DECIPHERING NUTRITION INFORMATION
“New study shows that margarine contributes to arterial plaque.”
“Asian study reveals that two cups of coffee per day can have detrimental effects on the
nervous system.”
How do you react when you read headlines like this? Do you boycott margarine and
coffee? When reading nutrition-related claims, articles, websites, or advertisements, always
remember that one study neither proves or disproves anything. Readers who may be looking
for answers to complex nutrition questions can quickly misconstrue such statements and
be led down a path of misinformation, especially if the information is coming from a source
that isn’t credible. Listed below are ways that you can develop a discerning eye when reading
news highlighting nutrition science and research.
• The scientific study under discussion should be published in a peer-reviewed
journal. Having gone through the peer review process, these studies have been
checked by other experts in the field to ensure that their methods and analysis
were rigorous and appropriate. Peer-reviewed articles also include a review of
previous research findings on the topic of study and examine how their current
findings relate to, support, or are in contrast to previous research. Question
studies that come from less trustworthy sources (such as non peer-reviewed
journals or websites) or that are not formally published.