May 15, 2023
“Translating the science to the table does not mean we slide over the science.”
Connie Diekman, M.Ed, RD, CSSD, LD, FADA, FAND is a Food and Nutrition Consultant in St. Louis, Missouri, and a former President of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Always on top of cutting-edge research, she recently co-authored Misinformation and Disinformation in Food Science and Nutrition: Impact on Practice.
This paper explains "Health and wellness gurus, or self-proclaimed experts, utilize social media platforms to garner attention through compelling narratives, build audience followings, and influence public opinion by sharing (often) misleading information about food and nutrition.
The consequence of this can be the perpetuation of misinformation, which not only undermines a well-functioning democracy but also diminishes support for policies that are science or evidence based. Nutrition practitioners, clinician scientists, researchers, communicators, educators, and food experts need to encourage and model critical thinking (CT) to participate in our world of mass information and mitigate misinformation."
In this candid conversation, Diekman touches on the spread of both mis- and disinformation, the role of social media in the nutrition landscape, and how the RD can play in leveraging their credential to be a trusted source of evidence-based messages.
As Diekman puts it, “the media is full of claims and promises when it comes to food and nutrition and if consumers can't see why RD's are different, and the person to trust for nutrition advice, our credibility will never grow. We have to be the communicator who can translate with honesty, evidence, and enthusiasm.”
This episode is a must-listen for any RD looking to make science translatable to consumers and combat misinformation on social media, in their practice, or across the dinner table.
Learn more about Diekman at https://cbdiekman.com/, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/connie.diekman, Twitter , and Instagram. Join us for the next episode of the Food Bullying podcast on the first and third Monday of the month.