How Different Diets Impact Your Health | Dr. Christopher Gardner

My guest is Dr. Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of nutrition studies at Stanford. He is known for his pioneering research on the impact of dietary interventions on weight loss and health.

We compare ketogenic, vegetarian, vegan and omnivorous diets—and why there is no one-size-fits-all approach. All agree, however, that eliminating or dramatically reducing processed foods is best for health.

We discuss the protein needs controversy; plant vs. animal proteins; the importance of fiber and low-sugar fermented foods for gut health and inflammation; and how diet affects gene expression. We also review food allergies—including gluten, wheat, dairy and soy—as well as raw dairy.

The episode offers data-supported advice for healthier eating.

Articles

• Effect of raw milk on lactose intolerance: a randomized controlled pilot study (Annals of Family Medicine)
• The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing (Public Health Nutrition)
• Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion: The DIETFITS Randomized Clinical Trial (Journal of the American Medical Association)
• Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial (Journal of the American Medical Association)
• Effect of a ketogenic diet versus Mediterranean diet on glycated hemoglobin in individuals with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus: The interventional Keto-Med randomized crossover trial (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
• Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems (The Lancet)
• Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in Vegetarian Diets—A Review (Nutrients)
• Maximizing the intersection of human health and the health of the environment with regard to the amount and type of protein produced and consumed in the United States (Nutrition Reviews)
• Perspective: The Public Health Case for Modernizing the Definition of Protein Quality (Advances in Nutrition)
• A randomized crossover trial on the effect of plant-based compared with animal-based meat on trimethylamine-N-oxide and cardiovascular disease risk factors in generally healthy adults: Study With Appetizing Plantfood-Meat Eating Alternative Trial (SWAP-MEAT) (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
• Cardiometabolic Effects of Omnivorous vs Vegan Diets in Identical Twins: A Randomized Clinical Trial (JAMA Network Open)
• Unveiling the epigenetic impact of vegan vs. omnivorous diets on aging: insights from the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS) (BMC Medicine)
• A gut pathobiont regulates circulating glycine and host metabolism in a twin study comparing vegan and omnivorous diets (medRxiv)
• Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status (Cell)

Books

• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
• Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)

Other Resources

Scientific Literature & Databases

• NOVA Classification System
• US Clinical Trials Database

Academic & Institutional Resources

• Culinary Institute of America
• Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Initiatives & Advocacy

• Menus of Change
• Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus
• Eat Real
• Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

Media & Documentaries

• You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
• The Cove
• The Game Changers
• How Much Protein Do We Need? | Drs Stuart Phillips and Christopher Gardner | The Proof Podcast

Events

• Google Food Lab

Educational Materials

• Powered by Plants: A Guide to Plant-Based Eating

Corporate Transparency

• Beyond Meat Ingredients

Commentary

• A study comparing the effects of vegan and omnivorous diets fails Science 101
• Omnivore vs Vegan Diet Study Among Identical Twins

Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned

• Dr. Stacy Sims: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity
• Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: How to Exercise & Eat for Optimal Health & Longevity
• Dr. Peter Attia: Exercise, Nutrition, Hormones for Vitality & Longevity
• Dr. Layne Norton: Tools for Nutrition & Fitness
• Dr. Justin Sonnenburg: How to Build, Maintain & Repair Gut Health
• Dr. Matthew Hill: How Cannabis Impacts Health & the Potential Risks

People Mentioned

• Michael Pollan: journalist, author, English professor, Harvard
• Gary Taubes: health journalist, science writer
• Gerald Reaven: professor emeritus, Stanford School of Medicine
• Earl Butz: Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, USDA
• Mark Hyman: physician, functional medicine
• Doris Calloway: professor emeritus of public health nutrition, UC Berkeley
• Sheldon Margen: professor emeritus of public health nutrition, UC Berkeley
• Stuart Phillips: professor of kinesiology, McMaster University
• Louis Psihoyos: photographer, documentary film director
• Nimai Delgado: vegan bodybuilder