Episode 33: Nutrition Series Intro

Welcome to the Beauty of Better Podcast, where we help moms thrive in health and faith.

Hey, mamas, Danielle here.

We're super excited you're joining us this week.

We're starting a new series, and I'm beyond excited for it.

We are going to start a series on nutrition, you know, especially leading up to the holidays coming up, and fad diets happen, and with the new year, but with this series, you know, we're all trained in science, we all do research, we have different backgrounds, whether it's in exercise, health, nutrition, but we love science and we love research.

And so for this series, what we're going to do is we're going to pull apart research articles on different nutrition topics and just analyze the studies and look like, did they have the proper sample size?

Was their study methodology appropriate?

What were their results?

What can we imply?

What can we learn and what can we do better?

And we're going to pull apart topics that are controversial or hot right now, like seed oils or avocados or cherries.

I don't know, we're going to brainstorm today and just talk a lot about what we want to learn about in this series and what it's going to look like, and really the value of science.

And we might nerd out a little bit and that's okay.

So I'm going to open it up just as we start this discussion on what our new series is going to be like with nutrition and science and pulling it all apart.

I love that.

Thanks, Danielle.

Just Kathleen here.

And I have a background.

I did my bachelors in biology and chemistry, and I had the intent to go on to medical school.

But for me, I eventually came around to seeing the power of nutrition in preventative medicine.

And so that's the route I ended up taking in my postgraduate studies studying human nutrition.

But the thing I love about science and why we're passionate about it in this space, I mean, obviously, we're all kind of, we work in that space, but it's just so important, I feel like, because you think about, like, why did God give us, like, his word, the Bible, like a physical guideline for how we should follow his ways, like how life works best.

And the thing I love about science, like we don't need to be afraid of science because it always just reveals who God is.

And that's why I had loved studying it growing up, is just because I felt like God just revealed himself to me through it.

And, you know, we just think about, in this day and age, you know, we have phrases like, live your truth, or what's your truth.

And, you know, that's why it's so important that we have God's word, because it points us back to what the truth actually is.

And we don't have to make our own truth.

No wonder anxiety is at a high when people think that they have to come up with their own truth.

It's like, no, God has established things from the beginning of time, and he knows how life works best.

And so I know the other gals are going to share a little bit more about scientific process and the importance of that.

But yeah, I just think I'm excited for this as we delve through these different topics, because especially nutrition, that is a buzzword for a lot of us, especially as moms, you know, we want the best for our kids.

We want to make sure that we're giving them good nutrition, but it can also be a source of big stress, and guilt, as parents, you know, feeling like you have to live on a farmstead and grow all your own food, and like, if it's not straight from the ground, then, you know, we put shame on ourselves.

And we hope a little bit, and as we discuss too, that we would just lift the heavy yoke off you mommas as well, and just bring some wisdom and insight into this topic.

And so, yeah, we're excited for this one.

Yeah, thanks.

I love that you said that science is just a way to discover more about God, because it really is.

And if he's created everything, he's given us the brains that we have.

He's created the world the way that it is.

He's created the way that things operate in nature and in food and in our bodies.

And really, it is just kind of like a big discovery zone every time we, you know, learn about something new.

And one way that we can learn about these new things is through reading research articles.

And I think just to kind of clarify some things, I'm just going to define a couple terms so that everybody's on the same page here.

But when we're talking about research articles in science specifically, in this topic that we're talking about today, in nutrition, there's something called the peer review process.

And basically what that is, is where other experts in the same field, aka peers, right?

They're basically evaluating a researcher's work before it's published to a scientific journal.

So, for example, when I was doing my masters, when I was working on my thesis, I collected a bunch of data, I had some methods that I used to do that, I came up with a hypothesis, and then I tested it, and then I got this data, and I wrote this big, long article about it.

I put my findings in there, and then I sent it to a bunch of different journals for them to say like, yeah, we like this, we'll publish it, or no, we don't like this, you need to fix these things.

So basically, that's how it works.

You, like, I was the scientist, I submitted my study to a journal.

There's reviewers that check things like, what methods did I use?

How did I collect my data?

How did I analyze my data?

What did I conclude from all of that?

And like I said, they might accept it.

Most of the time, they send it back and say, hey, here's some revisions that you need to make, or they'll reject it and say, we, you know, this wasn't a good study design, we don't like that.

But the reason why that's important, and the reason why this is not the same as like something that you just find on TikTok or Instagram, is that these are like actual trained experts in the field that you're interested in.

So when you're actually studying something, it's done in a very controlled, it's like done in a tunnel, kind of.

Like there's, the environment is controlled, things are controlled in order to look at like one or two variables and see what they do to something else.

So the reason why the peer-reviewed process exists is to catch mistakes and see, you know, that things are actually based on solid evidence, not just opinion.

So it really helps prevent like bias that people might have.

It helps prevent things like fraud or just like sloppy work in general.

