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The paleo problem
Then there’s celebrity chef Pete Evans,
who has come under fire for promoting
his belief in a paleo diet for babies and
toddlers with his book, Bubba Yum Yum:
The Paleo Way. The book, which was due
to be published by Pan Macmillan in
March, was pulled after health experts
raised concerns about its recipes. In fact,
Professor Heather Yeatman from the
Public Health Association of Australia
warned Evans’ recipe for “DIY baby
formula” – made from chicken liver and
bone broth – may in certain cases even
have the potential to kill a child (owing
to its high levels of vitamin A, which
can cause serious illness or death in
large quantities ). Evans stands by the
book and plans to self-publish it with
a disclaimer. In the past, he’s linked
our current diet with rising levels of
autism and, in response to a Fairfax
journalist asking, “Are grains bad for
everyone?” said, “We are producing
weaker and weaker offspring as the
generations progress. ” It’s quite a
statement he’s making – particularly
when you stop and remember that
Evans is a chef with no background
in genetics or science.
And let’s not forget FreeLee the
Banana Girl (aka Leanne Ratcliffe), a
South Australia-based YouTube vlogger
who swears by her diet of eating only
raw fruits and greens until 4pm – and
can sometimes eat up to 51 bananas a
day. She believes that menstruation is
actually “toxicity leaving the body”
and that cancer patients are “taken ...
way before their time” by chemotherapy.
She does claim to have a nutrition
degree but admits to not calling on
her education very often because of
its “lack of accuracy”.When #healthspo
turns dangerous
Of course, the issue is not that Jessica
or any of the people mentioned here
chose to put their faith in alternative
therapies or controversial diets over
conventional medicine and government-
endorsed healthy eating plans – after
all, everyone has a right to their own
beliefs. The real issue is that, through
social media, millions of people globally
have put their blind faith in Gerson
therapy, Paleo dieting, The Whole
Pantry’s diet and raw veganism, and
may have even been influenced to shun
scientifically proven medicine and
treatments in favour of trying unproven
alternative therapies. All based entirely
on these social media personalities –
and not one of them with a medical
degree or accreditation.
While some facets of these diets
may be music to nutritionists’ ears (eat
more vegetables! You don’t need nearly
that much sugar!), they all take healthy
eating to the absolute extreme. “You
have to wonder, with any diet, is this
too good to be true?” Polivnick says,
talking about the unscientific claims
being made by the likes of Evans and
Gibson. “[People] should absolutely
take responsibility for [their] health,
but that doesn’t mean putting blind
faith in just anyone with an Instagram
account. [Make sure you] look for
accredited, practising dietitians. Ask
for their degrees. Where do they work?
Who endorses them? And what exactly
are they telling you? If the results
sound like they’re too good
to be true,
well... they
probably
are.”“I got death threats
when I told my
vegan followers my
diet had led to an
eating disorder”
US-based Jordan
Younger had legions
of followers for her
blog as The Blonde
Vegan. But when her
complete dedication
to her vegan lifestyle
became an obsession, she realised she
had developed orthorexia, a dangerous
eating disorder where sufferers have an
extreme preoccupation with avoiding
food they perceive to be unhealthy.
This is her brave story.
“I had been a strict vegan for about
18 months when I started to have serious
health problems. My periods stopped,
my skin was a disaster and I was always
exhausted. I knew that something was
wrong. I turned to a nutritionist, who
told me I was deficient in vitamin B12
and needed to boost my intake with fish.
Instead of feeling relief that I had
a solution, I was terrified. I couldn’t
eat fish, I was vegan. I was The Blonde
Vega n. I was completely panicked. That’s
when it hit me: I had an eating problem.
Before I started my blog in 2013 ,
I ate pretty normally. I’ve always had
a sensitive stomach, so I avoided dairy
and wheat, although I did eat fish and
poultry. But then a few years ago, I did
a five-day plant-based cleanse; five days
of fruit, vegetables and nuts – that’s it.
It felt incredible. For the first time in
my life I was able to eat without getting