NUTRITION 7th March 2018

Why Jane Brody should recall
her piece in the New York Times


In Monday’s New York Times, the personal health columnist (for 52 years) Jane Brody made a bold claim: calorie restriction is the only way to sustain weight loss. As a widely regarded expert in the field of nutrition, Jane let her readers down in a big way.

In one thousand words, she failed to demonstrate leading scientific evidence, and even contradicted herself along the way. I’ll let you judge for yourself  (, but here are the highlights:

#1: Despite citing calorie restriction as a means to achieve weight loss, Jane claims she doesn’t count calories, but then goes on to say:

“I choose calorie-controlled snacks like popcorn at 35 calories a cup, a graham cracker at 59 calories for two squares, and ice cream (really ice milk) at 100 to 150 calories a half cup.”

She does or she doesn’t count calories? I’m confused.

#2: Whether she acknowledges it or not, what Jane describes above IS a diet. It consists of eating three portion-controlled meals a day, plus the calorie-counted snacks she mentions. The subsequent line about how Jane only succeeded when she stopped dieting (‘I regained control when I stopped dieting’), is arguably deceitful.

#3: Most of all, Jane Brody’s blatant dismissal of the recent science surrounding weight loss, is seriously disappointing.  As pointed out by author Nina Teicholz, a world-renowned paleo and ketogenic expert, there is more to it beyond calories:

She (Jane) presents long-term calorie restriction as the only way to lose weight. This statement denies the large body of clinical trial evidence showing that restricting carbohydrates, not calories, results in superior weight loss in many head-to-head diet comparisons.    Diets low in carbohydrates do not restrict calories- and whether these diets work due to spontaneous calorie reduction or the reduction in insulin secretion by carbohydrates is an open question.  Moreover, factors other than calories, such as sleep, stress and hormones other than insulin have been demonstrated to have a significant impact on one’s ability to lose weight‘.

As a veteran writer (and expert), Jane has a duty to report with integrity. This piece was misleading, mis-founded and based on opinions, contradictions, and little to no facts.

When it comes to your health, Science > Opinion

As always, pushing for health.


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