Oh yeah society’s economic system, trade, driving all that in the end… knowing how to do research, which entities to trust, taking into account all this economic-driven influence is a must.

Dietary guidelines issued by government agencies responsible for food (largely the USDA) have changed over the years. They now focus less on foods and more on nutrients, which has three big problems:

A “balanced diet” has transformed from a selection of foods and portion suggestions into a concoction of nutrients that people have to “make sure they’re getting enough of,” (which they would anyway with a balanced diet.) It’s led the public to panic over specific nutrients and ingredients in our foods. So-called “nutritionism” has led to the low-fat craze, the salt-is-evil scare, and the eggs-cause-heart-disease panic, all of which have been largely refuted (with special cases excepted.) The people responsible for dietary guidelines are directly at odds with (and often influenced by) food industry groups, agricultural companies, and other businesses with a massive stake in making sure you eat the food they pack and sell—and they’re willing to spend politically to make sure the government recommends their products.

The first point reminds me of how until early 2010s nutritionism seemed to be basically “you need N calories and practice exercises”, which dismisses that different foods, or “foods”, lead to different causalities in human’s body.

Ultra processed, refined, added sugar, are just some of the villains…