Internet Health Myths
(MSNBC Health,) Along with increased access to helpful health information, the Internet also offers inaccurate information that can distract people from healthful activities, and persuade others to take actions that are sometimes downright dangerous.
FOR EXAMPLE, a weight loss diet including only grapefruit, vegetables, eggs and meat has been circulating on the Internet for several years. Supposedly, the world-famous Mayo Clinic recommended it, and it can melt pounds away. The Mayo Clinic never recommended such a diet. A single call to its nutrition department clarified that. Comparing this diet with recommendations from a wide range of nutrition and weight-loss experts will tell you more. People may temporarily lose weight on this diet because of very low calorie intake, but there is no magical effect of the grapefruit or combinations of the foods prescribed. When people get tired of the monotony of this diet, they tend to regain any weight lost. And the diet is not healthy; it is grossly inadequate nutritionally.
Another story that has appeared on the Internet for several months involves aspartame (NutraSweet). The story contains a long list of illnesses linked to aspartame, including multiple sclerosis (MS), brain cancer and seizures, and it talks about the danger of aspartame to body cells. The medical literature, however, shows that aspartame is not absorbed into the body; it is first broken down into phenylalanine and asparatic acid (amino acids that are building blocks of protein) and methanol.
The Internet story goes into detail about the damage from methanol, yet according to a review in the respected medical journal Lancet, fruit juice can contain twice as much methanol as soda with aspartame. Alcoholic drinks contain even more than that. The amino acid phenylalanine that is blasted in the Internet letter is far more concentrated in eggs, milk and most meat. The senior medical advisor for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation describes the Internet article as scandalously misinformative.
Before you act on any information from the Internet, or pass it on to anyone else, check the sources. Call organizations cited to make sure they were quoted accurately. Check that the organizations themselves are credible sources of information, and check on the background of any cited experts.If that's hard to do, it's not a good sign for the accuracy of the story.
You can verify information on diet and cancer risk by calling the American Institute for Cancer Research toll-free nutrition hotline at
800-843-8114.
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