Need Diet and Nutrition Info? Check the Web!
by Joanne Eglash

A few months ago, I noticed that my favorite pair of jeans were getting just a wee bit snug. And had the dry cleaner shrunk my new silk blouse – or did that uncomfortably tight sensation result from too many evenings sprawled on the couch eating chocolate chip ice cream?

I debated about joining a weight loss group. Or hiring a diet counselor. Or how about one of those posh personal fitness trainers like Cindy Crawford and Julia Roberts? But since my budget was as small as my hips were wide, I decided to see what the World Wide Web offered for free.

An amazing variety of nutrition-related resources and diet information are available on the Internet. From the Milk/Casein/Lactose-free mailing list that focuses on lactose intolerance and other Milk Is Not Good for Every Body-related issues (http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/no-milk.html) to the Mayo Clinic Health Oasis’s (http://www.mayohealth.org/) wide range of information, you can get help on almost any topic related to your diet and nutrition.

The question is: just how sound are all those resources? If someone in a chat group tells you that eating rose petals will make you lose weight, should you rush to your local florist, buy a dozen red roses, and go for the rose cure? Well, maybe not.

So just how do you judge whether to believe – or scoff at – a resource? One method is to seek out authorities. The Mayo Clinic Health Oasis, for example, describes itself as "your source of reliable health information." Backing up that claim is its list of physicians, scientists, and educators who provide the content for the site.

Something else you’ll notice on the Mayo Clinic Health Oasis and other trustworthy sources is a little emblem from the Health on the Net Foundation (http://www.hon.ch/).

It's a promise that the information provided "will only be given by medically/health trained and qualified professionals unless a clear statement is made that a piece of advice offered is from a non-medically/health qualified individual/organisation" (that quote is from the Health On the Net code).

You can often find links to related sources and back-up data on Web sites with this emblem. Tip: If you want to show your research to your physician, be sure to tell him about the HONcode if it’s included.

Ratings from an authoritative source, such as an established medical organization or university, offer another good method for judging the reliability of a resource. And you can bet your sweet bippy (what the heck IS a bippy, anyway?), for example, that if the Tufts University Nutrition Navigator rates a site as excellent, it’s a great place to start.

The Tufts University Nutrition Navigator is the best when it comes to offering links on All Food Matters Big and Small. The real icing on the cake (in the spirit of this Web site, I’ll make that tofu spread on a celery stalk) is the rating system.

The sites are rated by nutrition experts. There’s a 25-point scale that includes the scientific accuracy, usability, and so forth. So when you see that the Grains Nutrition Information Center, for example, gets a 23 out of 25, you know it’s worth checking out. As you can see here, there’s also a nifty blurb about each site that’s rated.

Here’s how to benefit from this awesome site:

1. Go to http://www.navigator.tufts.edu/
2. Click the area that interests you, such as Parents, Women, or General Nutrition.
3. Read the descriptions and ratings of the different sites profiled in that section, and click any links that appeal to you.

This site is maintained by a retired psychiatrist and author, and it includes:

• Definitions of quackery (in which Dr. Barrett makes the point that often, people post personal experiences in an attempt to help others – but what cures one person may be harmful to another individual);
• Ways to spot fraudulent claims (if someone urges you to take a million vitamins every morning, listen for a quack!)
• Tips for detecting sites that may not be reliable (such as ones that promise you can lose weight, make a billion dollars, and look like Cindy Crawford by swallowing an expensive herb that grows only in the east side of a mountain top in Siberia!)

And remember: even advice from professionals may not be right for Every Body. Your mileage may vary — and checking with your physician or other health care professional is essential before you make a chance in your diet habits.