Cape Town - Claire Julsing Strydom - the ex-president of the Association of Dietetics in SA (ADSA) - has denied that her complaint to the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) was motivated by resentment against Professor Tim Noakes.
She told a hearing into a charge of professional misconduct against the sports scientist that she was motivated by her desire to protect the public from Noakes's "dangerous" messages which were inconsistent and not evidence-based.
She was responding to Advocate Michael van der Nest's suggestion that her complaint to the HPCSA was driven by resentment as she didn't agree with Noakes's "unconventional diet".
During the cross-examination she described Noakes's messages as "inconsistent ", with no solid scientific evidence.
She said she had tried for many years to engage with Noakes and had tried to get appropriate evidence in the form of reviews and meta analysis. Noakes had failed to present this evidence.
Her complaint was aimed at protecting those whose lives could be endangered by his advice.
She said Noakes was trusted by society and his advice could mislead many as it was regarded as an absolute truth.
"Professor Tim Noakes is a trusted medical practitioner. He is highly regarded. People think what he says is 100 percent true," she said.
"It is not resentment or a personal attack on Professor Noakes... We are not happy with the information he is distributing. The problem is that this information is focused on an infant...and I understand that is a vulnerable group," she said
Van der Nest indicated that Noakes has submitted 4000 pages of evidence to back his case.
Cape Argus