In this episode, I dive into the complex and often frustrating world of food, health, and government policies. Joined by Dr. Ken Berry, we explore how big food corporations have engineered our diets to be addictive and unhealthy, and the systemic issues that perpetuate this cycle. We also touch on the broader implications of government spending and the challenges of enacting meaningful change in Washington. It’s a deep dive into the intersection of health, policy, and personal responsibility.
Food Wars and Health
Dr. Ken Berry and I discuss the alarming ways in which food corporations have manipulated our diets. These companies have engineered foods to hit a “bliss point,” making them addictive and overriding our natural satiety signals. This manipulation has led to widespread health issues, including obesity and chronic diseases. Dr. Berry emphasizes the importance of understanding what constitutes real food and the need to eliminate harmful ingredients like vegetable seed oils and artificial dyes from our diets.
Key Data
10 multinational corporations control most of the food industry.
11% of SNAP benefits are spent on sugary drinks like Coke and Pepsi.
Life expectancy in the U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations despite high health expenditures.
Implications
Our current food system contributes significantly to chronic health issues.
Government policies often prioritize corporate profits over public health.
Individuals need to take personal responsibility for their health by making informed dietary choices.
My biggest worry for the Trump team is that regime media will continue to deceive the 30%-40% of US citizens who get most their news from those sources. I imagine one solution is that the new Press Secretary always has behind her in briefings a billboard that (1) lists all major news sources that lied or seriously omitted on crucial matters and without retraction, (2) links to a web page proving the lies via a few major irrefutable cases, and (3) states that no questions citing evidence from those sources will be answered until retraction and apologies for the lies is done. That way, all coverage of press briefings educates citizens about ascertaining truth in news. I’ve also imagined that the new administration should subcontract to Chris & Team to make and maintain the web page in 2 above. What do you think of this idea?
The economic climate in Europe is getting gloomier. France has a political/economic crisis that is going to be a hard solve. This makes another key European economy in bad straits. Germany continues to deindustrialize and loose jobs. Italy is in perpetual stagnation for many years. The only other larger economy, Poland, is doing relatively well but Poland is not going to pull Europe out of the current quagmire. I see these trends only getting worse before things get better. Tariffs are not going to help Europe. Is there some light at the end of the tunnel? I certainly dont see any. The USA has cheap energy, lower regulation, a large internal market, a new political order coming soon. In relative terms, be thankfull!
I think a website that states the MSM lie and then provides proof of the truth with an explainer and appropriate links to source info is ABSOLUTELY necessary.
Most people get news on censored mediums (smart TV’s without full internet access) and phones (using default browsers like google) which only provides a limited hangout at best of “news” according to the official narratives, with “fact” checks backing them up, instead of other search engines which do not go along with the official narrative storyline.
When I’m at someone’s house and am telling them real information about an event, there’s no way to show them the truth when all they have is a smart TV and their cell phone. A LAPTOP is a necessity for truth today with the correct search engine installed and the correct trusted sources bookmarked for various stories needing to be debunked from the MSM narratives.
I love that you had Dr. Ken Barry on (been following him on ScrewTube for a while now).
Insofar as the “using food science to fuel addiction” thread, James Garner did a movie back in 1993, “Barbarians at the Gate”, which was a “behind the scenes” look at the executives of RJ Reynolds / Nabisco. The movie is a fictionalized drama based on what came out of depositions/evidence from the tobacco / cancer lawsuits, including the fact that RJ Reynolds deliberately shifted their brain science / addiction scientists from the tobacco companies to food in order to increase profits. This was NOT on people’s radar back then, and its surprising it took 40 years for this to finally begin to enter the public consciousness. The movie is a “biopic”, so alas, an extremely limited audience saw it.
Thanks for this interesting video. Welcome to the Force. As with many of us, I think you will find that nutrition, lifestyle changes and naturopathic medicine are the real true healers.
As someone who’s used them for decades, I can tell you I’ve heard more “miracle” stories in naturopaths’ offices than everywhere else combined.
