As dietitians, we tend to have a sixth sense about whether a nutrition claim might be legitimate or not, which can be difficult to explain to clients. A current example would be the fuss surrounding “seed oils” (certain refined vegetable oils, including canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soy, and sunflower), spurred by the American health secretary’s recent claims that they are harmful and the subsequent media (and social media) attention.

In a recent podcast, Dr. Jen Gunter describes the problems with the phrase “boosting the immune system” (1). The PEN Team wondered if the podcast concepts might be useful to dietitians when clients ask about “immune-boosting” foods and supplements.