Tips for Writing a Diet Book

One of the nutrition blogs I subscribe to had a great tongue-in-cheek article this week on how to write a diet book. http://www.diet-blog.com/10/write_your_own_diet_book_heres_how.php


Once you read the article, you realize how much all diet books are alike. It reminds me of a time several years ago when my best friend, also a dietitian, and I decided to write a diet book in which the diet is based on your hair color. We were going to make up a diet for each hair color and type (straight hair, curly hair). We also decided that a special diet would be needed for permed hair or color treated hair. There is absolutely no science behind this but my friend's husband, who has a masters degree is biochemistry, was going to write the science portion for us using enough scientific jargon to confuse even the most scholarly among us. Being dietitians, all of the diets were all going to be healthy but just slightly varied. This was all in fun due to the vast number of diet books that were popping up on the market at the time.


The article does bring up some very good points to watch out for when reading about any nutrition information. The most important point is the person giving the information. Just because the person is a celebrity or is a psychologist does not mean they know anything about nutrition. Beware of the term "nutritionist". This term does not have a legal definition. Anyone can call themselves a "nutritionist" whether or not they have studied nutrition. In order to use the term "dietitian", the person must have a degree in nutrition or dietetics, have completed an internship and passed a test. Doctors and nurses may or may not have nutrition knowledge. Marcia, the RN for our weight loss support group, has extensive nutrition knowledge but much of it was learned on her own time due to her own interest, not from nursing school.


Beware of any product that is "revolutionary", a "miracle", or something "your doctor won't tell you about". If it is that great because it really works, your doctor will tell you about it. Definitely watch out for supplements sold on the same site as weight loss information. Why do you need their supplements? Is their diet so unbalanced or restrictive that you are not getting some important nutrients from the food?

Speaking of unbalanced and restrictive, watch out for diets that limit your food choices either by cutting out specific foods or whole food groups or tell you to only eat "unprocessed" or organic food. Diets that have these "rules" can be very difficult, if not impossible, to follow. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you might have to follow this diet for months. Can you really not eat any grains for 10-12 months or longer? Can you afford to only eat organic foods? I have seen organic potato chips. Are they healthy just because they are organic? No, they have the same calories and fat as the non-organic varieties. Do you really want to restrict yourself to only unprocessed foods - fruits and vegetables? Even meat is minimally processed. Anything that has been changed even slightly or pasturized would not be considered unprocessed. Eggs are pasturized. Milk and cheese would have to be avoided. Think of all the vitamins and minerals you would be missing if you followed any of these "rules".


Another point that stood out to me is "there is a single or simple cause as to why you are fat." More than likely, there is more than one cause for being overweight and it is not the same for every person. It may be from eating too much junk food. Or eating too much food period. This is probably in combination with not burning enough calories. It may be genetic or a hormone disorder. Depending on the causes of the weight gain, the method to lose weight may be different.


"...tell people calories don't matter, and then design meal plans that are precisely 1200-1300 calories". Calories do matter per recent weight loss studies comparing different diet patterns. The Atkins diet is a great example of this. Although they do not count calories, their sample meal plans are lower calorie which is what causes the weight loss, not the "no carb" philosophy.


I hope this gives you some guidelines to follow when searching for nutrition information. Some great reliable sources of nutrition information include: the government (http://www.nutrition.gov/, http://www.mypyramid.gov/), the American Heart Association(http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/), the American Dietetic Association (http://www.eatright.org/), and the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org/).