More Woo Nutrition

[ysabella]

An article annoyed me today in my local paper, The Olympian. It's about the Shangri-La Diet (time-sensitive link here) and was mostly a lighthearted article, but:

Some nutritionists, however, just say bunk.

"Shangri-La is an imaginary place - need I say more?" says Laurie Schaetzel-Hill, a nutritionist in private practice in Olympia. "You're not going to find the answer in this diet."

Dan Kur Weamer, director of technical services for Enzymes Inc. in Parkville, Mo., agrees.

"These kinds of fad weight-loss programs tend to create yo-yo dieting that can lead to obesity," Weamer says of the Shangri-La regimen. "When our bodies get the nutients that they need, cravings stop and weight stabilizes."

On the other hand, Olympia nutritionist, registered nurse, herbalist and natural health and wellness counselor Virginia Hadley has a more tempered reaction. She says the Shangri-La Diet seems like a fad, but it might have some kernels of scientific wisdom in it. The diet doesn't use drugs or processed foods and it's inexpensive and convenient - all pluses, Hadley says.

"I'm reading that it does work for some people, so there's got to be a reason," Hadley said of her research online and in medical journal abstracts. "It may not work for the exact reason he (Roberts) says it does, but something is going on."

I looked up the enzyme guy's Enzymes, Inc. site. Arf.

A later summary:

Weamer would rather have people add more fresh, nutrient-packed foods such as vegetables and fruits to their diet and take digestive enzyme supplements with meals.

(Emphasis mine.)
Whyever would he want people to take digestive enzyme supplements? Oh, yeah, because he sells them.
Then the article goes on to be an ad for a local herbalist who was already lovingly introduced:

Hadley also doesn't see the diet as a quick fix or silver bullet, but says "this might be the point where someone wants to start" to work on their weight and nutrition.

"I would make sure that people add minerals and some digestive nutrients," said Hadley, who practices in Olympia and at the Tahoma Clinic in Renton. "I would also make sure they have blood work first to make sure their thyroid, blood-sugar levels and liver function are OK."

Hadley, whose business name is Bearfoot Herbals, says she sees a possible link between the diet and new studies on ghrelin, a hormone produced by certain cells that stimulates secretion of growth hormone, prolactin and corticotropic hormone. Ghrelin appears to play a strong role in regulating appetite, Hadley says.

Also interesting is at the end of the article:

Resources

Virginia Hadley: R.N., Bearfoot Herbals, 405 Edison S.E., Olympia, 360-753-2598 or www.bearfootherbals.com

Tahoma Clinic: 801 S.W. 16th, Suite 121, Renton, 425-264-0059 or www.tahomaclinic.com

Dan Kaur Weamer: Enzymes Inc., Parkville, MO, www.enzymesinc.com

Laurie Schaetzel-Hill: Nutritionist, Olympia, 360-352-4399

The Shangri-La Diet: Penguin Books, 2006, www.shangriladiet.com

Keri Brenner covers Thurston County and Tumwater for The Olympian. She is also a licensed acupuncturist in Oregon and holds a master's degree in Oriental medicine and acupuncture from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland. Brenner is the author of "Sleep Disorders: An Alternative Guide" and a contributing editor to "Alternative Guide to Women's Health, Vols. I and II." She can be reached at 360-754-5435 or kbrenner@theolympian.com.

A Master's Degree in Oriental Medicine and acupuncture? The website for the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine says "The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, Oregon, is a nationally accredited four-year college that trains masters and doctoral degree students in acupuncture and Oriental medicine." Ruh? Accredited in what way? I looked it up - accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Which is recognized by the government. Well, I guess if theological schools are accredited, why not woo-woo ones?

Our paper's site allows readers to make comments, so I made one, which is the only comment on this article:

Of course the Weamer guy wants to see people taking enzyme supplements with meals. He SELLS them.
There are several quackariffic diet theories from the 1930s that weirdly persist even today, despite the leaps and bounds we've made in understanding human physiology since then that completely contradict them. Raw foods, weird enzyme theories, regular enemas to "clean out" the colon, and the "mucusless" diet all date back like that.
Only people who have serious health problems causing them to lack digestive enzymes - which is pretty rare - need to take supplemental ones. The rest of us make our own. And the enzymes in a carrot don't help us digest the carrot; enzymes are proteins, and our own natural digestive enzymes blast them apart easily.

Recommended reading: Beyond Veg

Sigh.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Good to see your input alongside all that junk, WTG!