Ty Beal, nutrition researcher and Research Advisor on the Knowledge Leadership team at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), has spent the last few years diving into the science globally to see what the most nutrient-dense foods are.

He also studies the nutritional deficiencies that we’re facing worldwide — in developing and well-off countries — to see what’s really happening here.

In this episode, you’ll learn what the most nutrient-dense foods are, the most common micronutrient deficiencies we’re currently facing and why this is crucial to pay attention to, how we can address these issues, and what the real food rankings should look like.

Ty and Dr. Anthony Gustin also discuss regenerative agriculture, different diets like vegan and carnivore, whether seed oils are unhealthy, and the bioavailability of food.

You’ll also hear Ty’s opinion on whether we should reduce our meat consumption, including red meat, his thoughts on saturated fat, and whether plant toxins are really an issue.

If you’re not familiar with Ty Beal’s work, he’s a Washington, D.C., based researcher and Research Advisor on the Knowledge Leadership team at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

His objective work has been quoted in dozens of research papers to date, and he has extensive experience studying diet quality, food affordability, sustainable food systems, micronutrient deficiencies, global health, and more.

You’ll find a breakdown of the topics Ty Beal and Dr. Anthony Gustin get into in this episode below:

• What got Ty Beal into nutrition research

• What he changed on his own health journey

• What makes a food ultra processed?

• What makes ultra processed foods so bad for your health?

• The most prevalent nutrient deficiencies worldwide

• Why are these nutrient deficiencies happening?

• What are some of the most nutrient dense foods?

• Where Ty goes to see the nutrient density of a food

• What about the bioavailability of foods?

• Is there enough scientific evidence to say that we should reduce our animal consumption?

• Ty shares his thoughts on regenerative agriculture and using circular systems, including what the latter is

• Should red meat be demonized as much as it currently is?

• Is saturated fat really bad for us?

• Ty also shares his thoughts on consuming seed oils

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Ty Beal’s work on Google Scholar 

• Ty Beal’s Twitter

• Micronutrient deficiencies among preschool-aged children and women of reproductive age worldwide: a pooled analysis of individual-level data from population-representative surveys

• Limitations of the Food Compass Nutrient Profiling System

• Friend or Foe? The Role of Animal-Source Foods in Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Diets

• Protein quality as a complementary functional unit in life cycle assessment (LCA)

• Measuring what the world eats: Insights from a new approach

• Estimating national and subnational nutrient intake distributions of global diets

• The Keto Answers Podcast Episode 20: Nina Teicholz - Embracing Saturated Fat and Why Our Nutrition Policy Is Wrong

• The Natural State Podcast Episode 166: Dr. Bill Schindler -  Learning How To Eat Like a Human

• The Natural State Podcast Episode 163: Chris Kresser - Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies in Healthy Populations, The Most Nutrient Dense Foods, Pleiotropic Interventions, and More

• The Natural State Podcast Episode 158: Dr. Stephan van Vliet - Comparing the Nutrient Density of Grass-Fed vs. Grain-Fed Meat

• The Natural State Podcast Episode 139: Eric Perner - Optimizing Regenerative Agriculture for a Better Future for Our Planet

• Anna Borek’s self experimentation on oats versus canola oil