Gillian McKeith
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224998043
2008-07-11T11:26:09Z
Bredon
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/* Television shows */
{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
| name = Gillian McKeith
| image = GillianMcKeithwindow.jpg
| birthdate = 1959
| birthplace = [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], [[Scotland]]
| occupation = [[Nutritionist]], [[television presenter]] and author
| spouse = Howard Magaziner
| children = two
| credits = ''[[You Are What You Eat]]''<br>''Dr Gillian McKeith's Feel Fab Forever''
}}
'''Gillian McKeith''' (born 1959) is a [[nutritionist]], television presenter, and writer from [[Scotland]]. She previously hosted [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[You Are What You Eat (UK TV show)|You Are What You Eat]]''<ref name="cancelled">{{cite web|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/channel4/story/0,,2155594,00.html|title=Channel 4 rests Celebrity Big Brother - Special reports - MediaGuardian.co.uk|accessdate=2007-09-01}}</ref> and [[Granada Television]]'s ''Dr Gillian McKeith's Feel Fab Forever'' in the UK<ref name="c4bio"/> for several series. She writes a weekly column for ''Reveal'' magazine and is the author of a number of books about [[nutrition]], including ''You Are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life'' (2004).
McKeith's programme takes a [[Holistic health|holistic]] approach to nutrition and ill health, promoting exercise, a [[Pescetarianism|pescetarian]] diet high in organic fruits and vegetables, and suggesting the avoidance of processed and high-calorie foods.<ref name=mealplans>[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/mealplans.html "You are what you eat: Meal Plans"], Channel 4.</ref> She recommends [[detox diet]]s<ref name=detox>[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/detoxfacts.html "You are What you Eat: Detox Facts"], Channel 4.</ref><ref name=FAQ>[http://www.drgillianmckeith.com/about-faqnutrition.php "Frequently Asked Nutrition Questions"], Gillian McKeith's website.</ref> [[Enema#In alternative medicine|colonic irrigation]] and supplements, also making statements that yeast is harmful, that the colour of food is nutritionally significant, and about the utility of lingual and [[Human feces|faecal]] examination.
Her nutritional advice and the validity of her qualifications have been questioned by health professionals.<ref name=observer>Cooke, Rachel. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,1501833,00.html "The vegetable monologues"], ''The Observer'', June 12, 2005, accessed November 29, 2006.</ref> One TV advertisement of her book was cited by the [[Advertising Standards Authority]] in 2005 as misscheduled for a commercial TV break.<ref name=ASA1>[http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1EFF75D3-C489-4DB1-BE7B-B9712782CC4F/0/Broadcastrulings8June05.pdf Broadcasting Advertising Adjudications], Advertising Standards Authority, June 2005.</ref> Another issue was "informally resolved," in 2007 by the ASA about one leaflet's failure to note her PhD "without the usual disclaimer she was not a medical doctor";<ref name=Gibson>Gibson, Owen. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,2011151,00.html "TV dietician to stop using the title "Dr" in adverts], ''The Guardian'', February 12, 2007.</ref> she then agreed to stop using the title 'Doctor' on her products.<ref name="asa2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/Show+TracFusion+Adjudications.htm?dai=705|title=ASA Adjudications 14 February 2007 (click on Informally Resolved Complaints (10))|date=[[14 February]] [[2007]]}}</ref> In 2005, McKeith was given the Best Organic Businesses 2005 Consumer Education Award by the [[Soil Association]].<ref name=soil_association/>
==Personal life and early career==
McKeith was born in [[Perth, Scotland]] in 1959<ref name=observer>Cooke, Rachel. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,1501833,00.html "The vegetable monologues"], ''The Observer'', June 12, 2005. Accessed November 29, 2006.</ref> on a council estate.<ref name=mail/> Her father was a civil servant and her mother an office worker. She has said that she was raised eating the [[junk food]] she now advises against.<ref name=mail>Cook, Fidelma. [http://www.fmwf.com/newsarticle.php?id=402&cat=5 "Is Channel 4's latest food guru Dr Gillian really a Quack and a danger to our health?"], ''Mail on Sunday'', August 22, 2004. Accessed November 29, 2006.</ref> Her father died of [[lung cancer]] at the age of 74. At his memorial service, she said that he is the inspiration for her crusade against [[Tobacco smoking|smoking]] and that his last words to her had been: "Please, spread the word and tell people never to pick up a packet of cigarettes."<ref name="hendry">Hendry, Steve. [http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17670156&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=exclusive--sad-gill-s-battle-name_page.html "Sad Gill's Battle"], ''The Sunday Mail'', September 3, 2006. Accessed February 18, 2007.</ref>