Fish oil - proposed by naturopaths about 40 years ago
Fiber intake - ditto
Paleo diet- ditto
CoQ10/CoQH for heart/energy issues - that was us
Sugar elimination/reduction
Carb reduction, especially wheat
Vitamin D for mood/immune enhancement
Coffee avoidance, since it irritates the bowels and strains adrenal glands
Adrenal supplements for people with weak glands
Milk thistle to clean the liver
The way this has worked is similar to the way you’ve described progress in other fields of knowledge. First, MDs ridicule the naturopathic research. Then they consider it. Then, eventually, they make a miraculous discovery, taking credit for it, and it becomes “common knowledge”.
The list goes on.
I have a friend who’s 72 years old, and he can run circles around his twenty-something and thirty-one-year-old son. Wanna guess why?
I have the right question, who is Dr. Marshall? Long story, but I had an MD in the 90’s, and I stumbled across Dr. Marshall’s research. My PCP called him in Australia and talked to him for over an hour. My doc said the man deserves the nobel peace prize in medicine, but watch, his reputation will be destroyed, and his name smeared… and it was.
So I’ve been wondering about sunflower oil, why it is lumped in with other seed oils. People have been eating sunflower oil for millennia it’s not a modern invention. I do understand the problems with canola and corn and the like.
My guess: Depends on the process… if it is “pressed” its fine I would think. On the other hand, if it is extracted by chemical processing, as with most ‘seed’ oils, then its NOT fine.
Easy: Bombing Syria and Yemen without Congressional approval.
Hard: Shooting down drones over domestic military facilities because we don’t “have the authority.”
One problem with all the non-organically-grown oils is that they’re generally sprayed heavily with Round-Up. That’s glyphosate. As Chris would say, No Bueno. It’s a known carcinogen.
If @cmartenson and @kenberry7 don’t already have it on the syllabus for the food forum webinar lectures, I’d really appreciate some references, resources, or a quick primer on addiction recovery. Guidance for ones’ self, and for bringing youngsters and other dependents through the resistance and habit changes and cravings and resetting default modes.
Based on all the talk of retired tobacco scientists moving over to food products, and the 90’s “common knowledge”, that quitting tobacco was as hard as quitting heroin… I think we’re gonna need it.
Just watched a documentary on the US using the Marshall Islands/Bikini Atoll as a nice venue to test 67 nuclear bombs.
The main focus of the doc was the US unwillingness to admit the horrific health damage and reluctance to compensate the Marshallese people.
A sub theme not really highlighted was the fact the islanders were told not to eat native grown food upon return.
Instead, they were told to eat the products the US provided. Frosted flakes, canned corn and spam.
You’ll never guess the result! Previously slim fit islanders were beset with diabetes, high BP and obesity. SURPRISE!!!
My concerns are when “experts” validate their point of view with this statement, “There is no peer reviewed evidence” to oppose their opinion. At the very least they should confess that there is also no peer reviewed evidence to back up their view. Furthermore those counselling with nutritional advise for health should at least allude to the health risks of such suggestions.
Many decades ago a professor in my first year medical school held fantastic lectures of the relationship between foods, geographic locations, cultural habits, migration, social-economical status, etc and specific diseases. This data was largely based on empirical data and not peer reviewed evidence.
My first loving wife died tragically very early in life from cancer. When my second, equally beloved wife, was diagnosed with breast cancer in her mid thirties, I consulted the most prominent oncologists, breast surgeons, pathologists and immune therapist located around the world. They had decades of experience. The science is very well understood today. One correlation factor in the disease is that roughly 1/8 (13%) women in dairy consuming countries (USA, EU) will have breast cancer. In largely non dairy consuming countries (China, Vietnam, Indonesia) there is so to say zero disease.
The same hold true with excessive red meat consumption and colorectal cancer and other diseases, not to mention the amount of antibiotics, growth hormones found in most red meat.
There are so many well written books on proper nutrition that can backed up by logical observation and largely published data. The greatest form of misinformation in my humble opinion, is omission.
