Summary: <p>Nutrition experts have long debated whether there is an optimal diet that humans evolved to eat. Studies show that modern hunter-gatherer groups across the globe generally have phenomenal heart and metabolic health, yet they eat a variety of diets, and tend to avoid the chronic diseases that kill most Americans. </p><br><p>On today’s <em>Broken Brain Podcast</em>, our host, Dhru, talks to Anahad O’Connor, a bestselling author and reporter for <em>The New York Times</em>. He joined the paper in 2003 and writes for Science Times – the paper’s weekly science and health section – and the Well blog. Anahad covers nutrition, medicine and chronic disease. He has published a number of groundbreaking investigative stories for the<em> Times</em>, including a series in 2015 that exposed Coca-Cola’s funding of scientific research that sought to downplay the role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the obesity epidemic. In 2018, he and his colleagues won an award from the Association of HealthCare Journalists for <em>Planet Fat</em>, a series that examined the food industry’s role in the spread of global obesity. </p><br><p>Anahad is a graduate of Yale University and is a frequent guest on national news programs, such as PBS <em>NewsHour</em>, <em>Good Morning America</em>, and NPR’s <em>All Things Considered</em>. He is also the author of four books.</p><br><p>In this episode, Dhru and Anahad talk about what life is like in hunter-gatherer societies, what a typical hunter-gatherer diet looks like, the challenges that are faced in these societies, and if there really is an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/well/eat/is-there-an-optimal-diet-for-humans.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fanahad-o%E2%80%99connor&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=collection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">optimal diet for humans</a>. They talk about time-restricted eating and how when you eat could be more important than what you eat, how food variety causes you to eat more, something known as sensory-specific satiety, and why this is one of the reasons people in hunter-gatherer socieites don’t overeat and become obese. They also discuss another article Anahad wrote in the <em>New York Times</em>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/guides/year-of-living-better/how-to-build-muscle-strength?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fanahad-o%E2%80%99connor&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=collection&redirect=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>How to Get Strong</em></a>, and how everyone knows that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health, but most people ignore one crucial component of it: resistance training and how it can reverse the age-related cellular damage that contributes to sarcopenia and functional impairment. </p><br><p>In this episode, we dive into:</p><br><p>-Modern hunter-gatherer societies and why they tend to avoid chronic diseases (3:09)</p><p>-The importance of eating local and seasonal foods (14:56)</p><p>-Time-restricted eating (17:47)</p><p>-Why food variety causes your to eat more (24:08) </p><p>-Nature’s perfect food (31:04)</p><p>-Anahad’s groundbreaking investigative report that exposed Coca-Cola’s funding of scientific research that sought to downplay the role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the obesity epidemic (41:23)</p><p>-The impact of lifestyle and social connections on overall health (53:22)</p><p>-Longevity and resistance training (1:02:07) </p><p>-How to make resistance training practical (1:11:13)</p><p>-Learn more about Anahad and his work (1:19:06)</p><br><p>For more on Anahad O’Connor, be sure to follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anahadoconnor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@anahadoconnor</a>, and check out his articles for the<em> New York Times</em>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/anahad-oconnor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">right here</a>.</p><br><p>Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by our partnership with the AquaTru Water Filter. To get exclusive access to this deal visit <a href="http://www.brokenbrain.com/filter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.brokenbrain.com/filter</a></p><br><p> Interested in joining Dhru’s <em>Broken Brain Podcast </em>Facebook Community? Submit your join request here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2819627591487473/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/2819627591487473/</a></p><p>For more on Dhru Purohit, be sure to follow him on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dhrupurohit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@dhrupurohit</a>, on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DHRUxPUROHIT/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@dhruxpurohit</a>, on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/dhrupurohit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@dhrupurohit</a>, and on YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnLhz50WZAvsF4S72xtESA?view_as=subscriber" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@dhrupurohit</a>. You can also text Dhru at (302) 200-5643 or click here <a href="https://my.community.com/dhrupurohit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://my.community.com/dhrupurohit</a></p><br><hr><p style="color:grey;font-size:0.75em;"> See <a style="color:grey;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