According to the ''Mail on Sunday'', "McKeith met her American husband, [[lawyer]] Howard Magaziner, in [[Edinburgh]] where he was spending a year studying. At the time he ran an extremely successful chain of health food shops in the [[United States]] with which she was to become involved. The couple now live in London and have two daughters.<ref name="c4bio">[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/gillian.html "You are what you eat"], Channel 4 website.</ref> According to McKeith's Channel 4 biography, she was "celebrity health reporter" for the [[Joan Rivers]] Show in the U.S.,<ref name="c4bio"/> but this claim is disputed by the ''Mail on Sunday''.<ref name="mail"/> Her mission, according to her website, is to empower people to "improve their lives through information, food and lifestyle".<ref name="McKeithwebsite" />
==Education and qualifications==
McKeith obtained a degree in linguistics from the [[University of Edinburgh]] in 1981,<ref name="c4bio"/> later moving to the United States, where she worked in [[marketing]] and international business. In 1984, she received a [[Master's degree|master's]] in [[international relations]] from the [[University of Pennsylvania]].<ref name=McKeithwebsite>[http://www.drgillianmckeith.com/about-mid2.php "About Dr. Gillian McKeith"], ''drgillianmckeith.com''.</ref> In 1994, she obtained a master's degree, and in 1997, a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]], both in holistic nutrition via a [[distance-learning]] programme from the non-[[School accreditation|accredited]]<ref name=Lowry>Lowry, Bob. [http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/116972045783030.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 "Beware of online diploma mills"], ''The Huntsville Times'', January 25, 2007.</ref> American Holistic College of Nutrition, now the [[Clayton College of Natural Health]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]]. McKeith is member of the [[American Association of Nutritional Consultants]].<ref name=Goldacre2004>Goldacre, Ben. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,12980,1315472,00.html "Dr Gillian McKeith (PhD) continued"], ''The Guardian'', September 30, 2004.</ref> Her website lists post-graduate membership of The Centre for Nutrition Education and certificates from the London School of Acupuncture and the Kailash Centre of Oriental Medicine among her qualifications. Also her website states that she is "currently studying with The Australasian College of Health Sciences, USA to become registered as a medical herbalist."<ref name="McKeithwebsite" />
Physician [[Ben Goldacre]], writing in the ''The Guardian's'' "Bad Science" column, speculated on rumours that parts of McKeith's PhD thesis may have been published as a 48-page pamphlet entitled "Miracle Superfood: Wild Blue-Green Algae" and ridiculed the pamphlet as [[Cargo cult science|Cargo Cult science]] full of "anecdote, but no data."<ref name=phd_poolady>Goldacre, Ben. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,,2004999,00.html "Brought to book: the poo lady's PhD], ''The Guardian'', February 3, 2007.</ref> In 2004, professor emeritus of nutrition, [[John Garrow]], questioned McKeith's credentials and earlier claims as "...a scientist doing research and studies."<ref name=mail/>
When questioned by the [[The Herald (Glasgow)|Glasgow ''Herald'']] about her doctorate, McKeith said: "I have nothing to be ashamed of. My qualifications are second to none. People out there would love to have my qualifications and expertise."<ref name="herald">Bannerman, Lucy. "TV health guru admits buying doctorate by post," ''The Herald'' (Glasgow), August 4, 2004.</ref> On Clayton College, she said: "I could have gone anywhere I wanted but I chose Clayton. There was cutting-edge research being put forward by people who were pioneers at the time."<ref name="herald"/> Her PhD thesis remains "unavailable", unlike PhD theses produced at universities.<ref name=phd_poolady/>
On [[February 12]], [[2007]], it was reported that McKeith agreed to cease using the academic title "Dr." in advertisements. A spokesman for British [[Advertising Standards Authority]] (ASA),<ref name=Sanderson>Sanderson, David. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1370214.ece "Food guru agrees to slim her name"], ''The Times'', February 12, 2007.</ref> the UK's [[advertising]] industry's self-regulatory body, said: "The complainant was challenging whether Gillian McKeith was a qualified, accredited doctor. We put the complaint to the advertiser McKeith Research and they agreed to remove it." ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that ASA had concerns that her use of the title "Doctor" was "likely to mislead the public."<ref name=Gibson>Gibson, Owen. