Widely referred to on twitter, shown on the blog of drShock, and already cited in 2008…
But for those who do not know the Irish standup comedian Dara Ó Briain or his “Homeopathy & Nutritionists vs Real Science!” here is the video:
Some great oneliners:
- (Hé but) “Science knows it doesn’t know anything, otherwise it would stop … That doesn’t mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairytales”
- “Homeopathy is water… You can’t overdose on us, but you can fucking drown in it”
- “A dietitian is to a nutritionist as a dentist is to a toothiologist”
What does Dara Ó Briain mean with the latter?
A ‘dietitian’ is a protected title, they need to be educated to a high level, etc., while anyone can call themselves a ‘nutritionist’. Dara drew a comparison with dentists: you have to meet certain, fairly stringent, criteria to call yourself a dentist or dietitian; anyone, though, can call themselves a toothiologist or nutritionist.
However, that Nutrionist is not a protected term is not entirely true. The title “nutritionist” is protected in Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia, as I learned from Wikipedia and Weighty Matters, the blog of Yoni Freedhoff, a Canadian Family doc and founder of Ottawa’s Bariatric Medical Institute.
Yoni is also not very fond of Nutritionists either. At his blog I found the (Funny Friday) video below about this profession. Made by Mitchell and Webb.
I also came across a video about homeopathy made by the same British comedians. Awesome.
Have a great weekend and be sure to take some Bach Flower Therapy to prevent your hangover. And remember, to take cocktails shaken not stirred with 1 ppm alcohol!
References:
- http://www.shockmd.com/2009/08/18/on-homeopathy/
- http://holfordwatch.info/2008/12/23/dara-o-briain-a-dietitian-is-to-a-nutritionist-as-a-dentist-is-to-a-toothiologist/
- http://bmimedical.blogspot.com/2009/07/trip-to-nutritionist.html
More Friday Foolery:
- http://eagledawg.blogspot.com/search/label/friday%20foolery
- http://en.wordpress.com/tag/the-friday-post/
( from http://creakysites.wordpress.com/)
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Ah, British sarcasm… so utterly satisfying. It’s good to know I’m able to add “nutritionist” to my resume now.