Podcasts about nutrition science

From fears around hormone disruption, thyroid health, breast cancer, fertility, and even feminising effects in men, soy has been surrounded by controversy for many years.Yet at the same time, populations consuming soy regularly tend to have lower rates of chronic disease and longer life expectancy. So what does the totality of the scientific evidence actually say?To answer that question we're joined by Dr Mark Messina, one of the world's leading researchers on soya foods and health. Dr Messina is Director of Nutrition Science and Research at the Soy Nutrition Institute (SNI) Global. He has dedicated his career to studying the health effects of soya foods and has published over 125 articles and book chapters over his three decades of work in the field.In this deep dive we will distinguish the scientific evidence from pervasive online misconceptions and examine what the current research indicates about soya's effects on cardiovascular health, cancer risk, endocrine function, and well being.To contact Dr Messina:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-messina-985ba642/To read more about Dr Messina's research papers:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Messina-Mark-2And please don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast, and share this episode with one other person today.If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below:https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membershipYou don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you're not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.Discover evidence-based approaches to transform hospital meals in our upcoming Global Healthy Hospital Network webinar.Join us on 4 March 2026, 16:00 GMT to explore practical strategies to make hospital meals healthier for patients and staff while reducing environmental impact.This session is designed for healthcare professionals seeking actionable, evidence-based ways to transform hospital food environments.Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/-rnYGLwqQ9-ZQPh-P1cfPwThe Global Healthy Hospital Food Network is a collaborative initiative led by PAN International, Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, ProVeg International, and Greener by Default.

Accurately defining the population of patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) and intestinal failure has long been a challenge in gastroenterology. In an effort to bring greater clarity to the field, Alan Buchman MD, MSPH, a professor of Clinical Surgery and Medical Director of the Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago and director of gastroenterology at Elevance Health, led the introduction of new, more specific ICD-10-CM codes for SBS, along with corresponding updates to World Health Organization ICD-11 classifications. His recent real-world US claims analysis presented at the ASPEN 2026 Nutrition Science and Practice Conference examined how widely those codes have been adopted and what that adoption, or lack thereof, reveals about disease burden and clinical practice.Key Interview Time Stamps0:00:00 What prompted this analysis of ICD code adoption in short bowel syndrome?0:01:17 Key findings 0:03:33 Understanding reasons for variability in code adoption0:04:36 The potential benefits of improved coding accuracy 

Steve Blake shows how saturated fat not sugar is the key driver of insulin resistance, using clinical data and food examples to explain how fat disrupts blood sugar control. #SaturatedFat #InsulinResistance #DiabetesReversal #HealthTalks

Dr. Youngberg introduces a precision medicine approach to Alzheimer's and explains why identifying multiple personal risk factors brings hope for true reversal. #AlzheimersPrevention #PrecisionMedicine #BrainHealth #HealthTalks

You ever wonder why you can't eat just one chip? Or why chicken tastes different than it did decades ago? In this episode, I break down how the food industry engineered salt, sugar and fat to hit your brain's “bliss point,” how fast food reshaped American farming, and why profit became more important than public health. From factory-raised chickens to feedlot beef to grocery store manipulation, we're unpacking how the system was built—and what you can actually do about it. Spoiler: it's not a willpower problem. It's a design problem.IntroFoodSalt, Sugar, Fat and the Bliss PointSoda: The Original Thirst TrapHow fast food rewired American farmingProfitsWhat we can actually do as consumers?Music by Loghan LongoriaFollow us on instagram: Sergio Novoa My Limited View PodResources & Research:1. Moss, Michael. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random House, 2013. Key themes summarized at LifeClub.org. 2. Summary of processed food engineering and industry tactics at BooksThatSlay.com. 3. Overview of addictive design and ingredient roles at SoBrief.com. 4. Discussion of food companies prioritizing taste over health in processed products. 5. Reporting on antibiotic use and public health risks in livestock farming. 6. Advocacy overview of factory farming, antibiotics, and health impacts.

Cancer is striking younger generations faster. Dr. Fuhrman explains how dietary shifts—from G-BOMBS to industrialization—are key to prevention. #CancerPrevention #NutritionScience #GBOMBS #HealthTalks

In this special series on Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonists, Dr. Neil Skolnik will discuss the first of the GLP-1 RAs to receive FDA approval, Semaglutide.  This special episode is sponsored with support from Novo Nordisk. Presented by: Neil Skolnik, M.D., Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency Program, Abington Jefferson Health W. Timothy Garvey, MD.,  Butterworth Professor and University Professor of Medicine in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Selected references: Oral semaglutide 50 mg taken once per day in adults with overweight or obesity (OASIS 1): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Knop, Filip K et al. The Lancet, Volume 402, Issue 10403, 705 – 719 Oral Semaglutide at a Dose of 25 mg in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. Wharton Sean et al. N Engl J Med 2025;393:1077-1087 Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes. Lincoff, A Michael, et al.  N Engl J Med 2023;389:2221-2232  

Why are the new dietary guidelines pushing full-fat dairy and red meat? Is saturated fat actually a healthy fat? And is Dr. Oz wrong for referring to alcohol as a "social lubricant"? In this episode, Amy exposes the conflicting nutrition advice, impossible math, and double standards, and helps you make sense of the chaos—so you can eat for your brain, body, and future health.What to Listen For(03:54) – Why the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and their 400-page report was disregarded(05:45) – RFK Jr.'s quote: “We are ending the war on saturated fats” and what nutrition science reveals(07:23) – Healthy fats vs. essential fatty acids—and what's wrong with how the guidelines defined them(09:14) – Saturated fat ≠ essential fatty acid and why that distinction matters for brain and body health(11:05) – Math problem: 3 servings of full-fat dairy per day + prioritizing protein make it nearly impossible to stay under 10% sat fat limit(13:18) – Lactose malabsorption stats by ethnicity and why nutrition science must take health equity into account(15:04) – The MIND diet's take on fats(16:38) – The culture war: carnivore vs. vegan and how that influenced the new guidelines(19:42) – Joe Rogan's carnivore diet experiment and why its biggest advocate abandoned it later(26:40) – Dr. Oz, alcohol as a “social lubricant,” and what the guidelines ignoredThe saturated fat "controversy" reveals just how much industry, culture wars, and politics are shaping our national dietary guidelines.As you navigate your health journey, focus on evidence-based strategies like increasing fiber, prioritizing omega-3s, and limiting saturated fat to support brain and metabolic health.