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,2011151,00.html "TV dietician to stop using the title Dr in adverts"], ''The Guardian'', February 12 2007.</ref> McKeith told the ''Guardian'' she understood the offending ad was a leaflet without the usual disclaimer she was not a medical doctor. She said she understood the honorific had to go from leaflets, but not from all adverts.<ref name=Gibson/> [[Max Clifford]], McKeith's PR representative, said that she had not misled the public: "This was one complaint in relation to one leaflet from one trade show, and it was withdrawn. I hardly think that's misleading."<ref name=Clout>Clout, Laura. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/12/nmckeith112.xml " Gillian McKeith agrees to drop title of 'Doctor'"], ''The Daily Telegraph'', February 13, 2007.</ref>
==McKeith's products==
[[Image:Shelled hemp seeds.jpg|thumb|right|Gillian McKeith's organic shelled hemp seeds]]McKeith is a popular author; her book ''You Are What You Eat'' reportedly sold just under one million copies up to August 2005,<ref name="observer_bestsellers">"The Observer Bestsellers List", ''The Observer'', August 7, 2005. Book sales data from [[Nielsen BookScan]].</ref> and was the most borrowed [[non-fiction]] library book in the UK between July 2005 and June 2006 according to the British [[Public Lending Right]] organisation.<ref name="bbc_plr">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6345749.stm ''TV diet expert in borrowing boom''], BBC News, February 9, 2007. Accessed February 21, 2007.</ref> At her website she sells books, advice, club membership, food (e.g. [[Wolfberry|Goji berries]], hemp seeds, "Living Food Energy Powder", "Immune Defence" pills, weight loss pills, "Raw and unprocessed wild blue green algae", etc.), and accessory equipment (blender, juicers, sprouters, and a mini-trampoline).<ref> [http://www.drgillianmckeith.com/ Gillian McKeith's website]</ref>
In November 2006 McKeith was censured by the [[Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency]] (MHRA) for selling unproven herbal sex aids. The products, "Fast Formula Wild Pink [[Yam (vegetable)|Yam Complex]]" and "Fast Formula [[Horny goat weed|Horny Goat Weed]] Complex" were both advertised as having been shown to promote sexual satisfaction in a controlled "study". The MHRA found that McKeith was guilty of "selling goods without legal authorisation whilst making medicinal claims about their efficacy" i.e. advertising and selling unlicensed medicines. The products have since been withdrawn.<ref>[http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&useSecondary=true&ssDocName=CON2025275&ssTargetNodeId=389 "Press release: MHRA order removal of Gillian McKeith's illegal products"], Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, November 21, 2006. Accessed November 29, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6167064.stm ''TV diet guru rapped by regulator''], BBC News, November 21, 2006. Accessed November 29, 2006.</ref>
McKeith's website suggested the sex aids had been withdrawn "[d]ue to the new [[European Union|EU]] licensing laws regarding herbal products". According to McKeith, "the EU bureaucrats are clearly concerned that people in the UK are having too much good sex."<ref name="heraldmhra">Churchill, Carolyn. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/1166343611.html?dids=1166343611:1166343611&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+22%2C+2006&author=CAROLYN+CHURCHILL&pub=The+Herald&edition=&startpage=7&desc=Regulator+raps+TV+diet+guru%27s+firm+over+sex+remedy "Regulator raps TV diet guru's firm over sex remedy"], ''The Herald'', November 22, 2006.</ref> The MHRA disagreed, according to Goldacre: "The [MHRA] press office were very helpful and told me: 'This has nothing to do with new EU regulations.' And just to be absolutely clear: 'They were never legal for sale in the UK.' They also point out that there's no excuse for not knowing about the regulations, and that … the MHRA’s Medicines Borderline Section offers free advice on the phone."<ref name="phd_poolady"/> The MHRA told the Glasgow newspaper ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]'' that "[a]s Ms McKeith's organisation had already been made aware of the requirements of medicines legislation in previous years, there was no reason at all for all the products not to be compliant with the law."<ref name="heraldmhra"/>
==Television shows==
