Aaron Carroll: Its All Relative: Nutrition Myths Debunked

Every woman Ive ever had a relationship with has been healthier than me.

And theyre always lecturing me.

Even my 15 year old daughter.

So I invited Aaron Carroll, pediatrician and the author of The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully on the podcast. I wanted to throw out every argument ever made about coffee, carbs, alcohol, MSG, BACON, antioxidants, the list goes on!

[Listen to the FULL INTERVIEW with Aaron Carroll ]

Aaron can dismantle the rumors. And give you your control back (when it comes to health).

There are people who make claims all the time about these kinds of things (food crazes, the latest media hyped diet, etc.), but theres no conclusive links. This is the healthiest the human race has ever been ever.

The healthiest the human race has ever been!

Aaron looks at ALL the scientific research. And figured out that someone is always misinterpreting the data. (Either the consumer or the media)

Half the studies are good and half are bad.

So really, when it comes to your food its a sample size of one. If something makes you feel good, its probably good for you. If it makes you feel bad, its probably bad for you.

Simple.

This idea that somehow the food is poisoning us and were all in mortal danger is somewhat bizarre, were doing great, Aaron said.

And you know its funny because hes right. Were always looking for the latest craze thats making us fatter, giving us cancer, or increasing our risk of heart disease or strokes.

People argue that processed meat raises your relative risk of colon cancer by 18%,which sounds scary But that would mean, if I chose today to eat an extra three pieces of bacon everyday for the rest of my life, my overall lifetime risk of colon cancer MIGHT go up 1/2 of 1%, Aaron said.

Youd have to eat three EXTRA pieces of bacon a day and still your risk doesnt go up that much.

I think diet comes down to fear. Were afraid of dying. Or having a heart attack or being ugly. And it turns out that all food has some inherent risk. And it varies. We are not all created equal.

What may work for you, is probably going to give me a stomach ache.

And drinking two cups of coffee at 3 in the afternoon is going to make me more creative, but would maybe make you stay up all night.

The answers lie within yourself.

[Listen to the FULL INTERVIEW with Aaron Carroll ]

So here are my top ten takeaways from Aaron to live a healthier life...

ONE: Limit processed foods as much as possible.

TWO: Exercise 30 minutes a day, even if its just a brisk walk - exercise is like a miracle drug.

THREE: Be Mindful. (Is what youre eating too easy?)

FOUR: Start cooking for yourself more (this way, you know exactly what youre consuming)

FIVE: Stop drinking your calories. (You can drink a soda and get massive amounts of sugar and empty calories in minutes)

SIX: Dont deprive yourself. (Aaron said, If you feel like youre depriving yourself because you havent had pasta in years Id say theres probably very little danger of once in awhile enjoying it.)

SEVEN: Salt is what makes food taste good. (The amount of salt that youre adding at the table from the salt shaker is inconsequential almost compared to whats already in your food. If youre cooking for yourself, you almost couldnt add too much salt.)

EIGHT: Dont abuse alcohol but 1-2 drinks a day isnt going to kill you

NINE: Focus on your needs vs. your wants

TEN: Youll gain weight if you eat too much of anything.

But most of all, do what works for you. Because the best diet is one you can stick to.

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to The James Altucher Show and rate and review.

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