For most of human history, religion guided people’s choices about health and food. Then with the rise of modern nutritional science in the 19th century, people began to favor scientific advice over religious ideas about how to eat. 

But lately, a new generation of Christian diet influencers are putting the God back in nutritional guidance, sometimes at the expense of science altogether. And this messaging might not be creating healthier or holier people.

 We'll talk to New York Times writer Jessica Grose and historian Catherine Newell about the long, complex history of food, faith, and morality.  And we’ll ask - can we reconnect faith and health in America in positive ways that are informed by tradition and history, but also true to science?

Jessica Grose has written books on motherhood, marriage and countless articles. More information about her work can be found on her website jessicagrose.com.

Catherine Newell is a professor and the Associate Dean for Pre-Health Professions at the University of Miami. She is the author of the books entitled Food Faiths: Diet, Religion, and the Science of Spiritual Eating & Destined for the Stars: Faith, the Future, and America’s Final Frontier.