Why is a NYT bestselling author avoiding a journalist with fewer than 900 followers?
Short on time? Read the summary:
→ When professional journalism inquiries are viewed as complaints or harassment, the consumer is the one who suffers. Factual Wellness centers the needs and perspective of people with chronic illness and disability. Paleo and AIP are frequently marketed to this population.
- Sarah Ballantyne, a PhD in medical biophysics, is the bestselling author of several Paleo books and Nutrivore. She popularized the AIP diet, a protocol for autoimmune disease. She has since referred to Paleo and AIP as pseudoscience and misinformation.
- As of today, her Paleo website (thepaleomom.com) still contains content that highlights her expertise and popularity with Paleo/AIP, with no mention that she now considers it pseudoscience and misinformation.
- When asked why the website remains or why she has not redirected or changed the messaging, she has given several answers that provide some detail into her process but do not directly answer the question, Does she want to be known as the first most-cited Paleo publisher or is it pseudoscience?
- When Factual Wellness continued to pursue answers to this question, Ballantyne's account appeared to mute or restrict Factual Wellness from interacting with her on Instagram and Threads. This raises additional questions about her desire for transparent, scientific discourse and evidence-based communications.
Recently, Factual Wellness wrote about Sarah Ballantyne, a bestselling Paleo author who claims to have made a 180º shift in her point of view: from being pro-Paleo to calling it pseudoscience, from creating the AIP diet (which is a restrictive elimination protocol) to championing "nourishment, not judgment."1
Ballantyne did respond to some requested comments for the previous article. After the article was published, she shared a reel in which she said, "I absolutely regret the years I spread misinformation. I regret having taught people food fear, and if I could have pulled myself out of that world any faster, I would have."2
However, some of my follow-up questions on Threads and Instagram received no responses from her or her team.
Screenshots from Instagram stories and Threads.
A few days later, when I tried to tag her in a repeat of these unanswered questions, I could not. It appears as if Ballantyne has restricted my profile. When a follower is restricted on Instagram, it also takes effect on Threads, and vice versa.
To be clear, I have less than 900 followers and have never been unprofessional or disrespectful in my inquiries. After the first article was published, one of her team members sent me this email:
Thank you, this is very fair and balanced. Also if you would ever like a tour of everything we are building with Nutrivore happy to show you around.
In reply to questions for the first article, Ballantyne referred to my journalistic inquiry as a complaint. While she'd received criticism on social media from other science communicators that appeared to be more personal or peer-level criticism, my questions did not come from a place of personal feelings or a desire to attack, malign, or complain.
Her team initially told me that my first article sounded like it would be a "hit piece." I emailed back with the following:
10/30/2024 email response from Factual Wellness to Ballantyne's team
Thanks for sending this over. This isn't a hit piece by any stretch. I do not believe that chaos or angst contribute to journalism or critical thinking.
I write for disabled and chronically ill readers, with a specific focus on those who are low-income and at or below the poverty line. AIP and Paleo are commonly suggested to people who often are in these demographics. Not all of them are active on social media, subscribe to newsletters, or listen to podcasts. Thus the clarifying questions regarding the website because, if someone's only encounter was buying a book on Amazon and then visiting the Paleo Mom website, there is no immediate signal that it's not a current platform. Even the pop-ups that lead to Nutrivore from the website do not signal a brand replacement; they appear to be complementary.
I do understand the volume of content that exists on social media, newsletters, and podcasts, but also, brand websites are typically considered the mother ship. Most of the criticism I've seen regarding this transition is about the presence of two websites that appear to be in opposition. My role in this as a journalist is to ask questions and report for my audience demographic.
Hiding comments
On 10/30/2024, I noticed that my Instagram comment had been hidden. Via email, I asked, "Is it a team policy to mute/hide comments that respectfully pose inquiries about thepaleomom.com?" Not long after, my comment received a reply on Instagram and appeared to be visible again when viewed from other accounts.
Now, though, my primary account cannot mention Ballantyne, although I can mention her if I log in from a different account (that does not follow her).
On 10/31/2024, Ballantyne shared a post that included the following: "Good faith questions are always welcomed."3 I've since asked questions in a professional manner. Does this imply that journalists do not ask questions in good faith?
As shared above, her team knows I am a journalist covering relevant topics applicable to the chronic illness and disability communities. It is not hidden in my background and bio that I am also disabled and chronically ill, or that I'm in the final stages of finishing a PhD in nutrition. So, I have a professional interest in reporting on nutrition-related topics and academic experience that has trained me to use reflexive processing, which reduces my own bias. I also have decades of lived experience with chronic illness, so I can report and research from a perspective that considers how information may impact marginalized communities in various ways. Any of these are good-faith reasons.
On 10/29/2024, she posted this on Threads in reply to someone who questioned if she only replied to favorable responses:
She frequently speaks on social media and podcasts about how she formerly shared misinformation and now seeks to correct it. However, her still-active Paleo Mom website retains messaging like "1st most-cited paleo publisher" and "1.3 million article views and downloads."
