NutritionFacts.org Video Podcast

Which is the safest and most effective statin?

The best of soul food’s origins are tied to the plant-centric West African diet.

When statin-“intolerant” patients are challenged blindly, how many are really suffering muscle side effects?

How many people would die if we were told the truth about statins?

Since Parkinson’s is caused by a dopamine deficiency in the brain, what if we ate foods rich in the dopamine precursor levodopa?

Since there is benefit to getting our LDL cholesterol as low as possible, why aren’t statins prescribed for everyone even if we start out with optimal levels?

The tolerable daily toxin safety limits are based on single chemicals. What if “safe” levels of chemicals in seafood are combined and tested together?

Soy milk is compared to other plant-based milks, as well as dairy milk.

Should we be concerned about getting too much B12?

How are the recommended daily and weekly doses of vitamin B12 derived?

How might we maximize the therapeutic efficiency of levodopa?

Is it true we can actually absorb some B12 from our own microbiome?

A diagnosis of B12 deficiency should not be dismissed based solely on a single measurement of B12 levels in the blood.

What did a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of hibiscus tea for weight loss find?

For those eating plant-based diets, encouragement of vitamin B12 supplementation cannot be overemphasized.

What is the role of ultra-processed plant-based products in the diet?

What are the bone fracture rates of omnivores vs. vegetarians vs. vegans? Low calcium intake plus low vitamin D exposure may explain higher bone fracture rates in British vegans.

The adverse effects of taurine on our microbiome and hydrogen sulfide production may be ameliorated by diets high in fiber and low in saturated fats.

I compare the cost, convenience, and safety of various plant, animal, and supplement sources of taurine.

Almonds are put to the test in a ​​randomized controlled trial for facial wrinkles.

Even researchers from the pro-taurine anti-aging study recommend against experimenting with taurine, but if you want to give it a try, what daily dose might be best?

What are the downsides of taurine supplementation?

How can stress and menstrual cycles affect the smell of our breath?

Cautionary tales from carnitine and arginine complicate the taurine supplementation question.

The level of taurine in our bodies declines with age, dropping by nearly 80 percent. Would consuming extra improve lifespan or healthspan?

Deodorize from the inside out with food.

We have at least pathways to make taurine in our body from scratch, but does taking more offer a benefit?

What is the controversy over soy food consumption in those with subclinical hypothyroidism?

Exercising in cool water or under cool conditions on land can lead to an increase in post-workout calorie intake.

A meta-analysis of low-carb diets for diabetes remission found little to no effect at 12 months, clinically important harms to quality of life, and the deal-killer––an increase in LDL cholesterol.

Of all the plants in the world, why has the tea plant become the most popular beverage in the world?

How safe are fourth-generation sweeteners, such as the rare sugar allulose? Are they healthy alternatives to traditional sweeteners?

Broccoli sprouts don’t have the food safety risks of alfalfa sprouts.

How much of hot dogs and burgers is actual muscle meat?

Lactucin, the hypnotic component of lettuce, is put to the test in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of lettuce seeds.

Carcinogens like benzopyrene in cigarette smoke, grilled chicken, and yerba mate tea may explain higher rates of certain cancers in consumers.

Within an hour of drinking dairy milk, blood levels of the estrogen estrone in men go up and testosterone goes down.

The hormonal benefits of fenugreek extend beyond the muscle-bulking testosterone boost.

Which method of cooking vegetables preserves the most antioxidants?

Carbadox, with its 97.9 percent likelihood of causing cancer in humans, is still being fed to pigs bound for the supermarket in the United States.

By losing 15 percent of their body weight, nearly 90 percent of individuals with type 2 diabetes for less than four years may achieve remission.

The diet and supplements that have been put to the test to prevent and even reverse hearing loss.

There are certain medical conditions that are worsened by coffee intake.

What explains the Achilles’ heel in certain Asian diets?

Why do those who drink filtered coffee tend to live longer than those who drink unfiltered coffee?

In terms of longevity, three cups of decaf coffee appeared to be just as protective as three cups of regular coffee.

We co-evolved a symbiosis with our good gut bacteria, but we are not holding up our end of the bargain.

The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown, but new research indicates that mycobacteria, like MAP bacteria found in dairy and meat products, are likely involved in some sarcoidosis cases.

A plant-based lifestyle is put to the test against early and late-stage cancer

Why don’t more big payors in healthcare embrace plant-based eating?

An increasing number of case reports have linked turmeric extract supplements to liver injury.

The adverse effects of industrial pollutants in seafood may counteract the benefits of nutrients in fish.

What are the risks and benefits of using vitamin C for depression and anxiety?

