Reaching medical doctors with opinion changing science

Farm and Ranch Report October 26, 2011 Physicians, like everybody else, can be inundated with misinformation about nutrition. That is why the U.S. Potato Board, for the first time, exhibited at the recent American Academy of Family Physicians.

Meredith Myers, USPB Public Relations Manger says she and a nutrition consultant were there to correct some particular misinformation about potatoes.

Myers: “One of the first thing that happens when patients are glucose intolerant or they have been diagnosed as diabetic, what happens is they are told don‘t eat potatoes anymore. We were there to set the record straight because potatoes do not need to be eliminated from the diet when people are diabetic.”

The Potato Board’s booth had handouts that drove home the “Potatoes…Goodness Unearthed” nutrition message. Additionally;

Myers: “We also served over 2,000 baked potato halves to these folks over two days. I have got to tell you there was a lot of excitement. There were a lot of productive conversations as well. The information that we were able to give to these medical providers was powerful and we got a lot of thank yous and saw opinions changing just from being present at this trade show.”

Myers says the physicians are willing to listen to good information when it is scientifically based and the Potato Board has a good reputation for that.

That’s the U.S. Potato Update. Brought to you by the United States Potato Board, maximizing return on grower investment. I’m Bob Hoff for Northwest Aginfo Net.