Your #AskForEvidence stories
Edward saw an advert claiming a new energy powder shot could help him reduce his tiredness. As a keen trailrunner he asked for evidence behind their claim. [...]
There are numerous diets around today, some of which provide dodgy and dangerous nutritional claims and sometimes involve consumers buying expensive and unnecessary products – just see the VoYS spoof diet project. So when Jamie came across the Blood Type diet she was rather sceptical…
The D’Adamo Personalized Nutrition company run by a naturopathic doctor sells a testing kit which allows individuals to determine what blood type they are in the comfort of their own home. This information is then used to “take science and genetics one step further” and tailors a unique diet containing all the best foods and the correct type of exercise suited for you. You can also purchase a range of vitamins and supplements that are “nutritionally suited” to your blood type.
Jamie got in contact with the company to find out the evidence.
A member of staff responded and attached some documents that appeared to look like legitimate scientific research. Although Jamie struggled to understand the information, she believed that the evidence was sufficient.
We got Dr Simon Wheeler, a public health nutritionist at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Epidemiology unit to take a look:
“Unfortunately I don’t seem to be able to find much actual evidence to support the efficacy of a blood-type diet on any health outcome in humans.”
He went on to comment on a 787 page textbook that Jamie was linked to:
“You shouldn’t have to find data like a needle in a haystack. This is why we publish all our trial results in peer-reviewed journals in a transparent and concise format, so they can be accessed easily, discussed, debated, confirmed in other studies, and then incorporated into medical practice or health policy as deemed fit.”
Image by zippythesimshead
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