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#430: Soy - Yes, No, Maybe? Mar 14, 2022

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The popularity of soy foods and soy-based products has been increasing in recent times. This has been particularly the case as a dairy alternative, with people switching to using soy 'milk' and soy-based yogurts and cheese. Additionally, soy has become popular as a meat alternative in a variety of dishes for those looking to reduce meat intake. Soy foods such as tofu can be used in recipes in place of meat, and soy-based 'meat alternatives' that are vegetarian and vegan friendly have been developed.

With this increased prevalence, there has been some debate about the health effects of consuming soy foods and products. On one side, there have potential benefits highlighted of inclusion of soy in the diet. It contains phytoestrogens, which may have beneficial effects. Additionally, it is low in saturated fat, and so is potentially beneficial when used in place of saturated fat-rich foods.

However, some have claimed that the phytoestrogens (isoflavones specifically) in soy can be a cause for concern due to the ability of these compounds to mimic the effects of the hormone oestrogen. One common claim is that high soy intake is detrimental for men particularly, as it is "feminizing"; causing gynecomastia, loss of libido and erectile dysfunction.

So what is the truth? Is soy a health food? A harmful endocrine disruptor? Or simply neutral? In this episode we dive into the research and look at the evidence to date tells us about these questions. We consider two big health outcomes in particular; cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. And then final discuss what this means practically for our dietary choices.

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#429: Kevin Hall, PhD & Stephan Guyenet, PhD - Carbohydrate-Insulin Model vs. Energy Balance Model Mar 08, 2022

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Click here to subscribe to Premium The pathogenesis of obesity is clearly complex. And the need to have a comprehensive model to explain this pathogenesis is important. One such model, termed the Energy Balance Model, has largely been the consensus paradigm of obesity scientists to this point. Specifically, a recently published paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Dr. Kevin Hall and his colleagues outlined the various nuances of the model, as well as common misconceptions about the model. However, there are others who propose that this is not the correct model of obesity, but rather that obesity pathogenesis can be better explained by a model called the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model (CIM) of obesity. While this model has been proposed in various forms over the past couple of decades, the most recently published revision/update of this model was that put forward by Dr. David Ludwig and colleagues, in a Perspective published also in the AJCN, in December of 2021. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Hall (lead author of the paper mentioned above) and Dr. Stephan Guyenet are on the podcast to discuss the debate surrounding these two models. Specifically, the discussion will focus in on the Hall et al. (2022) and Ludwig et al. (2021) papers, as well as previous work leading up to both. Click here to access show notes for this episode

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#428: Food Environments Mar 02, 2022

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Clearly the food choices one makes over time directly impacts health. However, choices are not made in a vacuum; that is, they are not always concious decisions made for rational reasons based on free will. Rather, the choices we make about food are shaped by the contexts within which they are made. The term "food environment" is used to describe the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural contexts in which choices are made about acquiring, preparing and consuming food.

As it was put in a paper published as part of The Lancet series on Obesity (2015), modern food environments "exploit people's biological, psychological, social, and economic vulnerability, making it easier for them to eat unhealthy foods".

In this episode the Sigma team discuss the implications of this, including a discussion of exactly which environmental conditions impact food choices and the evidence that exists for public health policy that may address the problematic aspects of modern food environments.

Topics:

Intro to food environment [01:47]
Food preferences [11:50]
Disposable income/eat well guidelines [39:55]
What can we do for a healthier population overall? Top down/bottom up [46:14
Different types of public policy interventions [58:42]
Stealth interventions [01:07:24]

You can access the show notes to this episode here.

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Can You 'Study' Nutrition Science with a Podcast? Here's How. (Including a Time-sensitive Announcement) Feb 28, 2022

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#427: Jacob Schepis – Evidence-Based Coaching: Desirable Goal or Unattainable Burden for Fitness Professionals? Feb 22, 2022

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It's never been more popular to be seen as "evidence-based" as a fitness professional. And indeed evidence-based practice has been seen as the best way to arrive at coaching decisions. But is "evidence-based practice" actually what fitness professionals are doing? Is it even attainable for most coaches? Does it create a burden on them? Does it even matter if you're actually reading reserach or not? What makes for a competent personal trainer?

In this episode, Jacob Schepis is on the show to discuss all these questions and to discuss how he feels evidence-based practice fits within a framework of coaching and coach development.

Show notes can be found at sigmanutrition.com/episode427/

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#426: Jaebian Rosario – How Social Identity and Idealogical Extremes Impact Scientific Discussion Feb 15, 2022

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Jaebien Rosario is currently a graduate level student in public health at East Stroudsburg University. He has degrees in psychology and philosophy, and has previously worked as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. His interest include science denialism, vaccine hesitancy, the philosophy of science, the sociology of science, and meta science.

His current research projects include research proposals for covid-19 and vitamin D trials, research conducted pertaining to local food banks and participation in coalitions for addressing food insecurity in northeast Pennsylvania.

Show notes at sigmanutrition.com/episode426/

#425: Prof. Anna Krylov – When Ideology Hurts Scientific Discourse Feb 08, 2022

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Prof. Anna Krylov is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California (USC), working in the field of theoretical and computational quantum chemistry. She has a M.Sc. in Chemistry from Moscow State University (1990) and a PhD from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (1996).

Krylov is active in the promotion of gender equality in STEM fields, especially in theoretical chemistry. She created the web directory 'Women in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Material Science, and Biochemistry'. She has delivered several talks on gender equality in STEM.

In June 2021 she published a paper, "The Peril of Politicizing Science," has received over 75,000 views (as of February 2022) and is the all-time highest-ranked article in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (impact factor of 6.5).

Show notes: sigmanutrition.com/episode425/

#424: Is Low Cholesterol Bad For You?! Feb 01, 2022

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In this episode Alan and Danny discuss the role of cholesterol in the body and claims that are made suggesting low levels of blood cholesterol are harmful to health.

Starting with the premise that cholesterol is an important molecule in the body and plays a role in many processes, discussed are two related claims:

we should avoid low cholesterol levels as it can harm our health
elevated levels of cholesterol may actually be protective against disease or mortality.

The episode also critiques claims about cholesterol being "conditionally essential" and that low LDL-C/ApoB increases risk of mortality, cancer and infection.

Show notes at sigmanutrition.com/episode424/

#423: Zoya Huschtscha, PhD – Understanding Sarcopenia & Potential Interventions Jan 25, 2022

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Zoya Huschtscha, PhD is a researcher and assistant lecturer at Monash University (Australia), in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. She completed her PhD at the same institution, where her research focused on interventions to prevent and treat sarcopenia; i.e. the loss of muscle function and mass, typically with age. Zoya also has a Masters of Dietetics. In addition to her academic work, she works in private practice as a sports dietitian.

Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode423/

#422: Psychobiotics – Can Probiotics Improve Mood-related Disorders? Jan 18, 2022

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and the Sigma Statement on the gut-brain axis can be found at " data-userid="424351203778215936" data-orgid="425311536639447040">In this episode the Sigma team discuss the research looking at psychobiotics, i.e. probiotics that have health impacts on those with pyschiatric disorders or symptoms. They discuss the origins of the research, the gut-brain axis, mechanisms by which gut microbiota could impact mood, and then the human trials to date that have examined probiotics' effects on mood, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and other outcomes.

and the Sigma Statement on the gut-brain axis can be found at " data-userid="424351203778215936" data-orgid= "425311536639447040">Show notes can be found at sigmanutrition.com/episode422/ and the Sigma Statement on the gut-brain axis can be found at sigmanutrition.com/gut-brain-axis/

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