August 21, 2018 — This is a plea for perspective. For all of human history, people have yearned for longer and healthier lives. That pursuit became an obsession for some notable entrepreneurs in the Victorian era. For example, the wellness obsessions of John Harvey Kellogg and C.W. Post gave us Corn Flakes and Grape-Nuts. They became big brands through […]
August 19, 2018 — We don’t recommend learning nutrition from headlines. However, if you did, you might certainly think that we can live better without eating sugar. For that matter, why just stop with cutting sugar? Healthline offers you 15 ways to cut carbs for major health benefits. But now, some very clickable headlines are telling us that cutting carbs […]
August 16, 2018 — By their very nature, dietary guidelines have a shaky relationship with the reality of what we eat. Before 1977, Americans had no guidelines for what they should eat. But then, a senate select committee published dietary goals for Americans. In 1980, those “goals” became the first edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans Controversial from the […]
August 15, 2018 — It’s an easy mistake to make. “It’s poverty, not individual choice that is driving extraordinary obesity levels,” writes Martin Cohen in The Conversation. That seems like a reasonable sentiment. But it’s not quite true. A Messy Correlation The truth is that poverty can predict a higher risk of obesity – in some cases. But not all. […]
August 14, 2018 — Scientists in Minnesota are busy taking trans and saturated fats out of soybean oil. Of course, that’s a good thing. Right? Editing Your Food’s Genes with CRISPR and TALEN The first generation of genetically-modified foods was a bit clumsy. That started in the 1980s with “genetic engineering” that used bacteria and viruses used to modify […]
August 6, 2018 — Every day, our news feeds fill up with sensational headlines about obesity and health. Somewhere in those headlines, important new truths are buried. But mostly, you’ll find hype. When we all have so many things competing for our attention, how can we filter through all this noise? Here are five clues for doing just that. […]
August 5, 2018 — No snickering, because this is already a thing. Forget about beef and chicken. Crickets are on the way to becoming the sustainable future of dietary protein. As a bonus, we even have a randomized, controlled trial to tell us cricket powder might make a healthful breakfast. Probiotic Effects Valerie Stull and colleagues conducted a blinded, […]
August 2, 2018 — “Have We Lost Our Food Skills and How to Get Them Back” was the bait-clicky headline of a recent piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. The article by Paula Goodyer with contributions from dietitians including Profs. Clare Collins and Margaret Allman-Farinelli makes the point that “a host of factors have led to a generation who […]
July 30, 2018 — A popular meme tells us that we’re living in a post fact era. Consistent with that idea, Julia Shaw writes in Scientific American that she’s a scientist and she doesn’t believe in facts. But on the other side of the fence, we have folks like Daniel Engber telling us it’s a bogus story. Resistance to […]
July 28, 2018 — It’s becoming a popular story. Maybe you shouldn’t worry so much about what you eat. Instead you should focus on when you eat. Meal timing is a hot concept among health writers right now. Professor Satchin is selling a new book, The Circadian Code, with a promise to “transform your health.” The New York Times ran […]
