Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
We're swimming in conflicting nutrition advice, so why not go straight to the definitive source?
I sit down with Dr. Walter Willett, Professor of Nutrition at Harvard, and the most cited nutrition scientist in the world. With a half century of research & data from hundreds of thousands of participants in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Dr. Willett has done more to define what a healthy diet actually looks like than almost anyone else in history.
We cut through the noise of internet fad diets to discuss what the highest-quality, long-term data actually proves about longevity, chronic disease, and what we should put on our plates.
We cover:
Carbohydrate Confusion: The crucial difference between whole grains and potatoes (and his new 2025 substitution study).
Protein Sources: How beef is the most pro aging food.
The Truth About Fats: Reflecting on the landmark 1993 trans-fat paper that changed the food industry (and the massive pushback he received).
If you want rigorous, peer-reviewed science rather than the latest social media trend, this is an interview you cannot miss.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who needs a dose of real nutrition science!
BOOKS:
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating by Walter Willett
https://a.co/d/0agTI4Zh
Nutritional Epidemiology, 3rd Edition by Walter Willett
https://a.co/d/0bgJUThX
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet by Johan Rockström
https://a.co/d/062OhrdW
PAPERS & REPORTS:
EAT-Lancet 2025: Global food transformation needed to ease pressure on the planet and save millions of lives
stockholmresilience.org/research/research-stories/2025-10-03-eat-lancet-2025-global-food-transformation-needed-to-ease-pressure-on-the-planet-and-save-millions-of-lives.html
The EAT Lancet full PDF:
donorplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PIIS0140673625012012.pdf
Meat vs EAT-Lancet: The dynamics of an industry-orchestrated online backlash
changingmarkets.org/report/meat-vs-eat-lancet-the-dynamics-of-an-industry-orchestrated-online-backlash
Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging | Nature Medicine
nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03570-5
Intake of trans fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among women | The Lancet
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PII0140-6736(93)90350-P/fulltext
Consumption of Olive Oil and Diet Quality and Risk of Dementia-Related Death
jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818362
Total and specific potato intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three US cohort studies and a substitution meta-analysis of prospective cohorts
bmj.com/content/390/bmj-2024-082121
Low-Carbohydrate Diets of Varying Macronutrient Quality and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Three U.S. Prospective Cohort Studies
drive.google.com/file/d/1PpnCujBUHwpqAx8dIaa1UIgC3Nh8KSH0/view?usp=sharing
FASCINATING CHARTS:
Harvard's heat map from optimal diets for healthy aging:
drive.google.com/file/d/1l7FeZf-K6GjIob7jLNk4QSVururGOZ04/view?usp=sharing
Harvard's type of fat vs. mortality:
drive.google.com/file/d/1dWlaLQ1Kqs4Foe9pRW4zkOnpZoBsqytP/view?usp=sharing
EAT Lancet's food guide graphic:
drive.google.com/file/d/1ngOgEEwu1802licLatkcw4RV0fRtlGsL/view?usp=sharing
0:00 Our journey to obesity
3:21 The leading indicator of population health
7:59 Why we believe in some sciences but not others
11:48 The campaign against EAT Lancet
22:12 Beginning of Dr. Willett interview - Diet
29:31 The best science doesn't get published
30:46 Getting the ban on trans fats
37:47 Is nutritional epidemiology reliable?
42:02 Eat Lancet diet & seed oils
47:33 Environmental aspect of food
50:34 Dr. Willett's critics
1:00:16 My conclusions
We're swimming in conflicting nutrition advice, so why not go straight to the definitive source?
I sit down with Dr. Walter Willett, Professor of Nutrition at Harvard, and the most cited nutrition scientist in the world. With a half century of research & data from hundreds of thousands of participants in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Dr. Willett has done more to define what a healthy diet actually looks like than almost anyone else in history.
We cut through the noise of internet fad diets to discuss what the highest-quality, long-term data actually proves about longevity, chronic disease, and what we should put on our plates.
We cover:
Carbohydrate Confusion: The crucial difference between whole grains and potatoes (and his new 2025 substitution study).
Protein Sources: How beef is the most pro aging food.
The Truth About Fats: Reflecting on the landmark 1993 trans-fat paper that changed the food industry (and the massive pushback he received).
If you want rigorous, peer-reviewed science rather than the latest social media trend, this is an interview you cannot miss.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video with anyone who needs a dose of real nutrition science!
BOOKS:
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating by Walter Willett
https://a.co/d/0agTI4Zh
Nutritional Epidemiology, 3rd Edition by Walter Willett
https://a.co/d/0bgJUThX
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet by Johan Rockström
https://a.co/d/062OhrdW
PAPERS & REPORTS:
EAT-Lancet 2025: Global food transformation needed to ease pressure on the planet and save millions of lives
stockholmresilience.org/research/research-stories/2025-10-03-eat-lancet-2025-global-food-transformation-needed-to-ease-pressure-on-the-planet-and-save-millions-of-lives.html
The EAT Lancet full PDF:
donorplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PIIS0140673625012012.pdf
Meat vs EAT-Lancet: The dynamics of an industry-orchestrated online backlash
changingmarkets.org/report/meat-vs-eat-lancet-the-dynamics-of-an-industry-orchestrated-online-backlash
Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging | Nature Medicine
nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03570-5
Intake of trans fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among women | The Lancet
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PII0140-6736(93)90350-P/fulltext
Consumption of Olive Oil and Diet Quality and Risk of Dementia-Related Death
jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818362
Total and specific potato intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three US cohort studies and a substitution meta-analysis of prospective cohorts
bmj.com/content/390/bmj-2024-082121
Low-Carbohydrate Diets of Varying Macronutrient Quality and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Three U.S. Prospective Cohort Studies
drive.google.com/file/d/1PpnCujBUHwpqAx8dIaa1UIgC3Nh8KSH0/view?usp=sharing
FASCINATING CHARTS:
Harvard's heat map from optimal diets for healthy aging:
drive.google.com/file/d/1l7FeZf-K6GjIob7jLNk4QSVururGOZ04/view?usp=sharing
Harvard's type of fat vs. mortality:
drive.google.com/file/d/1dWlaLQ1Kqs4Foe9pRW4zkOnpZoBsqytP/view?usp=sharing
EAT Lancet's food guide graphic:
drive.google.com/file/d/1ngOgEEwu1802licLatkcw4RV0fRtlGsL/view?usp=sharing
0:00 Our journey to obesity
3:21 The leading indicator of population health
7:59 Why we believe in some sciences but not others
11:48 The campaign against EAT Lancet
22:12 Beginning of Dr. Willett interview - Diet
29:31 The best science doesn't get published
30:46 Getting the ban on trans fats
37:47 Is nutritional epidemiology reliable?
42:02 Eat Lancet diet & seed oils
47:33 Environmental aspect of food
50:34 Dr. Willett's critics
1:00:16 My conclusions
