Episode 111
Food Pyramid Blues: Influencers are not Scientists
When Influencers Replace Scientists, Everyone Loses
Every few years, nutrition gets a makeover.
First comes a new graphic.
Then comes a new slogan.
Soon after, we hear claims that this time, someone finally figured it all out.
Recently, that makeover arrived in the form of a “reverse food pyramid” and the cheerful phrase “Eat Real Food.” On the surface, that message sounds reasonable. In fact, many doctors have said the same thing for decades.
However, the real problem isn’t the slogan.
Instead, the problem lies in who is now shaping nutrition advice—and who is not.
Yes, Some of the Advice Is Right
To be clear, let’s start with agreement.
Eating real food helps health.
Limiting added sugar makes sense.
Reducing ultra-processed foods improves outcomes.
Importantly, none of this is new.
Doctors, dietitians, and public-health researchers have said these things for years. Because of that, when influencers now say, “See, we were right,” a serious issue appears.
They didn’t discover this information.
They copied it.
The Real Risk Isn’t Agreement
At first glance, agreement sounds harmless.
Nevertheless, agreement becomes dangerous when it turns into ownership.
Once someone believes they have discovered basic nutrition truths, they often assume they can rewrite everything else. As a result, bad ideas slip in quietly, wrapped in confidence instead of evidence.
That shift matters.
Scientists and Influencers Are Not Interchangeable
At this point, we need to say something clearly.
We cannot afford to replace scientists with influencers.
Nutrition science didn’t come from podcasts or social media. Instead, it came from metabolic ward studies, long-term population research, and randomized trials. Moreover, real scientists accept uncertainty. They change their minds when the data changes.
By contrast, influencer culture rewards certainty.
Even worse, confidence often replaces humility.
There is no “Mediterranean diet influencer community.”
Likewise, there is no “DASH diet movement.”
Those dietary patterns exist because scientists studied them, tested them, and measured outcomes over time.
On the other hand, a loud low-carb and carnivore influencer ecosystem does exist. That ecosystem includes brands, supplements, coaching programs, and a strong contrarian identity. Because of that structure, influence—not evidence—often drives the message.
Fiber Versus Saturated Fat: A Telltale Sign
If you want to know whether someone understands nutrition science, ask a simple question:
Which matters more—fiber or saturated fat?
Influencers often say, “Fiber isn’t an essential nutrient.”
Technically, that statement is true in the narrowest sense.
However, context matters.
Fiber supports a healthy gut microbiome.
Additionally, fiber improves insulin sensitivity.
Furthermore, fiber lowers cardiovascular risk.
Finally, fiber supports colon health.
Because fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria, entire fields of microbiome research depend on it.
Now compare that with saturated fat.
Saturated fat is truly non-essential.
Your body can make all it needs.
No deficiency disease exists from avoiding it.
Even more importantly, excess saturated fat raises LDL cholesterol and worsens artery health. Over time, that increases cardiovascular risk.
So ask yourself this:
Why dismiss fiber as optional while quietly promoting saturated fat?
That choice reflects ideology, not biology.
The Brain Doesn’t Care About Trends
Here’s another reality check.
Your brain—the most important organ you own—relies heavily on polyunsaturated fats. These fats support cell membranes, nerve signaling, and blood flow.
Ironically, these same fats often get labeled “seed oils” and dismissed.
Meanwhile, saturated fat does not belong in high amounts in brain tissue. Worse still, saturated fat can clog the arteries that supply the brain.
Biology does not respond to marketing.
Physiology does not care about popularity.
The “You’re On Your Own” Problem
Another issue deserves attention.
After influencers step into the spotlight and claim credit for old science, they often step away from responsibility. Then they tell the public to “figure it out.”
That approach ignores reality.
Many Americans live in food deserts.
Even more rely on school meals.
Lots of Americans work multiple jobs.
Many lack time, money, or kitchens.
Public health exists because willpower alone does not scale. Without system-level support, advice turns into abandonment.
Agreement Does Not Equal Expertise
Recently, debates around nutrition have highlighted this pattern clearly.
Some influencers argue that because they agree with basic nutrition advice, they deserve authority over the rest of the science. Unfortunately, agreement does not grant expertise.
Copying conclusions does not mean you earned them.
