Since Americans were kids they've been raised being told what to eat. Nearly every person on the planet has some opinion of what is good or bad to put in your body, and many of these beliefs have grown into fad diets, an increasingly large and possibly dangerous trend.
There are no less than 5 different kinds of vegetarians these days, those people still on the Atkins diet, South Beach Dieters, Weight Watchers and even Dan Marino and his loyal Nutrisystem followers. All of these people, typically celebrities, are giving advice on how to stay fit and healthy, but they have another thing in common: They don't know anything about nutrition!
After some three decades of pressure, the Michigan Dietics Association is putting law into action to cut down on the amount of second-rate nutritional advice their citizens receive. Under the new law, going into action July 1st, only licensed nutritionists and dieticians, who have at least a Bachelors of Science Degree and 900 hours of experience, will be allowed to dispense nutrition advice.
This is bad news for people like Julie Kowalski, a self-educated entrepreneur identified in the article who has been giving classes on healthy cooking for years. After the new law takes effect, Kowalski and her lawyer will have to go to court to find out if she is still permitted to practice.
For the rest of us, the precedent Michigan is setting is very positive. It will ensure, if adopted by other states, that Americans only receive good, reliable health information, and cut down on the amounts of food myths that people decide to live by(See April 3 post). Only when people know the truth about what it takes to be fit and healthy can they actually begin to move towards it, and we're now one step closer to that goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment