Science Friction
Science Friction

Science Friction

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Science Friction has a new series: Cooked. We dig into food science pickles. Why are studies showing that ice cream could be good for you? Do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet says? And why are people feeling good on the carnivore diet? Nutrition and food scientist Dr Emma Beckett takes us through what the evidence says about food categories and ingredients like meat, dairy and salt — and unpick why nutrition studies can be so conflicting and confusing. Airs Wednesday 11:30am Sunday 2pm, Monday 12:30am

Recent Episodes

03 | Cooked: Mystery in the Mediterranean
FEB 12, 2025
03 | Cooked: Mystery in the Mediterranean
It was one of the world's biggest nutrition trials. A study of thousands of people which found that following a Mediterranean diet could meaningfully reduce someone's risk of heart disease and stroke. But as data detectives began to comb through the results of the trial, something wasn't quite adding up. On Cooked this week, we're taking a look at what can go wrong when implementing a nutrition science trial at scale ... and what it means for one of the world's most popular diets. Guests: Dr John Carlisle Anaesthetist, NHS, United Kingdom Dr Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz Epidemiologist, University of Wollongong Dr Evangeline Mantzioris Program Director, Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of South Australia Credits: Presenter: Dr Emma Beckett Producer: Carl Smith Senior Producer: James Bullen Sound Engineer: Angie Grant This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri, Jagera and Turrbal peoples. More information: The analysis of 168 randomised controlled trials to test data integrity - Anaesthesia, 2012. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet - New England Journal of Medicine, 2013. Data fabrication and other reasons for non-random sampling in 5087 randomised, controlled trials in anaesthetic and general medical journals - Anaesthesia, 2017. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts - New England Journal of Medicine, 2018. Mediterranean‐style diet for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019. Translation of a Mediterranean-Style Diet into the Australian Dietary Guidelines: A Nutritional, Ecological and Environmental Perspective - Nutrients, 2019. Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is associated with physical and cognitive health: a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling older Australians - Frontiers in Public Health, 2022. In conversation with John Carlisle: the silent hero shaping medical publication integrity - ENT and Audiology News, 2024. That Huge Mediterranean Diet Study Was Flawed. But Was It Wrong? - NYT, 2018. Errors Trigger Retraction Of Study On Mediterranean Diet's Heart Benefits - NPR, 2018. How the Biggest Fabricator in Science Got Caught - Nautilus, 2015. Statistical vigilantes: the war on scientific fraud - The Guardian, Science Weekly Podcast, 2017.
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02 | Cooked: All-meat eaters say they feel great - but why?
FEB 5, 2025
02 | Cooked: All-meat eaters say they feel great - but why?
Diets like carnivore have been popping up all over the place. People who go carnivore aim to eat nothing but a select few animal products, like meat and eggs. So why are some people turning to an all-meat diet? And why do they say they feel good doing so? On this episode of Cooked, we sift through some of the counterintuitive findings around carnivore — the scientific pitfalls you need to be aware of when reading the research — and the health effects in the short and long term. Guests: Mick and Jenny New South Wales, Australia Dr Jacob Mey Assistant Professor and Registered Dietitian, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana Dr Richie Kirwan Lecturer, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Liverpool John Moores University Dr Janet Chrzan Nutritional anthropologist, University of Pennsylvania Author, Anxious Eaters: Why We Fall For Fad Diets Credits: Presenter: Dr Emma Beckett Producer: Carl Smith Senior Producer: James Bullen Sound Engineer: Angie Grant This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri, Jagera and Turrbal peoples. More information: Behavioral Characteristics and Self-Reported Health Status Among 2029 Adults Consuming a "Carnivore Diet" - Current Developments in Nutrition, 2021. Limitations of Self-Reported Health Status and Metabolic Markers Among Adults Consuming a “Carnivore Diet” - Current Developments in Nutrition, 2022. Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results from Two Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies - Circulation, 2021. Long-Term Consumption of 10 Food Groups and Cardiovascular Mortality: A Systematic Review and Dose Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies - Advances in Nutrition, 2022. Association of changes in red meat consumption with total and cause specific mortality among US women and men: two prospective cohort studies - BMJ, 2019. Anxious Eaters: Why We Fall For Fad Diets - Columbia University Press, 2022. What is the carnivore diet? - Harvard Health Publishing, 2024.
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