Latest / Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson / Superfood Myths: What Works, What Hurts, What’s Hype

Transcript

Superfood Myths: What Works, What Hurts, What’s Hype · Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

• 0:04
  >> Dr. Terry Simpson: On today's episode, we're going to talk about
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  superfoods. Or are they really snake
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  oils? Or why your acai bowl won't
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  cure cancer? And also why you should maybe stop
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  listening to your friend who sells sea moss on
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  Instagram.
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  I'm Dr. Terry Simpson, your chief medical explanationist,
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  and this is for Q Fork
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  University, where we bust myths, make sense of the
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  madness, and teach you a little bit about food and
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  medicine.
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  Let's start with a harsh truth. The
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  term superfood means absolutely
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  nothing in science. It's a marketing term
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  born in the early 2000s, fueled by
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  desperate food companies and Gwyneth
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  Paltrow's glowing skin.
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  What gets labeled a superfood? Maybe a
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  study, maybe a molecule, maybe a press release.
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  And suddenly blueberries are the key to immortality.
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  And if you're not spooning chia seeds into your overnight
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  oats, you must want heart disease.
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  Now don't get me wrong, I love blueberries. I think
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  they're great. I do have chia seeds in my overnight
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  oats. And I love avocados. They're delicious,
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  but that doesn't make them magical.
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  And the superfood label is just a health
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  halo with a price tag.
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  Let's pick on turmeric for a m minute. People love
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  to say it cures inflammation. Many people
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  approach me on TikTok and say what should they do with turmeric?
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  Because they have inflammation. And there are thousands
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  of articles that cite curcumin, which is
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  turmeric's active compound, as anti
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  inflammatory. Here's the
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  Curcumin doesn't absorb well in your gut.
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  Your gut treats it like an uninvited guest. Clinical
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  trials mixed at best. Most are funded
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  by supplement companies with more turmeric to sell than
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  data to show. And now the part they
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  really don't put on the turmeric
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  has been linked to liver failure. There
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  are multiple case reports of turmeric induced
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  hepatitis in even otherwise healthy
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  individuals, especially when mixed with alcohol or
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  when taken in high dosed supplement form.
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  So if you think downing a turmeric shot after a night of
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  tequila will detox your liver fork, no.
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  That golden drink might actually damage it.
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  And in cases, it's even led to urgent liver
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  transplantation. So here's my Keep
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  your liver. It's the only one you've got. And turmeric will
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  not grow you another. And maybe be the designated
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  driver. I mean, it's time to grow up.
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  Let's talk about a couple of other darlings in the wellness world. Let's talk
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  about sea moss. People love it for thyroid
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  support, gut health and vibrations, whatever those
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  are. Sure, sea moss contains
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  iodine and some trace minerals, but take
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  too much and your thyroid's going to shut
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  down. There's nothing like hypothyroidism
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  leading to cardiac arrhythmias. And, you know, that's
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  kind of the opposite of good vibes. And then
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  there's RFK Jr. S favorite
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  raw milk, the new status symbol for
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  crunchy TikTok wellness warriors. Look,
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  I get the nostalgia, but, uh, this isn't
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  a return to tradition. It's a return to
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  listeria, salmonella, escherichia
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  coli, campylobacter, and tuberculosis.
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  You know, pasteurization wasn't invented to ruin
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  your rustic milk aesthetic. It was invented
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  to prevent deaths. Raw milk
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  causes miscarriages, sepsis, kidney failure,
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  and death in children. If you're
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  drinking unpasteurized milk because someone online says it
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  has more nutrient value or more enzyme, ask
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  them how many funerals those enzymes have been to.
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  And then pasteurize your milk. Because the truth of the
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  matter is there is no more nutrient value in
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  unpasteurized raw milk at all.
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  But there are bacteria. And I don't care how good the
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  farm looks until you can actually get a
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  microbiologist out there, your best
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  is pasteurization. You
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  know, here's the part where I sound boring, but actually
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  give some good advice. Like eat mostly
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  plants. Prioritize whole foods over ultra
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  processed. Use olive oil like an
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  Italian grandmother. Get your fiber if you need it from
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  powders, that's fine, but it's better from real food. And
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  supplements are okay, but legumes are better. And
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  don't fear carbs. Fear
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  nonsense. The Mediterranean diet remains the
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  most evidence backed dietary pattern on
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  the planet. Not because it has superfoods,
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  but because it has balance. Tomatoes, beans,
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  whole grains, fish, olive oil. Not
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  flashy, but dangerous. Deeply effective.
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  So you do not need powdered lion's mane from the
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  Himalayas. You need beans, lentils, chickpeas.
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  Foods that have been sustaining civilization longer than
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  those TikTok shirtless salesmen of supplements and
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  scams have existed. Let's talk
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  about lowering cholesterol.
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  Soluble fiber from beans beats red
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  yeast rice any day. And
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  statins beat both of them. What about
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  magnesium for blood pressure? It turns out that a cup of
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  legumes, which is like beans, chickpeas,
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  gives you a hefty magnesium dose, plus protein,
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  plus fiber and no mystery additives. And
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  if your body has enough magnesium, food
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  doesn't cause it to take more and give you the well
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  I need to go to the bathroom for this. And while
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  vitamins might fill gaps, and vitamins are very important
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  for people who are on GLP1 drugs. People who've had weight
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  loss surgery, people who are pregnant are going to become pregnant. Or
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  people on weird diets. Food gives you
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  synergy, nutrients, working together like a jazz band,
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  not like a solo act. So supplements have their
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  place. But if you're skipping legumes and swallowing
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  capsules, you're missing the point.
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  Here's a few other little tricks. Bone broth. It's not
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  magical. It's a decent source of collagen. But it
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  will not erase wrinkles. It will not
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  seal up your gut. It will not fix leaky
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  gut. Goji berries. Overhyped,
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  expensive raisins with a press agent. Acai
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  bowls. Basically, it's sorbet with
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  granola. Raw milk. Again,
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  bacteria are not your friends. Beets for
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  nitric oxide or beetroot powder.
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  It's been helpful for elite athletes, but not your
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  average couch potato. Matcha,
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  Huberman's current favorite. Yep, it contains
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  antioxidant. But if you're chasing youths, wear
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  sunscreen. And you know what? Black tea works
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  just as well. So superfoods are great
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  clickbait. But real health isn't
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  about one food, one supplement,
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  one ground up beef heart. It's about
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  patterns, consistency, and let's be
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  honest, a lot less
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  Instagrammable meals. So the
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  next time someone tries to sell you health in a jar,
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  just remember for Q.
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  This podcast was researched and produced by me, Dr. Terri
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  Simpson. And while I am a doctor, I am not
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  your doctor. This information is for your
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  entertainment and educational purposes only. And if
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  you're making changes to your diet, please consult a real board
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  certified physician and registered dietitian, not a
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  chiropractor, homeopath, or even eastern trained shaman.
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  Distribution handled by my friends at simpler media. The
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  pod got himself Mr. Evo
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  Terra. Have a great week. Everybody be
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  skeptical. Eat real food. We'll see you
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  next week.
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  Hey, Evo, what's your personal
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  superfood? I'm going to give you mine. It's
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  coffee, black, over roasted,
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  epidemiologically sound.
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  I'm strong to the finish. Cause I eat space
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  spinach. I'm popped by the sailor.
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  Um.