The Hype vs. Data on Saturated Fat, Red Meat, & Seed Oils
Rhonda Patrick talks with cardiologist Dariush Mozaffarian of Tufts' Food is Medicine Institute about saturated fat, red meat, seed oils, ultraprocessed food and obesity, arguing that whole foods matter more than single nutrients.
The gist
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Mozaffarian calls saturated fat a distraction, citing an 8-week trial where butter raised LDL cholesterol but cream with the same fat did not.
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He says seed oils and omega-6 fats are beneficial in human studies, and he uses extra virgin olive oil daily but canola for deep frying.
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He ranks whole fat plain yogurt and other fermented dairy highest among animal foods, red meat as fine once or twice weekly, processed meats lowest.
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He says ultraprocessed foods supply about 60% of calories and suggests packaged foods with at least 1 gram of fiber per 10 grams of carbs.
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He says resting energy expenditure fell about 220 calories a day over 25 years, and GLP-1 drugs should only come with nutrition and lifestyle support.
"We also generally cook and use extra virgin olive oil for everything because of the taste. I just really like the taste a lot."
▶ Play at 1:16:574 creators recommend it, including Bryan Johnson, David Sinclair, and Dominic D'Agostino.
See all on the Extra virgin olive oil page"If we're going to actually fry and do some deep frying, we use canola oil. Olive oil will burn, and canola oil is actually more stable than extra virgin olive oil... If you like to cook with canola oil or soybean oil for taste or for cost or for other things, it's perfectly fine."
▶ Play at 1:17:02"What I recommend to people is probably the most important thing is to make sure you're having yogurt and cheese. Don't just think about milk... If you're having the sugary kind because you don't like the flavor, switch to whole fat and you might love it... I think a plain whol..."
▶ Play at 2:19:06"As a general rule, and we've published on this that it works pretty well, look for at least one gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrate. That's a 10:1 ratio... If you can get a ratio to 5:1 or 4:1, it's even better."
▶ Play at 1:38:10"I do think these drugs are important and can be helpful, and I prescribe them in my practice for the right patients, but they're not being used correctly."
▶ Play at 2:06:0415 creators recommend it, including David Sinclair, Allison Ellsworth, and Clavicular.
See all on the GLP-1 pageWhat they recommend · 9 picks
Health & fitness
4 picks · Dariush Mozaffarian and Rhonda Patrick
"As a general rule, and we've published on this that it works pretty well, look for at least one gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrate. That's a 10:1 ratio... If you c..."
"Hey guys, I usually cook with olive oil or avocado oil, and I've wondered how much of that choice matters once the pan gets hot."
"I do think these drugs are important and can be helpful, and I prescribe them in my practice for the right patients, but they're not being used correctly."
Rhonda, Joe, Andrew and Mark agree on 43 things
See what they all use, in their own words. Paid ads are left out.
See what they all swear by Or pick your own peopleFood & drink
4 picks · Dariush Mozaffarian and Rhonda Patrick
"What I recommend to people is probably the most important thing is to make sure you're having yogurt and cheese. Don't just think about milk... If you're having the sugary kind ..."
"When I make my morning breakfast smoothies, one frozen banana, one unfrozen banana, scoop of peanut butter, I use oat milk. It tastes better. I'm a little bit lactose intolerant..."
"If we're going to actually fry and do some deep frying, we use canola oil. Olive oil will burn, and canola oil is actually more stable than extra virgin olive oil... If you like..."
Other picks
1 pick · Dariush Mozaffarian
"We also generally cook and use extra virgin olive oil for everything because of the taste. I just really like the taste a lot."
Dariush Mozaffarian
6 picks · guest
"As a general rule, and we've published on this that it works pretty well, look for at least one gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrate. That's a 10:1 ratio... If you c..."
"What I recommend to people is probably the most important thing is to make sure you're having yogurt and cheese. Don't just think about milk... If you're having the sugary kind ..."
"When I make my morning breakfast smoothies, one frozen banana, one unfrozen banana, scoop of peanut butter, I use oat milk. It tastes better. I'm a little bit lactose intolerant..."
Rhonda Patrick
3 picks · host
"Hey guys, I usually cook with olive oil or avocado oil, and I've wondered how much of that choice matters once the pan gets hot."
"Hey guys, I usually cook with olive oil or avocado oil, and I've wondered how much of that choice matters once the pan gets hot."
"I have a cold plunge at my house. I only use it in the summer, embarrassingly, because I do know about the science behind it, but it's a lot easier for me to get in the hot tub ..."
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