Dietitians in New Zealand are upset about nutrition advice given on prime time television soap opera Shortland Street.
Dietitians New Zealand has written to the programme, saying its fictional dietitian is wrong to suggest that a no-carbohydrate diet for cancer patients.
It says there is no scientific evidence to support the diet, which is dangerously low in energy and can reduce patients' tolerance to cancer therapies.
The organisation's executive director, Jan Milne, says cancer patients are extremely vulnerable to such information and Shortland Street has a social responsibility to its viewers.
However, Shortland Street's producers say the storyline is well-balanced.
They say the writers made it clear that no patient was forced to follow the diet, which many characters were sceptical of or rejected altogether.
