On Science

In 2016, it looked like the NIAAA had found an elegant solution: • Five alcohol companies would donate money for a trial. • The NIH would ask researchers to send pro -posals for how they’d run a trial. • The NIH would choose the scientifically best proposal, just like they do with any govern -ment-funded grant. The donors would have no influence on... See more

Foods and supplements cannot make direct claims about treating or preventing specific health conditions without convincing evidence

they seem to be suggesting is that there was a “late firewall” with lots of contact with industry early on, but no influence after the trial started. But that didn’t happen! How do I know? Well, did you notice the part where Anheuser-Busch pulled its funding? Having the power to shut down the entire trial when -ever you want qualifies as influence ... See more

The history of cholera treatment is full of these scientific cul-de-sacs: moments where a breakthrough therapy seemed inevitable but failed to materialize.

One woman was hospitalized for oxalate kidney stones caused by a very-high-vegetable diet she had designed based on paleo and vegetarian sources online. One man lost excessive weight and had to be hospitalized for fecal impaction after following the carnivore diet. Another carnivore dieter had already gone public with his story of requiring a tripl... See more

What’s glaringly absent within the reduc -tionist paradigm — indeed, within much of nutrition science — is theory.

Over half of all industry-sponsored studies find favorable results, compared to 10% of studies without involvement.

oral rehydration solution (ORS). This cheap, simple solution of sugar, salts, and water mixed in the right proportions and delivered orally has saved the lives of more than 70 million, mostly children, since its introduction in the 1970s. 8 It has helped slash the number of children under five dying of diarrhoeal diseases from around 4.8 million in... See more

on average, cancer patients who choose alternative treatments (which may include nutritional supplements and/or special diets) instead of conventional cancer treatment are about 2.5 times as likely to die during follow-up as patients who receive conven -tional treatment