View This Week's Show NotesStart Your 7-Day Trial to Mobility CoachJoin Our Free Weekly Newsletter: The AmbushIn this episode of The Ready State Podcast, we're joined by Dr. Kevin Hall—one of the world's leading metabolism researchers and a longtime NIH scientist—for a wide-ranging conversation on what the research actually says about weight loss, energy balance, and the modern food environment.Dr. Hall explains what we've learned from real-world and tightly controlled studies, including his work following The Biggest Loser contestants, and why exercise doesn't fully prevent the metabolic adaptations that can accompany major weight loss. We also unpack why “calories in, calories out” is both true in principle and often misunderstood in practice, how ultra-processed foods can drive overeating, and what GLP-1 medications may be changing in appetite biology.The episode also touches on Dr. Hall's departure from a 21-year career at the NIH, following the censorship of his team's findings on ultra-processed foods when they didn't align with preferred narratives—an experience he describes as chilling for scientific communication.Finally, we explore the practical challenges of doing high-quality nutrition research, why confident opinions can outpace the data, and what it will take to better understand—and ultimately prevent—diet-related chronic disease.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy metabolism isn't “broken” — and why larger bodies burn more calories at restWhat the Biggest Loser study actually revealed about weight loss and regainWhy exercise doesn't “save” your metabolism during extreme dietingHow ultraprocessed foods change how much people eat — without acting like addictive drugsWhy calories in vs. calories is often misunderstood in practiceHow genetics and environment interact to shape body weightWhat GLP-1 drugs are really doing — and what they don't fixWhy nutrition science is underfunded, politicized, and desperately neededChapters(00:00) - Kevin Hall, PhD, Metabolism Researcher(01:01) - Dr. Hall on the Ready State Podcast(04:10) - Misconceptions About Metabolism(04:54) - The Biggest Loser Study & Metabolism Influence(13:09) - Challenges in Nutrition Research(19:10) - Metabolism's Role in Weight Loss(22:13) - Vitality Blueprint: Importance of Blood Work(25:45) - Calories In, Calories Out: Simplistic View?(30:45) - Understanding GLP-1 Agonists(32:20) - The Food Environment's Impact(36:05) - Ultra-Processed Foods and Caloric Intake(38:02) - The Complexity of Obesity(41:40) - Solutions for Our Food System(48:23) - Causes of Brain Fog(49:34) - Element: Nutritional Insights(51:39) - RFK Jr. Discussion(01:01:40) - Politics' Influence on Science(01:04:35) - Leaders in Nutrition Science(01:06:48) - Can Weight Loss Be Achieved?(01:08:10) - Universal Diets: Myth or Reality?(01:12:35) - Why Doritos Lead to Overeating(01:13:21) - Understanding Visceral Fat(01:14:04) - Momentous: Nutritional Products(01:20:25) - Book/TV Show/Music Recommendations(01:21:11) - Connecting with Dr. Hall(01:21:52) - OutroConnect with KevinWebsite | Bluesky | X | LinkedInBook: Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms UsCheck out The Biggest Loser Study2019 Study: Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight GainHuge thanks to our sponsors, Vitality, Momentous, and LMNT.

In this episode, we tackle one of the most absurd trends in modern nutrition: the idea that vegetables are toxic. From oxalates to lectins to nightshades, influencers have turned normal, nutrient-dense foods into villains...but the science tells a very different story. We break down what large-scale human data actually say about vegetables, disease risk, and longevity, and dig into where the fear-based narratives about spinach, beans, and tomatoes come from. You'll learn the real context behind oxalates and kidney stones, the truth about lectins and gut health, and why personalization beats fear every single time. The bottom line? The problem isn't broccoli, it's bad science communication. If you care about evidence-based nutrition, this episode will remind you why simplicity still wins and why “boring” habits like eating your vegetables remain some of the highest-ROI moves for your long-term health. Coach VinnyEmail: vinny@balancedbodies.ioInstagram: vinnyrusso_balancedbodiesFacebook: Vinny Russo Dr. ErynEmail: dr.eryn@balancedbodies.ioInstagram: dr.eryn_balancedbodiesFacebook: Eryn Stansfield LEGION 20% OFF CODEGo to https://legionathletics.com/ and use the code RUSSO for 20% off your order!

In this in-depth conversation, I sit down with Dr. James O. Hill, one of the world's leading researchers on energy balance, metabolism, weight loss, and weight regain, to unpack why losing weight and keeping it off are two very different biological processes and need different understandings. We explore what's really driving obesity today, why weight regain happens so quickly, and how metabolism, behavior, mindset, and environment interact in ways most diet conversations completely miss. Dr Hill is an OG in the world of weight loss - this conversation may be exactly what you need to hear to help with your success this year! This episode goes beyond calories-in vs calories-out and dives into: How energy expenditure and energy balance actually work Why we are worse off metabolically than ever before The role of genetics, aging, and metabolic flexibility Why every diet works — but not for the reasons you think The difference between losing weight vs maintaining weight The concept of the energy gap and why maintenance is so hard Why the most obesity-inducing diet is high fat + high carbohydrate The importance of mindset and behavioral state What the National Weight Control Registry teaches us Why people need time (often ~3 months) to establish weight loss habits Exercise, step counts, and why pedometers are still gold Small changes vs big changes — and which actually last Tracking weight, progress, and sustainability Eating out and socializing... does it make or break your results Thyroid, adrenal concerns, and metabolic context GLP-1s and where they fit into the bigger picture This is a grounded, honest discussion about what actually works long-term and why weight regain is not a failure of willpower, but a predictable biological response unless the right attitude and systems are in place. Dr. James Hill is one of the world's foremost experts in obesity and weight management. He has devoted his 40+-year career to helping people lose weight and keep it off. Dr. Hill was a co-founder of the National Weight Control Registry, which has been the single best source of information about how to maintain weight loss. Dr. Hill is Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center and Professor of the Department of Nutrition Sciences in the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He served as President of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) in 2008–09 and as President of The Obesity Society (TOS) in 1997–98. Find out more about Dr Hills work here; https://internationalweightcontrolreg... BOOK 1 - State of slim; https://a.co/d/2k0b7XL New Book - Losing the weight loss meds; https://a.co/d/dAASjOh

Dr. Minich introduces the Rainbow Diet, explaining how colorful plant foods support physical, emotional, and spiritual health through phytochemicals. #RainbowDiet #ColorfulNutrition #PlantPower #Phytochemicals

The speaker shares her journey into personalized nutrition and emphasizes joyful, flexible eating using color, creativity, and kitchen environment as tools for healing. #FunctionalNutrition #JoyfulEating #PersonalizedHealth #AntiOrthorexia

The Marins share their personal health journeys, introduce gut health foundations, and explain how fiber-rich, plant-based diets transform the microbiome. #GutHealth #PlantBasedHealing #IBSRecovery #FiberPower

A leading nutrition expert breaks down what we should be eating today based on the latest science

Dr. Clement opens with rising cancer rates and shares how the Hippocrates Health Institute pioneered raw plant-based healing as early lifestyle medicine. #CancerPrevention #PlantBasedHealing #HealthTalks

Dr. Williams and Dr. Kahn explore how ketogenic diets and saturated fats impact cardiovascular health and longevity. #KetogenicDiet #SaturatedFat #HeartHealth

Zeke Emanuel (a physician, medical ethicist, and policy wonk) has some different ideas for how to lead a healthy and meaningful life. It starts with ice cream. (Part three of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”) SOURCES:Zeke Emanuel, oncologist, bioethicist, professor at the University of Pennsylvania. RESOURCES:Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life, by Zeke Emanuel (2026)."Nutrition Science's Most Preposterous Result," by David Merritt Johns (The Atlantic, 2023). EXTRAS:"Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel," by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent," by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."What's the “Best” Exercise?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To prevent America's top killer, we must reduce sodium, sugar, saturated fat, cholesterol, and foods that harm the microbiome. #HeartDiseasePrevention #DietMatters #Nutrition

