July 27, 2012
There are few things that frustrate me more than reading advice about health 
that says, “Based on the evidence…” but there is no reference to who conducted the research or where the research was published or when. I find this to often be the way that Prevention magazine writes about “evidence”. Sometimes, the report or story will include just enough information so that I can search online and find something that seems to be the basis for the claim being made. But I was catching up with some reading in Febrary, 2012 Prevention magazine, and p. 32, there begins a list recommendations for ‘heart health’ with each one including the capitalized subtitle in all caps: THE EVIDENCE. Reading about eating oranges, the article explains that “new research shows…citrus pectin helps neutralize a protein called galectin-3”. I searched PUBMED and googlescholar but could not find the ‘new evidence’. Several sentences later, it says “A 2009 study showed that a diet high in fruits and vegetables decreased the risk of heart failure by 37%”. There were a lot of studies published in 2009. Which one? Decreased risk by 37% for whom–people with high risk of heart failure, older adults, the general population, men, women? Help us out here. Tell us who did the research, where it was published, when, and something about the participants in the study. Communicate about health to increase health literacy…