McKeith was the presenter of ''[[You Are What You Eat (UK TV show)|You Are What You Eat]]'', a [[Celador]]-produced television programme that was<ref name="cancelled" /> broadcast on Channel 4 in which she helped to motivate the people featured in the programme to lose weight and change their lifestyle. Ian Marber, a nutritionist, describes her as very fervent in her beliefs and thinks of her as a sort of health televangelist.<ref>Marber, Ian. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&xml=/health/2006/01/23/hmarb23.xml "It must have been something I ate: dieting"], ''The Daily Telegraph'', January 23, 2006.</ref> In each episode of the fourth series, called ''Gillian Moves In: You Are What You Eat'', two people are chosen to stay with McKeith at a house in London "with no escape".<ref name="yawye">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/index.html?intcmp=lifepage_box6|title=Channel 4: You Are What You Eat: Gillian Moves In}}</ref> She first shows each of the subjects a display of their typical week's food consumption. The food is laid out on a table in a cold, congealed and unpleasant state. McKeith often makes comments at this point about this [[Fat|high-fat]] diet putting the subjects at risk of an early death. The subjects are often videoed emptying the display into refuse sacks.
According to Jan Moir, [[columnist]] for the ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', she is seen "shouting at sobbing, fat women while forcing them to eat [[quinoa]] and undergo frequent sessions of colonic irrigation enthusiastically administered by her good self."<ref name=Muir>Muir, Jan. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/02/14/nosplit/do1403.xml "How odd that diet has become a dirty word"], ''The Daily Telegraph'', February 14, 2007.</ref> She then imparts advice on diet and exercise and forbids [[alcoholic beverage]]s. Once trained, the participants can return home and are expected to stick to their new regime of diet, exercise and abstinence for eight weeks. If they fail to stick to the diet, McKeith moves in with them to ensure they follow her advice.<ref name="yawye" /> The participants are shown at the end of the eight weeks to have lost [[body mass]], and say that they feel healthier.<ref name=episode4>[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/series3.html "Episode 4 - Reverend Brian Statham"], ''You Are What You Eat'', Channel 4.</ref>
She often attributes some of the featured clients' health problems to a [[vitamin]] or [[Dietary mineral|mineral]] deficiency. There are certain foods she considers to be particularly nutritious, and these are often mentioned in her programmes. These can be unusual foods, some of which are available only from healthfood shops or from McKeith's own range of products.<ref name="yawye" />
Asked about McKeith's advice, Amanda Wynne, senior dietician with the [[British Dietetic Association]], said: "We are appalled. I think it is obvious she hasn't a clue about nutrition. In fact her advice, if followed to the limit, could be dangerous. Her TV programme takes obese people and puts them on a [[crash diet]] that is very hazardous to health."<ref name=mail>Cook, Fidelma. [http://www.fmwf.com/newsarticle.php?id=402&cat=5 "Is Channel 4's latest food guru Dr Gillian really a Quack and a danger to our health?"], ''Mail on Sunday'', August 22, 2004. Accessed November 29, 2006.</ref> A spokesperson for [[Celador]], the production company behind McKeith's television series, said that McKeith had never claimed to be a medical doctor, and that the criticism of her is reflective of her rejection of traditionalist approaches to nutrition: "[Y]ou have to realise that when someone takes a holistic approach, there is always going to be an old school of traditionalists who are going to be sceptical and besmirch that. That's what's going on."<ref name="herald"/>
The [[Daily Mail]] reports that Lorna Slater took part in McKeith's programme in 2005, lost twenty-one pounds, but regained it afterwards. Slater said, "she demoralised me totally ... she gave me a balloon - put two drinking straws underneath it and said: ''That's what you look like'' — I ended up in tears. Then she gave me a completely unrealistic eating plan which involved very little meat or fish and lots of food that disagreed with my system like avocado — which makes me sick — and cucumber. I had to boil [[mung bean]]s all day long, which took hours, made the flat smell horrible and tasted more like the gravel at the bottom of a fish tank than food. Although I tried hard and did lose weight, it was totally unrealistic."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=447834&in_page_id=1879|title=How TV diet shows made us FATTER - the Daily Mail|accessdate=2007-04-25}}</ref>
In 2007, McKeith presented ''Three Fat Brides, One Thin Dress'' for Channel 4. The series is a competitive version of the ''You Are What You Eat'' format in which three women compete for a designer wedding dress. In addition to presenting her own TV shows, McKeith occasionally appears in other programmes: she competed in ''[[The X Factor: Battle of the Stars]]'', singing her rendition of "[[The Shoop Shoop Song]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5032418.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=2006-05-31 |title=Diet guru McKeith out of X Factor}}</ref> She was the second act to be eliminated.
