Nutrition and Diet

The rise in the U.S. calorie supply responsible for the obesity epidemic wasn’t just about more food, but a different kind of food. The rise in the number of calories provided by the food supply since the 1970s “is more than sufficient to explain the US epidemic of obesity.” Similar spikes in calorie surplus were […] More

Why are U.S. taxpayers giving billions of dollars to support the likes of the sugar and meat industries? The rise in calorie surplus sufficient to explain the obesity epidemic was less a change in food quantity than in food quality. Access to cheap, high-calorie, low-quality convenience foods exploded, and the federal government very much played […] More

We had the pleasure of talking with Alexa Soto about her work, food, Mexican cuisine, and Hispanic Heritage Month. We hope you enjoy this interview and her Vegan Calabacitas con Crema recipe.   As an expert in Mexican cuisine with a plant-based twist, how have you found food to be an important part of your […] More

The Buchinger-modified fasting program is put to the test. A century ago, fasting—“starvation, as a therapeutic measure”—was described as “the ideal measure for the human hog…” (Fat shaming is not a new invention in the medical literature.) I’ve covered fasting for weight loss extensively in a nine-video series, but what about all the other purported […] More

The unprecedented rise in the power, scope, and sophistication of food marketing starting around 1980 aligns well with the blastoff slope of the obesity epidemic. In the 1970s, the U.S. government went from just subsidizing some of the worst foods to paying companies to make more of them: “Congress passed laws reversing long-standing farm policies […] More

We all like to think we make important life decisions, like what to eat, consciously and rationally, but if that were the case, we wouldn’t be in the midst of an obesity epidemic. The opening words of the Institute of Medicine’s report on the potential threat posed by food ads were: “Marketing works.” Certainly, there […] More

Where did the idea of therapeutic fasting come from? The story of life on Earth is a story of starvation. Ash from massive volcanoes and asteroids blocked out the sun, which killed the plants, which then killed almost everything else. As Darwin pointed out: “Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the […] More

The most effective diet for weight loss may also be the most healthful. Why are vegetarian diets so effective in preventing and treating diabetes? Maybe it is because of the weight loss. As I discuss in my video The Best Diet for Weight Loss and Disease Prevention, those eating more plant-based tend to be significantly […] More

The power of the “eat more” food environment can overcome our conscious controls. Food and beverage companies frame body weight as “a matter of personal choice.” Even when we aren’t distracted, the power of the “eat more” food environment may sometimes overcome our conscious controls of overeating. One look around the room at a dietician […] More

Like the tobacco industry adding extra nicotine to cigarettes, the food industry employs taste engineers to accomplish a similar goal of maximizing the irresistibility of its products. The plague of tobacco deaths wasn’t due just to the mass manufacturing and marketing of cheap cigarettes. Tobacco companies actively sought to make their products even more crave-able […] More

I recommend glass, ceramic, porcelain, or stainless steel tableware and wooden or stainless steel cooking utensils. Melamine is used to make a variety of hard plastic “food contact items such as cups, plates, bowls, and utensils because they are dishwasher safe, inexpensive, and durable.” If that word sounds familiar, it may be because melamine has […] More

Implausible explanations for the obesity epidemic serve the needs of food manufacturers and marketers more than public health and an interest in truth. When it comes to uncovering the root causes of the obesity epidemic, there appears to be manufactured confusion, “with major studies reasserting that the causes of obesity are ‘extremely complex’ and ‘fiendishly […] More