How Conflating the Lipid Hypothesis With the Diet-Heart Hypothesis Led to the Public Condemnation of Bacon, Butter, and Eggs

In my last two posts, I argued for the importance of distinguishing the lipid hypothesis, which holds that high concentrations of cholesterol in the blood cause heart disease, from the diet-heart hypothesis, which holds that high amounts of saturated fat in the diet cause heart disease.   If you missed them, you can read them here: The Proper …

The Origin of the Lipid Hypothesis — And Proposal of a New Term

In my last post (The Proper Use of the Term “Lipid Hypothesis”), I traced the origin of the term “lipid hypothesis” to Edward Ahrens in 1976, who defined it as the hypothesis that reductions in blood cholesterol levels will lead to reductions in heart disease risk.  This can be seen as a testable prediction of …

The Proper Use of the Term “Lipid Hypothesis”

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the meaning of the term “lipid hypothesis” in pop science books, blogs, and other places. Often times, the lipid hypothesis is confused with the diet-heart hypothesis.  The two are very different.  The lipid hypothesis concerns the role of lipids in the blood.  The diet-heart hypothesis concerns …

The New Genetics — Part IV: Who’s In the Driver’s Seat? How Cells Regulate the Expression of Their Genes

Who is in the driver’s seat?  The gene, the cell, or the organism? It’s a complex question, and in a future post in this series, I’ll attempt to identify ideal metaphors we might use to understand this question.  For now, I’d like to focus on how the cell utilizes its genes and controls their expression. …