Why controversial scientific ideas like the keto diet for anorexia deserve careful consideration, not automatic dismissal
By
New Scientist
Summary
This article explores the tension between scientific consensus and controversial ideas, using the proposal that a ketogenic diet could treat anorexia nervosa as a case study. While the idea seems counterintuitive — given that anorexia involves food restriction — some researchers are exploring it seriously. The article notes that such researchers find themselves uncomfortably aligned with figures like vaccine-sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr, but argues this shouldn't automatically discredit the scientific merit of the idea. It examines the broader question of when contrarian scientific ideas deserve a fair hearing versus when they should be dismissed.
Source
Twitter / XWhy controversial scientific ideas like the keto diet for anorexia deserve careful consideration, not automatic dismissalnewscientist.comKey quotes
· 4 pulledMaverick scientists often get a bad reputation among their more sober peers.
Science requires evidence and consensus, and contrarianism is rarely a way forward.
But there is always an exception that proves the rule.
Given that this is a psychiatric condition characterised by a compulsion to restrict food, the proposal sounds absurd at best, painfully irresponsible
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