"Just like changing the air freshener in your car won't prevent a breakdown if the car desperately needs a tune-up, adding one item of magical food to your diet won't protect you from a breakdown either."

You've seen the seductive headlines in your favorite magazine and on television. "Cabbages Cancel Cancer!" "Whip Heart Disease with Wine." If these stories aren't touting an actual food, they're promoting some healthful component of food like omega-3, fiber or antioxidants.

Adding a bit of healthy whole food to a diet full of MSG, sugar, artificial coloring and fake flavors seems like a good idea, but in truth, it's like putting perfume on a pig. Said pig might smell nice, but it's still a pig, and thus, makes a less than stellar date for the prom. Likewise, making small changes to your diet by adding the latest miracle food is unlikely to be of much benefit. So why does the media continue to hype magical food news and why do we keep falling for this type of nutritional fluff?

Welcome to the world of Nutritainment, that amalgam of nutritional news delivered in an entertainment-like format and packaged as "news you can use." To understand why this type of nutritional advice is so common and so popular you first have to understand the business of 'health news.'

On any given day, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of notable events in the world of food and nutrition that qualify as news. Human nature and marketplace economics dictates that the people engaged in the nutritional sciences want to see their work rewarded through media exposure. Very often these newsworthy items are published in medical journals or sent to media outlets as a press release. Sometimes a company, say a cereal manufacturer who wants to promote a new brand, will ghostwrite a nutrition article that directly or indirectly promotes their product. The article is forwarded to the media where it may be run, as-is. Health conscious news consumers are left with the mistaken belief that the article in question is a non-biased piece of research crafted by a knowledgeable health expert. Like winged pigs and chocolate milk cows, nothing could be more distant from the truth.

On the media side, knowledgeable health experts who actually have the time to sift through mountains of research data and write informative and objective stories are scarce indeed. Even in the event that such a rare species exists, they know that you, most people won't read an article titled, "Results of the Immunocompetency and Nutritive Status in Inpatient Gero-Rehabilitation," but will go positively bananas for a headline that reads: "Cauliflower: Colorectal Cancer Cure?" Suddenly there's a spike in sales of cauliflower as people rush out to add this latest of magical foods to their not so healthy diets. The sad truth is that cauliflower alone is unlikely to confer any additional health benefit if you're deep frying it in corn oil and washing it down with cola.

The other more troubling aspect of Nutritainment is the murky relationship between the advertising and editorial departments that exist in modern media. Media defenders will argue that journalistic ethics dictate that advertising may not influence editorial content, but this is simply not true. Even a casual analysis of nutrition vs. advertising content in either print or electronic media will turn up more than one example of stories that support the companies whose advertising dollars pay the bills.

Just like changing the air freshener in your car won't prevent a breakdown if the car desperately needs a tune-up, adding one item of magical food to your diet won't protect you from a breakdown either. To see real change in the state of your nutritional health requires a commitment to a complete dietary makeover. Add stress reduction, physical activity, emotional balancing and the sense of fulfillment that comes from doing work that you love and a healthy return on your investment is guaranteed. Yes, that sounds like a lot of work, but that's because it really does work.

As a bonus, it beats deep fried cauliflower fritters and Coke by a country mile. .................................................................................................................................
The information contained herein represents the sole opinion of the author and should not be construed as medical advice. Readers should consult with a knowledgeable medical care provider before beginning any new diet or exercise program.