ICP 86: Kevin Klatt, PhD., RD- Choline, TMAO, Nutritional Epidemiology and Moving the Goalposts

Welcome to Episode 86 of the The Ian Cramer Podcast.    If you're new to the podcast, it's full of people like my guest this week. Smart experts within nutritional science with different specialties and perspectives on how people can live healthier lives using foot, diet and lifestyle factors.    Quick shout out to Sarah Ann Cook, who has joined the Ian Cramer Podcast club of passionate supporters and contributors as a patron. I am honored that Sarah and many others have generously decided to make per-podcast donations to help me continue my work into 2020 and beyond. Patron and listener donations help offset the costs of hosting subscriptions, tools, resources, equipment and other important stuff to keep the lights on. If you enjoy and look forward to these conversations, you too can become a patron and help support my work by logging on to Patreon.com/IanCramerPodcast. A Patron recently pointed out, rightly so, that I don’t have any commercials at the beginning of my podcast advertising Mattresses, clothing or vegan hot dogs. Besides these short monologs and intros, I want to keep these episodes free from commercials. It just makes more sense that way to be supported by the listener, rather than large companies. In episode #86, I am speaking to Registered Dietician and Postdoctoral Fellow and the Baylor School of Medicine, Kevin Klatt. Kevin came on to my radar through…any guesses??? Twitter! Kevin received his PhD in Molecular Nutrition from Cornell University and completed his dietetic internship at the National Institutes of Health. His research focuses on better understanding nutrient metabolism and requirements using in vitro and animal model systems, as well as human intervention and controlled feeding trials. Kevin is an active member of the executive committee of the Research Dietetics Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and serves on the Public Information Committee of the American Society for Nutrition. To begin our conversation, Kevin and I speak about Choline, an alleged nutrient of concern. We go into the nitty gritty on its chemical make-up, it’s physiologic purpose and if it is indeed, a nutrient of concern. Towards the end of 2019, an article was spreading around social media saying those eating a plant-based diet aren’t going to get enough…and more accurately, were going to be dumber because they weren’t going to get enough. Pro Tip: If a headline disparages a group based on their diet, it’s click-bait and likely not true.   We also speak about another dietary metabolite of concern, TMAO. This is often thrown around within the plant-based circles as something that we should be aware of…so I ask Kevin if this is true. I get Kevin’s take on a plant-based diet and a Keto diet and the healthfulness and potential risks of those diets. We speak about the controversial role of epidemiology in shaping dietary practices. And lastly, we speak about the term ‘moving the goalposts’ within nutritional science how you can tell if someone is doing this, why they might be doing it, and what you can do to spot it and respond. Without further delay, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Registered Dietician and Post-doctoral fellow, Kevin Klatt. I’ve enjoyed Kevin’s writing and tweeting for many months, and there are many people like me. He is seen as one of the most reasonable and non-dogmatic academic voices within the sphere of nutrition science on Twitter. And with that theme of reason, one of the underlying messages I hope to convey in these conversations is keeping an open mind and staying curious. Ask questions, use evidence, listen to other arguments and lines of evidence that are given. Step away from the echo chambers and expose yourself to various lines of thought to become more well rounded and to understand the broader consensuses in this field. Please share this podcast with those around you, by word of mouth or through social media. I always Pin the most recent episode on my Twitter and Facebook, and you can also share from my website, IanMCramer.com, as well as iTunes or whatever podcasting app you use. And when you do, use the hashtag, IanCramerPodcast. You can connect with Kevin on Twitter @KCKlatt. And you can connect with me @IanCramer. Thank you for listening, and please look forward to many more episodes like this one coming out every other Saturday, on The Ian Cramer Podcast.