Gillian McKeith, the self-styled “dietetic technician”, has been criticised for suggesting that healthy eating can provide natural immunity from Covid-19.
The Perth-born broadcaster, who gained a global audience of millions as the host of You Are What You Eat on Channel 4, has since reinvented herself as a Covid sceptic who uses social media to urge people to refuse vaccines, which she refers to as “clotshots”.
As well as circulating conspiracy theories predicting the imposition of “martial law” and “fascist tyranny”, she has claimed that natural immunity can be gained through nutrition.
McKeith, 61, tweeted: “They want you to buy into the idea that you don’t have Natural Immunity. But you do!!! You can defend yourself. Nutritional status is important for immunity.
“What you eat and drink on a daily basis can play a key role in supporting your own Natural Immunity.”
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In another post, written last month, she said: “Your immune system is not a conspiracy theory. It exists. It works. It knows what to do. All you have to do is support it with proper nutrition, exercise, movement, fresh air, rest. You are protected by your own body’s natural defences. Look after it.”
McKeith’s Twitter page carries a link to her business website, where she offers “nutrition check ups” and sells her range of books on healthy eating.
Bridget Benelam, of the British Nutrition Foundation, called on individuals not to be misled. “No food, nutrient or supplement can protect you from getting Covid-19 or ‘boost’ immunity above normal levels,” she said. “It is essential that certain foods or supplements that may misleadingly be promoted as ‘immune boosting’ are not seen as effective alternatives to recognised measures that help to prevent infections spreading, like hand washing, face coverings and social distancing, or vaccination.”
A spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association added: “We would always recommend that people discuss any dietary questions or concerns with a healthcare professional.
“A registered dietitian — which Ms McKeith is not — is best placed to advise people . . . The science tells us that the main way to protect yourself against Covid-19 is through vaccination and government guidance around social distancing.”
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In 2007 McKeith agreed to stop using the academic title “Dr” in promotional materials after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled it was “likely to fool the public”. She obtained a master’s degree and a PhD, both in holistic nutrition, from the non-accredited and now defunct American Holistic College of Nutrition. A year earlier she was censured by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for selling unlicensed herbal sex pills.
Last month she attended an anti-lockdown protest in London alongside David Icke, the former footballer and broadcaster turned conspiracy theorist.
McKeith did not respond to a request for comment.