A shocking headline claims intermittent fasting increases cardiovascular death risk by 91%—but what if the sensational story is almost entirely fiction? This episode exposes how a preliminary research abstract was transformed into dangerous medical advice, based on just 414 people and two days of dietary recalls. We'll unpack how media sensationalism distorts scientific research, revealing the massive gap between a viral statistic and actual scientific evidence. Listeners will discover how to critically evaluate health headlines, understand the difference between correlation and causation, and learn why the researchers themselves explicitly warned against interpreting their results as a definitive health risk. It's a masterclass in scientific skepticism and media literacy that could save listeners from making misguided health decisions.

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