Since her arrival in August, Michelle Cardel, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Outcomes & Policy, has made three guest appearances on television stations in Denver, Colorado, and Orlando, Florida.
The first appearance was made at Channel 9 News in Denver, where she contributed regularly to weekly or biweekly segments on children’s health and nutrition. Cardel would present on local TV in conjunction with working as a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado University Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. Her segment on September 10, entitled “What kids should eat before, after exercise,” informed parents about what children should consume in order to stay healthy when exercising.
The next two appearances were on FOX 35 Orlando, where she presented, “Vitamin D: Can you get too much of a good thing?” and “What is the best alternative to peanut butter?”
“People are sometimes critical of researchers who are trying to convey science to the public,” Cardel said, “but it’s extremely important that we get evidence-based, truthful messaging out there. It can be challenging because science is complex: most studies find that in situation X, after controlling for A, B, and C, we see an increase for outcome D. It’s difficult to say that in a news segment or newspaper article without losing people. My goal is to simplify the science for the public, while sticking to what the research literature shows. I’ve made a very conscious effort to ensure there is a reference for every sentence that comes out of my mouth. In the nutrition world, there’s so much misinformation out there, and I want to be a resource that helps people to separate the science from the hype.”
Watch the segments “What kids should eat before, after exercise” here and “What is the best alternative to peanut butter” here.