There's even a featured article about the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) on the homepage. From both journalistic and scholarly perspectives, my question is valid: If Ballantyne will call it pseudoscience and misinformation elsewhere, why is there a lack of action to address this on her Paleo homebase website with messaging that uses these same words?5
Others have asked, too. This comment received the same response that was sent to me via email for my original article:
Why does it matter if the old website is up?
Is this journalistic nitpicking? Is this story even relevant? Indeed, this subject is foundationally important for people within the chronic illness and disability communities.
Ballantyne was responsible for popularizing and legitimizing the AIP, according to her own words. The original post is now missing from her website but is available via the Internet Archive:6
Quote from "My Personal Journey with the Autoimmune Protocol" (published on 2/3/2023 at thepaleomom.com
"While technically the Autoimmune Protocol predated by entry into the Paleo and AIP communities, I recognize that it would not be what it is today without my research and my writing. Truly, I was just trying to figure out the missing pieces of my own health, but I intuitively understood that I’m not alone in this struggle, nor am I the only supernerd hungry for the scientific evidence in the world. As I researched the reasons for each AIP elimination, I started being able to rank their importance, and make judgment calls on the many foods and ingredients for which no prior determination had been made. And I started to understand the nutritional requirements of the immune system, I integrated a nutrient-density focus to the AIP. As I took a more holistic approach for my own health, I started to write about how lifestyle factors impact immune function. I didn’t realize at the time that my research was transforming the Autoimmune Protocol from an obscure fad based on a basic list of eliminations to a valid and comprehensive dietary strategy to support people with autoimmune disease. I didn’t realize that my core belief in the importance of representing scientific evidence in an unbiased and nuanced way brought scientific validity to the AIP. And I certainly didn’t realize that, while I was counting down the days until my youngest started kindergarten so I could return to the research lab, that I was actually creating a new career for myself, something much more important."
While this post has been taken down, plenty of other content is still active on the Paleo Mom website that describes the scientific legitimacy and effectiveness of the AIP protocol. Many healthcare providers (usually those who are focused on functional and alternative approaches) still recommend it for people with chronic illnesses and certain disabilities. It’s also a top search result for people with autoimmunity and multiple sclerosis (linked, primarily, by the work of Terry Wahls, MD).7 Ballantyne mentioned Wahls as being influential in her work developing the full AIP program:
Quote from "My Personal Journey with the Autoimmune Protocol" (published on 2/3/2023 at thepaleomom.com
"Dr. Terry Wahls’ TedxIowaCity talk had just gone viral and I was learning about the roles of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, phytonutrients, and fiber. I was sold on nutrient density, so I worked on upping my vegetable intake and eating organ meat. My oldest daughter started sleeping through the night for the first time (at 5 years old!) after we eliminated gluten from her diet, and how much better I felt got me interested in the role of sleep in immune function. That got me interested in other lifestyle factors. All of the immunology that I had learned in grad school suddenly became very relevant. And, already, my website was transitioning from a mommy blog to the comprehensive health education site that it is today."
The AIP, Paleo, and all diets that are intended for chronic illness and disability will factor predominantly in the journalism from Factual Wellness. My work aims not to dismiss all "wellness" but to distinguish between nutrition as a science and misapplied nutrient information that drives diets, fads, disordered eating, and misconceptions about what diets and "food as medicine" can and can't do.
Nutrition and wellness are inextricably linked. People with chronic illness and disabilities often encounter them together, and it's important not to dismiss legitimate facts even if they occur alongside numerous disproven theories or claims that don't hold up to journalistic or academic fact-checking.
People with disabilities and chronic illness often fall through the cracks of healthcare. They're frequently vulnerable, and that makes conditions like autoimmunity prime targets for wellness marketing. Not all companies or brands have predatory interests. Still, such an enormous volume of information is being published, shared, and written by people who have not spent years formally studying nutrition biochemistry. This makes it complex for people with chronic illnesses and disabilities to sift through the facts and fads on their own.
Factual Wellness is for everyone
Diets and other wellness applications for disability and chronic illness are the primary focus of Factual Wellness. While I have a small social footprint, this independent journalism startup only officially launched in September 2024, less than six weeks ago.
Even though this project is new, I am not. I have been a professional writer and editor for 20 years. I spent years entrenched in the wellness community and, with no science background, believed all the expert talking points—including that "scientists" and "traditional healthcare" didn't care about disabilities and chronic illness, while "wellness" did.
Since then, I have completed a bachelor's degree in nutrition science, a master's degree in nutrition science, and am in the final stage of completing a PhD in nutrition science.
Instead of going into academia, I'm using my scientific background to provide evidence-based journalism for the people. Factual Wellness reports on health equity and ethics in communications and marketing without industry conflicts of interest or paywalls.
Writing and fact-checking for a marginalized audience isn't inherently aggressive or contentious. My questions are not personal attacks or complaints. I'm making no claims—I'm asking for clarity about what professionals and experts have said. This is part of the scientific method. We have no foundation for establishing scientific truth without fact-checking and peer review.
