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Sigma Nutrition Radio

Danny Lennonsigmanutrition.com
Discussions about the science of nutrition, dietetics and health. The podcast that educates through nuanced conversations, exploring evidence and cultivating critical thinking. Hosted by Danny Lennon.
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Episodes

#397: Dietary Nitrates & Nitrites

In this episode Danny & Alan discuss the impacts of nitrates and nitrites on health. They look at the beneficial impacts of dietary nitrate, as well as issues around nitrites in processed meat. Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode397/

Jul 27, 202159 min

#396: Leigh Frame, PhD – Nutrient Trials: RCT Design, Ethics and Placebo Groups

Dr. Leigh Frame, PhD is Director of Integrative Medicine at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington DC. Dr. Frame received her PhD in Human Nutrition, as well as a Master of Health Science degree in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In this episode we discuss a range of topics including: the role of placebo groups and the different types we see in nutrient supplementation trials, potential ethical issue...

Jul 20, 202136 min

#395: Prof. Carel le Roux – Current Thinking in Obesity Treatment

Professor le Roux is an expert in metabolic medicine and is currently a Professor of Experimental Pathology, University College Dublin. He is recognised as a world leader in metabolism and obesity. Professor le Roux’s clinical focus is in the management of Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular risk and other metabolic disorders. Professor Carel le Roux has been published extensively and currently holds a number of editorial roles for journals in his field including, Clinical Obe...

Jul 14, 202131 min

#394: Gar Benn – Nutrition Coaching Q&A

Gar Benn is the Head of Coaching at Sigma Nutrition, where he works with nutrition coaching clients and oversees the coaching services. He is the owner of CityGym Limerick, a powerlifting-centric gym in Ireland. And he is also the co-founder of the European Powerlifting Confernce and Titan Ireland. Gar is a qualifed nutrition coach and has completed courses in Motivational Interviewing and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Show notes at sigmanutrition.com/episode394/...

Jul 09, 202149 min

#393: Vitamin D: Does Supplementation Actually Improve Health?

Click here to subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium Vitamin D status is linked to a variety of health outcomes, and avoiding or correcting deficiency is important. However, does supplementing with vitamin D actually benefit most people? Is there evidence for supplementation improving health outcomes like mortality, cancer risk, depression or other outcomes? In this episode Danny and Alan look at intervention trials of vitamin D supplementation. Show notes available at: https://sigmanutrition.com/...

Jun 29, 20211 hr 23 min

#392: Clare Pettinger, PhD, RD – Environmentally Sustainable Diets & Food Access

Dr. Clare Pettinger is a Registered Dietitian, Public Health Nutritionist and experienced educator. Dr. Pettinger publishes research in the public health nutrition field, and lectures at the Universtity of Plymouth, UK. Dr. Pettinger is actively engaged in community-focussed research around food systems, poverty and social justice. She is an enthusiastic 'sustainability advocate' involved in promoting environmentally sustainable diets for nutrition professionals and Allied Health Professioinals....

Jun 22, 202148 min

#391: Is There a Body Weight Set Point?: Models of Body Mass Regulation

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss the three primary models used to explain body mass regulation: 1) Set Point Model, 2) Settling Point Model, 3) Dual Intervention Model. They discuss the role of feedback systems, environment, behaviour, as well as discussing both the "thrifty gene hypothesis" and John Speakman's "drifty gene hypothesis".

Jun 15, 20211 hr 6 min

#390: Gil Carvalho MD, PhD – Dairy, Olive Oil & Diet Debates: Understanding Evidence

Gil Carvalho, MD PhD is a medical doctor, research scientist, science communicator. Dr. Carvalho trained as a medical doctor in the University of Lisbon, in his native Portugal, and later obtained a PhD in Biology from Caltech (California Institute of Technology). He has published peer-reviewed medical research spanning the fields of genetics, molecular biology, nutrition, behaviour, aging and neuroscience. In this episode we discuss: Dairy: is it over-emphasized in the Dietary Guidelines for Am...

Jun 09, 202151 min

#389: Renee McGregor, RD – Why Are Athletes Under-Eating?

Renee McGregor is a leading sports dietitian, specialising in Eating Disorders, REDs, The Female Athlete, athlete health and performance. She is regularly asked to work directly with high performing and professional athletes that have developed a dysfunctional relationship with food that is impacting their performance, health and career. Her practice and knowledge is supported by extensive experience of working in both clinical and performance nutrition, including, Olympic, Paralympic and Common...