In this episode, we take a hard look at the latest changes to the food pyramid and ask the big question: are these updates finally rooted in real science—or just recycled nutrition dogma?Next, we dive deep into saturated fat. Not all saturated fats are created equal, so we explore the different types, why the body actually needs saturated fat, and whether some sources can be considered genuinely healthy.Finally, we tackle one of nutrition's most controversial topics: Is there really a correlation between saturated fat, cholesterol and heart disease? To separate fact from fear, we play a powerful clip from Dr. Aseem Malhotra as he breaks down what the actual studies show—and what they don't.If you're confused by conflicting dietary advice and want evidence-based clarity, this episode is a must

Dr. Neal Barnard challenges myths around processed foods and explains how biologically processed animal products are often more harmful than some plant-based alternatives. #ProcessedFoodMyths #PlantBasedFacts #HealthScience

Discover how switching animal protein levels controlled cancer growth in rats—and why genes don't determine our fate, diet does. #CancerResearch #ProteinEffect #NutritionPower

Dr. Jason Aziz, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and the New Hampshire Insurance Department, breaks down the Trump administration resetting the US nutrition policy, how this might set public policy in the right direction for proper nutrition, and where this puts RFK Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again mission. "Fact Sheet: Trump Administration Resets U.S. Nutrition Policy, Puts Real Food Back at the Center of Health": https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/fact-sheet-historic-reset-federal-nutrition-policy.html

The panel explains how low-fat, high-fiber whole plant foods can reverse insulin resistance and promote satiety, energy, and healing. #WholeFoods #ReversingDiabetes #FiberFuel

Drs. Klaper and Fuhrman explain how whole food, plant-based diets reverse chronic diseases, debunk carnivore myths, and expose flawed nutrition studies. #PlantBasedHealing #NutritionScience #ChronicDiseaseReversal

This episode is a masterclass in navigating the confusing world of modern nutrition. Trevor and Eugene sit down with Dr. Jessica Knurick, a PhD in Nutrition Science and expert in chronic disease prevention, to debunk the most persistent health myths currently trending on social media. From protein to salt, seed oils to raw milk, they discuss the most persistent health myths we hear every day. If you've ever felt food anxiety while walking down a grocery aisle or wondered if fruit sugar is actually poisoning you, this deep dive into evidence-based health is a must-watch. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join us for an enlightening discussion on the carnivore diet and its potential health benefits. In this episode, we dive into various aspects of meat-based eating, weight loss, and gut health, backed by research and personal experiences.⏱️ Episode Chapters[00:04] Grass-Fed vs. Grain-Fed Beef: Nutritional Differences[02:05] Weight Loss & Joint Pain Relief on Keto Diets[05:50] Nine Years on the Carnivore Diet: Personal Outcomes[07:43] How Meat Became Demonized in Nutrition Science[11:41] Obesity, Cancer Risk, and Dietary Correlations[13:37] Religious & Ideological Influences on Nutrition Guidelines[17:22] Diet Change vs. Medication: Where Real Healing Begins[18:57] Meat-Based Diets & Eating Disorder Recovery[22:15] Gut Adaptation During Dietary Transitions[23:45] Human Flexibility: Carnivore vs. Plant-Based Survival[27:17] Evolutionary Evidence for Meat-Centered Diets[29:00] Historical Emphasis on Meat in Human Nutrition[32:23] Vitamin C Needs on a Carnivore Diet[34:08] Nutrient Absorption & Bioavailability[37:43] Gut Health, Fiber, and Microbiome Myths[39:32] When Fiber Helps—and When It Doesn't[42:55] Lifestyle Foundations for Optimal Health[44:42] A Decade of Red-Meat-Focused Living[48:10] Flexibility Within the Carnivore Framework[49:45] Electrolytes, Training, and Performance[52:50] Cooking Meat: Health Implications[54:24] Gut Health Without a Colon[57:43] Encouraging Dietary Diversity When Appropriate[59:08] Diet, Brain Size, and Breastfeeding Evolution[1:02:23] Optimal Complementary Foods for Infant Growth[1:03:52] Defining Health: How You Feel vs. How You PerformTune in for insights that challenge traditional dietary beliefs and explore the science behind the carnivore lifestyle!

Food is such an integral part of not just culture, but of life in itself. It is the fuel that allows our hearts to beat, our lungs to breathe, and our cells to metabolize—powering every physiological process that sustains us. But with so much conversation surrounding food, from restrictive diet culture to viral wellness trends, nourishment can become clouded by confusion, fear, and misinformation. How many meals should we actually eat per day? What are seed oils, and should we really avoid them? Are artificial sweeteners truly a better choice than sugar? Do green juice cleanses actually work?In this episode, we are joined by Stephanie Chen, MS, RDN, LDN, a Boston, MA-based registered dietitian and nutritionist trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Enhanced (CBT-E) and the Family-Based Treatment (FBT).Stephanie earned her MS in Clinical Psychology (with research on novel body image) from Missouri State University and later earned a second MS in Nutrition Science from Boston University. Currently, Stephanie is a practicing dietitian and partner at Lori Lieberman and Associates, where she aligns with Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size® and specializes in kidney and heart disease, diabetes, GI issues, weight management, and eating disorders. Stephanie is also the founder of Boston Asian Food Network, which highlights Boston's AAPI food community and is the home of Boston Asian Restaurant Week.Outside of dietetics, Stephanie is a freelance editorial and runway fashion model, having been featured on WBZ News/CBS Boston, Harper's BAZAAR Vietnam, Tatler Philippines, and MEGA Magazine.Follow Friends of Franz Podcast: Website, Instagram, FacebookFollow Christian Franz (Host): Instagram, YouTube

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-sized bonus episodes offer tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about AND. What if the secret to achieving your 2026 health goals isn't about choosing between this OR that, but embracing this AND that? Jenn challenges the pervasive binary thinking that dominates diet culture—the "eat this, not that" mentality that's been marketed to us for years. But can we really have high protein AND high fiber, enjoy nourishing meals AND joyful treats, pursue professional success AND personal wellness? Jenn explores how the power of "and" might transform not just our relationship with food, but our entire approach to health, relationships, and even conflicting ideas. Is it possible to hold two seemingly opposite truths at the same time, or are we destined to choose sides? What does Jenn really think about finding balance in a world that demands we pick a lane? Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full-length episodes of new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/ RESOURCES:Become a Happy Healthy Hub MemberJenn's Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries InstagramThe Longevity EquationKEYWORDS: Jenn Trepeck, Nutrition Nugget, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Health Tips, Wellness Tips, Binary Thinking, Diet Culture, Nutrition Balance, Health Coaching, Quality Fuel, Plant Forward Eating, Animal Based Protein, Mindful Eating, Joyful Treats, Strength Training, Restorative Movement, Sleep Quality, Social Connection, Functional Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, Weight Loss Strategies, Wellness Goals, New Year Resolutions, Food Choices, Flexible Dieting, Intuitive Eating, Emotional Wellness, Mental Health Balance, Longevity Equation, Connection And Health, Pharmaceutical Alternatives, Supplement Integration, Blood Work Analysis, Personal Wellness, Professional Performance, Restrictive Mindset, Food Freedom, Healthy Habits, Sustainable Nutrition, Wellness Community, Health Transformation, Body Positivity, Nutrition Science, Wellness Myths, Evidence Based Nutrition, How To Stop Binary Thinking About Food, Integrating Health And Enjoyment In 2026

Why Most New Year's Resolutions Fail (And What to Do Instead) Join the FREE LIVE EVENT: Meaning Beyond Macros!!!  Episode Summary: Most resolutions don't fail because people are lazy or unmotivated — they fail because they start at the surface level. In this episode, Jess pulls back the curtain on what's really happening beneath our habits and goals, using her own “biofeedback story” around money as a powerful example of how the nervous system shapes behavior. You'll learn why traditional willpower-based approaches fall short, how your internal landscape influences your choices, and what it actually looks like to build change that lasts — from the inside out.

