scientific method

-nutrition experts rely on this to base recommendations
1. observation
2. hypothesis
3. test

hypothesis

possible explanation about an observation that guides scientific research

anecdotes

reports of personal experience

variable

personal characteristic or other factor that changes & can influence an outcome
something you measure (ex. age, location, environ)

laboratory experiments

a systematic way of testing a hypothesis

experimentation: 2 groups

1. treatment group
2. control group

placebo

a fake treatment

in vitro

"test tube" experimenting on parts derived from living organism, such as cells

in vivo

testing on whole living organisms, such as mice

epidemiological

is the study of occurrence, distribution, & causes of health problems in population

epidemiological: 2 types

1. experimental
2. observational

experimental epidemiological study

-can obtain information about health conditions that may have resulted from specific dietary practices
2 groups: 1. experimental 2. control (placebo)

observational epidemiological: case-control study

individuals who have a health condition are compared with individuals with similar characteristics who don't have the condition

observational epidemiological: co-hort study

study that measures variables in a group of people over time

prospective

-look forward
-follow healthy people into future & look for factors that have changed their health

retrospective

-look back
-look at peoples past exposures to explain why some have condition & some don't

limitations of epidemiological studies

1. can't establish causation
2. when 2 events or observation occur at the same time cannot assume related

correlation

1. a relationship btw variables
2. occurs when 2 variables change over the same period

elements of epidemiological study (7)

1. review scientific literature
2. develop hypothesis
3. design study (double blind)
4. conduct human research
5. analyze data, draw conclusions, report findings
6. spread the news
7. follow up w/more research

quackery

-promoting useless medical treatments
-practicing medicine w/o proper training=illegal
-providing nutrition info & advice, w/o training=legal

red flags

1. quick, easy remedies
2. sounds too good to be true
3. scare tactics
4. personal attacks on experts
5. statements on superiority
6. testimonials & anecdotes
7. promotes benefits, doesn't discuss risks
8. vague, meaningless or scientific sounding terms
9. sensational statements
10. recommend based on single study
11. disclaimers

reliable sources

college or university nutrition instructors
registered dietitians
peer reviewed articles

dietary supplements (3)

-adds to a person's dietary intake & contains one or more dietary ingredients, including nutrients or botanicals
-taken by mouth
-is not promoted as a conventional food or the only item of a meal or diet
-regulated as a food

dietary supplements examples

-nutrient pills (multivitamin, mineral products
-protein powders
-herbal extracts
-energy bars
-nutracueticals

complementary & alternative medicine

-using supplements, such as herbal products, to treat disease or promote good health
-chiropractic manipulations
-homeopathy & naturopathy
-massage therapy

dietary supplement use (2)

-micronutrients generally safe
-herbal supplements may be toxic

Please allow access to your computer’s microphone to use Voice Recording.

Having trouble? Click here for help.

We can’t access your microphone!

Click the icon above to update your browser permissions and try again

Example:

Reload the page to try again!

Reload

Press Cmd-0 to reset your zoom

Press Ctrl-0 to reset your zoom

It looks like your browser might be zoomed in or out. Your browser needs to be zoomed to a normal size to record audio.

Please upgrade Flash or install Chrome
to use Voice Recording.

For more help, see our troubleshooting page.

Your microphone is muted

For help fixing this issue, see this FAQ.

Star this term

You can study starred terms together

Voice Recording