So I helped Dr Garth Davis write Proteinaholic, which came out this month (and is getting lots of love at the bookstores and in amazon reviews, so thank you very much).
(Note to reader: for maximum effect, this next paragraph should be read in one long breath.)
And the book basically says (spoiler alert) that we're obsessed with protein, and we're eating way too much of it, and excluding many other important nutrients because we're so obsessed with protein (I'm looking at you, fiber), and we would be healthier and slimmer if we just calmed down a bit and ate a plant-based diet that limited our protein intake to levels appropriate for humans.
And inhale…
But… but… but… you may splutter. What about all the studies that show we need more protein than we're getting now?
What about the evidence that saturated fat (animal protein's best friend) is good for us, and we should be eating bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning?
How do we make sense of all the conflicting scientific information out there?
The answer, my friends, can be summed up in one word.
Plastics.
Oops, wrong movie.
I meant, Statistics.
When you rely on your Facebook feed or the evening news, or sadly, even the New York Times (check out this particularly SMH column from earlier this week), for nutritional guidance, you're missing a crucial filter: validity.
As Harvard researcher John Bohannon revealed recently, it's scandalously easy to run a terrible study that's practically guaranteed in advance to return any result you want and get it published in an online journal and get an ignorant media to blurt your false conclusions to the world.
It cost him 600 Euros to get published. Imagine what an entire industry willing to subvert science in deference to profiteering (dairy, meat, egg, sugar, and soda industries, I'm looking at you) can do with their virtually unlimited “R & D” budget.
Unless you look behind the curtain at the quality of the study, every nutritional debate simply devolves into a “he said she said” shouting match in which the merchants of disease wield by far the biggest megaphone.
And central to quality and validity is statistical analysis.
My long-time friend Dr Glenn Livingston is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and data-driven marketer. He uses statistics intensively in all three capacities, and his track record of profitable ventures testifies to his ability to use statistics accurately.
Glenn read Proteinaholic, liked it a lot, and wanted to ask me about the statistical underbelly of the nutritional world.
We got on the phone and recorded a rollicking conversation in which I explain why there's so much misinformation masquerading as real science.
We start with an overview of Proteinaholic, and then turn to the statistics.
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots!
Dr Howie Jacobson
This podcast is a labor of love and a way to give back to the world that has given me so much. That's why there aren't any sponsors (except me :).
My day job is helping leaders and their teams master their mindsets to remove all obstacles to heart-centered high performance.
Here are three gigs that I do:
1. Executive and Senior Leadership Mentoring and Facilitation
I work with high performing executive teams in organizations — and executive teams that need to become high performing. My focus is mindset mastery, because it’s our mindsets that either support high performance or get in the way.
At this level, everyone’s got the skills and experience to excel and contribute at the highest level. What holds people back is mindset stuff: specifically the triggers that get them out of creative engagement and into fight-or-flight defensiveness.
My practice is all about teaching people to respond differently to those triggers by updating old maps — essentially removing the glitches that the triggers grab onto.
2. Executive Coaching: Quick Wins for High Performance
I work with individual executives and leaders, one on one. The program is called Quick Wins for High Performance, and what we do is, we work strategically on one or two areas that are holding you back and keeping you from performing at your best.
We reverse engineer the presenting problems — too much work and not enough time, underperforming employees and teams, maddening organizational inefficiencies, etc — and identify and rewire the suboptimal mindsets that are behind those problems.
The work is all about updating your mental maps so your actions and responses are always appropriate, proportionate, and strategic.
3. High Stakes Conversations for Fast Growing Small Business Teams
I help small business teams have high stakes conversations with skill, humor, and grace. When people feel safe, they can do their best, most creative, most collaborative work.
So that's what I do. If you'd like any of those results, drop me a line and tell me about yourself.
You CAN Change Other People!
Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.
What we really mean is, you can bring out the best in the people around you. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.
Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.
Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Gratitudes
Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.
Disclosure
This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive compensation from your actions on such links. It don't cost you a dime, tho.
My long-time friend Dr Glenn Livingston is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and data-driven marketer. He uses statistics intensively in all three capacities, and his track record of profitable ventures testifies to his ability to use statistics accurately.
This was an intellectual tour de force for the McDougall version of WFPB, exactly what I follow with passion. Reading and loving Proteinaholic at the moment.. it’s a lot of fun to be part of an intellectually superior but politically weak minority. What really matters over the long haul is that reality always imposes its authority on situations like this, albeit in a painfully slow time frame. We are not going to reach the carnist majority anytime soon, and nor should we try, which is what I in the early months of this journey focus on leading by example in the form of long-distance running. First marathon three months away.
Thanks, Ralph. I appreciate your kind words.
And I agree with you about reality and time frame. I’ve often felt that we need the truth much more than the truth needs us.
Best of luck on your marathon – which one is it?
The book is on the way. Perhaps this book or similar should be required reading for all. At the very least for health professionals.
Thank You, for another wonderful episode.