 (NaturalNews) The Center for Science in the Public Interest's weekly alert Science Watch says that the Journal of the American College of Nutrition published a special supplement on salt intake, but failed to inform readers it was written and edited by salt industry consultants.
Also left out of the loop was the National Library of Medicine, which published the abstracts from the supplement in MEDLINE. The NLM's rules state that MEDLINE will only carry abstracts from sponsored supplements if conflict-of-interest disclosure statements are notably displayed in the supplement.
The CSPI sent a letter to NLM asking that the supplement's articles be withdrawn from MEDLINE for failing to disclose the conflicts of interest, as per the government's rule.
"Supplements or other publications that indicate funding derived from private, for-profit organizations will not be routinely indexed for MEDLINE unless certain conditions are met. A disclosure statement should be included within the text of each article that might be cited for MEDLINE, preferably on the title page of the article, that indicates any financial relationship that each author has with the funding source and with any product discussed or implied in the text of the article," the rule states.
According to the CSPI alert, Dr. Alexander G. Logan, a paid salt industry consultant, was the guest editor of the June issue of JACN that featured the supplement. Unrevealed was the fact that Logan -- who is also a scientific adviser to the supplement's sponsor, International Life Sciences Institute -- was named to edit the supplement by ILSI's sodium committee, consisting of Frito-Lay, Heinz, Kraft, and Proctor & Gamble, the alert said.
The supplement itself contained no conflict-of-interest disclosure statements for any of the articles, which mostly downplayed the risk of excessive salt in the diet, the alert stated. Additionally, one of JACN's managing editors admitted that articles featured in the supplement did not undergo normal peer review.
"The editors of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition should apologize to their readers, publish full conflict-of-interest disclosures and a disclaimer that none of the pseudo-science in the supplement underwent peer review," said Merrill Goozner, director of the Integrity in Science project at CSPI.
Integrity in Science Project Coordinator Corrie Mauldin wrote a letter to JACN editor John Cunningham of the University of Massachusetts stating, "No respectable journal should be renting out its name to the highest bidder and let industry-funded groups hand pick 'guest editors.'"
"Once again, we see a serious breach of ethics in a mainstream medical journal," said Mike Adams, author of The Seven Laws of Nutrition. "Time and time again, we find these journals selling credibility for cash by pretending that industry-authored articles are somehow independent and credible. It's appalling."
###
Related Articles
• Blaming dietary sodium for high blood pressure is too simplistic; the real problem may be mineral deficiencies
• The Many Benefits and Uses of Sea Minerals
• Processed Salt Consumption Linked to High Blood Pressure in Children
• Interview: Organic New Zealand sea salt from Wind and Sea Imports
• A Conversation With Larry Trivieri Jr, Co-Author of The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide
 |
Additional Resources:
salt
nutrition
science journals
|
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
 Email this article to a friend
 Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020622.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
 Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
 Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|
Printable Version
