So who the hell are you and why should I even listen to your stupid podcast?
I am a fan of both science and nutrition, and when you put the two together I get excited. I hold a B.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition (with a concentration in Dietetics) from Colorado State University, and a M.S. in Nutritional Sciences from University of Washington. I recently completed my studies involving the gut microbiome at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. I was a member of the McKay lab for 3.5 years as an undergraduate research assistant doing plant genetics work. I also did some research in the Bioactive Compounds for Health lab, mostly involving carotenoids and glycoalkaloids.
Listen to me or don’t listen to me – see if I care!
I also like to play drums. Here I am with members of the last band I was in. Check us out on YouTube kids!
If you’re curious I am the one covered in a solution of vinegar and the crushed endosperm of a plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family.
The podcast logo was created by one Ryan Nelson of Orange Morning Concepts.
The theme music is Medicine and was written and performed by an underrated group of guys from Boston called Two Ton Shoe.
If you’d like to email me with job offers or crank mail you can contact me here: seth[at]buddyengineer[dot]com
The Science of Nutrition 
dude…. we are literally the same person haha…both study nutrition ( I don’t have a degree just yet but I’m working on it) and both love playing drums. Great minds think a like I guess
Cool! What kind of music do you play? Got any links?
why is nutrition so hard to get to the bottom of? Economist/WSJ/many other publications said that the big fat surprise gave a surprising view of how public policy is being set on ‘misleading ‘ principles. The Uk is currently narrating that ‘saturated fat is not the issue’. Have you critiqued The Diet Myth – ?? wondered whether you rated it ? I have been interested in the ‘truth about fat’ ow for ages, as it is not straightforward.
Great blog. I used your critique of Taubes’ critique of the red meat consumption paper as part of a case study in a class. Haven’t assessed the results yet, but I think it was effective. Will let you know if you’re interested.
On another minor topic, Brassicaceae do not have endosperm (or very little). The bulk of the mustard seed is embryo. The yellow color is usually added turmeric, which is in Zingiberaceae. Just thought you might like to know.
Well now I feel dumb, but thanks for pointing that out. I’ll need to change that at some point.
And thanks for the kind words. I’d be interested in how things turn out.
Hey…
Can anyone point me to some websites that have data nutrition(thoroughly) for Asian fruits and vegetables?
Thanks’
Hey, spotted Zoe Harcombe spouting what looked like cr@p about Word Diabetes Day on Twitter, so thought I’d look her up and came across your blog post about Taubes. I thought it was brilliant – keep doing what you’re doing 🙂
Thanks for the blog. Lots of good info for me here that I appreciate.
Fascinating read! Thanks for the thorough analysis!
Really enjoyed reading through your blog, Seth. I’ve always been fascinated by the nutrition debates. About ten years ago, I noticed friends and acquaintances started to get really heated when expounding on their diets (usually Atkins-type diets), and how we’d all been lied to, that the NIH and AMA was keeping us in the dark, that “carbs” were bad, calories were different depending on their source, and so on. When I would say “Can you just eat less, exercise more?” they would get REALLY angry and detail how futile that approach was, and had been proven so, you dolt. (Something I’ve noticed: heavy people, even friends, do NOT want to hear nutrition advice from a skinny runner…EVER. Best to lay off.) So, this has been going on a long time. I hope your well-reasoned reviews of the Teicholz and Taubes books give people some pause, and make it into the mainstream media. And by the way, you mentioned Ayn Rand’s books at one point (I think in the Taubes review) and you said they were awful. True. But they were highly successful page-turners. At least, The Fountainhead was a page-turner to me when I was sixteen years old. That counts. For something.
Thanks for the kind words. And I actually agree with you on The Fountainhead. I thought it was very interesting: the characters were unique, some themes that were explored were compelling… But with Atlas Shrugged, the characters were all flat, the universe wasn’t plausible (to me), the philosophy that fit Howard Roark could not apply to the entire world. That’s why I bashed Atlas Shrugged.
Seth, I love your blog and your tenacity in reviewing these very bad books. I for one do not wish to waste my time. But someone has to do it and you have done a great job. I have been telling my colleagues about your site. Keep up the good work! Joe Dixon
Thanks Seth. Love the science of nutrition and reading your posts makes me realize why. So many misconceptions, so much misinformation, makes me wonder why these people who spread such fallacies are not on the margins of society where they belong!!! Keep on drumming and writing!!
Way to go Seth!
Very interesting. I came to this blog via Velvet Glove Iron Fist, whose author, Chris Snowdon, believes exercise is the key to the increase in obesity in the Uk, and not diet. I’m currently on the low carb side, or at least the “less carb than I previously ate, but still a fair amount” side. It’s done great things for my waistline – fat instead of starch. I have always been impressed by Taubes, but I’m glad there is a dissenting voice capable of forensic analysis to counter him. Like our choice of newspapers, we maybe read Taubes to reinforce our prejudices.
I love your blog. Please contact me by email. Thanks.
Is there anywhere on your site where you lay out your ideas on the causes of 20thC health problems in the developed and developing world?
Really a very nice, well written blog! I just had to spend a few hours reading… and if you ever need a German- English translation I could do the job.
hi,
reached your blog through James Kreiger’s website when reading up about Gary Taubes work
was looking at the book review i realized there is no link to chapters 5,6,7 and some others, is there any way i can get all the chapters (it will be wonderfull if you have those as a PDF)
I wrote a long and thoughtful commentary on your site, but made too many guesses at the password required. So I’m not going to make THAT mistake again. Anyhow, thanks for your response to Teicholtz’s misinformation campaign.
Oh. Now I have it.
As I was saying, I discovered your site while trying to search out rebuttals to _Big Fat Surprise_ after seeing Skeptic (though not skeptical enough) Michael Shermer’s interview with Ms. Teicholtz. Apparently, she, The Nutrition Coalition and such front groups are the meat and dairy equivalent of fossil fuels’ campaign of deception against global warming science, the Center for Consumer Freedom’s defense of smoking and fast foods and the like, and she needs to be held to account. Captain Paul Watson calls such academic sell-outs “biostitutes.”
I have studied nutrition on my own ever since I became a vegan, and after that in college while studying nursing. I think I have a good handle on the basics, but always willing to learn more. Thanks for taking time to maintain this site.
I’m completely amazed at how lucid and well constructed your arguments are. Taubes (and others) seem to just keep touting the same lie and repacking it in every conceivable way in order to support their unscientific beliefs. Finally, and good argument in favor of Keys, instead of the constant rhetoric of hacks trying to vindicate their daily bacon and eggs. BRAVO!
Hi, I’m a journalist from Quebec and I’m in the early stages of writing a book on the disingenuous pro-keto and pro-meat tactics used by lobbies and dubious individuals to further their agenda.
Is there anyway to contact you? I have a couple questions regarding your analysis of Taubes and Teicholz’s work.
Thanks
Disregard and erase the previous comment : I scanned your bio again and found out I skipped over your email address!