June 19, 2023

Mastering the Art of Healthy Eating: Diet Tips and Nutrition Research | Professor Walter Willett, MD

2 hours

Episode #266. Learn the key pillars for a healthy diet from the world’s most cited nutrition scientist, Dr Walter Willett. In this two-hour exchange, Dr Willett shares the cornerstones of a healthy diet, providing the practical guidance you need to live a long, healthy life.

We discuss:

Introduction (00:00)

Which Foods Should You Eat to Stay Healthy? (04:10)

Does the Quality of Foods Matter? (06:39)

The Impact of the Average American Diet on Health (08:29)

Do We Have Sufficient Evidence on How Nutrition Impacts Our Health? (11:05)

Key Tasks/Leaves to Make Healthy Choices (14:03)

How Diet Patterns Have Changed from the 70s till Now (15:09)

Walter Willet: A Nutrition Story (18:20)

Ancel Keys' Research on Fat (19:40)

Three Large Observation Studies by Walter Willet and His Team (27:19)

Advantages of Large Observation Studies over Randomized Control Trials (32:45)

Correlation and Causation in Nutrition (39:15)

Food Frequency Questionnaire: Importance of Methods for Measuring Dietary Intake (50:58)

Biochemical Analysis in Three Cohort Observations of Walter Willet's Studies (55:18)

Are Low-Fat Diets Good for Cardiovascular Health? (1:00:37)

Polyunsaturated Fats and Cardiovascular Disease (1:02:21)

Benefits of Switching from Saturated Fat to Unsaturated Fats (1:08:31)

Is Dairy Bad or Good? (1:09:04)

Should You Consume Full-Fat or Low-Fat Dairy? (1:11:29)

Daily Recommendation for Dairy Consumption (1:16:03)

Can You Be Healthy Without Consuming Dairy? (1:20:42)

Confusion Surrounding Unprocessed Red Meat (1:23:00)

What is Substitution Analysis? (1:25:55)

Insights into the Research Process (1:27:45)

Contrast and Exposure in Research (1:29:33)

Safe Intake of Red Meat (1:33:02)

Is Grass-Fed Beef Good for Me? (1:33:51)

Is White Meat Better Than Red Meat? (1:35:57)

Fish vs. Legumes: A Comparison (1:36:37)

Dietary Cholesterol and Its Impact on Human Health (1:40:08)

The Best Diet for a Healthy Life (1:43:28)

Outro (1:52:01)

To learn more about Dr Walter Willett and read his studies, head to his Harvard Academic Profile. Dr Willett has also published four books; you can find his bestseller, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating here.

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Enjoy, friends.

Simon

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Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Creator of theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

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