{"id":990,"date":"2011-10-19T05:00:48","date_gmt":"2011-10-19T09:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eatwithjoy.org\/?p=990"},"modified":"2011-10-19T05:00:48","modified_gmt":"2011-10-19T09:00:48","slug":"americas-newest-diet-guru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/2011\/10\/19\/americas-newest-diet-guru\/","title":{"rendered":"America’s Newest Diet Guru?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u2026or America\u2019s latest \u201chealth\u201d sanctioned eating disorder in the guise of a fad diet?<\/em><\/p>\n

Some weeks ago, my friend Ellen<\/a> sent me a link to this story<\/a> in More magazine<\/a>, which bills itself as a publication \u201cfor women of style and substance.\u201d Ellen and I were both shocked and distressed by the \u201csubstance\u201d of this one:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The article sings the praises of Lyn-Genet Recitas<\/a>, the owner of Neighborhood Holistic<\/a> in New York City. Lyn-Genet is \u201ccertified\u201d in Chinese food theory and holistic nutrition. Tellingly, neither the article nor Lyn-Genet\u2019s website says who<\/em> issued these certifications, except to note that Lyn-Genet has a master\u2019s degree from Clayton College of Natural Health<\/a> (a now-defunct non-accredited distance-learning institution.) The basis of her diet program (\u201cThe Plan\u201d) is the theory that different foods can cause chronic low-grade inflammation which contributes both to weight gain and to various ailments.<\/p>\n

(According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, there is no evidence<\/strong> that food allergies contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation.)<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Lyn-Genet has had \u201cthousands\u201d of clients lose weight and feel that their health has improved as a result of \u201cThe Plan.\u201d Some of the foods that she believes cause problems for a lot of people include:<\/p>\n

\u201cshellfish (with the exception of scallops), turkey, pork, eggs, Greek yogurt, roasted nuts, asparagus, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, oatmeal, salmon<\/em>\u2026the list goes on.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Each person is \u201cchemically unique,\u201d says Recitas. Therefore, according to her, scientific research can\u2019t tell you what foods are healthy for you or not\u2013but her cobbled-together anecdotal evidence can<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d estimate that 95 percent of the people I work with can\u2019t eat oatmeal without gaining a substantial amount of weight. It can cause two days\u2019 worth of constipation and particularly affects my migraine sufferers.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

So people going on the plan go through a three-day \u201ccleanse,\u201d and then through an elimination diet rotation, weighing themselves daily and taking detailed notes on how they\u2019re feeling. Lyn-Genet claims that participants should be losing a half pound daily.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are so many things that are distressing about this article and this \u201cPlan.\u201d For the sake of clarity, I\u2019m going to tackle them bullet-point style:<\/p>\n

1. Focus on Weight Loss\/Thinness<\/strong><\/p>\n

The article notes that Lyn-Genet, who is 46 years old, has 11% body fat. That is shockingly underfat. <\/em><\/strong>11% body fat would be considered \u201cunderfat\u201d for a man<\/em> of her age\u2013let alone a woman. Being that underfat is associated with its own risks, not least osteoporosis.<\/p>\n

Any diet that involves daily weigh-ins encourages obsession with the scale\u2013which is not where the focus need be. Responsible nutritionists recommend weekly<\/em> weigh-ins and emphasize that results cannot be judged by the scale alone.<\/p>\n

2. Tons of Introspection: e.g. \u201cHow am I feeling after this meal?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think we can all benefit from paying attention to what\u2019s going into our mouths. But this? This is a recipe for an eating disorder. Remember my gluten-free confession?<\/a> Based on the same<\/em> kind of thing. This is not to say that if, you know, jalapenos make you sick every time you eat them, that you shouldn\u2019t avoid them. Of course you should. But eliminating whole swaths of foods because of perceived \u201cintolerance\u201d<\/strong> within your body? Bad idea.<\/p>\n

3. (related to point #2) Hyper-individualistic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lyn-Genet seems to think that the most \u201crevolutionary\u201d part of her diet plan is the fact that it encourages YOU YOU YOU to figure out what\u2019s good for you based on your own reactions to everything that goes in your mouth. But really, this is just Burger King philosophy (\u201chave it your way\u201d) with a health-and-weight conscious twist. This is an eating plan that cuts people off from one another and makes communal eating a real pain in the, well, you know.<\/strong> To my mind, that\u2019s never<\/em> a good thing.<\/a><\/p>\n

4. (in case it wasn\u2019t clear from above) JUNK \u201cscience\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Piecing together anecdotal evidence from clients in a neighborhood practice is NOT research<\/em>, and calling it \u201cresearch\u201d is irresponsible.<\/p>\n

Shame on<\/strong> More magazine for giving these quack theories a voice and using a specter of extreme, unhealthy thinness to help advertise yet another fad diet<\/strong> masquerading as an approach to health!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026or America\u2019s latest \u201chealth\u201d sanctioned eating disorder in the guise of a fad diet? Some weeks ago, my friend Ellen sent me a link to this story in More magazine, which bills itself as a publication \u201cfor women of style and substance.\u201d Ellen and I were both shocked and distressed by the \u201csubstance\u201d of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2070,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,35,36],"tags":[106,682,1341,1463,1642,1887],"class_list":["post-990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anorexia","category-dieting","category-eating-together-2","tag-the-plan","tag-detox-diet","tag-junk-science","tag-lyn-genet-recitas","tag-neighborhood-holistic","tag-quackwatch"],"yoast_head":"\nAmerica's Newest Diet Guru?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"...or America's latest "health" sanctioned eating disorder in the guise of a fad diet? 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