521: Why The American Dietary Guidelines Are Making Us Fatter and Sicker Than Ever With Nina Teicholz
Wise Traditions
Weston A. Price Foundation
4.7 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The U.S. dietary guidelines are considered the "gold standard" of nutrition recommendations. But they are failing us. Americans are unhealthier (and more obese) than ever before. Nina Teicholz, the author of "The Big Fat Surprise", explains why they are faulty and based on poor science.
She goes over how the guidelines were chosen, its ties to the American Heart Association, Proctor & Gamble and Crisco. She explains why the emphasis on grains (even refined grains) and low-fat choices have led to sickness. And why saturated fat and sodium consumption are currently "capped" but shouldn't be. Finally, she shares her vision for how the guidelines could be reformed, based on sound science, for improved health outcomes for all Americans.
Visit Nina's websites: ninateicholz.com and nutritioncoalition.us
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the Weston A. Price Foundation, welcome to the Wise Traditions podcast for wise traditions in food, farming, and the healing arts. |
| 0:13.9 | We are your source for scientific knowledge and traditional wisdom to help you achieve optimal health. |
| 0:22.6 | And now here is our host and producer, Hilda Labrata Gore. |
| 0:27.7 | Hey, Hilda here. |
| 0:30.5 | The first U.S. dietary guidelines were established in 1980, with a food pyramid that had at |
| 0:37.1 | its base a recommendation for some 8 to 11 |
| 0:41.1 | servings of grains. Americans since then have dutifully followed these dietary guidelines |
| 0:48.0 | to their detriment. It has unfortunately led us farther and farther away from real health. |
| 0:56.5 | This is episode 521 and our guest today is Nina Taisholtz. |
| 1:01.3 | Nina is a New York Times best-selling author and a New York based science journalist who is committed |
| 1:09.5 | to advocating for overhauling these dietary guidelines. |
| 1:13.6 | Nina has also formed the Nutrition Coalition that is a nonprofit working to ensure that |
| 1:20.6 | nutrition policy accurately reflects the best and most current scientific evidence. |
| 1:28.7 | Today we explore Nina's insights on how and why our dietary guidelines are doing us a disservice. |
| 1:37.0 | She goes over how true science does not back the current guidelines, particularly with the current caps on sodium and saturated fat, |
| 1:48.2 | for example. |
| 1:49.8 | She also explains what reforms she would advocate for and in fact is advocating for and |
| 1:56.6 | why these guidelines aren't serving us well. Before we get into the conversation, I want to invite you to |
| 2:03.3 | follow the Wise Traditions podcast on the platform of your choice. This way you won't miss a thing. Or better |
| 2:08.8 | yet, download our Wise Traditions podcast app on your iPhone or Android device. Just put Wise Traditions |
| 2:16.7 | in the search bar. We'll pop up, download it for free, and listen to your heart's content. |
| 2:22.5 | And thank you so much for being a faithful listener, however you're getting this content. |
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