Experts criticise Channel 7 "blatant promotion" of the controversial Paleo diet.

Experts feel silenced by the “blatant promotion” of Pete Evans’ Paleo views.

The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) have submitted a furious complaint to Channel 7 following an interview with celebrity chef, Pete Evans, that appeared on Sunday Night.

CEO of the DAA, Claire Hewat, told The Daily Telegraph that the interview was “blatant promotion” for an “untested diet”.

“This one-sided piece seemed to be blatant promotion of the personal dietary views of network’s prime time stars.”

The relationship between Pete Evans and the peak body for accredited dietitians has been fractious in the past, with Evans writing at length about the DAA, linking their advice to increased levels of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and autism.

Hewat also raised concerns that interviewer (and Paleo road-tester), Mike Willesee, seriously downplayed the major health concerns surrounding Evans’ bone broth for babies. The DAA wrote in their complaint to the 7 Network that Willesee seemed to “gloss over” the potential harm of Evans’ views.

Pete Evans has responded to the claims of the “scare-mongering” media on his Facebook page, calling their coverage a “relentless pursuit for an uneducated sensationalist headline”.

Evans writes:

You can’t help but see the correlation between the DAA and their corporate sponsors in their ongoing attack against a NATURAL offering instead of something that has vegetable oils, soy protein, high fructose corn syrup as their main ingredients.

The interview with Evans discussed his paleo cook book, Bubba Yum Yum, that was stripped from shelves, after consumer outrage for the “unsafe” recipes it promoted.

“The book promoted the broth to zero to six year olds as the sole source of nutrition, along with saying it was the next best thing to breast milk, and the broth formula has never been tested, which is a requirement for all infant formula,” said Hewat.

She also raised concerns about the vitamin A content of the broth, saying it was 800% higher than what is recommended for babies – an amount that Hewat claims is potentially deadly.

Professor Heather Yeatman, who works for the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), voiced major issues with the paleo diet, saying that it could impair a baby’s growth and development.

The PHAA has supported the complaint made by the DAA: “Having a celebrity chef’s version of infant formula without proper scientific or nutritional analysis is simply dangerous.”

Both the Heart Foundation and Dietitian Association of Australia have expressed concerns about the paleo diet – but those concerns weren’t raised or even mentioned on Sunday Night last week.

CEO of the Heart Foundation, Ms Mary Barry, has spoken to Mamamia about their reservations regarding the paleo diet:

“The Heart Foundation does not endorse or recommend any fad, novelty or crash diets especially for those with heart disease; instead we encourage people to follow healthy eating patterns. The keys to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight are to enjoy a variety of foods and be physically active every day.”

The Dietitian Association of Australia had similar concerns about the restrictive nature of the Paleo “lifestyle”. They told Mamamia,

“Our primary concern is that some aspects of the Paleo diet are inconsistent with the Commonwealth Department of Health’s Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG). Independent experts in nutrition, working with the National Health and Medical Research Council, reviewed more than 55,000 studies in developing the latest ADG, which were released in 2013.”

Pete Evans has previously attacked the Government’s dietary guidelines, suggesting that they contribute to rising rates of autism, mental illness, dementia and obesity.

But the DAA is concerned about the lack of scientific evidence supporting paleo, telling Mamamia, “As accredited practicing dietitians, we base our decisions and advice on scientific fact. That means that in a world where ‘diets’ have become ‘trendy’ and may come and go, our advice is solid and dependable.”

The executive producer of Sunday Night, Steve Taylor, has responded to the DAA’s complaint, saying they have “rushed to judgement”.

“Sunday Night’s Great Paleo Challenge was always pitched as a series of stories. Without seeing the remaining two segments, the DAA has rushed to judgement without the full picture.”

Another segment of Sunday Night’s story will air tonight.

Do you think Sunday Night’s interview was promotion for Pete Evans?

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