McKeith currently appears in a health show transmitted on E4 called [[Supersize vs Superskinny]].
==Diagnostic techniques==
In her book ''You Are What You Eat'', McKeith advocates a variety of diagnostic techniques controversial among those with medical qualifications. Among these are examination of the [[tongue]], the mapping of pimples, and detailed scrutiny of faecal matter and [[urine]].<ref>''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 51</ref> Many exterior parts of the body she says provide insight into illness: "I always think of the tongue as being like a window to the organs. The extreme tip correlates to the [[heart]], the bit slightly behind is the [[lung]]s. The right side shows what the [[gallbladder]] is up to and the left side the [[liver]]. The middle indicates the condition of your [[stomach]] and [[spleen]], the back the [[kidney]]s, [[intestine]]s and [[womb]]."<ref name="yawyep33">''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 33</ref>
McKeith also assesses people's nutritional needs based on the appearance of their [[finger nail|nail]]s, hair, [[lip]]s, or [[skin]].<ref name="yawyep33">''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 38</ref> The presence of depression or [[PMS]] she also attributes to mineral deficiencies.<ref name="yawyep33">''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 42</ref> McKeith maintains that the locations of [[pimple]]s provide a means of locating the source of health problems.<ref name="yawyep45">''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 52</ref> John Garrow says of McKeith's diagnostic abilities: "One of the programmes showed her prodding at the abdomen of a very large lady saying she could feel her intestines were inflamed. That is impossible. There is a large layer of fat between you and any intestines – it would be like trying to guess what's under a mattress."<ref name=mail/>
McKeith argues that the appearance, smell and consistency of faeces can give clues to bodily misfunction.<ref>''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 44</ref><ref name="yawyep45">''You Are What You Eat'' (2004), page 45</ref> She frequently engages in this activity during her television shows. The technique has led to Ben Goldacre dubbing her "the awful poo lady (TAPL)".<ref name=phd_poolady/> Her management company, NCI, boasts that "[i]n ''You Are What You Eat'', Gillian literally gets to the bottom of some of the country's worst eaters."<ref name=nci>[http://www.nci-management.com/clients/gillianmckeith.shtml NCI website]. Accessed 5 February, 2007.</ref>
==Nutritional advice==
McKeith's advice is based on both standard and non-standard medicine, including common sense tips, such as avoiding shopping when hungry, eating fruit and vegetables instead of cakes or buns, and preferring fresh fish over fish-fingers.<ref>McKeith, Gillian. [http://www.drgillianmckeith.com/Pressreleases/Daily-Mail-Jan-16.php "You are what you buy"]. ''Daily Mail''. January 16, 2007.</ref> She recommends a [[detox diet]] in which the "top 12 toxic terrors to avoid" are: smoking; caffeine; alcohol; chocolate and sweet snacks; pub snacks: crisps, nuts, [[pork scratchings]]; processed meat; the white stuff: [[white bread]], white [[pasta]], [[white rice]]; added [[sugar]]; lazy food: [[take-away|takeaways]] and [[ready meal]]s; [[Salt#Table salt|table salt]]; bad fats – [[saturated fat]]s; and [[Soft drink#Fizzy drinks|fizzy drinks]].<ref name=detox/>
Goldacre writes in a ''Media Watch'' column in the ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' that he finds it offensive that the British media is "filled with people who adopt a cloak of scientific authority while apparently misunderstanding the most basic aspects of biology."<ref name="bg_bmj">Goldacre, Ben. [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/334/7588/292 "Tell us the truth about nutritionists"], ''British Medical Journal'', vol 334, no. 7588, February 10, 2007, p. 292.</ref> As an example, he discusses McKeith's recommendation of eating darker leaves because they are rich in [[chlorophyll]], quoting her claim that it will "really [[oxygen]]ate your blood" as erroneous.<ref name="bg_bmj"/>
