Alt-med quackwatch — brain damage

Promotors of alternative “medicine” programs like to trout out the “what’s the harm” line as the ultimate fallback in touting the most extreme fad diets, supplements and therapies.

Well, sometimes something like this is the harm indeed.

Dawn Page suffered permanent brain damage, including epileptic-like seizures and memory loss, after following a “nutritionist’s” advice to go on a high-water, ultra-low-sodium diet.

(That said, Page is lucky she’s still alive. Hyponatremia kills young male hikers of the Grand Canyon and mid-level marathoners, among others, every year, due to hyponatremia induced by water intoxication. (Yes, there really is such a thing.)

And, the alt-med plank of the Green Party platform is a major reason why I keep my political independence, although I will vote for Green candidates.

Update I’m boosting the following addition from a reply I made in comments to Amy, who said a “trained nutritionist” never would have done something like this.

Ahh, but there’s the rub, Amy... unlike with state medical boards here in the U.S., or the national equivalent in the U.K., what professional body determines who is, or is not, a “trained” nutritionist?

And, I believe the answer to that is ... none. Or, if there allegedly are such bodies, they’re not governmentally-based and governmentally-sanctioned, but rather are “insider” organizations.

Update: Further follow-up thoughts, based on continued comment-box dialogue with Amy:

1. We have an issue of semantics that I believe is often supported, as obfuscating, by “nutritionists.”

I don’t consider a clinical/registered dietitian a “nutritionist,” and I don’t think such persons bill themselves as such.

So, to claim that “nutritionists” are credentialed, or regulated, from where I sit, is simply not true.

For instance, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation oversees “dietitians,” among occupations, but has no listing among regulated business occupations for “nutritionist.”

That said, here in Texas, state Rep. Bill Zedler has submitted bills for licensure/regulation of nutritionists the last two sessions, but they have both died in committee.

Beyond that, there is of course a difference between mere licensure and regulation.

“Supplements” are licensed, but have little regulation beyond having to put a “not proved by FDA” disclaimer on their outlandish claims, for example.

And, of course, in that same vein, “credentials” is different than licensing and regulation, anyway. Palmer College of Chiropractic, for example, provides “credentials.” Other than funding lobbying in statehouses, though, it has nothing to do with licensing and regulations.


So, no, I don’t believe I painted this issue with too broad a brush.