Up until the early 1900s, animal fats were used to cook with  because they could be easily extracted from food like tallow, lard, and butter. Seed oils and vegetable oils were used in paints and furniture polish. All of this changed in the mid-1900s when worries about fat dominated the discussions concerning heart disease. Animal-based, saturated fats were mistakenly linked to clogged arteries; this misconception spurred the development of chemical extraction methods which made vegetable oils much cheaper and easier to obtain. Most vegetable oils consist of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These unsaturated types of fat were hyped as the healthier alternative to saturated fat. It didn't take long for the fast-food industry and commercial food marketing to trumpet the supposed benefits of vegetable oils over animal oils and make the switch. It has taken over 60 years to debunk this colossal mistake.  

Lectins are proteins that bind to carbohydrates—in short, they are glycoproteins. There are thousands of kinds of lectins and some are blamed today for creating digestive problems, brain fog, and several other health challenges. However, many of the plants containing lectins are among the healthiest foods you could possibly eat. Lectins are in beans, tomatoes, potatoes, lentils, peanuts, soy, peas, fruits, wheat, rice, and barley. So, are they bad for you or not? While lectins don't have any nutritional value by themselves, they occur throughout nature in plants and animals that do provide nutritional value. They are even in bacteria and viruses.
​The primary reason there is controversy about eating lectins today is because of a book written in 2017 by Dr. Steven Gundry titled The Plant Paradox. The book advocates eating a lectin-free diet. He claims that many people suffer from lectin intolerance or sensitivity with symptoms of bloating, gas, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, aching joints, and allergic reactions. Gundry claims lectins are our biggest dietary danger and may even be killing us. But are the claims backed up by real research? Both Ocean Robbins and I agree that the answer is no. Foods containing lectins are not our enemy and the evidence Gundry claims in his book is flimsy at best.

Chris Van Tulleken has a medical degree from Oxford and a PhD in molecular virology. He is the British author of Ultra-Processed PEOPLE—The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food. My daughter, Lindsey, and her good husband Andy sent me this book for my research. What a tremendous book it turned out to be! I want to highlight some of the main points so you will be excited enough to read it and share it with those you love and care about. 

Many people are under the mistaken belief that vaping is safer than smoking traditional cigarettes. However, evidence is accumulating against that idea. According to data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 2.5 million young people utilized vaping products in 2022. This includes 14% of high school students and 3% of middle school students. Most of these students preferred the flavored e-cigarettes, with fruit flavors being the most popular (69%) followed by candy/dessert flavors. Unfortunately, research indicates that flavored e-cigarettes cause the most harm to health. A study published in April 2022 found that vaping with mango- or mint-flavored pods increases the inflammatory process in various organ systems. The most disturbing changes happen in the brain, which likely contributes to behavioral changes and mood disorders. Scientists also discovered early signs of cardiovascular disease after only three months of inhaling flavored Juul e-cigs three times a day.