According to investigative science journalist Gary Taubes, much of what we “know” about nutrition is built on weak evidence, bad assumptions, and decades of groupthink. In this episode of A Whole New Level, Taubes joins Mike Haney to examine how nutrition science went off the rails—and why he remains convinced the carbohydrate–insulin model still offers the most coherent explanation for obesity.Taubes explains how observational studies became policy, why randomized trials are often ignored, and why questioning the calorie-balance model remains controversial despite mounting contradictions. The conversation is less about winning an argument and more about how science should actually work—especially when public health is at stake.⁠Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠⁠⁠

Dr. Pai explains how inflammation fuels chronic disease and how the average American diet—rich in meat, dairy, and processed food—drives illness. #Inflammation #ChronicDisease #StandardAmericanDiet #PlantBasedHealth

This episode explores how asking better questions and using stronger methods can resolve much of the confusion in nutrition science. Dr. Daniel Ibsen discusses why nutrition research often produces conflicting results and how careful methodological thinking can clarify true diet-disease relationships. Nutrition science has unique challenges – diets are complex, people self-report their food intake imperfectly, and we can't easily run long-term diet experiments on people. Dr. Ibsen explains how embracing concepts like food substitution analysis, the "target trial" framework, and objective dietary assessment can strengthen evidence. The episode centers on methodological insights that make nutrition research more reliable and actionable. Key themes include defining dietary comparisons explicitly (the "compared to what?" question), considering people's starting diets, and using causal inference techniques to design better studies. Daniel B. Ibsen is an epidemiologist and nutritional scientist whose work bridges rigorous causal inference methods with real-world diet and cardiometabolic disease research. He is an Associate Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark. Timestamps [00:13] Introduction to the topic [03:23] Interview start [08:02] The importance of asking the right questions in nutrition science [22:18] Understanding causal inference in nutrition [28:58] Challenges and approaches in nutrition epidemiology [32:07] Mimicking dietary interventions in studies [32:55] Target trial framework [39:52] Objective vs. subjective dietary assessment [47:01] Why causal effects of ultra-processed foods cannot be identified Links/Resources: Go to the episode page (with links to mentioned studies) Join the Sigma email newsletter for free Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium Enroll in the next cohort of our Applied Nutrition Literacy course

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

In this special holiday episode, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte revisit their classic conversation about vitamin D—diving into the science, surprising updates, and practical tips for your health. Whether you've heard it before or are tuning in for the first time, this "blast from the past" is the perfect way to kick off 2026 with wisdom, laughs, and a little bit of eggnog recovery. Read more at https://www.grc.com/health Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Dr. Luke Wilson and Vesanto Melina, R.D., review compelling research supporting the remarkable disease-preventive benefits of whole food, plant-based diets. Learn how dietary shifts can significantly reduce chronic disease risk and enhance overall wellness. #PlantBasedResearch #ChronicDiseasePrevention #NutritionScience

Christopher Gardner is Director of Nutrition Studies Research Group and Professor at Stanford School of Medicine. For over 2 decades, he has studied what to eat and what to avoid, influencing best practices and food systems. In this episode, Christopher discusses the American perspective on protein and how it shifts from the balanced diet. He dives into the U.S. dietary guidelines, the exhaustive process behind their creation, and the challenges experts face in making it official. Lastly, he talks about ‘stealth nutrition,’ an entertaining and educational way into hooking the public into better food habits. Resources and links: Stanford Medicine Nutrition Studies Group Website Christopher Gardner on LinkedIn Connect: Future Fork podcast website Paul Newnham on Instagram Paul Newnham on X Paul Newnham on LinkedIn Disruptive Consulting Solutions website SDG2 Advocacy Hub website SDG2 Advocacy Hub on X SDG2 Advocacy Hub on Facebook SDG2 Advocacy Hub on LinkedIn This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

In this episode, Tina chats with Dr. Holly Wyatt, an endocrinologist with over 20 years of clinical experience in long-term weight loss maintenance. She discusses the complexities of weight regulation, the role of hormones, and transitioning from weight loss to maintenance. She emphasizes the importance of physical activity, proper meal timing, and a supportive environment in sustaining weight loss. She also deep dives into the impact of GLP-1 medications and strategies for maintaining weight after discontinuing these drugs. Here's what you'll learn: - Why “doing everything right” can still leave you stuck - The silent ways your environment shapes your metabolism - How living in fat-loss mode for too long backfires on your body - How to know when it's time to move from fat loss to maintenance - The shift that separates short-term results from lifelong success - What to do before layering in advanced supports like peptides or hormones - Why meal timing might matter more than calorie math - The key mindset change every woman needs for sustainable results Losing the Weight Loss Meds: A 10-Week Playbook for Stopping GLP-1 Medications Without Regaining the Weight https://rstyle.me/+xYw7h91GamED25O5ZYRI1A Connect with Tina Haupert: https://carrotsncake.com/ Facebook: Carrots 'N' Cake https://www.facebook.com/carrotsncake Instagram: @carrotsncake https://www.instagram.com/carrotsncake YouTube: Tina Haupert https://www.youtube.com/user/carrotsncake About Tina Haupert: Tina Haupert is the owner of Carrots ‘N' Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). Tina and her team use functional testing and a personalized approach to nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals. Connect with Dr. Holly Wyatt: https://www.weightwisdom.com Podcast: https://www.weightlossand.com/ About Dr. Holly Wyatt: Dr. Holly Wyatt is a physician, endocrinologist, and nationally recognized leader in weight loss and long-term weight management. With more than 25 years of clinical and research experience, she's helped thousands of people lose significant weight, keep it off, and transform their health. Millions came to know her as the physician on ABC's Extreme Weight Loss, where she guided participants through dramatic real-world transformations. She also coauthored the bestselling book State of Slim and created the SOS programs, which give people science-based strategies to reset metabolism, manage appetite, and build a strong mindstate for success. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Dr. Wyatt serves as Professor of Nutrition Sciences, where she teaches the next generation of health professionals and leads research on what it really takes to maintain weight loss long-term. She's also the co-host of the Weight Loss and… podcast, where she translates science into practical strategies people can use right away. Away from the classroom and camera, Holly is usually chasing after her blue-eyed merle pug, Bodie — a constant reminder that curiosity, energy, and joy matter as much as results.

