Diet Doctor Podcast #91:
The challenge of nutrition science
Nutrition science is challenging to conduct and often even more challenging to interpret. That can make it confusing for individuals deciding what to eat or clinicians deciding what diets to recommend. But through a greater understanding of how nutritional science works, we may be better informed as we work to interpret the research.
In this episode, I interview science journalist Gary Taubes about his journey to promote better science through his role as co-founder of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI) and the ups and downs of trying to do things “right.” After closing NuSI at the end of 2021, Taubes ultimately comes to controversial and intriguing conclusions.
I also have the privilege of interviewing nutritional epidemiologist Deirdre Tobias to get a different perspective on what it means to do things “right” in nutrition science. Her thoughtfulness and perspective provide some hope for improvements as nutritional epidemiology evolves.
Can nutrition science tell you what to eat? Let’s find out…
About the video
Virtual podcast recorded in January 2022, published in February 2022.
Host: Dr. Bret Scher
Producer: Hari Dewang
Table of contents
00:00 Introduction
03:12 Gary Taubes
05:13 NuSI and the motivation behind it
11:09 The significance of the studies from NuSI
19:09 Challenges with the energy balance study
26:34 Polarization in the world of nutrition
32:26 The difficulties of conducting a nutrition science research
43:16 Learnings from past histories of NuSI
49:52 Deirdre Tobias, PhD
51:58 Nutritional epidemiology vs randomized control trials
57:21 The strength of the evidence and recommendation
1:06:31 The long-withstanding challenges of nutrition
1:15:50 Conclusion
Nutrition science is challenging to conduct and often even more challenging to interpret. That can make it confusing for individuals deciding what to eat or clinicians deciding what diets to recommend. But through a greater understanding of how nutritional science works, we may be better informed as we work to interpret the research.
In this episode, I interview science journalist Gary Taubes about his journey to promote better science through his role as co-founder of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI) and the ups and downs of trying to do things “right.” After closing NuSI at the end of 2021, Taubes ultimately comes to controversial and intriguing conclusions.
I also have the privilege of interviewing nutritional epidemiologist Deirdre Tobias to get a different perspective on what it means to do things “right” in nutrition science. Her thoughtfulness and perspective provide some hope for improvements as nutritional epidemiology evolves.
Can nutrition science tell you what to eat? Let’s find out…
About the video
Virtual podcast recorded in January 2022, published in February 2022.
Host: Dr. Bret Scher
Producer: Hari Dewang
