Importance of Independent Advice
THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT, UNBIASED ADVICE
When paying for a nutritionist to help you reach your goals you should be confident that they have your health and goals as their priorities. Here are some common scenarios where you may not be getting correct, independent or unbiased advice.
1) Nutritionists selling supplements that have no serious scientific backing supporting their use. Some brands you may have heard of are Herbalife, Juiceplus+ and AG1 multivitamins. These supplements promise to help you lose weight and feel great. The reality is that, unless you have been diagnosed as having a deficiency (e.g. Anaemia is due to an iron deficiency) in most cases people do not need to take multivitamins. Anyone who has a varied and balanced diet is likely getting all of their required nutrients, as well as many benefits from taking a food first approach, like plenty of fibre. There is also no proven performance boost when consuming multivitamins, therefore, while a nutritionist may be well intentioned when recommending these products they are not significantly beneficial to health and the only thing they’ll lighten is your bank account. It is important to always follow your doctor’s advice if diagnosed as deficient in a vitamin.
Weight loss pills, tea etc are not beneficial and may be harmful. Multivitamins are not needed in majority of individuals. If these are sold to you by your ‘nutritionist’ i would consider this a scam
2) Weight Watchers, Slimming World and other weight loss groups. There are benefits to these groups, particularly due to the group support environment they promote. Group support is scientifically proven to help people hit their weight loss goals, however, these groups also have drawbacks such as a lack of education around food which keeps individuals dependent on their system as a paying customer. here is also the encouragement towards buying their own branded products, even if they’re not always the best option for an individual. It is also worthwhile mentioning that, while people do lose weight in these groups they have limited scope and people often regain the weight lost.
No scientific education and sale of branded products are both red flags. There are pros to Weight Watchers and Slimming World but also key, unavoidable cons. For more information see our Pros and Cons blog
3) Nutritionists selling their own branded supplements or affiliate supplements. This can be more of a grey area, particularly as many supplements such as protein, creatine and nitrates can provide a boost in performance when needed and used correctly (as opposed to the products in point 1). If you’re being recommended a product that is beneficial to you there is no harm in a nutritionist pointing you towards their products as an option for supplementation. This guidance is very different to implying you must take their product. An easy comparison can be made to mortgage brokers. They can find a mortgage which is perfect for you, however, if they are going to receive commission from the lender then they must make you aware of this fact and provide clear justification as to why this product is the correct product for you. Nutritionists should be held to the same standard. Scott Baptie(@scottbaptie) is an example of this situation handled correctly. Scott sells nutrition and weight loss plans, as well as his own recipe book. He offers this to clients to assist them on their plans but does not demand anyone purchase it or suggest the only way to follow his advice is to also purchase the book.
Some supplements are beneficial. But are they right for you? And are you being directed to buy a particular brand?
In Conclusion:
If a nutritionist is attempting to sell you something other than their advice there is a conflict of interest. This is always worth further investigation as it may be harmless, or you may be receiving biased, flawed or incorrect advice. In these cases profit and their personal gain may be prioritised over your health and wellness