September 24, 2021 — Julia Child may have had it right. Way back in 1990, she had serious questions about dietary guidance to avoid saturated fat. At a food event in 1990, she described the response to her renowned cooking: “I hear them saying, ‘Here comes Julia, with all the cream and butter.’ “Everybody is overreacting. If fear of […]
September 23, 2021 — It’s amazing how strong the biases about dairy foods can be. In the process of developing the 2020 dietary guidelines, it came up over and over again. Negative sentiment about dairy was one of the top themes in public comments. One bias is a visceral disdain for dairy foods in any form. Some people cannot […]
September 21, 2021 — To say that our culture obsesses about weight and body image is possibly an understatement. Athleisure togs serve to emphasize it. People dress to look like they’re going for a run, to the gym, or a yoga class. And yet, this obsession divides us. Two new publications today offer a sharp contrast on this subject. […]
September 16, 2021 — Much energy these days seems to go into navigating between extreme views of important subjects. COVID-19 is a paralyzing threat or nothing to worry about. Vaccines are all we need to keep us safe from the pandemic or they’re lacking in safety and effectiveness. Having obesity will utterly destroy a person’s health, or it’s just […]
September 13, 2021 — We’ve known all along that 10,000 steps per day is a goal for physical activity that came to us out of thin air. People latched on to it because it was a nice, round number. It was memorable. But the fact is that it’s arbitrary. In fact, evidence now tells us that one size does […]
September 10, 2021 — A new study in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition asks an important question. Are Americans eating more junk food? Cutting right to the chase, the answer is no. Adults actually report eating less in 2018 than they did in 2011. Children haven’t changed their habits. Adults are getting 13 percent […]
September 7, 2021 — Care delayed is care denied. The truth of this is obvious in emergency medicine. In the case of a stroke or a traumatic injury, unnecessary delays in care lead to immediate harm. But with a chronic, progressive disease, the harm can be more subtle. Add in systemic bias and delayed care can become quite a […]
August 29, 2021 — Momentum seems to be growing for more explicit labeling of healthy and unhealthy foods. The Nutri-Score system has gained acceptance in Europe, albeit with some opposition along the way. It is a five color nutrition label that gives a product a score ranging from A to E. Originating in France, the European Commission and the […]
August 25, 2021 — September is at our doorstep and it is National Childhood Obesity Month. In the course of this month, you will hear lots about healthy eating and active living. This has been the dominant theme since this observance began. The implicit message is to urge families and youth to heal themselves. Not a bad idea, but […]
August 24, 2021 — Popular wisdom holds that we should be substituting plants and for animals in the sources of our food. The reasoning comes down to impact on the environment and arguments for reducing saturated fats in our diets. Much of the writing on this subject – even in scientific journals – comes from a perspective of advocacy. […]
