Tamar Haspel
@tamarhaspel.bsky.social
James Beard winning WaPo columnist writing about food & science, author of TO BOLDLY GROW, gentleman oyster farmer.
It always makes my Spidey sense kick in when a study shows a large effect where other studies show none, or a small one.
November 11, 2025 at 12:28 PM
It always makes my Spidey sense kick in when a study shows a large effect where other studies show none, or a small one.
Did you see this take?
jamesstein18.substack.com/p/my-hot-tak...
jamesstein18.substack.com/p/my-hot-tak...
My Hot Take on PISCES, the New Fish Oil in Hemodialysis Study
I love when a new study challenges what we think we know.
jamesstein18.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Did you see this take?
jamesstein18.substack.com/p/my-hot-tak...
jamesstein18.substack.com/p/my-hot-tak...
Reposted by Tamar Haspel
"Schrödinger's causal inference" (n):
The practice of making causal claims or interpretations within a scientific article - typically in the title, abstract, implications, or conclusion - while simultaneously warning that the study design is unsuitable for causal inference.
The practice of making causal claims or interpretations within a scientific article - typically in the title, abstract, implications, or conclusion - while simultaneously warning that the study design is unsuitable for causal inference.
November 11, 2025 at 11:36 AM
"Schrödinger's causal inference" (n):
The practice of making causal claims or interpretations within a scientific article - typically in the title, abstract, implications, or conclusion - while simultaneously warning that the study design is unsuitable for causal inference.
The practice of making causal claims or interpretations within a scientific article - typically in the title, abstract, implications, or conclusion - while simultaneously warning that the study design is unsuitable for causal inference.
At first. Lots of medical treatments start off expensive, and then the price comes down (see GLP-1s). And if it's really a one-shot treatment, and insurance companies won't have to pay for a lifetime of statins, they may think it's a great thing to pay for.
November 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
At first. Lots of medical treatments start off expensive, and then the price comes down (see GLP-1s). And if it's really a one-shot treatment, and insurance companies won't have to pay for a lifetime of statins, they may think it's a great thing to pay for.
Yeah, I've seen it. All the resources and bandwidth spent on this!
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Yeah, I've seen it. All the resources and bandwidth spent on this!
And a great picture!
November 10, 2025 at 10:05 PM
And a great picture!
Yeah, the categorizing is pretty much impossible. Everyone's trying to find a definition that fits the foods we know are bad for us but not the foods that we know are OK. But if we already know, why go through this? And, yeah, we digest pulverized food differently. We've known for decades!
November 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Yeah, the categorizing is pretty much impossible. Everyone's trying to find a definition that fits the foods we know are bad for us but not the foods that we know are OK. But if we already know, why go through this? And, yeah, we digest pulverized food differently. We've known for decades!
In food, degree of processing often does correspond to badness.
Why?
Because processing is a tool the food industry uses to create foods they can sell. And the foods we want to buy are tasty, fatty, sweet, and salty. Low in nutrients, high in calories.
They know what we like.
Why?
Because processing is a tool the food industry uses to create foods they can sell. And the foods we want to buy are tasty, fatty, sweet, and salty. Low in nutrients, high in calories.
They know what we like.
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
In food, degree of processing often does correspond to badness.
Why?
Because processing is a tool the food industry uses to create foods they can sell. And the foods we want to buy are tasty, fatty, sweet, and salty. Low in nutrients, high in calories.
They know what we like.
Why?
Because processing is a tool the food industry uses to create foods they can sell. And the foods we want to buy are tasty, fatty, sweet, and salty. Low in nutrients, high in calories.
They know what we like.
I don't think we disagree in the main, just around the edges. A while back I read a lot about this and my takeaway was that there were places where excluding grazing decreased, rather than increased biodiversity. So I've been wary of definitive assessments.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35879541/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35879541/
Evolutionary history of grazing and resources determine herbivore exclusion effects on plant diversity - PubMed
Ecological models predict that the effects of mammalian herbivore exclusion on plant diversity depend on resource availability and plant exposure to ungulate grazing over evolutionary time. Using an experiment replicated in 57 grasslands on six continents, with contrasting evolutionary history of gr …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 10, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I don't think we disagree in the main, just around the edges. A while back I read a lot about this and my takeaway was that there were places where excluding grazing decreased, rather than increased biodiversity. So I've been wary of definitive assessments.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35879541/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35879541/
Reposted by Tamar Haspel
When your opponent is drowning, it’s important to throw yourself an anvil.
November 9, 2025 at 11:35 PM
When your opponent is drowning, it’s important to throw yourself an anvil.
It's nuts. The Dems finally have some leverage, holding out for a policy that everyone likes, and they just ... fold. I don't get it.
November 9, 2025 at 11:23 PM
It's nuts. The Dems finally have some leverage, holding out for a policy that everyone likes, and they just ... fold. I don't get it.
if they were smart they'd open with the gelato page
November 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM
if they were smart they'd open with the gelato page