Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Mind & Matter
Seed Oils & Heart Disease: Oxidized LDL, Cholesterol, Fat & Cardiology | Tucker Goodrich | 244
Overview and alternative interpretation to the mainstream view on how dietary fat and cholesterol relate to cardiovascular disease.
Episode Summary: Tucker Goodrich is an engineer by training who has become a prominent independent researcher and blogger on nutrition and metabolic health, focusing on the harms of seed oils and polyunsaturated fats.
About the guest: Nick Jikomes and Tucker Goodrich explore atherosclerosis and heart disease, critiquing the standard model that blames high LDL cholesterol while highlighting how oxidized LDL—driven by dietary linoleic acid from seed oils—plays a key role in plaque formation and inflammation; they discuss historical shifts in heart disease rates, genetic factors like familial hypercholesterolemia, the limitations of animal studies, and why reducing seed oil intake could prevent issues more effectively than just lowering cholesterol.
Discussion Points:
- Atherosclerosis involves plaque buildup in arteries, often leading to heart attacks, but plaques contain oxidized fats and cholesterol, not just native cholesterol.
- Dietary cholesterol has little impact on blood levels or heart disease in humans, unlike in rabbits used in many studies.
- High LDL may not be inherently bad; oxidized LDL from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) like linoleic acid causes macrophages to overeat and form harmful foam cells.
- Familial hypercholesterolemia patients only show higher heart disease rates in modern, industrial diets high in seed oils, not historically.
- Populations like the Kitavans and Tsimané have high apoB but no heart disease on traditional diets low in industrial foods.
- Fried foods are oxidized seed oils, explaining why they're unhealthy despite omega-6 fats being labeled "heart-healthy."
- Omega-3 fats can displace omega-6 in cells, reducing oxidation risk.
Reference Papers:
Related episode:
- M&M 136: Seed Oils, Omega-6 PUFAs, Inflammation, Obesity, Diabetes, Chronic Disease & Metabolic Dysfunction | Chris Knobbe
*Not medical advice.
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