In this episode, Kelly Brownell speaks with Jerold Mande, CEO of Nourish Science, adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, and former Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety at the USDA. They discuss the alarming state of children's health in America, the challenges of combating poor nutrition, and the influence of the food industry on public policy. The conversation explores the parallels between the tobacco and food industries and proposes new strategies for ensuring children reach adulthood in good health. Mande emphasizes the need for radical changes in food policy and the role of public health in making these changes. Transcript So, you co-founded this organization along with Jerome Adams, Bill Frist and Thomas Grumbly, as we said, to ensure every child breaches age 18 at a healthy weight and in good metabolic health. That's a pretty tall order given the state of the health of youth today in America. But let's start by you telling us what inspired this mission and what does it look like to achieve this in today's food environment? I was trained in public health and also in nutrition and in my career, which has been largely in service of the public and government, I've been trying to advance those issues. And unfortunately over the arc of my career from when I started to now, particularly in nutrition and public health, it's just gotten so much worse. Indeed today Americans have the shortest lifespans by far. We're not just last among the wealthy countries, but we're a standard deviation last. But probably most alarming of all is how sick our children are. Children should not have a chronic disease. Yet in America maybe a third do. I did some work on tobacco at one point, at FDA. That was an enormous success. It was the leading cause of death. Children smoked at a higher rate, much like child chronic disease today. About a third of kids smoked. And we took that issue on, and today it's less than 2%. And so that shows that government can solve these problems. And since we did our tobacco work in the early '90s, I've changed my focus to nutrition and public health and trying to fix that. But we've still made so little progress. Give us a sense of how far from that goal we are. So, if the goal is to make every child reaching 18 at a healthy weight and in good metabolic health, what percentage of children reaching age 18 today might look like that? It's probably around a half or more, but we're not quite sure. We don't have good statistics. One of the challenges we face in nutrition is, unfortunately, the food industry or other industries lobby against funding research and data collection. And so, we're handicapped in that way. But we do know from the studies that CDC and others have done that about 20% of our children have obesity about a similar number have Type 2 diabetes or the precursors, pre-diabetes. You and I started off calling it adult-onset diabetes and they had to change that name to a Type 2 because it's becoming so common in kids. And then another disease, fatty liver disease, really unthinkable in kids. Something that the typical pediatrician would just never see. And yet in the last decade, children are the fastest growing group. I think we don't know an exact number, but today, at least a third, maybe as many as half of our children have a chronic disease. Particularly a food cause chronic disease, or the precursors that show they're on the way. I remember probably going back about 20 years, people started saying that we were seeing the first generation of American children that would lead shorter lives than our parents did. And what a terrible legacy to leave our children. Absolutely. And that's why we set that overarching goal of ensuring every child reaches age 18 in good metabolic health. And the reason we set that is in my experience in government, there's a phrase we all use - what gets measured gets done. And when I worked at FDA, when I worked at USDA, what caught my attention is that there is a mission statement. There's a goal of what we're trying to achieve. And it's ensuring access to healthy options and information, like a food label. Now the problem with that, first of all, it's failed. But the problem with that is the bureaucrats that I oversaw would go into a supermarket, see a produce section, a protein section, the food labels, which I worked on, and say we've done our job. They would check those boxes and say, we've done it. And yet we haven't. And if we ensured that every child reaches age 18 at a healthy weight and good metabolic health, if the bureaucrats say how are we doing on that? They would have to conclude we're failing, and they'd have to try something else. And that's what we need to do. We need to try radically different, new strategies because what we've been doing for decades has failed. You mentioned the food industry a moment ago. Let's talk about that in a little more detail. You made the argument that food companies have substituted profits for health in how they design their products. Explain that a little bit more, if you will. And tell us how the shift has occurred and what do you think the public health cost has been? Yes, so the way I like to think of it, and your listeners should think of it, is there's a North star for food design. And from a consumer standpoint, I think there are four points on the star: taste, cost, convenience, and health. That's what they expect and want from their food. Now the challenge is the marketplace. Because that consumer, you and I, when we go to the grocery store and get home on taste, cost, and convenience, if we want within an hour, we can know whether the food we purchased met our standard there. Or what our expectations were. Not always for health. There's just no way to know in a day, a week, a month, even in a year or more. We don't know if the food we're eating is improving and maintaining our health, right? There should be a definition of food. Food should be what we eat to thrive. That really should be the goal. I borrowed that from NASA, the space agency. When I would meet with them, they said, ' Jerry, it's important. Right? It's not enough that people just survive on the food they eat in space. They really need to thrive.' And that's what WE need to do. And that's really what food does, right? And yet we have food, not only don't we thrive, but we get sick. And the reason for that is, as I was saying, the marketplace works on taste, cost and convenience. So, companies make sure their products meet consumer expectation for those three. But the problem is on the fourth point on the star: on health. Because we can't tell in even years whether it's meeting our expectation. That sort of cries out. You're at a policy school. Those are the places where government needs to step in and act and make sure that the marketplace is providing. That feedback through government. But the industry is politically strong and has prevented that. And so that has left the fourth point of the star open for their interpretation. And my belief is that they've put in place a prop. So, they're making decisions in the design of the product. They're taste, they gotta get taste right. They gotta get cost and convenience right. But rather than worrying what does it do to your health? They just, say let's do a profit. And that's resulted in this whole category of food called ultra-processed food (UPF). I actually believe in the future, whether it's a hundred years or a thousand years. If humanity's gonna thrive we need manmade food we can thrive on. But we don't have that. And we don't invest in the science. We need to. But today, ultra-processed food is manmade food designed on taste, cost, convenience, and then how do we make the most money possible. Now, let me give you one other analogy, if I could. If we were CEOs of an automobile company, the mission is to provide vehicles where people can get safely from A to point B. It's the same as food we can thrive on. That is the mission. The problem is that when the food companies design food today, they've presented to the CEO, and everyone gets excited. They're seeing the numbers, the charts, the data that shows that this food is going to meet, taste, cost, convenience. It's going to make us all this money. But the CEO should be asking this following question: if people eat this as we intend, will they thrive? At the very least they won't get sick, right? Because the law requires they can't get sick. And if the Midmanagers were honest, they'd say here's the good news boss. We have such political power we've been able to influence the Congress and the regulatory agencies. That they're not going to do anything about it. Taste, cost, convenience, and profits will work just fine. Couldn't you make the argument that for a CEO to embrace that kind of attitude you talked about would be corporate malpractice almost? That, if they want to maximize profits then they want people to like the food as much as possible. That means engineering it in ways that make people overeat it, hijacking the reward pathways in the brain, and all that kind of thing. Why in the world would a CEO care about whether people thrive? Because it's the law. The law requires we have these safety features in cars and the companies have to design it that way. And there's more immediate feedback with the car too, in terms of if you crashed right away. Because it didn't work, you'd see that. But here's the thing. Harvey Wiley.He's the founder of the food safety programs that I led at FDA and USDA. He was a chemist from academia. Came to USDA in the late 1800s. It was a time of great change in food in America. At that point, almost all of families grew their own food on a farm. And someone had to decide who's going to grow our food. It's a family conversation that needed to take place. Increasingly, Americans were moving into the cities at that time, and a brand-new industry had sprung up to feed people in cities. It was a processed food industry. And in order to provide shelf stable foods that can offer taste, cost, convenience, this new processed food industry turned to another new industry, a chemical industry. Now, it's hard to believe this, but there was a point in time that just wasn't an industry. So these two big new industries had sprung up- processed food and chemicals. And Harvey Wiley had a hypothesis that the chemicals they were using to make these processed foods were making us sick. Indeed, food poisoning back then was one of the 10 leading causes of death. And so, Harvey Wiley went to Teddy Roosevelt. He'd been trying for years within the bureaucracy and not making progress. But when Teddy Roosevelt came in, he finally had the person who listened to him. Back then, USDA was right across from the Washington Monument to the White House. He'd walk right over there into the White House and met with Teddy Roosevelt and said, ' this food industry is making us sick. We should do something about it.' And Teddy Roosevelt agreed. And they wrote the laws. And so I think what your listeners need to understand is that when you look at the job that FDA and USDA is doing, their food safety programs were created to make sure our food doesn't make us sick. Acutely sick. Not heart disease or cancer, 30, 40 years down the road, but acutely sick. No. I think that's absolutely the point. That's what Wiley was most concerned about at the time. But that's not the law they wrote. The law doesn't say acutely ill. And I'll give you this example. Your listeners may be familiar with something called GRAS - Generally Recognized as Safe. It's a big problem today. Industry co-opted the system and no longer gets approval for their food additives. And so, you have this Generally Recognized as Safe system, and you have these chemicals and people are worried about them. In the history of GRAS. Only one chemical has FDA decided we need to get that off the market because it's unsafe. That's partially hydrogenated oils or trans-fat. Does trans-fat cause acute illness? It doesn't. It causes a chronic disease. And the evidence is clear. The agency has known that it has the responsibility for both acute and chronic illness. But you're right, the industry has taken advantage of this sort of chronic illness space to say that that really isn't what you should be doing. But having worked at those agencies, I don't think they see it that way. They just feel like here's the bottom line on it. The industry uses its political power in Congress. And it shapes the agency's budget. So, let's take FDA. FDA has a billion dollars with a 'b' for food safety. For the acute food safety, you're talking about. It has less than 25 million for the chronic disease. There are about 1400 deaths a year in America due to the acute illnesses caused by our food that FDA and USDA are trying to prevent. The chronic illnesses that we know are caused by our food cause 1600 maybe a day. More than that of the acute every day. Now the agency should be spending at least half its time, if not more, worrying about those chronic illness. Why doesn't it? Because the industry used their political power in Congress to put the billion dollars for the acute illness. That's because if you get acutely ill, that's a liability concern for them. Jerry let's talk about the political influence in just a little more detail, because you're in a unique position to tell us about this because you've seen it from the inside. One mechanism through which industry might influence the political process is lobbyists. They hire lobbyists. Lobbyists get to the Congress. People make decisions based on contributions and things like that. Are there other ways the food industry affects the political process in addition to that. For example, what about the revolving door issue people talk about where industry people come into the administrative branch of government, not legislative branch, and then return to industry. And are there other ways that the political influence of the industry has made itself felt? I think first and foremost it is the lobbyists, those who work with Congress, in effect. Particularly the funding levels, and the authority that the agencies have to do that job. I think it's overwhelmingly that. I think second, is the influence the industry has. So let me back up to that a sec. As a result of that, we spend very little on nutrition research, for example. It's 4% of the NIH budget even though we have these large institutes, cancer, heart, diabetes, everyone knows about. They're trying to come up with the cures who spend the other almost 50 billion at NIH. And so, what happens? You and I have both been at universities where there are nutrition programs and what we see is it's very hard to not accept any industry money to do the research because there isn't the federal money. Now, the key thing, it's not an accident. It's part of the plan. And so, I think that the research that we rely on to do regulation is heavily influenced by industry. And it's broad. I've served, you have, others, on the national academies and the programs. When I've been on the inside of those committees, there are always industry retired scientists on those committees. And they have undue influence. I've seen it. Their political power is so vast. The revolving door, that is a little of both ways. I think the government learns from the revolving door as well. But you're right, some people leave government and try to undo that. Now, I've chosen to work in academia when I'm not in government. But I think that does play a role, but I don't think it plays the largest role. I think the thing that people should be worried about is how much influence it has in Congress and how that affects the agency's budgets. And that way I feel that agencies are corrupted it, but it's not because they're corrupted directly by the industry. I think it's indirectly through congress. I'd like to get your opinion on something that's always relevant but is time sensitive now. And it's dietary guidelines for America. And the reason I'm saying it's time sensitive is because the current administration will be releasing dietary guidelines for America pretty soon. And there's lots of discussion about what those might look like. How can they help guide food policy and industry practices to support healthier children and families? It's one of the bigger levers the government has. The biggest is a program SNAP or food stamps. But beyond that, the dietary guidelines set the rules for government spending and food. So, I think often the way the dietary guidelines are portrayed isn't quite accurate. People think of it in terms of the once (food) Pyramid now the My Plate that's there. That's the public facing icon for the dietary guidelines. But really a very small part. The dietary guidelines are meant to help shape federal policy, not so much public perception. It's there. It's used in education in our schools - the (My) Plate, previously the (Food) Pyramid. But the main thing is it should shape what's served in government feeding programs. So principally that should be SNAP. It's not. But it does affect the WIC program- Women, Infants and Children, the school meals program, all of the military spending on food. Indeed, all spending by the government on food are set, governed by, or directed by the dietary guidelines. Now some of them are self-executing. Once the dietary guidelines change the government changes its behavior. But the biggest ones are not. They require rulemaking and in particular, today, one of the most impactful is our