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"Food for thought: The science and politics of nutrition"

Swiss Re's 2020 Mostly Online Conference on Nutrition

Main web page for these videos: www-navigation Swiss Re, 2020 Conference on Nutrition.

www-navigation There are thirteen carefully written papers and access to the videos at the BMJ, here. (But also listed below)

How do we maintain a healthy diet? The question is simple, the answer is long, and one which many of us clearly get wrong. We know nutrition is one of the key drivers of chronic disease; yet there is great controversy as to what constitutes a healthy diet and how we should encourage individuals to eat well.

KEY Message. The conference in 2018 was very instructive. There was a huge gap between the thinking of academics in the field, and the clinicians. In the audience there was very strong support for a low carbohydrate approach to weight loss, and diabetes reversal was widely accepted. In contrast many of the academics seem surprised and out of touch, with the mood for change they were experiencing.

In 2022, listening to the way participants in 2018, reflect on the conference, Open Future Health thinks there has been a big change.
1) The use of the calorie in nutrition is impractical, the theoretical calorie value of any food is not, what the body utilises, researchers, dietitians, and the public can't measure the calories in a diet in any sensible way.
2) In a similar way BMI is not a useful measure. People have different fat thresholds, and some people with a BMI of 30 are very sick and insulin resistant, while others are healthy.
3) When people choose a diet, they can usually make that work to improve their health, especially if they get support from family members and their health advisers. People when given sensible options, can usually choose a option that works for them. Very few choose to take medication if the option to avoid medication is offered.

Key Papers (Sometimes with Podcasts.)

www-navigation Making nutrition guidelines fit for purpose
Guidelines must ask the right questions and incorporate complexity to improve their relevance and quality, argue Lisa Berg and colleagues.


www-navigation Diet, nutrition, and cancer risk: what do we know and what is the way forward?
Timothy Key and colleagues describe the evidence linking diet and nutrition to cancer risk, concluding that obesity and alcohol are the most important factors.


www-navigation Food is medicine: actions to integrate food and nutrition into healthcare
Sarah Downer, clinical instructor and associate director, Seth A Berkowitz, assistant professor, Timothy S Harlan, associate professor and executive director, Dana Lee Olstad, assistant professor, Dariush Mozaffarian, dean


www-navigation Health effects of vitamin and mineral supplements
Fang Fang Zhang, associate professor, Susan I Barr, professor, Helene McNulty, professor, Duo Li, professor, Jeffrey B Blumberg, professor
Expert Podcast: Gary Taubes interviews Dr Fang Fang Zhang


www-navigation Environmental approaches to promote healthy eating: Is ensuring affordability and availability enough?
Pablo Monsivais and colleagues reflect on the evidence for interventions to improve access to healthy food and discuss considerations for evidence generation.


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This video explains why Swiss Re, is interested in nutrition.

Evidence in nutrition research: when should we change our minds?


(10 minutes)

Published by; Swiss Re: June, 2020

Nutrition research faces many challenges, including biases, confounders and the lack of randomized controlled trials. Jeffrey Bohn, Chief Research Officer, Swiss Re Institute, and John Schoonbee, Global Chief Medical Officer, Swiss Re, discuss the controversies around evidence and the new techniques Swiss Re Institute is developing to derive causality from association studies.

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Type II Diabetes Remission via Nutrition

www-navigation Nutritional basis of type 2 diabetes remission
Roy Taylor and colleagues explain how type 2 diabetes can be reversed by weight loss and avoidance of weight regain.


Type 2 diabetes: How do we shift from treatment to reversal?

"Swiss Re; Food for Thought, 2020"


Chair; Dr Michael Mosley (60 minutes)

Published by; Swiss Re: - June 2020

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The Case for/against Dietary Salt.

www-navigation Sodium and health—concordance and controversy
Nancy R Cook, professor, Feng J He, professor, Graham A MacGregor, professor, Niels Graudal, consultant
Expert Podcast: Gary Taubes interviews Professor Nancy Cook.


Should current salt guidelines be taken with a pinch of salt?


Chair, Fiona Godlee (66 minutes)

Published by; Swiss Re: - June 2020

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Nutrition for Mental Health

www-navigation Can nutrition support healthy cognitive ageing and reduce dementia risk?
by Amy Jennings, senior postdoctoral fellow, Stephen C Cunnane, professor, Anne Marie Minihane, professor
Expert Podcast: Gary Taubes interviews Prof. Anne Marie Minihane.


www-navigation Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing?
Joseph Firth, research fellow, James E Gangwisch, assistant professor, Alessandra Borsini, researcher, Robyn E Wootton, researcher, Emeran A Mayer, professor
Expert Podcast: Gary Taubes interviews Dr Joseph Firth


Food for mind and body The impact of nutrition on mental well being


Chair, Chris van Tulleken (65 minutes)

Published by; Swiss Re: - June 2020

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Modern Food Systems

www-navigation Ultra-processed foods and the corporate capture of nutrition
Food corporations have exploited the dominant model in nutrition science to shape the way their ultra-processed products are defended, promoted, and regulated. Gyorgy Scrinis examines their scientific strategies and suggests ways to reframe the debate.


www-navigation Public health response to ultra-processed food and drinks
Dr Jean Adams, senior university lecturer, Karen Hofman, director, Jean-Claude Moubarac, assistant professor, Anne Marie Thow, associate professor
Expert Podcast: Gary Taubes interviews Dr Jean Adams


www-navigation What role should the commercial food system play in promoting health through better diet?
Martin White and coauthors consider that the commercial food system has the potential to show leadership and support for dietary public health, but systemic change is needed first and this is likely to require governmental action.


Reimagining food systems to promote health in the wake of COVID 19


Chair, Sheila Dillon (61 minutes)

Published by; Swiss Re: - June 2020

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Nutrition Research

www-navigation Challenges and opportunities for better nutrition science
The path to conducting better nutrition science entails recognising previous and inherent limitations and challenges and building on recent developments and opportunities, say Tim Spector and Christopher Gardner.


Improving nutritional research and conflicts of interest


Chair, Dariush Mozaffarian (74 minutes)

Published by; Swiss Re: - June 2020

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