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The Skeptical Cardiologist recently gave a virtual presentation for St. Louis University School of Medicine Grand Rounds on recent studies examining the therapeutic benefit of omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil supplements.
The talk is about 45 minutes and is absolutely mesmerizing. Just kidding. Actually, I m always amazed at how oddly and slowly I speak even when I m totally at ease and know the topic backwards and forwards.
I began by indicating that I would be talking on a weirdly interesting topic that spans nutrition, business, the nutraceutical-industrial complex, quackery, and preventive cardiology and yields fascinating insights into the glaring weaknesses of nutritional epidemiology, the hidden weaknesses of randomized clinical trials, and the many sources of bias in scientific research.
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Anthony C. Pearson, MD, is a noninvasive cardiologist and professor of medicine at St. Louis University School of Medicine. He blogs on nutrition, cardiac testing, quackery, and other things worthy of skepticism at The Skeptical Cardiologist, where a version of this post first appeared.
Last Updated December 30, 2020
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The phrase plant-based diet is being tossed around a lot these days. The Skeptical Cardiologist never knows what people mean when they use it and so must assume that most of the world is also puzzled by this trendy term.
For some, a plant-based diet is what vegans eat. Veganism combines a diet free of animal products with a moral philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals.
Vegans are the strictest of vegetarians, eschewing milk, fish, and eggs.
One plant-based diet advocate in the introduction to a special issue of the
Journal of Geriatric Cardiology wrote that a plant-based diet consists of all minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs, and spices and excludes all animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products.