Research vs the real world

The conclusions that can be drawn from ‘research’ as compared with what we see and experience in the real world is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to science. Nutrition science is probably the scientific area where this is most hotly contested. Especially when it comes to real world evidence from a doctor – or many doctors – telling us they have bags of clinical evidence from hundreds of patients who have regained health from eating in a different way, not from drugs. Should we discount this as anecdotal evidence worthy of the bin, labelling it as “the worst kind of science”, as suggested by Prof Dariush Mozaffarian, one of the leading nutritional scientists in the world?

This week’s eAlert brings this highly controversial issue of ‘research’ vs ‘the real world’ right to you as ANH founder, Rob Verkerk PhD, recounts his experiences with the ‘who’s who’ of the nutrition, and nutritional science, world last week in Zürich at Swiss Re and the BMJ’s extraordinary ‘Food for Thought’ conference. Talk about a rock star line up…

For those of us, me included, who have turned our health around in a few short months after a lifetime of illness, it really makes no difference to hear from one or 100 esteemed scientists that what we’re doing is bad science and doesn’t count. I, like many others, are fitter and healthier now than I’ve ever been because of the way I eat, move and deal with my stress.

Our second article demonstrates why eating like ANH’s Food4Health guidelines is likely to give you more benefits than eating according to Prof Mozaffarian’s research-driven dietary priorities. But either way – both show you how out of touch government guidelines are with either research OR the real world!  No doubt, science has its place, but this conference proved how important it is for experts to collaborate and dialogue. It also showed the importance of what happens in the real world.

Food for thought indeed. And if our two main articles aren’t enough to chew on, we bring you our newly formatted, truly bite-sized news snippets to keep you up to date with what’s happening in research – and the real world.

In health, for real

Meleni

Meleni Aldridge

Executive Coordinator