# #291 - Why No Diet Wins (and What 40 Years of Nutrition Research Actually Shows) | Christopher Gardner, PhD, & Mike Haney

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/levels-a-whole-new-level-3517326/291-why-no-diet-wins-and-what-40-years-of-nutrition-research-actually-shows-christopher-gardner-phd-mike-haney
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/levels-a-whole-new-level-3517326/291-why-no-diet-wins-and-what-40-years-of-nutrition-research-actually-shows-christopher-gardner-phd-mike-haney.md
Podcast: [LEVELS – A Whole New Level](https://stenobird.com/podcast/levels-a-whole-new-level-3517326)
Published: 2026-01-30T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wholenewlevel/episodes/291---Why-No-Diet-Wins-and-What-40-Years-of-Nutrition-Research-Actually-Shows--Christopher-Gardner--PhD---Mike-Haney-e3dvta6
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO9397933082.mp3
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Duration seconds: 5036

## Resource

In this episode of A Whole New Level , Christopher Gardner , PhD , joins Mike to discuss his decades in nutrition research, the challenges of conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on diet, and how to communicate complex science to the public. Gardner has led some of the most rigorous research ever comparing dietary approaches in real-world conditions, so his insights about what works (cutting processed food and sugar) and what doesn’t (obsessing about macronutrients) are worth a listen. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl In this episode, we cover: What a nutritional interventionist is – someone who studies people who are asked to change their diet, tracking them and taking samples to see what might have changed. How to square widely-accepted lessons about nutrition (i.e., junk food=bad) with the high degree of individuality in diets that work. The concept of "equipoise" in study design, which means making sure both diets being compared are well-represented versions of that diet (e.g., a "kick butt diet A and a crappy diet B" is avoided). The dilemma of communicating single-study results to the public and the role of the Netflix documentary on Gardner’s famous twin study in making science engaging. Dr. Gardner's experience on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and the methodology used to reach conclusions. The focus on ultra-processed foods and the need to message the consensus points of eating more whole foods and vegetables, and avoiding added sugar and refined grains. The learnings from the DIETFITS study, which compared low-carb and low-fat diets among 600 people for a year, and why there was more variation among people within a diet than between the two diets. 🎙 What Dr. Christopher Gardne…

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