S5E2: Phytonutrients in Meat: Beyond Macros & Micros w/ Dr. Stephan van Vilet, PhD

Season 5, Episode 2

Dr. Marc Bubbs interviews researcher Dr. Stephan van Vliet from Duke University to discuss his research on the phytonutrient content of meat, the implications for human health, and the intersection of farming, health, and medicine.

Summary of the Episode

0:45 – Stephan’ academic background

1:55 – How production systems and diet quality impact chronic disease

4:01 – Meat, dairy and the phytochemicals they contain

7:08 – Herbs, polyphenols and why wine is a good idea to pair with steak

10:25 – Terpenoids: squalene, thaurine, anserine, and the like for cognition and health

12:00 – Unprocessed vs. processed meats

13:30 – Factory-farming and excess consumption of red meat

17:45 – The importance of ruminant animals in up-cycling nutrients

20:45 – False dichotomy: plant vs. animal-based

23:45 – Phytochemicals in meat may be comparable to plant foods

25:10 – Grass-fed vs. feedlot and how they impact inflammatory markers

29:05 – Diet quality, saturated fat and what it means for health

31:40 – The ‘reductionist message’ problem in nutrition

35:40 – Fitness, muscle and diet quality on health

38:58 – The challenges with studying chronic, complex conditions in science

42:00 – How to simplify nutrition & the external cost of ‘processed’ foods

45:05 – Evolution of research at the intersection of farming, plant-diversity, nutrition, and medicine

49:45 – #1 Tip – Focus on increasing whole, unprocessed foods in your diet.


ABOUT DR. STEPHAN VAN VLIET PHD
Dr. Stephan van Vliet is a human nutrition scientist in the Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center within the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. van Vliet earned his PhD in Kinesiology and Community Health as an ESPEN Fellow from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received post-doctoral training at the Center for Human Nutrition in the Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine.

 Dr. van Vliet’s research is performed at the nexus of agriculture and human health. In his work, Dr. van Vliet links food production systems to the nutrient density of food, and their subsequent effects on human metabolic health using high-throughput techniques such as metabolomics and proteomics. His studies have evaluated the effects of dietary patterns and food sources on protein and lipid metabolism, inflammation, insulin action, body composition, and intracellular signaling pathways that regulate metabolic health. His work has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, the Journal of Nutrition, and the Journal of Physiology.

RESEARCH

Health-Promoting Phytonutrients Are Higher in Grass-Fed Meat and Milk.


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