Jun 04, 202150 min

#388: Consequences of Weight Stigma and Weight Bias

Danny & Alan discuss the current evidence on the health consequences and societal consequences of weight stigma and weigh bias. This includes implicit bias, explicit bias, and internalization of bias. What evidence do we currently have? And what questions remain unanswered? Segments: Today's Topic in Focus [03:39] Listener Questions [59:48] Quack Asylum [68:55] Random Recommendations [72:07] You can find the show notes to this episode at sigmanutrition.com/episode388 If you wish to support t...

May 27, 20211 hr 17 min

#387: Shift Work and Health

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss the relationship between shift work and health. Why does shift work have negative health impacts? How can one mitigate circadian misalignment? How does shift work impact nutrient metabolism? What nutrition, sleep and lifestyle strategies can help shift workers? Show notes at: sigmanutrition.com/episode387

May 18, 20211 hr 13 min

#386: Deirdre Tobias, ScD – Study Design, Diet Collection Methods and Nutrition Epidemiology

Dr. Tobias is a nutrition and obesity epidemiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. She received doctoral and postdoctoral training from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, under mentor Dr. Frank B. Hu. Dr. Tobias is co-Instructor of Nutrition Epidemiology with Dr. Walter Willett and faculty member at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Her epidemiologic research focuses on identifying lifestyle risk factors and underly...

May 12, 202159 min

#385: Insulin Resistance & Diet

In this episode we explore the causes of insulin resistance, and the dietary modifications that may help those with insulin resistance. We discuss how insulin resistance is a complex metabolic disorder, that goes beyond one single pathway or cause. There is also a discussion on the mechanisms of insulin resistance pathogenesis. Specifically, we talk about the accumulation of ectopic fat. Ectopic fat is the storage of triglycerides in tissues other than fat tissue, such as the liver, skeletal mus...

May 04, 20211 hr 17 min

#384: Research Review: The Interference Effect & Concurrent Training

In this episode Greg Nuckols and Mike Zourdos breakdown two research papers related to the interference effect and concurrent training. Greg and Mike (along with Eric Helms and Eric Trexler) produce the MASS research review, which breaks down the latest research studies relevant to those interested in strength training, strength sports, and bodybuilding. From April 27th to May 4th you can get a significant discount on a MASS subscription by visiting sigmanutrition.com/mass-sale/...

Apr 27, 202144 min

#383: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) & Diet

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss irritable bowel syndome and the evidence related to dietary interventions. They discuss diagnosis of the condition, various sub-types, potential mechanisms, the gut-brain axis, first line treatments, impact of fibre, and evidence on the low FODMAP diet. Today's Topic in Focus: IBS & Diet [06:20] "I Have a Question!" [74:47] Quack Asylum [79:30] Random Recommendations [86:49] Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode383...

Apr 20, 20211 hr 34 min

#382: Andy Morgan – Practicalities of Body Composition Change

Andy Morgan is the founder of RippedBody.com and an online coach. He co-authored the Muscle & Strength Pyramids books along with Dr. Eric Helms and Andrea Valdez. He has published a host of excellent nutrition and training resources in the form of ebooks, articles and podcasts, which can be found on the Ripped Body website. He recently released the third edition of the Diet Adjustments Manual. You can find the show notes to this episode at: sigmanutrition.com/episode382

Apr 06, 202150 min

#381: Prof. Chris Packard – LDL Cholesterol, ApoB & Atherosclerosis

Prof. Chris Packard holds an Honorary Professorship of Vascular Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow. Over his career, Professor Packard has focussed on two aspects of atherosclerosis research, lipoprotein metabolism and how it is affected by diets and drugs, and large-scale clinical trials of lipid lowering agents. He is acknowledged as one of the leading researchers in the world in this field. Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode381

Mar 30, 20211 hr 15 min

#380: Prof. Barry Popkin – The Nutrition Transition & Using Policy Actions to Create Healthier Diets

Prof. Barry Popkin is the W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a nutrition and obesity researcher at the Carolina Population Center and is the director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Obesity at UNC. He developed the concept of the Nutrition Transition, the study of the dynamic shifts in dietary intake and physical activity patterns and trends around obesity and other nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (NCD). Pr...

Mar 23, 202149 min

#379: Obesity & Chronic Disease Risk with Dr. Spencer Nadolsky

Danny and Alan are joined by Dr. Spencer Nadolsky. Dr. Nadolsky is a board-certified obesity specialist, lipidologist, and family physician. In this episode we discuss the strengths and limitations of BMI, adipose tissue type and relevance to risk, hypertrophic vs. hyperplastic adipocytes, 'Metabolically Healthy Obesity', and weight stigma. Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode379

Mar 16, 20211 hr 18 min

#378: Nutritional Epidemiology

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss some critical aspects to understand about nutritional epidemiology in order to evaluate diet-disease relationships appropriately. Of particular focus in this episode is the unique exposure of interest in nutrition studies, why its crucial to understand temporal relationships and how to think about relative risk and absolute risk. The guys finish by explaining how one can include these findings into an understanding of an overall body of evidence. Show notes...