Peer review, obviously, because we're humans, it's not perfect, right?

But it is the best thing that we have.

It's the best system that we have to filter out unreliable research, like before it hits the market, basically.

So if you see like a peer review journal article, most of the time, you can look at that, and that is reliable.

But I think Cristiana is going to talk a little bit about like validity and reliability, what those things mean, and how we can kind of look through those things, too.

I just wanted to jump in really quick on the peer review process, and just note, it is not easy to get a peer reviewed article.

It's not like you just submit research, and it's peer reviewed, and you get your publication.

Actually, professors, when they mentor you in this process, tell you, expect rejection all the time.

You will get rejected, rejected, rejected, keep refining your methods, keep looking at your analysis, keep learning, and then maybe someday you'll get some revisions to make, and then you get published.

It's a blind process, so they don't know what university you're coming from, they don't know what your name is, they don't know your background, they're just looking at your study methodology, your analysis, your results, and making sure that it's sound.

So I just wanted to throw that out there, because it's not an easy process.

It's very time consuming as well.

And also, there are things called retractions, where if somebody's study does make it through the process, and then later an error is found, or something is found to not be sound with it, an article could be retracted.

So I think just following that process is important too.

But Kristiana, jump in, I know you love reliability and validity and all the things.

I think we all love it, like you were saying.

We can nerd out on this a lot.

So Kelsey brought up that concept of reliability.

So just to define things, kind of like we're defining peer review, if something's reliable, it's consistent.

So what we want to be doing is missing our decisions on whatever type of research for this one, it's nutrition that we're gonna break down for you.

Is it gonna give you consistent results, right?

So if you eat cherries, are you gonna get those consistent antioxidants like in your system that are gonna have powerful effects?

Because if it's inconsistent, then like sometimes it could be helping you, sometimes you're not.

So why are you wasting your time, energy, and money on something that's inconsistent?

So when we use that word reliability, just think the word consistency, I think that might be a little bit easier to chew on.

And then for validity, we use the word truthfulness of like it has to be reliable.

Like it has to be consistent to be able to be truthful, right?

So if we want to say do cherries and consuming those help you in recovery from triathlons, right?

That's a question that could be posed, and someone could research that.

Then you examine like consumption compared to no consumption or consumption of a bowl of cherries or tart cherry juice or diluted versions, and you have different groups.

And then you could take blood markers or other things like that to see, are you getting those consistent results?

And it's not just anecdotal of like, oh yeah, I feel great.

I'm not that sore.

Like we're actually taking like physiological data, not us, but well, the research community, I guess you could be saying to see like, are you getting consistent results?

And there's actually different types.

Sorry, I get excited.

I start talking about reliability and validity, like different subcategories of each of those that get assessed before something can be adopted as being like commonly prescribed or even claiming to have the effects that it does.

Because on the front of food labels, there's not a lot of protected things.

There's a lot of fluff that's there.

And marketing tricks.

Exactly.

And so we want to know, like, what actually do these things do to our bodies?

Like, I love physiology.

And so I want to know, like, how is it being processed?

How does that help me in the short term?

How does that help me in the long term?

How does that help performance?

Like, if I'm competing, the snacks I pack my daughter when she has, like, two or three soccer games, like it looks different than if, you know, it's maybe one soccer game or if we're just going on a hike, so I feel like it helps you make educated decisions, but I mean, that's just like, gosh, I could go on.

We should do a lecture on it, but that's so good.

And I think with consistency, something that's important to note with research studies is it's not just like what you said, Christiana, like taking something or eating something and be like, oh, it was great for me, like, it'll work for you.

I feel like I see that a lot, especially on social media, like, oh, I tried this essential oil and it helped me, so it's going to help you.

But it's like, no, like, let's look at a larger sample size, and let's see, like, was this consistent with the majority of people in our sample size?

And if it was, what did it actually do?

And looking at those narrow variables, and then when you do get those results, it's like, okay, who is this relatable?

Who is this translated for?

What population?

Because just because it was good with this sample size doesn't mean it's good for everybody.

I think one of the flaws in research that we have is the majority of studies are done on men.

That's part of why I do a lot of my research on women, because we just don't know a lot of things for women specific.

So we're going to look at all of that.

Like, what is the simple size, and is this reliable?

Is this valid?

Was this peer reviewed?

And something else that I really appreciate about research articles is they have a section on limitations.

As Kelsey said, nothing is perfect.

Like, we're human.

And I think sometimes people expect science to be perfect, and if it's not perfect, it's not true.

And I've seen a lot of that, and it's like, no, like, there's imperfections.

But that's why we have a limitation section in our research, where it's like, I conducted this study.

Like, I've had studies I've done before where I have small sample sizes, and you're at risk for type 2 errors, and you just acknowledge that, and you just say, like, this was my sample size, and this is why it was small, and I'm acknowledging that it's small.

