Does the BBC need educating?

Hi. Sad isn't it but health ignorance continues unabated and there is not a lot you can do. I complain whenever I see things like this but the BBC makes it very difficult to feedback to and ignores it anyway. I have seen some change over the last few years and even DUK's Balance magazine has backed off proclaiming that starchy carbs are marvellous for us. All we can do is our little bit whether it's in the surgery or replying to news articles when we can. If enough of us do it, then some change will happen.

The BBC is using what they consider to be respected sources for their article so rather than try and change the BBC you have to change the thinking of the source.

It is a pointless article anyway because only potato intake was monitored whereas the participants may have been eating cereals, white bread, cake, pastries, pies, sweets, fruit etc. in larger than normal amounts.

I don't think it is the BBC's job to report the current thinking of this website, or of the members of this forum. If it did that, then it would be obliged to report opinions from many different sources on a multitide of matters.

The report you link to does not contain any factually incorrect information, and does express the current guidelines from Public Health England.

Even within these forums there is not 100% agreement on all matters to do with diet.

It would be great if at some point in the not too distant future some of the current thinking on this website will gain a wider audience and become "mainstream" enough for the BBC and other outlets to include in their reportig.

Oldvatr said:

Several times recently the BBC has published news reports that do not support current thinking about diabetes care as expressed within the DCUK Forum. I bring the following report as being typical:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35261184

How should we go about raising this issue? Any suggestions?

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I'd like to see more evidence about the risk of potatoes. I find it hard to believe that potatoes would be the culprit but not other aspects of the diet.

So, to answer your question, no, I don't think the BBC 'did wrong' on this occasion. I took from that article that the study's conclusion - potatoes being the baddie in increasing GD risk - wasn't yet proven.

As far as carbs in general go in gestational diabetes, on a pregnancy forum I read while pregnant, I was interested to read posts from ladies with GD saying that they needed to eat moderate amounts of carbs regularly to keep their blood sugar control good. From memory, these were ladies controlling their GD by diet.

britishpub said:

I don't think it is the BBC's job to report the current thinking of this website, or of the members of this forum. If it did that, then it would be obliged to report opinions from many different sources on a multitide of matters.

The report you link to does not contain any factually incorrect information, and does express the current guidelines from Public Health England.

Even within these forums there is not 100% agreement on all matters to do with diet.

It would be great if at some point in the not too distant future some of the current thinking on this website will gain a wider audience and become "mainstream" enough for the BBC and other outlets to include in their reportig.

Click to expand...

I might disagree to some extent. I don't see the BBC's job is merely to repeat what other sources have said. I would hope the journalists might sometimes look for additional or alternative sources otherwise it's a bit pointless. Public Health England also get their info from handed-down mantras and the chain continues.....

I think in a News story such as this, it would impossible to include every source with an opinion. We may think that our opinions are important enough to warrant referrel, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were many Websites or Forums out there with as many or many more members who have opinions on many subjects, some we might find distasteful. The Beeb cannot quote everyone, everytime.

Away from reporting the News, I think it IS the BBC's job to investigate and inform, and I believe hey should be looking at and investigating different treatments and ideas relating to Diabetes, and I would welcome a sensible and well researched documentary, which could possibly open many peoples eyes to different options.

"The evidence tells us that we need to eat more starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, pasta and rice,... to increase fibre consumption and protect bowel health.

"Our advice remains the same: base meals around a variety of starchy foods, including potatoes with the skin on, and choose wholegrain varieties where possible."

Yes. As this advice hastens our ill-health, I can see why @Oldvatr posted it. And I believe - yes - we do need to seriously make our voices heard. We're talking new people here - babies. From women who are showing signs of insulin resistance and blood glucose dysregulation in GD. This is serious business indeed.

We live in interesting times, that even with all the nutritional information, and information about diabetes and the food environment, our western-world governments are all standing by this line in some way or another. I do seriously believe there is a fair wack of 'cognitive dissonance' going on, first and foremost, which is contributing to the time lag with the idea that T2D at least, is expressed as carbohydrate intolerance (Type 1s - tell me what you would say about Type 1 and health maintenance with low carbing in this part of the paragraph?). I would have to say, as noted by sports science researcher and type 2 diabetic Tim Noakes, that if the majority of the T2 diabetics alive today treated their diabetes with reduced carbohydrates six major pharmaceutical companies would go under - may very well have something to do with this. We should not forget what an enormously powerful position 'big business' has in lobbying our governments, not to mention our hospitals and medical practices. And of course - the food industry itself, when it comes to looking at where the carb intolerance comes from, for T2 diabetics at least, in the first place.

I would love to see 'media watch' factions of diabetic action groups in all the countries represented in this forum for instance, that put out a press release in response to all such articles/in the media of our respective countries, to the media company concerned (in this case the venerated BBC!). Then our voices would be heard, and if, in time, the journalists and their bosses decide to include our comments/responses, and even elicit them, which would be quite likely I would imagine. Then the message would get out there.

This forum has English-speaking online-writing diabetics congregating here from the UK (natch!), the USA, India, Canada, Australia, NZ (just off the top of my head), keen English-as-a-foreign-language speakers, as well as English-speaking expats from around the world. We could have media-action groups and a media action branch from this forum too?