Food Myths Summary

Harriet Hall (2014), author of “Food Myths”, informs her readers about what science knows and doesn’t know about nutrition and dieting. Hall writes about fad diets and what is known about them. One diet in particular, the tapeworm diet, is said to cause massive complications in the body. Hall states, “Tapeworm infections can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms and can lead to serious complications” (p.47). Is there research confirming that tapeworm dieting is really that bad? First of all, one must understand the reasoning behind fad dieting—tapeworm dieting in particular. Hall states, “Fad diets and diet cults appeal to emotion, not to evidence based on reasoning”, Hall continues to add, “They give their followers a sense of belonging, a sense of control over their health, and a virtuous feeling of doing something that is difficult but good for them” (p. 46). These fad dieters hold their decisions
Lewis reinforces the fact that tapeworms will grow inside the intestines and eat and absorb nutrients and energy from the body’s digestive system. In addition to risky weight loss, ingesting tapeworms can bring about parasitic infections that affect the digestive and nervous systems, Lewis writes, “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the parasite infection is known as taeniasis, which has a number of symptoms, but can also lead to human cysticercosis, a disease that can cause seizures or result in eye damage” (Lewis, 2016). Lewis continues to add that people with poor hygiene can easily spread cysticercosis in their environment, “people with poor hygiene who have taeniasis—with or without symptoms—will shed tapeworm eggs in their feces and might accidentally contaminate their environment”. According to Lewis, tapeworms bring more than just weight loss—they bring potentially fatal disease and