kids' meals in schools. So, whatever it says in these dietary guidelines, and there's reason to be alarmed in some of the press reports, it doesn't automatically change what's in school meals. The Department of Agriculture would have to write a rule and say that the dietary guidelines have changed and now we want to update. That usually takes an administration later. It's very rare one administration could both change the dietary guidelines and get through the rulemaking process. So, people can feel a little reassured by that. So, how do you feel about the way things seem to be taking shape right now? This whole MAHA movement Make America Healthy Again. What is it? To me what it is we've reached this tipping point we talked about earlier. The how sick we are, and people are saying, 'enough. Our food shouldn't make us sick at middle age. I shouldn't have to be spending so much time with my doctor. But particularly, it shouldn't be hard to raise my kids to 18 without getting sick. We really need to fix that and try to deal with that.' But I think that the MAHA movement is mostly that. But RFK and some of the people around them have increasingly claimed that it means some very specific things that are anti-science. That's been led by the policies around vaccine that are clearly anti-science. Nutrition is more and more interesting. Initially they started out in the exact right place. I think you and I could agree the things they were saying they need to focus on: kids, the need to get ultra-processed food out of our diets, were all the right things. In fact, you look at the first report that RFK and his team put out back in May this year after the President put out an Executive Order. Mostly the right things on this. They again, focus on kids, ultra-processed food was mentioned 40 times in the report as the root cause for the very first time. And this can't be undone. You had the White House saying that the root cause of our food-caused chronic disease crisis is the food industry. That's in a report that won't change. But a lot has changed since then. They came out with a second report where the word ultra-processed food showed up only once. What do you think happened? I know what happened because I've worked in that setting. The industry quietly went to the White House, the top political staff in the White House, and they said, you need to change the report when you come out with the recommendations. And so, the first report, I think, was written by MAHA, RFK Jr. and his lieutenants. The second report was written by the White House staff with the lobbyists of the food industry. That's what happened. What you end up with is their version of it. So, what does the industry want? We have a good picture from the first Trump administration. They did the last dietary guidelines and the Secretary of Agriculture, then Sonny Perdue, his mantra to his staff, people reported to me, was the industries- you know, keep the status quo. That is what the industry wants is they really don't want the dietary guidelines to change because then they have to reformulate their products. And they're used to living with what we have and they're just comfortable with that. For a big company to reformulate a product is a multi-year effort and cost billions of dollars and it's just not what they want to have to do. Particularly if it's going to change from administration to administration. And that is not a world they want to live in. From the first and second MAHA report where they wanted to go back to the status quo away from all the radical ideas. It'll be interesting to see what happens with dietary guidelines because we've seen reports that RFK Jr. and his people want to make shifts in policies. Saying that they want to go back to the Pyramid somehow. There's a cartoon on TV, South Park, I thought it was produced to be funny. But they talked about what we need to do is we need to flip the Pyramid upside down and we need to go back to the old Pyramid and make saturated fat the sort of the core of the diet. I thought it meant to be a joke but apparently that's become a belief of some people in the MAHA movement. RFK. And so, they want to add saturated fat back to our diets. They want to get rid of plant oils from our diets. There is a lot of areas of nutrition where the science isn't settled. But that's one where it is, indeed. Again, you go back only 1950s, 1960s, you look today, heart disease, heart attacks, they're down 90%. Most of that had to do with the drugs and getting rid of smoking. But a substantial contribution was made by nutrition. Lowering saturated fat in our diets and replacing it with plant oils that they're now called seed oils. If they take that step and the dietary guidelines come out next month and say that saturated fat is now good for us it is going to be just enormously disruptive. I don't think companies are going to change that much. They'll wait it out because they'll ask themselves the question, what's it going to be in two years? Because that's how long it takes them to get a product to market. Jerry, let me ask you this. You painted this picture where every once in a while, there'll be a glimmer of hope. Along comes MAHA. They're critical of the food industry and say that the diet's making us sick and therefore we should focus on different things like ultra-processed foods. In report number one, it's mentioned 40 times. Report number two comes out and it's mentioned only once for the political reasons you said. Are there any signs that lead you to be hopeful that this sort of history doesn't just keep repeating itself? Where people have good ideas, there's science that suggests you go down one road, but the food industry says, no, we're going to go down another and government obeys. Are there any signs out there that lead you to be more hopeful for the future? There are signs to be hopeful for the future. And number one, we talked earlier, is the success we had regulating tobacco. And I know you've done an outstanding job over the years drawing the parallels between what happened in tobacco and food. And there are good reasons to do that. Not the least of which is that in the 1980s, the tobacco companies bought all the big food companies and imparted on them a lot of their lessons, expertise, and playbook about how to do these things. And so that there is a tight link there. And we did succeed. We took youth smoking, which was around a 30 percent, a third, when we began work on this in the early 1990s when I was at FDA. And today it's less than 2%. It's one area with the United States leads the world in terms of what we've achieved in public health. And there's a great benefit that's going to come to that over the next generation as all of those deaths are prevented that we're not quite seeing yet. But we will. And that's regardless of what happens with vaping, which is a whole different story about nicotine. But this idea success and tobacco. The food industry has a tobacco playbook about how to addict so many people and make so much money and use their political power. We have a playbook of how to win the public health fight. So, tell us about that. What you're saying is music to my ears and I'm a big believer in exactly what you're saying. So, what is it? What does that playbook look like and what did we learn from the tobacco experience that you think could apply into the food area? There are a couple of areas. One is going to be leadership and we'll have to come back to that. Because the reason we succeeded in tobacco was the good fortune of having a David Kessler at FDA and Al Gore as Vice President. Nothing was, became more important to them than winning this fight against a big tobacco. Al Gore because his sister died at a young age of smoking. And David Kessler became convinced that this was the most important thing for public health that he could do. And keep in mind, when he came to FDA, it was the furthest thing from his mind. So, one of it is getting these kinds of leaders. Did does RFK Jr. and Marty McCarey match up to Al Gore? And we'll see. But the early signs aren't that great. But we'll see. There's still plenty of time for them to do this and get it right. The other thing is having a good strategy and policy about how to do it. And here, with tobacco, it was a complete stretch, right? There was no where did the FDA get authority over tobacco? And indeed, we eventually needed the Congress to reaffirm that authority to have the success we did. As we talked earlier, there's no question FDA was created to make sure processed food and the additives and processed food don't make us sick. So, it is the core reason the agency exists is to make sure that if there's a thing called ultra-processed food, man-made food, that is fine, but we have to thrive when we eat it. We certainly can't be made sick when we eat it. Now, David Kessler, I mentioned, he's put forward a petition, a citizens' petition to FDA. Careful work by him, he put months of effort into this, and he wrote basically a detailed roadmap for RFK and his team to use if they want to regulate ultra-processed stuff food. And I think we've gotten some, initially good feedback from the MAHA RFK people that they're interested in this petition and may take action on it. So, the basic thrust of the Kessler petition from my understanding is that we need to reconsider what's considered Generally Recognized as Safe. And that these ultra-processed foods may not be considered safe any longer because they produce all this disease down the road. And if MAHA responds positively initially to the concept, that's great. And maybe that'll have legs, and something will actually happen. But is there any reason to believe the industry won't just come in and quash this like they have other things? This idea of starting with a petition in the agency, beginning an investigation and using its authority is the blueprint we used with tobacco. There was a petition we responded, we said, gee, you raised some good points. There are other things we put forward. And so, what we hope to see here with the Kessler petition is that the FDA would put out what's called an advanced notice of a proposed rulemaking with the petition. This moves it from just being a petition to something the agency is saying, we're taking this seriously. We're putting it on the record ourselves and we want industry and others now to start weighing in. Now here's the thing, you have this category of ultra-processed food that because of the North Star I talked about before, because the industry, the marketplace has failed and gives them no incentive to make sure that we thrive, that keeps us from getting sick. They've just forgotten about that and put in place profits instead. The question is how do you get at ultra-processed food? What's the way to do it? How do you start holding the industry accountable? Now what RFK and the MAHA people started with was synthetic color additives. That wasn't what I would pick but, it wasn't a terrible choice. Because if you talk to Carlos Monteiro who coined the phrase ultra-processed food, and you ask him, what is an ultra-processed food, many people say it's this industrial creation. You can't find the ingredients in your kitchen. He agrees with all that, but he thinks the thing that really sets ultra-processed food, the harmful food, is the cosmetics that make them edible when they otherwise won't I've seen inside the plants where they make the old fashioned minimally processed food versus today's ultra-processed. In the minimally processed plants, I recognize the ingredients as food. In today's plants, you don't recognize anything. There are powders, there's sludges, there's nothing that you would really recognize as food going into it. And to make that edible, they use the cosmetics and colors as a key piece of that. But here's the problem. It doesn't matter if the color is synthetic or natural. And a fruit loop made with natural colors is just as bad for you as one made with synthetics. And indeed, it's been alarming that the agency has fast tracked these natural colors and as replacements because, cyanide is natural. We don't want to use that. And the whole approach has been off and it like how is this going to get us there? How is this focus on color additives going to get us there. And it won't. Yeah, I agree. I agree with your interpretation of that. But the thing with Kessler you got part of it right but the main thing he did is say you don't have to really define ultra-processed food, which is another industry ploy to delay action. Let's focus on the thing that's making us sick today. And that's the refined carbohydrates. The refined grains in food. That's what's most closely linked to the obesity, the diabetes we're seeing today. Now in the 1980s, the FDA granted, let's set aside sugar and white flour, for example, but they approved a whole slew of additives that the companies came forward with to see what we can add to the white flour and sugar to make it shelf stable, to meet all the taste, cost, and convenience considerations we have. And profit-making considerations we have. Back then, heart disease was the driving health problem. And so, it was easy to overlook why you didn't think that the these additives were really harmful. That then you could conclude whether Generally Recognized as Safe, which is what the agency did back then. What Kessler is saying is that what he's laid out in his petition is self-executing. It's not something that the agency grants that this is GRAS or not GRAS. They were just saying things that have historical safe use that scientists generally recognize it as safe. It's not something the agency decides. It's the universe of all of us scientists generally accept. And it's true in the '80s when we didn't face the obesity and diabetes epidemic, people didn't really focus on the refined carbohydrates. But if you look at today's food environment. And I hope you agree with this, that what is the leading driver in the food environment about what is it about ultra-processed food that's making us so sick? It's these refined grains and the way they're used in our food. And so, if the agency takes up the Kessler petition and starts acting on it, they don't have to change the designation. Maybe at some point they have to say some of these additives are no longer GRAS. But what Kessler's saying is by default, they're no longer GRAS because if you ask the scientists today, can we have this level of refined grains? And they'd say, no, that's just not Generally Recognized as Safe. So, he's pointing out that status, they no longer hold that status. And if the agency would recognize that publicly and the burden shifts where Wiley really always meant it to be, on the industry to prove that there are foods or things that we would thrive on, but that wouldn't make us sick. And so that's the key point that you go back to when you said, and you're exactly right that if you let the industry use their political power to just ignore health altogether and substitute profits, then you're right. Their sort of fiduciary responsibility is just to maximize profits and they can ignore health. If you say you can maximize profits, of course you're a capitalist business, but one of the tests you have to clear is you have to prove to us that people can thrive when they eat that. Thrive as the standard, might require some congressional amplification because it's not in the statute. But what is in the statute is the food can't make you sick. If scientists would generally recognize, would say, if you eat this diet as they intend, if you eat this snack food, there's these ready to heat meals as they intend, you're going to get diabetes and obesity. If scientists generally believe that, then you can't sell that. That's just against the law and the agency needs them to enforce the law. Bio:   Jerold Mande is CEO of Nourish Science; Adjunct Professor of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University. Professor Mande has a wealth of expertise and experience in national public health and food policy. He served in senior policymaking positions for three presidents at USDA, FDA, and OSHA helping lead landmark public health initiatives. In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama as USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. In 2011, he moved to USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, where he spent six years working to improve the health outcomes of the nation's $100 billion investment in 15 nutrition programs. During President Clinton's administration, Mr. Mande was Senior Advisor to the FDA commissioner where he helped shape national policy on nutrition, food safety, and tobacco. He also served on the White House staff as a health policy advisor and was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Health at the Department of Labor. During the George H.W. Bush administration he led the graphic design of the iconic Nutrition Facts label at FDA, for which he received the Presidential Design Award. Mr. Mande began his career as a legislative assistant for Al Gore in the U.S. House and Senate, managing Gore's health and environment agenda, and helping Gore write the nation's organ donation and transplantation laws.  Mande earned a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in nutritional science from the University of Connecticut. Prior to his current academic appointments, he served on the faculty at the Tufts, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and Yale School of Medicine.