Muting or restricting me on social media might prevent me from tagging Ballantyne, but as a journalist, that leads me to more questions. Why is there a lack of willingness to engage with a journalist about things that she has said?
Ballantyne chose to identify her former work as misinformation and pseudoscience. She also still has a website prominently attached to her name and former work that still presents it as legitimate science. My questions as a journalist stem from the dissonance between the simultaneous existence of these websites.
As I said in my email to Ballantyne's team, many people still do not engage with social media, podcasts, or newsletters. Her Paleo books are still bestsellers. Even if she does not promote them, her website remains, and she has not published an article on her own platform that matches the sentiments she shared on other platforms. If you search Google for "Sarah Ballantyne AIP is pseudoscience," these are the top results:
Her own content is in the third spot, where she writes that Paleo and AIP are sub-diets of a nutrivore approach. This article was from June 2021, and it contains no redirect or notice that she has since called Paleo and AIP pseudoscience misinformation and views nutrivore as a philosophy, not a diet at all.
Science comms... or confusion?
Ballantyne has said she wants to help people overcome their confirmation bias and logical fallacies. The questions I ask are directly related to this.
It is a strong claim to say that your former work is pseudoscience and misinformation, especially when that work is still out there. Without platforming that same strong message on her home base website, this ongoing dual messaging creates confusion. Putting a notice on The Paleo Mom website that says "This site is no longer supported" is not the same as saying that she now views Paleo and AIP as pseudoscience.
Ignoring, restricting, or muting questions about this respectfully issued by a journalist raises additional concerns and cautions. Lots of citations aren’t needed to bring clarity to this matter. Articles with 12,000 words aren’t required to clarify this stance. Simple, straightforward word choice could resolve this query.
Ballantyne and her team have given roundabout reasons for why The Paleo Mom website is still up. But Factual Wellness will continue to question how leaving the website with the misinformation message supports the goal of misinformation correction.
As a journalist and an academic, my line of inquiry is rooted in the following logic:
- If it gets so little traffic, taking it offline or doing a complete permanent redirect shouldn’t be a revenue loss. If it’s still a significant source of revenue, that could be said.
- It’s unclear how a current team of six, according to those listed on the Nutrivore website, would be inadequate to make misinformation takedown a top priority based on the stated values aligned with Nutrivore. The new project appears to be publishing frequent content, with a significant amount behind a Patreon paywall.8
- Ballantyne's followers and readers likely trust her scientific analysis. Several have praised her value shift in comments on Instagram and Threads. If it is inherently woven into her current work, why do journalist inquiries regarding the lag in the platform alignment result in mutes and restrictions? When health and wellness professionals say they adhere to the scientific method and value research and accuracy, it raises many additional questions about why they would avoid professional academic or journalistic discourse on the subject.
- Ballantyne has said she cares for her community and those who may have believed her former misinformation. Factual Wellness reporting centers the same community. We have the same stated goal: evidence-based science communications. If we are aligned for the same common good, why is this straightforward inquiry being ignored, and why does it appear that she has restricted my Threads/Instagram profile?
I’ve made several interview requests, as I think these questions might best be covered in a conversation. Ballantyne has not yet agreed to an interview.
Summary
When professional journalism inquiries are viewed as complaints or harassment, the consumer is the one who suffers.
- Sarah Ballantyne, a PhD in medical biophysics, is the bestselling author of several Paleo books and Nutrivore. She popularized the AIP diet, a protocol for autoimmune disease. She has since referred to Paleo and AIP as pseudoscience and misinformation.5
- As of today, her Paleo website (thepaleomom.com) still contains content that highlights her expertise and popularity with Paleo/AIP, with no mention that she now considers it pseudoscience and misinformation.
- When asked why the website remains or why she has not redirected or changed the messaging, she has given several answers that provide some detail into her process but do not directly answer the question, Does she want to be known as the first most-cited Paleo publisher or is it pseudoscience?
- When Factual Wellness continued to pursue answers to this question, Ballantyne's account appeared to mute or restrict my account from publicly interacting with her on Instagram and Threads. This raises additional questions about her desire for transparent, scientific discourse and evidence-based communications.
References
- nutrivore.com
- threads.net/ @drsarahballantyne/post/DBzE-ZSOsMK?xmt=AQGznYHSkZySs7V-Oh9V-KCYngIMdhg8WOTbyul0_l08Xw
- threads.net/ @drsarahballantyne/post/DBv7RbPPr_H?xmt=AQGznYHSkZySs7V-Oh9V-KCYngIMdhg8WOTbyul0_l08Xw
- thepaleomom.com
- unbiasedscipod.com/ episodes/turn-the-beet-around-course-correcting-on-diet
- web.archive.org/ web/20230323184414/www. thepaleomom. com/journey-autoimmune-protocol/
- terrywahls.com/ the-wahls-protocol/
- threads.net/ @drsarahballantyne/post/DB1oa_EuRbd?xmt=AQGzGwnnwCy4q1IIKtNSiT6NzuSaTSzOwyAA2_2pq-q0CA