Mar 09, 20211 hr 17 min

#377: Herman Pontzer, PhD – Metabolism, Mitochondria & Evolutionary Biology

Herman Pontzer, PhD is an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University and Associate Research Professor of Global Health at the Duke Global Health Institute. He is an internationally recognized researcher in human energetics and evolution. Over two decades of research in the field and laboratory, Dr. Pontzer has conducted pathbreaking studies across a range of settings, including fieldwork with Hadza hunter-gatherers in northern Tanzania, fieldwork on chimpanzee ecology in...

Mar 02, 202149 min

#376: Kevin Hall, PhD – Plant-based Diet vs. Ketogenic Diet: Impact on Calorie Intake

Dr. Kevin Hall, PhD is Senior Chief of the Integrative Physiology Section of the Laboratory of Biological Modeling at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). His laboratory investigates how metabolism and the brain adapt in response to a variety of interventions to diet and physical activity. They carry out studies to better understand the complex mechanisms regulating macronutrient metabolism, body composition, and energy expenditure. Recently Dr. Hall was ...

Feb 23, 202152 min

#375: Salt, Sodium & Health

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss the current evidence base related to sodium intake and health, most notably cardiovascular disease. The episode walks through understanding diet-disease relationships, the epidemiology of sodium and health outcomes, the reasons for conflicting conlusions, sodium measurements in research, intervention trials, and more. Importantly, the claim that the sodium-CVD risk relationship exhibits a "J-shaped curve" (i.e. risk is low at moderate intakes and higher at ...

Feb 16, 20211 hr 44 min

#374: How to Plan a Fighter’s Diet

In this episode Danny becomes the interviewee, as he is interviewed by sports dietitian and owner of The Fight Dietitian, Jordan Sullivan RD. Jordan oversees the diet of several UFC athletes, including champions Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski. Danny and Jordan have an in-depth chat about all aspects of nutrition and weight cutting for combat sport athletes, including the concept of the "52 week fight camp" and Danny's five-phase model of combat sport nutrition. This discussion first a...

Feb 09, 20211 hr 40 min

#373: Alcohol & Health: Is Zero Better Than Some?

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss the health impacts of alcohol and take a look at the research to answer whether alcohol should be viewed as having a J-shaped curve of risk or zero alcohol being better than any amount. Segments: [03:40] Today's Topic in Focus [53:45] "I Have a Question!" [62:14 ]Random Recommendations Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode373

Feb 02, 20211 hr 6 min

#372: Mike Israetel, PhD – Bodybuilding, Avoiding Suffering & Lessons for Life

Dr. Mike Israetel​ is the cofounder of Renaissance Periodization, where he produces content related to training and dieting for hypertrophy, strength and bodybuidling. Dr. Israetel is also currently a professor in the strength and hypertrophy masters program at Lehman College. Mike is himself a competitive bodybuilder and professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappler. Show notes available at sigmanutrition.com/episode372

Jan 26, 202153 min

#371: Dietary Cholesterol – Are Eggs & Cholesterol-rich Foods a Cause for Concern?

In this episode Danny and Alan discuss the debate over the impact of dietary cholesterol on LDL-C levels and heart disease risk. Are eggs & cholesterol-rich foods a problem? Let's dive into the research to find out! Today's Topic in Focus: [00:51] "I Have a Question!" [62:32] Quack Asylum [72:55] Random Recommendations [75:28] Show notes: https://sigmanutrition.com/episode371

Jan 19, 20211 hr 24 min

#369: Prof. Jason Gill - Population Cardiometabolic Disease Risk: Impact of Strength, Fitness & Activity

Professor Jason Gill is a Professor of Cardiometabolic Health in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow. He leads an active multi-disciplinary research group investigating the effects of exercise and diet on the prevention and management of vascular and metabolic diseases from the molecular to the whole-body level. He is a past Chair of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Division of Physical Activity for Health and a member o...

Jan 06, 202158 min

#368: Shannon Beer – Intentional Eating, Flourishing Health & Behavioural Psychology

Shannon Beer is a nutritionist, working with people via online coaching and mentoring, with the goal of helping people improve their health through facilitating lasting behaviour change. In collaboration with Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro, she has developed a coaching framework that applies motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral coaching, and acceptance and commitment therapy-aligned processes in a client-centered alliance toward their own values-based goals. This 'Comprehensive Coaching' model...

Jan 01, 202159 min
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