Science-Backed Eating

 

The Truth About Nutrition: Rethinking What We Eat

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Introduction

Despite the overwhelming impact of diet on health, medical schools largely neglect nutrition education. Dr. Casey Means, in Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, reveals how corporate interests have shaped food research and dietary guidelines to the detriment of public health. This article explores the deep-rooted conflicts in nutrition science and outlines simple, science-backed dietary principles to promote optimal health.

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The Misinformation Epidemic in Nutrition Science

During her time at Stanford Medical School, Dr. Means did not take a single nutrition course—a reality for 80% of medical students today. While the medical field often dismisses nutrition as too complex or contradictory, a more troubling issue is at play: industry-funded research.

Food corporations spend eleven times more on nutrition studies than the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Predictably, this funding bias leads to misleading conclusions. For instance:

• 82% of independently funded studies link sugar-sweetened beverages to harm, yet 93% of industry-funded studies find no harm.

• Government food guidelines are shaped by academics with conflicts of interest—95% of experts on the 2020 USDA Dietary Guidelines panel had financial ties to food companies.

• A 2022 nutrition study (partly funded by processed food companies) ranked Lucky Charms as healthier than whole foods like lamb and beef.

The consequences of such biased research extend to school lunches, food subsidies, and public health policies, perpetuating diet-related diseases.

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A Simple, Science-Backed Approach to Eating

Rather than relying on compromised research, Dr. Means proposes an intuitive, common-sense approach to nutrition based on whole, unprocessed foods:

✅ Organic, unrefined, or minimally refined fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and beans.

✅ Pasture-raised, organic, 100% grass-fed meats (e.g., beef, lamb, venison, bison) and foraging poultry (e.g., chicken, turkey, duck).

✅ Wild-caught, small omega-3 fish like salmon, sardines, and anchovies.

✅ Dairy from pasture-raised animals, ideally A2-strain milk, cheese, yogurt, and kefir.

✅ Fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and tempeh.

✅ Filtered water, preferably through reverse osmosis or charcoal filtration.

By focusing on these nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods, individuals can bypass corporate influence and take control of their metabolic health.

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Conclusion

The modern food industry has muddied the waters of nutrition science, prioritizing profit over public health. Instead of being swayed by conflicting studies, Dr. Means encourages a return to simple, whole-food eating patterns. A diet free from processed foods, added sugars, and industry-driven misinformation can lead to better health, longevity, and well-being.

By making mindful, informed food choices, individuals can break free from the cycle of diet-related illnesses and reclaim their health.

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Reference

Means, C., & Means, C. (2024). Chapter 6: Creatinng a good energy meal. in Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health [Kindle iOS version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

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Hashtags

#NutritionTruth #WholeFoods #HealthRevolution #FoodIndustryExposed #MetabolicHealth

Reversing Insulin Resistance

The Hidden Crisis: Insulin Resistance and the Future of Metabolic Health

by David Cornaby

Not long ago, I had a conversation that challenged my understanding of metabolic health. As someone who has been borderline diabetic, I thought I understood the basics—blood sugar control, insulin levels, the necessity of diet and exercise. But what if the real problem starts long before the first symptoms of diabetes appear?

I was introduced to Dr. Ben Bikman, a researcher at Brigham Young University, who has spent his career unraveling the mysteries of insulin resistance. His work suggests that by the time someone is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the underlying issue—insulin resistance—has been silently developing for years. It’s a condition where the body becomes less responsive to insulin, forcing the pancreas to work harder and harder until, eventually, it can’t keep up. The result? Blood sugar spikes, metabolic dysfunction, and, ultimately, diabetes.

The conversation then turned to solutions, and this is where things got interesting. Our company, Cornaby's Specialty Foods, is developing products designed to make the body more insulin-sensitive rather than just managing blood sugar levels. One of the key discoveries? Allulose—a sugar alternative that doesn’t act like sugar in the body.

Unlike other non-caloric sweeteners, allulose doesn’t spike insulin, doesn’t contribute to weight gain, and, according to animal studies, actually helps reduce insulin resistance, abdominal fat, and liver fat while improving mitochondrial function. That’s a big deal. The body processes it differently, and early studies show that it may not just be a neutral substitute for sugar—it might actively help reverse some of the damage done by years of metabolic dysfunction.

One particularly striking experiment involved a woman wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). She tested her blood sugar response to white bread alone and then to the same bread topped with a jam made using allulose. The result? A negative glucose response—her blood sugar actually dropped after eating the jam. This was something she had never seen before.

I couldn’t help but think about the implications. What if we’ve been focusing on the wrong problem? Instead of simply avoiding sugar, what if we need to address insulin resistance at its core? What if a shift in how we sweeten our foods could fundamentally change how our bodies process energy?

For emergency responders, healthcare workers, and others in high-stress professions, metabolic health is more than just a personal issue—it affects performance, endurance, and long-term resilience. The idea that small, strategic changes in diet could help improve energy levels, cognitive function, and long-term health is compelling.

Our company plans to release a line of products built around allulose in the coming months, with the goal of helping people reclaim their metabolic health without giving up the foods they love. I’ll be following this closely, both as a researcher and as someone personally invested in health and wellness.

For those interested in diving deeper into insulin resistance, I highly recommend looking up Dr. Ben Bikman’s Metabolic Classroom series on YouTube. His research provides a fascinating look into why insulin resistance matters and how we can reverse it before it’s too late.

Change begins with knowledge—and perhaps, with the right tools, we can start to shift the conversation from diabetes management to true metabolic health. 

David Cornaby is President and CEO of Cornaby's Specialty Foods in Payson, Utah. 

Hashtags: #MetabolicHealth #InsulinResistance #DiabetesPrevention #HealthyEating #BloodSugarControl