Podcast Topic: Diet & Nutrition
The Leading Voices in Food
Podcast Topic: Diet & Nutrition
E205: Here’s what sugar and zero-calorie sweeteners do to your body
May 17, 2023
Today we speak with an expert on sugar and things meant to replace it. The stakes are high. Very high. Sugar consumption in the population is astronomical and so is the use of sugar replacements. Knowing the impacts of both could help experts provide dietary guidance and help consumers make decisions. Dr. Robert Lustig is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. He specializes on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system; body weight regulation, appetite, metabolism, and is very well known for his work on sugar and their substitutes and on policies aimed at improving the diet of the population. A YouTube video on the effects of consuming sugar called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” has now been viewed 24 million times.
Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Diet & Nutrition | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Safety & Food Defense | Zero Calorie Sweeteners |
E204: The troubling unknowns of non-caloric sweeteners
May 4, 2023
As a society, we are eating and drinking low-calorie sweeteners more and more. Researchers are working to understand the long-term impact of such sweeteners for adults and, of course, for children. This interview is part of a series on the impact of sweeteners. Our guest today is Dr. Allison Sylvetsky, Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the George Washington University – Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Diet & Nutrition | Food Safety & Food Defense | Ultra-processed Food & Additives | Zero Calorie Sweeteners |
E203: It works – Chile’s Law on Food Labeling and Marketing
April 18, 2023
In 2016, the Chilean government implemented a comprehensive set of obesity prevention policies aimed at improving the food environment for children. Results from a multi-year study of that regulation, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, can now tell us if Chilean children are better off as a result of the policy. Guests on this podcast include: Dr. Gabriela “Gabi” Fretes. She is an Associate Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Dr. Camila Corvalan is the Director of the Center for Research in Food Environments and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases Associated with Nutrition at the University of Chile. And, Dr. Sean Cash is an economist, Associate Professor of Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, and the Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition at Tufts University
Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Children Food Preferences | Diet & Nutrition | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | School Meals |
E202: Impact of non-caloric sweeteners on the microbiome – what we know now
April 13, 2023
With the widespread presence of artificial sweeteners in the food system, scientists and consumers want to know about their safety. Safety concerns have been expressed for years, and lots of research has been done, but relatively new on the scene is work examining the effect of sweeteners on the microbiome. This interview is part of a series on the impact of artificial sweeteners. Our guest today, Dr. Jotham Suez, is doing fascinating work on this topic. He’s Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and the Public Health Johns Hopkins University.
Related podcasts: Diet & Nutrition | Food Safety & Food Defense | Zero Calorie Sweeteners |
E198: Why SNAP pandemic benefits for college students should continue
March 7, 2023
There has been increasing attention to the issue of food insecurity among college students. Estimates vary, but to provide some perspective, one report found that a staggering 30% of all college students experienced food insecurity at some point in their college careers. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US temporarily extended the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to college-aged students. But now this pandemic help is set to expire, impacting more than three million college students who have relied on this program for food. Today we speak with Heather Taylor, a former US delegate to the United Nations, and now managing director of Bread for the World. Having experienced severe food insecurity as an undergraduate student at Georgetown University, she now advocates for SNAP expansion for college students and other marginalized groups facing food insecurity.
Related podcasts: Diet & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Social Safety Net & Food |
E196: Why do we need zero calorie sweeteners, and are they safe?
February 23, 2023
Artificial sweeteners, known more recently as non-nutritive or low-calorie sweeteners, have been a source of great hope. What could be better than enjoying sweetness in foods but without the calories? Sucralose, xylitol, stevia, saccharin, aspartame, there are a lot of them out there. You may add them to food yourself, you may consume them in beverages, and if not, there’s a good chance they’ll show up in foods that you buy. But, do they work and are they safe? Few know this area like Dr. Richard Mattes, distinguished Professor of Nutrition Science at Purdue University.
Related podcasts: Diet & Nutrition | Food Safety & Food Defense | Obesity | Zero Calorie Sweeteners |
E192: How to achieve food equity with SNAP
January 4, 2023
Today we’re speaking with coauthors of a new report by the Center for Law and Social Policy, entitled “A Community-Driven Anti-Racism Vision for SNAP.” Senior policy analyst, Parker Gilkesson, and community organizer, Tamika Moore, argue that although public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provide critical care and support for families with low incomes, they also reinforce racism and structures of oppression.
Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Diet & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Social Safety Net & Food |
E189: FDA Plans to Update Health Claim on Food Packaging
December 5, 2022
Food packaging can make shopping a pretty difficult process. Packaging can be a blitz of marketing strategies, where fact and misdirection are hard to distinguish. Plainly put, food labels are often confusing for consumers. So what is the Food and Drug Administration doing about this? We’re happy today to have Dr. Susan Mayne join us. She is the director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA. She has done a lot of work on this topic.
Related podcasts: Diet & Nutrition | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing |
E187: FDA role in national strategy to end hunger
November 14, 2022
In September of 2022, the White House held the first conference focused on hunger, nutrition, and health, in 50 years. The convening served as the Biden-Harris administration’s call-to-action to end hunger, and increase healthy eating, and the physical activity among Americans, by the year 2030. But how successful was this event in actually catalyzing a national strategy? We’ll hear perspectives on this from Dr. Susan Mayne, Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the Food and Drug Administration.
Related podcasts: Diet & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Social Safety Net & Food |
E186: Deep dive into challenges people face accessing food pantries
November 7, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted the US food chain and has heightened attention on nonprofit food pantries and soup kitchens. Today’s guest argues that sometimes the people most in need of food face the most challenges in getting it because of food pantry operating procedures. Our guest, Alana Stein has conducted research on these issues at the University of California at Davis.
Related podcasts: COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Food | Diet & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Banks, Food Pantries & Soup Kitchens | Food Insecurity |