NutritionFacts.org arises from my annual review of the medical literature. With the help of a team of hundreds of volunteers, we churned through tens of thousands of papers published in the peer-reviewed scientific nutrition literature and are ramping up to break new records in 2021. How do I choose which studies to highlight? In general, I strive to focus on the most groundbreaking, interesting, and useful findings; but which topics resonate the most? The practical ones, offering cooking or shopping tips? Or those that dissect the studies behind the headlines? Maybe it’s the geeky science ones exploring the wonderfully weird world of human biology? As you can see from the below list, the answer seems to be a bit of all of the above.
#10 Stainless Steel or Cast Iron: Which Cookware Is Best? Is Teflon Safe?
This was the second in a three-video series on cookware. The first was Are Aluminum Pots, Bottles, and Foil Safe?.
What about pressure cooking? I covered that in Does Pressure Cooking Preserve Nutrients?.
Other popular practical videos of 2020 included Are Ancient Grains Healthier? and Are Pre-Cut Vegetables Just as Healthy?.
#9 Benefits of Garlic for Fighting Cancer and the Common Cold
Another really popular garlic video this year was the Benefits of Garlic Powder for Heart Disease.
#8 The Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
This was the first in a 5-video series on B12. The other four were:
- The Optimal Vitamin B12 Dosage for Adults
- Healthiest Food Sources of Vitamin B12
- The Optimal Vitamin B12 Dosage for Kids, Pregnancy, and Seniors
- The Best Type of Vitamin B12: Cyanocobalamin or Methylcobalamin?
#7 How to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally with Lifestyle Changes
This was the second in a 3-video series.The first one was also really popular—What the New Blood Pressure Range Guidelines Mean.
#6 Benefits of Flax Seeds for Inflammation
My What Are the Best Foods? video was also popular last year. I would certainly consider flax seeds and all the other foods on the Daily Dozen to be among the best.
#5 Are BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) Healthy?
This may help explain some of the benefits of plant-based proteins. I imagine I’ll explore this topic more in my next book, How Not to Age, on the latest in longevity research.
#4 Foods That Help Headache and Migraine Relief
Another really popular 2020 video exploring the clinical effects of certain foods was How to Lower LP(a) with Diet.
#3 Eat More Calories in the Morning to Lose Weight
It’s not just what we eat, but when! Other popular chronobiology videos in 2020 were How Circadian Rhythms Affect Blood Sugar Levels and The Benefits of Early Time-Restricted Eating.
#2 The COVID-19 Pandemic May Just Be a Dress Rehearsal
I did a whole 14-part video series on the pandemic, based on my book How to Survive a Pandemic. The other three most popular of the set were:
- How to Prevent the Next Pandemic
- COVID-19 Symptoms vs. the Flu, a Cold or Allergies
- How to Avoid COVID-19
This live presentation was based on my book How Not to Diet. If you want to watch the presentation I did for my last book, check out How Not to Die: The Role of Diet in Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing Our Top 15 Killers. The other two most popular weight loss videos this year were The Best Diet for Weight Loss and Disease Prevention and Cut the Calorie-Rich-and-Processed-Foods.
In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.
PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch my live, year-in-review presentations:
- 2019: Evidence-Based Weight Loss
- 2016: How Not To Die: The Role of Diet in Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing Our Top 15 Killers
- 2015: Food as Medicine: Preventing and Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet
- 2014: From Table to Able: Combating Disabling Diseases with Food
- 2013: More Than an Apple a Day
- 2012: Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death