Today's Topic in Focus: Understanding Causality in Nutrition Science
- Inferring causality vs demonstrating causality
- Hierarchy of evidence vs. standards of proof
- The need for correlation, time precedence and non-spuriousness
- Reductionism and erroneous application of the biomedical model to nutrition
- The false causality dichotomy: RCTs vs. epidemiology
- Understanding what the “highest quality evidence available” is
- How nutritional epidemiology can infer causality
Links:
- Deaton & Cartwright, 2018 - Understanding and misunderstanding randomized controlled trials
- Dawson-Hughes & Harris, 2002 - Calcium intake influences the association of protein intake with rates of bone loss in elderly men and women
- Blumberg et al., 2010 - Evidence-based criteria in the nutritional context
- Heaney, 2008 - Nutrients, Endpoints, and the Problem of Proof
- Sigma Statement: How Diet Influences Heart Disease Risk
- Sigma Statement: Red Meat & Human Health
- Podcast: Understanding Diet & Heart Disease Risk
- Science Based Medicine article about The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS)
The Quack Asylum
Being consigned to the Quack Asylum in this episode is...
The ironically-titled paper "Dietary Recommendations for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia: an Evidence-Free Zone" by a who's who list of pro-LCHF, anti-statin, LDL-skeptics.
Random Recommendations
Alan's Recommendation: SS-GB (Netflix Series)
In an alternate-timeline 1941, the Nazis have won the Battle of Britain, forcing Detective Douglas Archer to work under the SS in occupied London. Based on the novel by the same name by Len Deighton. Watch it on Netflix.
Danny's Recommendation: Stumbling on Happiness - Daniel Gilbert
Bringing to life scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, this bestselling book reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there. Find it on Amazon or Book Depository.
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Comments
I just want to say thank you very much for episode #343 on cuasation and the reference list, since I am presently interested in the topic much more generally, from a philosophical perspective.
After listening lots of nonsense about causation it was really refreshing to hear this very pragmatic outlook about a field as experimentally messy as human nutrition. It strikes me that such research must be for optimists!
I have long wondered about the pitfalls of meta analysis so will follow-up the Cartwright paper.
As a podcast enthusiast it also struck me as having a great tone of dialogue and an interesting and healthy mix of scepticism and opneness to new ideas.
Many thanks
Steve
Hey Steve!
Thanks so much for the kind words. It’s great to hear you found this conversation interesting.
On the pitfalls of meta-analysis, we actually have a specific episode on this (354): https://sigmanutrition.com/episode354/
Hope you enjoy!