Science rewards method, not confidence.
The Bottom Line
Yes, eat real food.
And clearly, limit added sugar.
Most definitely, reduce ultra-processed foods.
Doctors have said this for years.
However, flipping a pyramid does not change biology.
Likewise, sidelining scientists does not improve health.
Finally, promoting saturated fat while dismissing fiber misleads the public.
People do not fail diets.
Systems fail people.
When we trade evidence for influence, health suffers.
A Final Note
This article provides general education, not personal medical advice. Always talk with your healthcare professional about individual nutrition needs.
At Your Doctor’s Orders, we believe data matter more than dogma, and evidence matters more than trends.
Because when it comes to health, confidence without science is not bold.
It’s risky.
Transcript
>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Let me start with something we all can agree on.
Speaker:Eat real food, limit added sugar, avoid ultra
Speaker:processed junk. Good solid. Correct. Now, here's
Speaker:the problem. That advice wasn't discovered last
Speaker:week, and pretending it was, while quietly
Speaker:sneaking in. Worse advice is how people get hurt
Speaker:and how policies don't get made. It's lazy.
Speaker:Science and public policy. Today on 4Q, we're
Speaker:going to talk about what happens when nutrition
Speaker:stops being science and starts being branding. I,
Speaker:um, am your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr.
Speaker:Terri Simpson, and this is Fork U Fork University,
Speaker:where we make sense of the madness of the Maha
Speaker:public policy and teach you a little bit about
Speaker:food and medicine. Let's set the table. Literally.
Speaker:Okay, maybe not literally. The New Dietary
Speaker:Guidelines and the Upside Down Pyramid have been
Speaker:sold as a breakthrough, a reset, a, uh, moment of
Speaker:truth. And to be fair, some of what they're saying
Speaker:is right. Ultra processed food has some problems.
Speaker:Added sugar should be limited and most people
Speaker:should eat more whole foods. I've said that for
Speaker:years. So is almost everybody in the world of
Speaker:nutrition. But when influencers say, see, we were
Speaker:right all along, my response is simple. You didn't
Speaker:discover it, you copied it. Here's the danger.
Speaker:It's not that they agree with the obvious stuff,
Speaker:it's that they think they discovered it. Because
Speaker:once you convince yourself you're the discoverer,
Speaker:you also convince yourself you're qualified to
Speaker:rewrite the rest of the science. And that's where
Speaker:things go off the rail. You cannot replace
Speaker:scientists with influencers. Let me say that
Speaker:again. We can't afford to replace scientists with
Speaker:influencers. Nutrition science didn't come from
Speaker:podcasts. It came from metabolic wards, from
Speaker:cohort studies, from randomized trials, from
Speaker:people being willing to have boring, cautious, and
Speaker:sometimes wrong experiments. And just to be clear,
Speaker:there isn't a Mediterranean diet influencer
Speaker:community. There's no dash diet movement. But
Speaker:there are scientists and there are physicians and
Speaker:there are registered dietitians that understand
Speaker:nutrition. By contrast, there is a loud, low carb
Speaker:and carnivore influencer ecosystem, complete with
Speaker:brands, supplements, coaching programs, and
Speaker:contrarian identity. The difference matters
Speaker:because influence is not evidence. If you want to
Speaker:know if someone understands nutrition science or
Speaker:is just cosplaying it, ask them which matters
Speaker:more, fiber or saturated fat? And here's what the
Speaker:influencer crowd loves to say. Fiber isn't an
Speaker:essential nutrient. Now, technically, that's true
Speaker:in the narrowest biochemical sense, but it's
Speaker:misleading because fiber is essential. If you like
Speaker:a healthy gut microbiome, better. Insulin
Speaker:sensitivity, lower Cardiovascular risk and normal
Speaker:colonic function. Fiber feeds the bacteria that
Speaker:regulate inflammation and the metabolism. The
Speaker:entire field of research exists because of this.
