Episode #212 - Dr. Alice Stanton

If you’ve been following me for long, then you know the most recent publication of the Global Burden of Disease Risk Factor Study (GBD) in 2019 came to some startling conclusions about the impact of red meat on health.

But if you’re new – here’s a quick recap:

The GBD study is a comprehensive analysis of epidemiological studies that look at factors that increase risk for death, illness, and injury worldwide. The results of the study influence health policy worldwide.

The most recent report, released in The Lancet in October 2020, revealed a 36-fold increase in deaths caused by red meat and concluded the Theoretical Minimum Risk Exposure Level of red meat is 0g per day (meaning even one bite of beef ups your risk of death!).

These shocking conclusions caught the eye of a group of highly respected global academics who wrote a letter to The Lancet requesting evidence backing up these results. Until very recently, this request was largely ignored.

One member of this group of academics is Dr. Alice Stanton, and she is on the show today to give us an update on the progress made on the questions asked of the GBD authors.

Dr. Stanton is a clinician-scientist with a PhD in Pharmacology. She is currently a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and a Professor of Cardiovascular Therapeutics.

In this episode, Dr. Stanton discusses:

• Her concerns over the focus of nutrition messaging demonizing red meat and other animal-sourced foods

• Omission of most ultra-processed foods in the GBD

• The influence of the GBD on worldwide food and nutrition policy

• The difference between GBD 2017 and GBD 2019

• Standards for scientific publications

• GBD authors’ admission of errors

• Where do we go from here?