Science Archives

Weight Loss Research: Brain MRI Scans, Food Cravings, and Weight Regulation

Two systems are commonly referred to in the neurobiology of eating and obesity: the "homeostatic" and "hedonic" systems. Homeostatic systems regulate eating relative to energy...

Posted in Nutrition & Brain Health, Nutrition Research

Zinc & Brain Health: Mechanisms and Depression

In the early 1960s, a series of case reports related zinc deficiency to stunted growth and sexual maturation in both male and female adolescents. It...

Posted in Micronutrient Nutrition, Nutrition & Brain Health

Diet & Heart Disease: How Nuts and Unsaturated Fats Lower Risk

This historic focus of nutrition science was on single nutrients and the potential interaction of isolated nutrients. For example, the replacement of saturated fat with unsaturated...

Posted in Macronutrients Science, Metabolic Health, Nutrition & Metabolism

Ultra Processed Foods: How Protein Affects Energy Intake

According to the NOVA classification system, ultra-processed foods [UPF] are defined as: “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, typically created by a series...

Posted in Macronutrients Science, Metabolic Health, Nutrition & Metabolism

Poverty and Obesity: Ayn Rand vs. Nutrition Science

Came across a series of postulations about the relationship between poverty and obesity, and thought they are worth addressing from the perspective of evidence. These...

Posted in Causation, Controversies in Nutrition, Nutrition Policy, Nutrition Research, Research Methodology in Nutrition

Lipoprotein(a), Causality, and Checkmate on Low-Carb Cholesterol Denialism

I think this must be checkmate. I’ve noticed that in the low-carb/cholesterol-denialism (yes, they are synonymous) community, much attention is now being given to high...

Posted in Causation, Controversies in Nutrition, Nutrition Research, Research Methodology in Nutrition

Saturated Fat & Cardiovascular Disease: Evaluating the JACC ‘State-of-the-Art’ Review

Let’s consult a dictionary: state of the art steɪt əv ðɪ ˈɑːt/ phrase of state the most recent stage in the development of a product, incorporating...

Posted in Cardiovascular Nutrition, Controversies in Nutrition, Nutrition Research, Nutrition Science

‘Methodolatry’, RCTs, and the Limits of Reductionism: Part 2

Insofar as proof to 100% certainty does not exist, what is meant by the term ‘proof’ is in fact a sufficiency of data to support...

Posted in Nutrition Research, Nutrition Science, Scientific Epistemology

‘Methodolatry’, RCTs, and the Limits of Reductionism: Part 1

“Methodolatry”: the veneration of the RCT as the only valid method of investigation, dismissing or discounting valuable input from other sources. A cursory search of...

Posted in Nutrition Research, Nutrition Science, Scientific Epistemology

Evidence Based Nutrition & the Evidential Problem of Food

In the context of nutrition, the applicability of the precautionary principle – if in doubt, do nothing – can only extend so far, due to...

Posted in Controversies in Nutrition, Nutrition Research, Nutrition Science, Research Methodology in Nutrition