In The News: Author Needed for Diet Book, No Experience Necessary

The Los Angeles Times has a nice little roundup of the latest diet books.

I was beyond disappointed to see that none of the ten books mentioned are penned by a Registered Dietitian -- or even a nutritionist, for that matter.

Instead, we have organizational gurus, "creativity experts", computer programmers, psychology professors, and models taking the reins.

Look, I'm staying off the catwalks and away from HTML coding.

AKA: I respect your turf, you respect mine... we clear?

All joking aside, this is precisely why nutrition is misconstrued as a "confusing" subject where guidelines are "always changing."

Dietitians have always agreed on general guidelines (cut calories to lose weight, watch sodium and added sugars, cut back on saturated fats, etc.)

It is everyone else trying to get a share of the weight loss market-- with no proper credentials or academic background, but with plenty of unsubstantiated theories -- who's causing all the confusion.

Even Peter D'Adamo -- creator of the overly imaginative "blood type diet" -- is back, this time with specific diets for six different "genotypes" (to find out which one you are, you need to consider the length of your index finger, among other physical measures.)

The only one of these ten books I take seriously is Dean Ornish's The Spectrum, which encourages readers to make lifestyle changes and habit rehauls to accomplish their health goals, using credible research -- and plenty of nutrition knowledge -- to make this important point.