I am delighted to connect with Dr. Sarah Berry today. She is a professor at King's College London and the Chief Scientist at the science and nutrition company, Zoe. As an academic leader in nutrition science, Sarah has conducted over 35 human nutritional studies, and she currently leads the world's largest in-depth nutrition research project, the ZOE Predict Study. Her research is at the forefront of personalized nutrition, deepening our understanding of fats and the structure of food. Her recent studies explore menopause, snacking, cardiometabolic health, and more.  In our conversation today, we explore the general tendency of social and other media to misrepresent nutrition and discuss the importance of the food landscape, the food matrix, and fiber in addition to bioindividuality and personalized nutrition. Dr. Berry explains why bowel cancer rates in young adults are increasing and the potential drivers of that, and we dive into the impact of the exposome, the influence of menopause on our microbiome, and cardiometabolic risk factors. We examine the importance of polyphenols and other bioactive compounds, the demonization of fats and cholesterol, and we tackle the misinformation surrounding seed oils, clarifying why we should remain open-minded. We also share some simple swaps that women in perimenopause and menopause can apply.  This conversation with Dr. Sarah Berry is rich and thought-provoking, so you will likely want to listen to it more than once. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How food labelling is so often misleading Why you should be cautious about taking nutritional advice from medical influencers The importance of considering the underlying factors that determine how healthy a particular food is   Why fiber is essential for a healthy microbiome How to avoid discomfort by spreading your fiber intake throughout the day The importance of personalized nutrition Potential drivers of early-onset colorectal cancer How the microbiome composition changes after menopause The value of polyphenols and dietary fat  Dr. Berry debunks common misconceptions about seed oils versus butter Some simple swaps to help women in perimenopause and menopause get enough fiber into their diets Bio:  Professor Sarah Berry Sarah is a Professor at King's College London and Chief Scientist at ZOE, the science and nutrition company. As an academic leader in Nutrition Science, Sarah has conducted over 35 human nutrition studies and currently leads the world's largest in-depth nutrition research program, the ZOE PREDICT study. Her research is at the forefront of personalised nutrition, our understanding of fats, and the food structure. Sarah's recent studies explore topics such as menopause, snacking, and cardiometabolic health. She's often featured as an expert on ZOE's own podcast, ZOE Science and Nutrition, and regularly appears on television and radio to translate complex science into useful advice. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow   Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia's website Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com Connect with Dr. Sarah Berry On Instagram The Zoe Science and Nutrition Podcast