McKeith's advice in her book ''Miracle Superfood: Wild Blue-Green Algae'' is disputed. Jan Krokowski of the [[Scottish Environment Protection Agency]] wrote a letter to ''[[New Scientist]]'' as a concerned expert, warning readers that "[b]lue-green algae — properly called [[cyanobacteria]] — are able to produce a range of very powerful toxins, which pose health hazards to humans and animals and can result in illness and death."<ref> Krokowski, Jan. [http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925340.500.html "Blue-green for danger"], ''New Scientist'', January 14, 2006. Accessed February 13, 2007. See also [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/water-eau/drink-potab/cyanobacteria-cyanobacteries_e.html] [http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/algae.html] [http://www.tldp.com/issue/167/algae.html] [http://www.mlmwatch.org/05FDA/kclabs.html] [http://www.life.ca/nl/68/algae.html]</ref>
In response, McKeith argues:
<blockquote>I am on a crusade to change the nation and fortunately, or unfortunately, that is going to put me in the limelight. But you can't have change without a bit of resistance. They can try to attach stigma to me, but it will bounce off, back on to them. I refute anyone who is trying to bring me down. I'm proof that if you're trying to forge a new way ahead, you're going to ruffle a few feathers.<ref name="herald"/></blockquote>
Many claims she presents, however, are disputed as lacking scientific evidence.<ref name=phd_poolady/> McKeith is taking legal action against ''[[The Sun (newspaper)|The Sun]]'' over comments made about her in 2004. In addition to John Garrow, she has threatened legal action against Google, a blogger called PhDiva for making claims about nutritionists that mentioned McKeith, and Eclectech, a website, for hosting an animation of her.<ref name=GoldacreFeb12>Goldacre, Ben. [http://guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,2011095,00.html "A Menace to Science"], ''The Guardian'', February 12, 2007. Accessed March 7, 2007.</ref>
==Awards==
In May 2005, McKeith was given the Best Organic Businesses 2005 Consumer Education Award by the [[Soil Association]], a British [[Charitable organization|charity]] promoting [[organic food]] and standards, in recognition of her work in "tackling obesity, championing healthier eating and promoting the contribution that organic fruit, vegetables and other products can make to sound nutrition."<ref name=soil_association>[http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/librarytitles/1E6CE.HTMl Best organic businesses 2005 announced by Soil Association], Soil Association, May 17, 2005. Accessed February 13, 2007.</ref>
==Bibliography==
* ''Miracle Superfood: Wild Blue-Green Algae: the nutrient powerhouse that stimulates the immune system, boosts brain power and guards against disease'' ([[1996]]) ISBN 0-879-83729-2
* ''Ten Steps to Perfect Health for New Mothers'' (Keats, Enfield [[2002]]) ISBN 0-879-83988-0
* ''Dr Gillian McKeith's living food for health: 12 natural superfoods to transform your health'' (2004) ISBN 0-749-92673-2
* ''You Are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life'' (2004) ISBN 0-452-28717-0
* ''You Are What You Eat Cookbook''([[2005]]) ISBN 0-7181-4797-9
* ''Dr Gillian McKeith's Ultimate Health Plan: The Diet Programme That Will Keep You Slim for Life'' (Michael Joseph [[2006]]) ISBN 0-718-14891-6
* ''Dr Gillian McKeith’s shopping guide.'' (Michael Joseph, London, [[2006]]) ISBN 0-718-14954-8
==See also==
* [[Colon hydrotherapy]]
* [[Detox diet]]
* [[Food intolerance]]
* [[Organic food]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==Further reading==
* [http://www.mckeithinteractive.com Gillian McKeith's website], accessed November 29, 2006.
* [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/gillian.html "You Are What You Eat"], website of the television programme, accessed November 29, 2006.
* [http://www.nci-management.com/clients/gillianmckeith.shtml McKeith's entry on her management company's website]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,2011095,00.html Ben Goldacre's Guardian article criticising McKeith's scientific image and methods]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckeith, Gillian}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Perth, Scotland]]
[[Category:Nutritionists]]
[[Category:Scottish non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Scottish television presenters]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:The X Factor contestants]]