Sigma Nutrition Radio

Click here to subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium 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. Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium

Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium: https://sigmanutrition.com/premium/ You love listening to, and learning from, nutrition podcasts. Sigma Nutrition Premium allows you to more effectively do that. Understand topics more deeply Retain more of what you hear Recall specific details long after listening Study nutrition science in an enjoyable way As a Premium subscriber you get exclusive access to: Detailed Study Notes ‘Key Ideas’ Segments Hand-crafted Transcripts Premium-only Episodes Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium: https://sigmanutrition.com/premium/

#427: Jacob Schepis talks about the challenges of evidence-based practice for fitness professionals, emphasizing the importance of scientific understanding, client preferences, and problem-solving skills in coaching. They discuss the pitfalls of relying on single studies and the need to consider real-world data. The hosts also highlight the importance of communicating nutrition science in understandable terms for the general population.

Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium 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/

Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium 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/

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/

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/

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. 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/

Dr. Brendon Stubbs, PhD, is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and researcher at King's College London, conducting research in physical activity & mental health, the mind-body interface, and meta-research. He has published over 600 academic papers in several leading journals across multiple scientific fields. He has informed policy guidelines in the UK, Europe and the World Health Organization. Dr. Stubbs is also a clinical physiotherapist, being Head of Physiotherapy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He has a MSc in Neurological Rehabilitation & PhD in Pain Medicine & Rehabilitation. Show notes to this episode are available at sigmanutrition.com/episode421/

Kevin Boehnke is a researcher at the University of Michigan, in the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. His current research focuses on therapeutic applications of illicit or semi-licit substances (cannabis, psychedelics). His goal is to rigorously assess appropriate use of these substances and to help address the public health harms caused by their criminalization. Carrie Cuttler is an Assistant Professor at Washington State University. Her research at the Health and Cognition Laboratory there focuses on elucidating the potentially beneficial and detrimental effects of chronic cannabis use and acute cannabis intoxication. Her recent work has focused on examining links between cannabis use and mental health (e.g., ADHD, PTSD, OCD, depression, anxiety). Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode420/