My insurance company sent an awesome newsletter that I think everyone will appreciate. One of the whole reasons why I started this blog was (well, grad school to be honest and…) to help my friends and family with info and advice. This was all while I was an “RD TO BE”. Now that I am a dietitian, my perspective hasn’t changed much… I’m still a balance, realistic, and achievable kind of person… But there is this standard of ethics and being careful with words so as to not contribute to the VAST amount of misinformation out there on the net… and I have to say, the blogosphere can be a toxic waste dump for nutrition non-sense!

Anyone agree?

Well, here are some basic tips for sifting through the garbage…

Health information that’s both valuable and precise can be found on many websites. But information that’s misleading or inaccurate is also abundant on the Internet. Unfortunately, many Americans who use the web as a key source of clinical information and medical advice have little idea of how to separate the beneficial from the bogus.

be discriminating and to seek health-related material only from established resources. These include the sites of reputable healthcare organizations, medical schools and professional associations as well as government agencies or institutions. websites that are reliable generally cite sources of medical facts and figures, identify authors or contributors and disclose any financial interests the sponsors may have in selling a particular drug or health-related product avoid any site that promises to diagnose or treat a particular condition without a physical exam. Provide personal health information only to an interactive site that clearly states how such information will be used. look for the Health on the Net Foundation (HON) Information Online seal, an indication that a site has the approval of this international accrediting body. (You can learn more about HON at http://www.hon.ch/home.html.) visit http://www.healthfinder.gov, a site sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services -  any link they find at Healthfinder can be trusted.

I invite readers to share their “top five” list of websites/blogs they go to for nutrition or weight management. Please include a brief summary of why you like it. And… by all means include your own blog if you would like.

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