4 EDITORIAL The curious case of apple cider vinegar

David Westgarth Editor, BDJ in Practice

ometimes you read something or hear kind of misinformation being touted by those that young patient on a GA list? Do we resign something so bafing you almost we believe to be experts in their feld. ourselves to seeing that patients simply ignore believe it on the basis that it can’t It is a thread Aoife Keogh and Barbara any advice they’re given? And perhaps most be made up. For me, one of those Chadwick picked up in one of the December alarmingly, do we resign ourselves to the fact Shappens to be apple cider vinegar, and its issues of the BDJ,1 analysing whether health that to a generation with access to whatever health benefts. Someone has clearly thought food bloggers were ‘friends or foe’. Tey information they want, facts simply do not ‘I know what I’ll do – I’ll drink this stuf for a randomly selected four bloggers from the matter to them anymore? month and see what happens’ and it worked – Amazon top 10 booklist and consulted their It should be our drive to ensure everything how else would they know? online blogs for a selection of recipes which we do and every piece of advice given is Last month I was doing my usual afernoon were then nutritionally analysed in relation frmly grounded in the vast swathes of perusing of Instagram when I noticed Lottie to their sugar and fat content. Te results? evidence available to the profession. Keogh Manahan, one hygienist (yes, we’re all friends A whopping 80% of the recipes analysed and Chadwick concluded that: ‘As healthcare now) that I follow, started taking an article contained more fat than a Mars bar and providers it is important for us to be aware extolling the ‘health virtues’ of apple cider 70% contained more fat than a popular of where our patients are sourcing their vinegar to task. How could someone be so online cake recipe, while 25% of the recipes healthcare information. A knowledge of irresponsible not to think about the thing’s contained over half of the recommended popular ‘healthy’ social media bloggers may point of entry – i.e. the mouth. A valid point, daily sugar intake as advised by the SACN provide a useful insight into our patients’ and one shared by any dental professional and the WHO. Crucially, not one of the lifestyles and enable us to provide specifc reading the posts. bloggers analysed used evidence-based advice, tailored to that patient.’ While I And then it happened again. I overheard a approaches for the advice on their blogs – one commend their sentiment that we need to be personal trainer in the gym tell one of their even clearly stated they had no qualifcations aware of the world around us, I don’t imagine clients a shot of cider vinegar or warm honey in nutrition or dietetics, but rather their many dentists in the latter half of their careers frst thing in the morning would kickstart knowledge was garnered from ‘following even knowing what an infuencer is, let alone their metabolism and help them lose weight years of research, personal studies, case knowing where to look for one. Instead the faster. Afer their session ended, I asked the studies and our experience with nutrition’. responsibility rests on collaboration between PT where they got the information from. ‘A When you consider the value of the health – for example – Public Health England, GPs health food blogger’, was the reply. and wellness market in the UK increased and GDPs – to ensure each pillar can reinforce In a world where saying what you want from over 20.5 billion euro in 2015 to almost to patients and the wider public the dangers of on social media platforms and not being 23 billion euro in 2018, you begin to see the non evidence-based information. ◆ challenged on its authenticity or validity is size of the problem we face.2 How can we tell widespread, we usually think of politicians patients not to do something when they’ve References and people in positions of authority. You only seen it from an infuential social media 1. Keogh A and Chadwick B. Health food blogger: friend or foe? Br Dent J 2019; 227: 1051-1057. need to look at how the General Election ‘expert’ that it’s good for them? How do we 2. Statista. Market value of health and wellness in December went to see how dangerous do that when they’re young patients? How do in the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2020. that can be. But increasingly in a vanity we have these conversations about so-called Available online at: https://www.statista.com/ statistics/491348/health-and-wellness-united- and health conscious world, science and ‘health foods’? Do we resign ourselves to the kingdom-uk-market-value/ (Accessed January

healthcare are not immune from the same fact in fve-or-so years’ time we’ll be seeing 2020). / iStock Getty Images Plus © kellyreekolibry

VOL 33 | ISSUE 2 | BDJ IN PRACTICE