Diets and “Good Science”

With the low fat mantra, consumers have been substituting sugar more and more, and weight and abdominal body fat have been increasing. Not surprisingly, so has purchase of “low-fat,” lite foods – discussed mightily in Sugar, Salt Fat (Michael Moss).  So, there seems to have been some cherry-picking in Key’s work – and the rise of mega industries to support it. Approximately  46 billion dollars has been spent on food science and technology geared at low fat foods. Willing food science and pharmaceutical industries[1] have helped to engineer this.

The aim of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source is to provide timely information on diet and nutrition for clinicians, allied health professionals, and the public. The contents of this Web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Web site. The information does not mention brand names, nor does it endorse any particular product.

                        http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/nutrition-news/

This nutrition-news statement describes the practice of “good science” belonging, basically, to those not trying to sell a product – so, I’m nut sure any of the media’s top diet celebrities (Dr. Oz?) would count, despite the fact that they are household words. In this chapter, I want to look at a few who are not. They may be a bit hard to find, but that’s all part of leading a cultivated life – searching out such information. They are three scientists with some hard-to-digest messages -- Robert Lustig of the University of California at San Francisco, Stephanie Seneff of MIT, and, perhaps the most accessible, Cornell University’s Brian Wansink. In the next blog posts, I will be discussing each.

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[1] 100 billion dollars has been spent on cholesterol reducing drugs. And what actually has happened to cholesterol levels in the U.S.? They’ve been on the rise, although this is not necessarily a bad thing, if Stephanie Seneff is to be believed. Health claims on food also abound. Best example: Snack wells and weight loss (ref: Wansink).