My vote is for Walter Willett, MD.
Applying population data to individual choices is fraught with pitfalls. When I was working on The Happiness Diet, I wanted to back up every fact with a scientific study. Studies vary in quality, but when it comes to understanding the impact of diet on our health, one name stands out —Walter Willett, MD.
He’s has been following 95,000 women in the Nurses Health Study for 34 years and designed the methods for evaluating their diets. Add to this The Physicians Health Study, and the Nurses 2, and you have a veteran physician who has been on the frontlines of the issues of food and health. Anytime I find a study from Dr. Willett or his group, I feel a sense of calm and think, this going to be some good science.
So what does this Guru of Nutrition and Health Risk seem to say? Mainly, don’t over interpret the data.
This is a nice interview with him from 2005. I especially like his comments on using large, prospective trials instead of case control studies.
