Dr. Layne Norton

Randomized control trials, especially in nutrition, have very strong limitations, which is you can't do a randomized control trial for 30 years. I mean, I think the longest randomized control trial I heard about in nutrition is like two years long, right? And even then, it's not going to be a very tightly controlled randomized control trial.

Randomized control trials, especially in nutrition, have very strong limitations, which is you can't do a randomized control trial for 30 years. I mean, I think the longest randomized control trial I heard about in nutrition is like two years long, right? And even then, it's not going to be a very tightly controlled randomized control trial.

Randomized control trials, especially in nutrition, have very strong limitations, which is you can't do a randomized control trial for 30 years. I mean, I think the longest randomized control trial I heard about in nutrition is like two years long, right? And even then, it's not going to be a very tightly controlled randomized control trial.

I mean, and if you're talking about like the tightest level of control, like a metabolic ward study, Four, six weeks, maybe, because you're keeping people in food jail. And I think where some of this confusion comes from is I think people think that there's just like this pool of people waiting around to be selected for experiments. Like, yes, I'm ready. I've been waiting here.

I mean, and if you're talking about like the tightest level of control, like a metabolic ward study, Four, six weeks, maybe, because you're keeping people in food jail. And I think where some of this confusion comes from is I think people think that there's just like this pool of people waiting around to be selected for experiments. Like, yes, I'm ready. I've been waiting here.

I mean, and if you're talking about like the tightest level of control, like a metabolic ward study, Four, six weeks, maybe, because you're keeping people in food jail. And I think where some of this confusion comes from is I think people think that there's just like this pool of people waiting around to be selected for experiments. Like, yes, I'm ready. I've been waiting here.

No, there are people like you, like me, like just the average person walking down the street who saw a flyer and goes, OK, I'll volunteer for that. And the more control you try to establish over their lives, the less likely they are to do it. And you probably got to pay them. You know, I don't know anybody who would do a metabolic ward study without getting paid for it.

No, there are people like you, like me, like just the average person walking down the street who saw a flyer and goes, OK, I'll volunteer for that. And the more control you try to establish over their lives, the less likely they are to do it. And you probably got to pay them. You know, I don't know anybody who would do a metabolic ward study without getting paid for it.

No, there are people like you, like me, like just the average person walking down the street who saw a flyer and goes, OK, I'll volunteer for that. And the more control you try to establish over their lives, the less likely they are to do it. And you probably got to pay them. You know, I don't know anybody who would do a metabolic ward study without getting paid for it.

I mean, you're basically giving up four or six weeks of your life to go do that. And so while I love human randomized control trials for some things, they're not always appropriate. For example, if you're trying to look at heart disease and you want to do a one year human randomized control trial, looking at, say, saturated fat, LDL, cholesterol, those sorts of things.

I mean, you're basically giving up four or six weeks of your life to go do that. And so while I love human randomized control trials for some things, they're not always appropriate. For example, if you're trying to look at heart disease and you want to do a one year human randomized control trial, looking at, say, saturated fat, LDL, cholesterol, those sorts of things.

I mean, you're basically giving up four or six weeks of your life to go do that. And so while I love human randomized control trials for some things, they're not always appropriate. For example, if you're trying to look at heart disease and you want to do a one year human randomized control trial, looking at, say, saturated fat, LDL, cholesterol, those sorts of things.

Well, how many people have heart attacks within one year after age 60? I mean, you're going to look for differences between really small numbers, right? And the problem with that is you have no idea about their diet 40 years leading up to that. And we know, based on now the Mendelian randomization trials, that the risk of LDL is more of like a lifetime exposure risk.

Well, how many people have heart attacks within one year after age 60? I mean, you're going to look for differences between really small numbers, right? And the problem with that is you have no idea about their diet 40 years leading up to that. And we know, based on now the Mendelian randomization trials, that the risk of LDL is more of like a lifetime exposure risk.

Well, how many people have heart attacks within one year after age 60? I mean, you're going to look for differences between really small numbers, right? And the problem with that is you have no idea about their diet 40 years leading up to that. And we know, based on now the Mendelian randomization trials, that the risk of LDL is more of like a lifetime exposure risk.

It's not just in this narrow sliver of time. And so I love human randomized control trials, but it's also, I try to tell people Never turn your brain off. Just because something gets published in a certain journal, just because a certain researcher said something, just because it was a certain design, it doesn't make it infallible, okay? Science is perfect. Science is perfect. Science is what is.

It's not just in this narrow sliver of time. And so I love human randomized control trials, but it's also, I try to tell people Never turn your brain off. Just because something gets published in a certain journal, just because a certain researcher said something, just because it was a certain design, it doesn't make it infallible, okay? Science is perfect. Science is perfect. Science is what is.

It's not just in this narrow sliver of time. And so I love human randomized control trials, but it's also, I try to tell people Never turn your brain off. Just because something gets published in a certain journal, just because a certain researcher said something, just because it was a certain design, it doesn't make it infallible, okay? Science is perfect. Science is perfect. Science is what is.

But it's done by humans, and humans are fallible, imperfect people with their own personal beliefs and biases that And that's why I look at consensus of data first because, yeah, you could – maybe some experiments got faked or maybe they had – but when it's done over – let's take something like creatine monohydrate, right? You have thousands of experiments done over decades of time.

But it's done by humans, and humans are fallible, imperfect people with their own personal beliefs and biases that And that's why I look at consensus of data first because, yeah, you could – maybe some experiments got faked or maybe they had – but when it's done over – let's take something like creatine monohydrate, right? You have thousands of experiments done over decades of time.