The Evolution of Diet: Meat, Plants, and Our Health

What does balance really mean for diet, and why is nuance so often lost in nutrition debates? In this episode, I sit down again with Dr David Katz to explore diet quality, ultra-processed foods, supplements, and the broader links between human and planetary health.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why balance is the key to diet quality
• Beef, ethics, and planetary health
• Keto and carnivore, the rise of anecdotes online
• Ultra-processed foods and why they drive overeating
• Supplements, evidence, controversies, and David’s personal approach

A grounded and insightful discussion on how to cut through the noise and focus on what really matters for long-term health.

You can connect with Dr David Katz on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (Twitter). To learn more about his work, visit davidkatzmd.com, explore Diet ID, and discover the True Health Initiative.

• The Critical Role of Diet in Chronic Disease and Longevity (00:00:00)
• What Does a High-Quality Diet Actually Mean? (00:05:03)
• Why Balance Is the Essence of Diet Quality (00:12:07)
• What Does a Balanced Diet Look Like in Practice? (00:20:30)
• Why Should We Eat Less Beef? (00:23:44)
• Plant-Based vs Omnivore Diets: Which Is Healthier? (00:30:25)
• Are Keto and Carnivore Diets Healthy Long-Term? (00:38:49)
• How Can We Fight Nutrition Misinformation? (00:45:56)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Hijack Appetite and Drive Overeating (01:00:12)
• How Do We Tell Good vs Bad Ultra-Processed Foods? (01:10:32)
• Can Reformulated Ultra-Processed Foods Improve Public Health? (01:19:04)
• How Measuring Diet Quality Could Transform Public Health (01:26:50)
• How Diet ID Measures and Improves Diet Quality (01:31:15)
• Do Supplements Work and Which Ones Are Worth Taking? (01:43:11)
• Lessons From 40 Years in Medicine and Public Health (01:52:14)

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Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

• Creator of theproof.com
• Host of The Proof with Simon Hill
• Author of The Proof is in the Plants

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