Michael Greger, MD: ‘Single swaps’ can make a difference in nutrition counseling
By Lucas Laboy
By Michelle L. Tollefson, MD, FACOG, FACLM, DipABLM
Fact checked by Richard Smith
Clinicians should look for supporting evidence when answering questions about the latest nutrition trends or providing dietary recommendations, according to Michael Greger, MD, FACLM.
“You don’t want to change your clinical practice based on one study,” Greger said during a Healio Community webinar. “We want overwhelming evidence of benefit before we recommend it.”
In the webinar, Michelle Tollefson, MD, FACLM, an OB/GYN and professor in the department of health professions at Metropolitan State University of Denver, spoke with Greger, a founding member and fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and physician author, about various nutritional questions that clinicians may hear when counseling patients.
When asked what physicians may underemphasize in obesity counseling, Greger said calorie counts are not just about what you eat, but how and when.
“One hundred calories of chickpeas has a different impact than 100 calories of chicken or chiclets based on their ... impacts on things like absorption, appetite [and] our microbiomes,” he said. “The same number of calories ... at a different time of day, in a different meal distribution, or even after different amounts of sleep can translate into different amounts of body fat.”
When considering ultraprocessed foods vs. plant-based choices and alternatives, clinicians should ask “compared to what,” Greger said.
“[It’s] the most important question in the field of nutrition,” Greger said. “Are plant-based milks and meats healthy? Well, compared to the animal products that they were designed to replace? Absolutely. Though whole plant foods would be even better.”
Read the rest of the article here or watch the full recording here.