Donald 🐝 Grandy PN

8 years ago · 1 minutes of reading · ~100 ·

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Explaining Nutrition Science

Explaining Nutrition Science


Why nutrition science is so confusing



9 Reasons Eating Well Isn't As Straightforward 
As We'd Like It To Be - John Berardi, Ph.D.


From a certain perspective, nutrition science can seem like a mess. From another, it illustrates the very nature (and beauty) of the scientific process. Here we’ll explain why nutrition science is so confusing at times. 


Complaints about nutrition science .....


“You nutrition people make me mad!”
“Why so much conflicting information?”
“Why so much nonsense?”
“Why can’t you make it clear and simple?”


Lots of competing theories. One study seems to suggest one thing. The very next study seems to say the opposite.

People interested in health and fitness are stuck in the middle. Confused. Directionless.



WHY NUTRITION SCIENCE IS SO CONFUSING 9 REASONS EATING WELL ISN'T AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS WE'D LIKE ITTO BE. NUTRITION RESEARCH IS STILL YOUNG. It takes time to master a science. Compared to chemistry, for example, nutrition is in its infancy. <1200 BC Metals are first recorded and manipulated 430 BC Greek philosophers propose the idea of the atom. 300 BC Anstotle wrongly declares the existence of only four elements. 300 BC - 300 AD Alchemists try to transform lead and other cheap metals into gold 1520 Scurvy 1s successfully treated for the first time Alchemists try to make the eloxr of Ife MID-1800S 1774-1794 Researchers realize that the body oxidizes fat and carbohydrates for energy. 1902 Joseph Priestley discovers “dephlogisticated ar” (oxygen) LATE 1700S Wilbur Atwater publishes his “Atwater factors” - estimates for the metabolizable energy from carbohydrates, proten and fat n mixed diets. EARLY 1900S Vitamin A, B, C, D and E, BS, B6, B3, K, and folate are discovered. 1970S Robert Boyle disproves alchemy and Aristotle's four elements MID-1800S Chemistry becomes a science: Discoveries nclude protons, X-rays, fluorescence, electrons, radioactmty, atomic mass, relative molar mass, and more MID-1900S Researchers discover the Ink between nsk of coronary heart disease death and low HDL cholesterol level Molecular biology and biochemistry come into being with discovery of DNA. As you can s the field of By this compa MOST FUNDING GOES TO DISEASE TREATMENT, NOT PREVENTIVE NUTRITION. Most researchers would rather ask, “How can we end this epidemic?” than, “How can we get abs?" 2016 U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH FUNDING BY AREA OF RESEARCH @ Ootimal nutrition Diabetes, digestwe and kidney diseases Heart, lung, blood diseases (plus obesity research) Cancer 0.5 | BILLIONS OF U.S. DOLLARS OTHER NUTRITION QUESTIONS ARE OFTEN FUNDED BY INTERESTED PARTIES. Where funding comes from can affect what studies find. CAN SUGARY DRINKS LEAD TO WEIGHT GAIN? YES NO a a Studies WITH financial conflict of interest Studies with NO financial conflict of interest This doesn't mean researchers are cheating. At the same time, corporate pressures can influence study design so that the research is more likely to show what the company wants to show. CONFOUNDING VARIABLES MAKE IT HARD TO PROVE FOOD’S EFFECTS. Even in the best controlled trial, it's hard to isolate the effects of nutrition from all the other factors that affect your health. EPIGENETICS ETHNIC HERITAG WHETHER D WHEN KIDS YOUR HEALTH AGE DR.OZ DIETS YOU'VE TRIED SL E E P WHOYOUR FRIENDS ARE SMOKING NCOME CLIMAT AGE epucaTioNn H LEVEL CONSUMPTION CULTURE AVERSIONS GENDER MENTAL HEALTH PARTICIPATION IN A STUDY CAN ITSELF BECOME A CONFOUNDING VARIABLE. For example, when scientists asked subjects who normally eat breakfast to stop, and asked non-breakfast eaters to start — both groups lost weight. It was the dietary change that created weight loss, not breakfast MOST NUTRITION STUDIES ARE OBSERVATIONAL. Observational studies have subjects fill out questionnaires about their lifestyle and eating habits. This is a problem because: People are terrible at There are a lot of weird remembering what or how much they ate. Quick! What did you eat for breakfast two Tuesdays ago? Exactly. (and meaningless) correlations. One research group found that organic food sales are correlated with autism Correlation isn't causation. Does red meat cause heart disease and cancer, or do people with these chronic diseases happen to eat more red meat? Since an observational study can't account for all variables, it can't answer this question. MEASUREMENT TOOLS ALWAYS HAVE LIMITATIONS. For example, even with a straightforward question like, “How do calories affect our weight?” it's hard to get an answer, because: Calorie counts on food labels and in databases can be off by up to 50%. f We don't absorb all of the energy we consume, and there's no standard for how much energy we absorb, because ndividuals are unique Calorie burn estimates can be off by 3 - 45%. Your history of dieting and body composition influences how much energy you'll use WHAT YOU EAT DOESN'T AFFECT YOUR HEALTH RIGHT AWAY. For example, to find out whether red meat causes cancer, you'd need study subjects to live in hermetically sealed metabolic chambers and eat varying amounts of red meat for 30 years. Who's going to sign up for that? YOU CAN NEVER ASSUME A STUDY'S FINDINGS APPLY TO YOU. Even if you could seal people in a metabolic chamber for 30 years, you still couldn't be sure who else those findings would apply to. FIRST, NUTRITION STUDIES TEND TO USE SUBJECTS WHO DON'T MATCH THE GENERAL POPULATION. THEY'RE OFTEN... YOUNG AND HEALTHY Grad students are popular subjects since they live near academic study labs, have time, and need a paycheck. MALE Men are easier to study than women, whose hormenal cycles are hard to control for. SICK Subjects suffering from problems like obesity, metabolic syndrome, and/or hypertension help researchers develop treatments. Ah wv ~ / ULTRAFIT Elite athletes’ excellent physical condition minimizes variables and makes hours of exercise in the lab possible NON-HUMAN Animals are captive and have short Iifespans, making them convenient and cheap to study. Probatty more | § than others Dedritety more [ thas oes | AVERAGES POOL UNLIKE SUBJECTS. For example, a study where subjects metabolize caffeine either quickly or slowly could mistakenly show no effect of caffeine on health when 1/2 the subjects had a positive effect and 1/2 a negative one SO = Standard Deviation AVERAGES ARE BELL CURVES. Most people won't match averaged study findings (at least not precisely). IF DOING THE RESEARCH IS DIFFICUL REPORTING ON IT IS EVEN TOUGHER Journalists aren't usually trained research scientists. Which means they often * Misunderstand study conclusions. * Over-exaggerate single study findings. * Don't see how single studies fit into the big picture Indmidual studies are interesting but not often important. They usually provide only one tiny piece of a gigantic puzzle that may take thousands of years to complete.


Donald Grandy

Precision Nutrition Certification - Pn1

Sport and Exercise Coach

dongrandy@gmail.com

*This content is strictly for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement or lifestyle program.






Comments

Wayne Yoshida

8 years ago#1

This is kinda why I am starting the Paleo diet. Back to cave-man stuff, and I can eat meat without feeling guilty.

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