Can celery, a vegetable relatively high in sodium, lower blood pressure?

Diet as a primary intervention for type 2 diabetes is the most effective in achieving remission when emphasizing whole, plant-based foods with minimal consumption of animal products.

The Squatty Potty is put to the test.

Certain soft drinks and bottled (heated) carrot juice may contain carcinogenic levels above safety standards.

How can we plan well-balanced plant-based diets for infants and kids?

Most chemo drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration without evidence of benefit on survival or quality of life. If you put together all the new chemo drugs that had been approved over a dozen years, the average overall survival benefit is only 2.1 months.

Eating well-balanced plant-based diets during pregnancy can reduce risks of gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders like preeclampsia.

Pawpaw fruits, like soursop, guanabana, sweetsop, sugar apple, cherimoya, and custard apple, contain neurotoxins that may cause a neurodegenerative disease.

A micromort as a unit of comparing and communicating risk to patients equivalent to a one-in-a-million chance of dying.

The weed purslane appears to not only be the safest treatment available for the autoimmune disease lichen planus, but the most effective, too.

Are the higher IQs found in vegetarian children the result of confounding factors or reverse causation?

Walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts are put to the test for erectile dysfunction, sexual function, sperm count, and semen quality.

Is the purported decline of nutrients in our crops due to soil degradation, or is that just supplement industry propaganda?

What percentage of meat samples test positive for drug residue violations?

Why are nuts associated with decreased mortality, but not peanut butter?

Typical daily doses of black pepper can affect the metabolism of certain drugs, so make sure you tell your prescribing health professional about your black pepper consumption.

Pregnancy greatly reduces our ability to metabolize caffeine.

Chlorohydrin contaminates hydrolyzed vegetable protein products and refined oils.

At a retail level, about 10 percent of commercial pork products tested contain the hepatitis E virus.

Do the reactions ascribed to monosodium glutamate (MSG) represent a menace, myth, or marvel?

Why do some pine nuts cause a bad taste in our mouth that can last for weeks?

There doesn’t appear to be any difference between the negative effects of high fructose corn syrup and table sugar on body fat, blood pressure, blood sugars, triglycerides, or cholesterol, but high-fructose corn syrup did appear to be more pro-inflammatory.

Who won in a head-to-head test of nutrition knowledge––doctors or patients?

Pomegranates are put to the test for weight loss, diabetes, COPD, prostate cancer, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

What is the leading cause of heart disease, our leading cause of death?

Which kind of flaxseed has more cancer-fighting lignans?

The so-called optimism bias may get in the way of a healthy lifestyle.

Meta-analyses of studies involving more than ten million participants confirm that greater egg consumption confers a higher risk of premature death from all causes.

From a rarity to an epidemic disease, diverticulosis is a disease of fiber deficiency.

The overall cost-benefit ratio for mycotoxins depends on which food is contaminated. Is “toxic mold syndrome” real? And what do we do about toxic mold contamination of food?

The best apple, bean, berry, lentil, and nut are the ones you’ll eat the most of; but if you don’t have a strong preference, which has the highest antioxidant power?

What does the "milk pus test" tell us about the U.S. milk supply?

Let’s discuss weight loss, cholesterol, and PCOS treatment with diet. What can a daily eighth of a teaspoon of onion powder do for body fat, and what can raw red onion do for cholesterol?

Is there an advantage to eating a raw plant-based diet over a diet of raw and cooked whole plant foods?

One reason kids may not be eating more healthfully is that their parents vastly overestimate the quality of their child’s diet.

I discuss a public health case for modernizing the definition of protein quality.

What role do vegetarian diets and organic foods play in the prevention or promotion of a birth defect called hypospadias?

Why do contaminated poultry products cause the most foodborne deaths?

What can physicians do to promote healthy, life-extending, lifestyle changes?

At this very moment, many of us have tumors growing inside our bodies, so we cannot wait to start eating and living more healthfully.

Is the link between flavonoid consumption and longevity cause-and-effect, and are all sources of flavonoids equally healthy?

How do barukas, also known as baru almonds, compare with other nuts?

Our bodies are exposed to about 20,000 hits of radiation from cosmic rays every second. Is that good or bad?

Has sunscreen been proven to prevent skin aging and cancer?

Inflammatory markers can double within six hours of eating a pro-inflammatory meal. Which foods are the worst, and which ones reduce inflammation? What does an anti-inflammatory diet look like?

Is green rooibos (analogous to green tea) healthier than red rooibos, the commercially more common oxidized form that’s akin to black tea?

Excluding artificial food colors from children’s diets can improve ADHD symptoms.