Food Truth
The GRAS loophole, ultra-processed food science, natural flavors, seed oils, and the research the food industry funded to obscure the truth.
4 articles
Contested: follow the funding
The Oils in Your Kitchen Are the Most Recent Addition to the Human Diet. Here Is Who Funded the Research That Called Them Heart-Healthy.
Canola, soybean, corn, and cottonseed oils did not exist in the human diet before the 20th century. They are extracted using petroleum solvents and deodorized at high heat. The AHA, which recommends them as heart-healthy, was established with a $1.74 million donation from Procter and Gamble, maker of Crisco. The independent controlled trial evidence points against the AHA recommendation.
Well established
Ultra-Processed Food Is Not Food. An NIH Randomized Controlled Trial Found Participants Consumed 508 More Calories Per Day Without Knowing Why.
Ultra-processed food makes up over 70% of the US food supply. A randomized controlled trial at the NIH found participants consumed 508 more calories per day on a matched ultra-processed diet without trying to overeat. A 2024 review of 45 meta-analyses and 10 million participants found convincing evidence linking it to cardiovascular mortality, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression.
Contested: follow the funding
The PURE Study Tracked 101,945 People Across 17 Countries. The AHA Saw the Results and Kept Its Guidelines Anyway.
The PURE study tracked 101,945 people across 17 countries and found that sodium below 3 grams per day is associated with higher cardiovascular mortality than moderate intake of 3 to 6 grams. The AHA's 2.3-gram recommendation falls in the higher-risk range. The restriction guidelines trace to a 1972 rat study using doses 50 times the typical human intake.
Well established
The GRAS Loophole: How Food Companies Decide Their Own Ingredients Are Safe and Why the FDA Often Does Not Know What Is in Your Food
Since 1958, food companies have been permitted to declare their own ingredients safe without submitting evidence to the FDA. A 2013 JAMA Internal Medicine review of 451 such determinations found 100% were conducted or commissioned by the manufacturer. The FDA often does not know what is in your food. Checking the FDA ingredient database before buying is the first line of defense.