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with Dr. Christina Economos, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. They talk about democratizing food and nutrition education, the community-led Food is Medicine research the Friedman School is advancing in the Mississippi Delta, and creating pathways for the next generation of leaders working to improve food, nutrition, and public health systems. While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

Navigating the Complexities of Antinutrients in Your Diet: Leyla Muedin, a registered dietitian nutritionist, delves into the controversial topic of antinutrients. Responding to a question from a listener named Deanna, Leyla explains the different types of antinutrients—such as phytates, oxalates, tannins, lectins, goitrogens, and phytoestrogens—and their potential impacts on nutrient absorption. She discusses the dual nature of these compounds, highlighting their possible negative effects along with their roles in health benefits like gut microbiota support and anti-cancer properties. Leyla also shares practical food preparation tips for mitigating the adverse effects of antinutrients and emphasizes the importance of dietary variety.

Peak Performance Nutrition! Hunter Baum is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) currently working with U.S. Ski and Snowboard in Park City, UT. Previously, Hunter has worked with the Miami Marlins in Major League Baseball and the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer. He has a master's degree in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences from Montana State University and a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and Health from the University of Wyoming. Hunter enjoys helping athletes optimize energy for performance, strategize for recovery, create game plans for their international travel schedules, and just play a small piece in an athlete's journey.