The broadcaster Gillian McKeith, who calls herself “the world’s top nutritionist”, was accused recently of exaggerating her academic qualifications after admitting obtaining her doctorate from an online American college. So how far can we rely on her nutritional claims? We asked Catherine Collins, the chief dietitian at St George’s Hospital, South London, to take a close look at McKeith’s Living Food Love Bar.
WHAT’S IN IT
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The 70g apple-and-cinnamon bars are not cheap, at £1.69, although their key ingredients — oats, apple juice and seeds — are similar to those of other cereal bars. The main difference is what McKeith calls the added “living food love powder”, a combination of 12 “superfoods” which she claims “improve sexual function” and “enhance libido energy”.
At 230 calories a bar, this is not a low-calorie snack, providing 1½ times the calories of a packet of crisps. It is low in fat, and its high sugar content comes mainly from natural sugars in the apple juice, brown rice malt and raisins.
WHAT THE LABEL CLAIMS
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Catherine Collins is concerned about the bar’s claims to “nourish libido energy” and to feed what McKeith coyly calls the male and female “love organs”. Collins says: “I would like to hear the opinion of the Advertising Standards Authority that the nutritional ingredients include ‘unconditional love and light’, and evidence that the ‘love powder’ can ‘feed ’ the sexual organs,” Collins says. “Does that mean that a bowl of cereal stops short of the nether regions?” The “love powder”, Collins says, constitutes “an absolutely minute amount” of seeds and plant extracts. “At best, herbs and spices contain natural antioxidants that are similar to those found in more conventional fruit and veg,” she says. “At worst, they contain natural plant chemicals that may cause adverse effects alone or in combination with conventional medicines.”
Collins also doubts McKeith’s claims to nutritional expertise. “The study she cites on her website crediting maca root with ‘enhancing sexual desire’ actually finds no effect on male testosterone levels, linked to male and female libido. And although daikon seeds provide antioxidants, they have little physiological effect at normal levels of consumption — and this bar contains a fraction of a gramme.”
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McKEITH RESEARCH’S RESPONSE
“Dozens of studies support the efficacy of maca and sexual function. Many studies also show that sprouted seeds are exceedingly nutrient-dense and absorbable. Small quantities of superfoods can have a marked nutritional effect and the powerful superfoods in the Love Bar may benefit human health in the quantities indicated. All labels are approved by our internal legal counsel and reviewed externally. Both scientific and clinical studies show that these superfoods have beneficial affects on feeding the male and female organs.”
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THE EXPERT’S VERDICT
Collins says: “If you want a healthy snack bar that isn’t style over substance, go for something like Jordan’s Original Crunchy. The nutritional and product claims for McKeith’s bar do not stand up to closer scrutiny.”