All Research Matters

As we enter the final holiday of summer, I want to challenge you to listen to a podcast over this long weekend. Before I get to the details about the podcast, I want to tell you why research matters.

I spend a considerable amount of time examining nutrition research. If you read what I write, you know I’ve criticized who nutrition research is done by as well as how nutrition research is done. That doesn’t mean that the research is not worthwhile. The interpretation of what any given study means can be debated and methodologies can always be better. It doesn’t mean that the research isn’t important; if nothing else, it can show how not to do something.

Take a different topic such as climate change or vaccinations. These topics are a great way to start an argument because people have strong opinions on them. Pick either side and you can find research to support your position. Again, that’s due to the interpretation of research on highly complicated topics, but it doesn’t mean that the research shouldn’t have been done in the first place. It absolutely has to take place.

We seem to be entering an era where government-sponsored research is being attacked, and that will be harmful to us in ways we can’t imagine. Think about it. Do you want research funded only by the sugar industry to set dietary guidelines? How about climate research funded only by the gas and oil industry or energy research funded only by the windmill industry? That’s where basic science research is critical to bring balance to the equation. No research should be avoided because it offends one industry or another.

Now to the podcast: listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast called Revisionist History on your favorite podcast platform. The episode is titled The Obscure Virus Club. It’s the story of a small number of scientists who persisted for decades in researching obscure viruses and whose findings were ignored for way too long; I’ll tell you that Paula was in tears as she figured out the life-or-death consequences of those delays. Think of the implications if even more research were unfunded and unpublished. Just because it’s a holiday weekend doesn’t mean our brains shouldn’t be engaged. Send me your thoughts after you listen to it.

What are you prepared to do today?