Dear all:

I respectfully have to report that I am disappointed in the article in the Atlantic by David Freeman because it used a deliberately provocative title.  It was nothing new, and a much more disjointed treatise on the topic than an article on the Nutrification of Food several years ago in the New York Times.  The piece by John Iaonnidis was better, because he is a methodologist.  Yet, I was disappointed because John Iaonnidis didn't describe some of the deeper philosophy of science that actually does go well beyond mere clinical trials. In neither case, did either of them conclude that we should stop collecting evidence.  I was particularly irritated with his comments on beta-carotene because I know why those studies are flawed.  Some of the studies were done in populations that were not deficient in vitamin A.  If you supplement people with nutrients who are deficient and those who are not, you will get differing results.  

In fact, if you take the time to read the article and listen to the radio spot, Iaonnidis has a deep belief in science. He trusts that being open about the flaws of science is one of its strengths.  And a quote in David Freeman's article makes it clear that there is a certain amount of disdain for those who don't undertake the work of science “If we don’t tell the public about these problems, then we’re no better than nonscientists who falsely claim they can heal.” 

I see the problem slightly differently.  The media and society want quick solutions encapsulated in sound bites. The silver bullet miracle cure.  The way science is portrayed in the media is like a CSI episode -- you just need to do a few tests and you find truth in a 45 minute episode.  

Furthermore, there has been a degradation at least in the United States in our science education, reduced government funding for science (because of a widespread belief that the private sector can meet all of our needs and government is evil), reduced regulation over health claims (because we are not allowed to regulate speech even if it is deceptive or downright false), and we have a health insurance system that is predicated on making a profit (which pushes us towards the 10 minute medical consult with a magic bullet pill rather than in depth analysis and comprehensive treatment.. 

The reality is that science is like evolution --- it can be achingly slow for long periods of time with very small changes, followed by brief moments of revolutionary change.  Science requires constantly using your mind to speculate, question, challenge, design, test, and start the cycle all over again.  You cannot just remain comfortable with your own beliefs, you need to challenge them.  

What I find problematic in this whole repetitive discussion that has been refreshed in the media with the article and the radio piece is the same problem I had with my education in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins.  I was taught how to critique studies to the point that I could shred any study out there.  At Cornell, fortunately, they turned around this thinking and forced us into extracting what was useful information from those same studies.  If you take that second step you become far more successful at not "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".  Just because there are some parts of a study that are flawed does not mean that you cannot learn something useful from that study. 

So I for one will continue to read research and not throw it out with the bathwater.  I feel that is a far better approach than clinging to a belief that whatever pops into my own head and whatever I personally experience is the only right way of doing things.

Best, 

Susan Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC

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