Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

We are living in an age of low trust. Trust in scientists declined through the pandemic and around the world, trust in elected officials registers at very low levels. Because of this, we are absolutely not surprised with the frequent finger-pointing and stories about conflicts of interest in nutrition and obesity. These are subjects that […]

Scientific progress is sometimes tedious, but inevitable nonetheless. And thanks to progress in nutrition research, at long last, we have a clear understanding of the root cause of obesity. It is hyper-palatable food – too much food that tastes too good. A new analysis in the Lancer Nutrition provides the confirmation that food policy experts […]

Food is medicine, say folks in certain food policy circles, and we have an abundant supply of it – especially in the U.S. So why is it true in this country that we have more food, find less joy in it, and live shorter lives? Eating More, Enjoying It Less, Losing Years of Life American […]

More and more, dietary health guidance points us to consider whole foods and how they fit into the overall pattern of our eating. Advice that divides individual foods or nutrients between good and bad labels is not so helpful because context matters. And yet, advice to avoid saturated fat remains ubiquitous. Perhaps such a broad […]

Has the FDA bitten off more than it can chew? Two presidents ago, back in 2016, the FDA told us the agency had begun work to “redefine the term ‘healthy’” for food labels. Good luck with that is a fair summary of our reaction at the time. Seven years later, the quest to define objectively […]

Often indirectly, but sometimes directly, we hear from true believers in concepts attached to obesity, nutrition, and public policy. The embedded question is “Why do you doubt this article of faith?” Among the many articles of faith in this realm is the belief that if we deliver just the right education or just the right […]

It’s official. Food Is Medicine can now take chocolate under its wings. It only took five years, but the FDA has rendered regulatory judgment to officially permit the following claim for the health benefits of chocolate: “Cocoa flavanols in high flavanol cocoa powder may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, although FDA has concluded that […]

In the realm of food, boogeymen come and go. But right now, the bad actor with staying power in global diets seems to be ultra-processed, industrially formulated, and hyper-marketed foods. What’s not to hate about them? There’s plenty of observational data, and even some good experimental data to make us suspicious. It gives us good […]

Are we reaching a point where the reductive assumptions embedded in dietary recommendations are more confusing than helpful? A new paper in Scientific Reports begs this question. Yutang Wang and colleagues find evidence that polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with a small reduction in cardiovascular mortality in the general population of the U.S., but not […]

In plain view, we have an interesting study of contrasts in cultural concepts for healthy eating. Americans have our Food and Drug Administration looking for criteria it can use to award a claim of “healthy” to some foods and not to others. For example, a freshly baked French baguette won’t qualify. Not enough whole grain. […]