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

Key Papers (Sometimes with Podcasts.)

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Type II Diabetes Remission via Nutrition

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.

The Case for/against Dietary Salt.

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.

Nutrition for Mental Health

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.

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

Modern Food Systems

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.

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

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.

Nutrition Research

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.