Questions For Nina Teicholz on The Illusion of Consensus in Nutrition Science
Hi everyone,
I’m interviewing
tomorrow who wrote the book The Big Fat Surprise, which was favorably reviewed by the Lancet, BMJ, and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and was named a best book of the year by the Economist, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.We will be deep-diving into some of these false consensus views in nutrition science:
That saturated fats cause heart disease
That the vegetable (seed) oils such as soybean, canola, sunflower, and safflower that we've been told to consume to replace saturated fats are healthy alternatives
That a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats/low-fat dairy (the US Dietary Guidelines) is the most healthy option
That a Mediterranean diet is the healthiest
That a low sodium diet is healthy and should be universally applied (including to kids)
That there are "good" carbs ("healthy whole grains") and "bad" carbs (refined, processed)
That red meat is bad for health
That a low-carbohydrate diet causes heart disease and increases total mortality, among other adverse effects. Also, that it is unsustainable and unaffordable.
Do you have questions about any of these topics or other ones in nutritional science? Leave them in the comments below. Selected questions will be attributed to the commenter.
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I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners, but is there any reliable evidence that any of them are harmful or carcinogenic and in what quantities? I am old enough to remember when they took Cyclamates off the market and then said that it was not necessary to do so afterwards. (Also, there is the question of whether these artificial sweeteners result in people overconsuming calories counterintuitively.)
It's repeatedly stated that seed oils are bad, but I would like to see this explored more fully. I think there's a big difference between the highly processed, industrial seed oils found in supermarkets in plastic bottles, and organic, unrefined, cold-pressed oils, such as rice bran, sesame, flax, sunflower or nut oils. Also, any oil heated to a high temperature develops potentially unhealthy properties.