Speaker:Uh, contrast that with saturated fat. Saturated
Speaker:fat is truly non essential. There is no deficiency
Speaker:disease from not eating it. Your body makes all it
Speaker:needs, and excess saturated fat raises LDL
Speaker:cholesterol, worsens arterial health, and
Speaker:increases cardiovascular risk. So ask why is fiber
Speaker:dismissed as optional while saturated fat non
Speaker:essential and harmful in excess is quietly
Speaker:rehabilitated? That's not science. That is
Speaker:ideology. And here's another simple brain. The
Speaker:most important organ you own is largely made of
Speaker:polyunsaturated fats. Yep, the same fats that are
Speaker:called seed oils. Now, you don't want saturated
Speaker:fat replacing the fats in those cell, uh,
Speaker:membranes. But if you eat enough saturated fat, it
Speaker:will. And you definitely don't want saturated fat
Speaker:clogging the arteries supplying the brain. Unless
Speaker:stroke and cognitive decline are part of your
Speaker:plan. Biology doesn't care about your podcast
Speaker:downloads. It doesn't care how good looking you
Speaker:are without a shirt. It cares about what you put
Speaker:into your body. And if you put enough saturated
Speaker:fat going to replace cell membranes with saturated
Speaker:fat instead of polyunsaturated fat, they will
Speaker:become stiffer and harder and much more difficult
Speaker:for you to negotiate life. I had an exchange
Speaker:recently with Kali Means that illustrates the
Speaker:problem perfectly. His argument, in essence, was
Speaker:the government is finally calling out sugar and
Speaker:processed food and you should get behind that. And
Speaker:my answer is simple. We already did years ago.
Speaker:But. But when you act like you discovered it, you
Speaker:also act like you're qualified to rewrite
Speaker:everything else. And that's when bad ideas sneak
Speaker:in. Agreeing with the basics doesn't earn you the
Speaker:keys to the lab. Now, here's the part that really
Speaker:bothers me. After influencers took the place of
Speaker:scientists, after they reframed the message and
Speaker:claimed credit, they effectively said, okay,
Speaker:America, you're on your own now. Eat real food.
Speaker:Figure it out. Take responsibility. Now that's
Speaker:easy if you're wealthy, mobile and online. It's
Speaker:not so easy if you live in a food desert, rely on
Speaker:school lunches, or work two jobs. Public health
Speaker:exists because the willpower doesn't scale. And
Speaker:here's the bottom line. Let me make it really
Speaker:clear. Yes, eat real food. Yes, limit sugar. Yes,
Speaker:minimize ultra processed food. We agree. But don't
Speaker:pretend you discovered it. Don't replace science
Speaker:with influencers. And don't sneak saturated fat
Speaker:back while dismissing fiber. Because when
Speaker:confidence replace evidence, people don't get
Speaker:healthier. They just get misled on 4Q. We believe
Speaker:food should be delicious, practical and grounded
Speaker:in evidence. And evidence doesn't care who said it
Speaker:first, only whether it works. Data beats dogma,
Speaker:science beats slogans, and health doesn't improve
Speaker:when we trade researchers like Dr. Hall for
Speaker:influencers like Cali Memes. This has been
Speaker:researched and and written by me, Dr. Terry
Speaker:Simpson. And while I am a board certified
Speaker:physician and certified in culinary medicine, I am
Speaker:not your doctor. When you seek to make changes to
Speaker:your diet, please see a registered dietitian and a
Speaker:board certified physician. Not some eastern
Speaker:trained person and certainly not a chiropractor.
Speaker:All things audio have been done by our friends at
Speaker:Simpler media and the pod God himself, Mr. Evotera
Speaker:and you can find blog and further information on
Speaker:my substack@drsimpson.com and
Speaker:yourdoctorsorders.com and for Q.com did you get
Speaker:enough.coms there? Because we like dot coms
Speaker:apparently. Anyway, have a good week everybody and
Speaker:remember illegitimi non carborundum. All right,
Speaker:Ebo, what do you think? I think that instead of
Speaker:going to a doctor now we should just go to
Speaker:influencers, health coaches and gym bros.
Speaker:>> Speaker B: Well you're the one with the giant TikTok
Speaker:following influencer. Also, what the hell was that
Speaker:Harry Potter sounding stuff at the end there? Oh,
Speaker:and then there's this.
Speaker:>> Dr. Terry Simpson: And increases cardiovascular risk. Risk. And
Speaker:increases cardiovascular risk. I wonder if Ivo's
Speaker:gonna leave that in.
Speaker:>> Speaker B: Oh you do, do you? No you don't. And he's not.
