Evaluating credibility of nutrition information sources

Nutrition Information Sources

The last nutritional information that I received was from the nightly news: it was the warning about salmonella in pistachios. The information is credible because it was on multiple news stations and also in the newspapers. I changed my diet by throwing out the small bag of pistachios that I had and I made sure none of the foods I purchased recently contained pistachios in the ingredient lists.

Generally, I do not relay on word-of-mouth sources for reliable nutritional advice,

(especially at the gym), because there is absolutely no guarantee of its accuracy. I have overheard ridiculous conversations in the gym about nutrition, some of which came from personal trainers and other gym employees who are supposed to know something about the topic. For one example, I have heard a trainer tell someone not to eat at night because food eaten before bed "turns to fat" more than food eaten at other times. My doctor confirmed that this is not true because the digestive system continues digesting food even when we sleep. My doctor told me that next time I hear such advice I should ask the person what physiological mechanism is responsible for that and exactly how it is that food eaten at night converts to body fat any more easily than food eaten during the day.