Diet Doctor Podcast #107:
Can we improve the Dietary Guidelines?
Cinnamon rolls, chocolate milk, pizza, and biscuits. Do these sound like healthy foods to you? According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), these foods meet our standards and can be fed to our children, military, seniors, and just about everyone else.
A clear disconnect exists between what rigorous science suggests is healthy and what the guidelines recommend. Why does this disconnect exist, and what can we do about it?
Award-winning journalist and author Nina Teicholz joins us to talk about the DGA, reviewing what has changed (and hasn’t changed) in the past few years and what we can do about it.
Nina dedicates herself — along with the advocacy group she founded, The Nutrition Coalition — to promoting the need for rigorous scientific evaluation of the DGA. While we’ve made some progress, you’ll hear how conflicts of interest, scientific contradictions, and willful disregard of science continue to permeate the guidelines.
The information Nina uncovered sounds like a fictional spy thriller, but it is all true, and will likely infuriate you. But don’t get dejected. You can make a difference. You can help make sure future versions of the DGA are based on science, and Nina tells you how.
About the video
Virtual podcast recorded in September 2022, published in October 2022.
Host: Dr. Bret Scher
Producer: Hari Dewang
Table of contents
00:00 Introduction
01:24 The current state of the US Dietary Guideline
08:44 Who’s responsible for this recommendation?
13:58 USDA ignoring the science on low carb diets
20:34 The White House conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health
27:36 USDA doesn’t acknowledge individualized diet interventions
34:25 The disclosure of conflict of interest for the guideline committee
39:28 Having an independent nutrition guideline free from conflicts of interest
42:19 Contradictions of science and recommendations from the guideline
47:46 An opportunity to push the movement further
52:25 Final thoughts
A clear disconnect exists between what rigorous science suggests is healthy and what the guidelines recommend. Why does this disconnect exist, and what can we do about it?
Award-winning journalist and author Nina Teicholz joins us to talk about the DGA, reviewing what has changed (and hasn’t changed) in the past few years and what we can do about it.
Nina dedicates herself — along with the advocacy group she founded, The Nutrition Coalition — to promoting the need for rigorous scientific evaluation of the DGA. While we’ve made some progress, you’ll hear how conflicts of interest, scientific contradictions, and willful disregard of science continue to permeate the guidelines.
The information Nina uncovered sounds like a fictional spy thriller, but it is all true, and will likely infuriate you. But don’t get dejected. You can make a difference. You can help make sure future versions of the DGA are based on science, and Nina tells you how.
About the video
Virtual podcast recorded in September 2022, published in October 2022.
Host: Dr. Bret Scher
Producer: Hari Dewang
