Tag: Truth

I first sat in a room full of Rothkos at MoMA in late 2006 or early 2007. I had come to New York with my family and somehow ended up in that room full of giant rectangles of color. I had no idea what I was looking at or who Mark Rothko was at the time. I sat there for what felt like eternity, staring at life-size fields of color that evoked a strong feeling, drawing me in for reasons I could not name. I just know it mattered because I have never stopped chasing that feeling since.

Fat causes heart disease. This nutritional certainty dominated health advice for decades until emerging evidence suggested sugar is the real culprit. It is incredulous that experts in the field provided incorrect guidance for so long.

In the 1950s, two scientists proposed competing theories. Ancel Keys claimed saturated fat causes heart disease. John Yudkin argued sugar poses the real threat. Keys happened to hold positions on influential health boards and directed research funds toward supporters. When Yudkin published evidence against sugar, Keys called it “a mountain of nonsense.” Siding with the loudest voice, the nutrition establishment marginalized Yudkin and his research.