Whos your hero, when it comes to nutrition science
Okay, we admit thats not a question the average person on the street could answer, but we figure everyone reading the Oldways Table blog probably has at least one person whose work they truly admire, someone who serves as a trustworthy compass for eating well.
No matter what name you came up with, its fairly likely that your hero is part of the Dream Team Oldways is gathering together for our Finding Common Ground conference next week in Boston. The bold goal: to get the top experts in one room, and shut the door until they all agree on what constitutes a healthy diet, so that people everywhere can stop feeling whipsawed by conflicting advice. Heres our list of scientists:
Walter Willett Cited by U.S. News & World Report as one of the worlds most recognized and highly cited nutritionists and clinical scientists, Dr. Willett serves as Scientific Co-Chair of Finding Common Ground. As a recent article in The Boston Globe reported, he plays an outsize role in matters of the American diet.
David Katz A cross between Johnny Appleseed and a Roman gladiator is how Dean Ornish describes David Katz, who is our other Scientific Co-Chair. Must be because Dr. Katz tirelessly spreads the seeds of better nutrition but does so while sercely defending the truth from various barbarians.
Dean Ornish Speaking of Dr. Ornish, hell be there too. LIFE magazine named him One of the fifty most influential members of his generation, and Forbes called him One of the worlds seven most powerful teachers.
Joan Sabaté The benefits of plant-based diets are increasingly well-documented thanks to Dr. Sabatés work as chair of the nutrition department at Loma Linda University. His research is one reason the city of Loma Linda was designated as a Blue Zone by National Geographics Dan Buettner.
Boyd Eaton Now we go from plants to Paleo. Dr. Eaton is widely acknowledged as the founder of the Paleo diet movement. It was his 1985 NE Journal of Medicine paper titled Paleolithic Nutrition that sparked initial interest in researching the eating patterns of our distant ancestors.
Antonia Trichopoulou and Miguel Angel MartÃnez-González Dr. Trichopoulou is often described as the mother of the Mediterranean Diet while Dr. MartÃnez-González heads up the PREDIMED team, running the worlds largest clinical trial on the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.
Christopher Gardner Dr. Gardners on the cutting edge of nutrition research, currently sussing out how factors like insulin resistance, genes, and microbiota affect weight loss. At the same time, he’s focusing on food systems and sustainability.
David Jenkins Dr. Jenkins, known worldwide for creating and documenting the concept of Glycemic Index, was appointed an Ocer of the Order of Canada in 2013 his countrys highest civilian honor.
David Ludwig and Steven Abrams Dr. Ludwig, who will also speak on the role of glycemic response, runs the top pediatric obesity clinic in the country, work that led TIME magazine to refer to him as an obesity warrior. Dr. Abrams, who also works with kids as Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Dell Medical School, was a member of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Malden Nesheim and Tom Kelly Whats good for us to eat should also be good for the planet. Dr. Nesheim is best known recently for his work on the 2015 book A Framework for Assessing Effect’s of the Food System, while Dr. Kelly is founding director of the University of New Hampshires Sustainability Institute.
Alessio Fasano Dr. Fasano is perhaps the worlds leading expert on gluten and celiac disease, work that has led him to discover that gut health our microbiome may be at the root of many auto-immune diseases. (If you missed our blog post about why microbiome matters, read it here.)
Frank Hu, Eric Rimm, Meir Stampfer This trio of respected researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have thousands of peer-reviewed publications between them. Dr. Hu and Dr. Rimm have both served on Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees, and Dr. Stampfer is among the top i’ve most-cited scientists in clinical medicine.
Dariush Mozaarian Dr. Mozaarian is Dean of Tufts Universitys Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, the only graduate school of nutrition in North America, and also a board-certified cardiologist, which gives him special insight on the benefits of healthy eating.
Neil Barnard and T. Colin Campbell Rounding of our dream team are two scientists very well-known for advocating plant-based diets. Dr. Barnard is President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Dr. Campbell is celebrated for carrying out The China Study, featured in the documentary Forks over Knives.
What will happen when all these experts get in the same room Stay tuned to nd out. We also have commitments from dozens of top nutrition and health journalists planning to attend, representing outlets as diverse as NPR, The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, WebMD, USA Today, HungtonPost, Family Circle, Womens Day, and many more so no matter where you turn for your news, youll hear the results.
Dont want to wait Well be publishing the consensus statement on November 18, and will be sharing their presentations on the Oldways website as soon as possible after Thanksgiving. Sign up for updates here and stay in the know about when we release conference materials.
Cynthia, Oldways Whole Grains Council, Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies
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