And so guess what?

It's not generalizable to the whole population, but this is what we learned from it.

And the whole purpose of research is you continue to learn and you continue to build.

So I'm so excited to dive into these.

I love pulling up her articles in a very methodical way.

I just wanted to comment on, I feel like sometimes people are, I don't know if afraid is the right word, but sometimes, well, in Christian circles, sometimes can be afraid of science because they feel like, oh, that's giving honor to something that's not God.

Or, and I just think, I hope you're encouraged listening to us, but also, I've just always, I remember in college being in awe that I had such genius scientist professors, and they loved to the Lord with their whole hearts.

And they just, they pursued science with that perspective of just like, wow, I'm getting to be a part of like God's creation.

I'm getting to help figure it out with him.

And I think if we have that posture, that we don't need to be afraid of science, like science isn't our God, but it reveals God.

And so I just want to encourage moms out there who have maybe lost trust in science, in the sense that they feel like, oh, I can't even look at that because it's being not honoring to God.

Like, that's not how it has to be.

It can be both and.

And yeah, I don't know, because I think there is sometimes, and maybe you ladies haven't have experienced that, I don't know, in Christian circles, like attitudes towards science, if anybody wanted to share on that.

No, I would echo that.

I've seen it a lot actually.

And I think another piece of that too is, if a mom hasn't gone to school for science, or gone to college, or done a post-grad degree, or doctorate, or anything, it's like, that's why we're here.

Like, we have been trained in that, and we love that, and we're happy to pull it apart.

Like, you don't have to go back to school to get another degree, or to get a degree to understand science.

Like, we're here sharing knowledge with our community because we love it, and we have been trained in it.

But we also are Christians, and we do view it through that lens of like, wow, God is like such a great creator.

Let's like dive deeper into learning about this, and what can we learn?

And yeah, I think that's so good.

Yeah, I think here in Southern California, too, sometimes like there's so many opinions around nutrition especially, and a lot of heated opinions.

You know, I just hope that in this space, as we kind of delve into these different articles, that maybe it can just help, I don't know, just get rid of some of the myths that are out there around things.

Because sometimes I can't feel hard.

Even me as a nutritionist, sometimes I can look at things and feel overwhelmed by stuff.

So I understand how nutritional science can feel overwhelming at times.

And sometimes what nutritional science may be said in the past, they've changed the guidelines on that.

But that's also the beauty of the scientific process, is it's like, like Danielle said, it's not perfect, but it builds upon what has been, and you keep learning.

And you get new knowledge, and the next generation realizes, oh, we don't have to cut all the fat out of our diet.

You know, and so that's, I think that's, that is the beauty of sciences, that it's like, it can grow and change over time, but yet the importance of having that controlled procedure and method of going about finding what is best for our bodies is very important to stick to, and not just to go with what the cultural trends or TikTok is saying.

Yeah, and I think to tie off of that too, it is gonna vary if someone has a medical condition, right?

So some of the articles that we'll bring up might be good for just a general, healthy person, but then you really need to be connecting back to your physician.

So if there is something like diabetes, heart disease, or some other ailment that is personally occurring for you or someone else, we are not prescribing certain things.

We're just saying, hey, this is good for a general person.

And so I think that's also where there's been some confusion maybe by people in the past that you need to tread with caution, and it's not a one-size-fits-all.

And so really knowing, going back to what Daniel was saying, knowing who it's applicable to, who is it relevant to, that ties back into validity.

You can't have truthfulness unless you have consistency and relevance.

So what works for adults might be different for children.

And so I think also making sure that things are carefully understood that way is important.

Sample size and just, yeah, and we'll pull that apart when we look at articles like, this study was done on women ages this age to this age.

And obviously, we're going to try to find ones that are most applicable to moms, but maybe to kids too.

So yeah, we're just going to dive into those and analyze them and learn from them.

And I think also mama's just knowing like we're coming at this from a very neutral lens, like we're not going to pull articles.

I feel like there's a lot of articles out there where it's like, oh, I'm only looking for this, like to sway this way or to sway this way.

But it's really looking at a neutral lens, like how do we learn from the best studies that are done, and have a neutral lens, and just be honest and like talk about the flaws of the study, but talk about the benefits of the study, and like who it's applicable to, and what we can learn from it.

And we're probably even going to make suggestions like, oh, another study should come and try this, this and this next time, because of what we've learned.

And so we're going to be really neutral with that and not try to sway one way or the other.

We're not getting paid for these.

Like we're not getting paid by cherry corporations or seed oil corporations to like talk about these.

Like it's completely from a scientific lens of let's analyze these together, and let's learn together.

So mamas, we hope this is a fun series for you.

We hope you're able to learn some gold nuggets about nutrition and even understanding research in the scientific process more as you make decisions for your own health and for the health of your family.

And we hope that this just helps you take one small step to becoming better today.

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