What's happening?

Two American experts have written that a lot of advice on food, drink and exercise cannot be trusted. They say that for years surveys have been done in the wrong way. They are calling for a "credibilityThe quality of being believable or dependable. revolution".

Imagine the scene. You are tucking into a tasty breakfast of pancakes, blueberries and maple syrup. But just as you lift your fork, a push notification flashes on your screen: "Pancakes and maple syrup are ruining your health, experts say."

Years ago, you read that it was a balanced breakfast that would boost your energy for the day. But now, frustratingly, you are learning that you have been doing everything wrong.

Find out more

It is a surprisingly common situation. Experts are noticing that research and trials are often wrong when it comes to nutritionThe process of taking food into the body that you need to live and grow. .

Anupam Jena and Christopher Worsham looked at trials about whether artificialMade or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural. sweeteners are bad for you. Some people were asked to have sweeteners instead of sugar with their meals to study how it changed their bodies.

But Jena and Worsham said that the trials did not involve enough people or last long enough. That made it hard to work out what the effect of the sweeteners would be over time. This is just one example of inaccurate research.

Yes! Experts are always arguing with each other and do their research badly. How can we trust them?

No! Experts have been right about lots of things, like smoking causing cancer. And they agree on things like processed food being bad for you.