Well, I posted a video of Mat Lalonde’s presentation on Nutrient Density (AHS 12) just the other day. I originally intended to follow up with a copy of his research (with permission). When I asked for the data, however, Mat surprised me with this response:
I put the data through a stress test and found some inconsistencies. It turns out that there was too much variance in the data to use a standardization method. As such, I completely revamped my approach and divided the nutrient data by the RDA in order to make the values unitless and bring them within similar orders of magnitude. I’m now working on getting the data published and cannot share the spreadsheet until this is done.
I’m probably going to publish this data in a paleo book in the near future. Not my book but a collaboration between various paleo experts.
Awesome news, IMO. As much as I wanted to dive in to his data, I really dig that he’s letting the science lead the way and redoing his work to correct for inconsistencies and make it more useful. I’m curious as to his thinking in regards to norming things by dividing by RDA, but I expect we’ll hear much more about this as he publishes his work.
So, I guess we wait a little longer. At least we have this one last point that he took care to mention:
For the record, the reformatting does not affect my conclusions and, in fact, makes grains and legumes look even worse.
Good luck, Mat!
Look forward to his work too. When I mention I eat a paleo/ancestral type of diet that eskews all grains and legumes people always wonder why. I use the evolutionary explanation that plants defend their seeds, the next generation by packing lots of toxins but I am suprised how many people dismiss this on religous grounds (I am a very happy atheist) saying that plants were ‘created’ for our needs so the toxin bit is rubbish even though we know that eating raw pulses for example can quite literally kill you. In heamatology we use phytohaemaglutinin(PHA) from red kidney beans to induce whilte blood cell division in vitro. Imagine a powerful mitogent and carcinogen in uncooked beans…Also all the phytoestrogens in soya beans and garbanzo beans are to decrease the fertility (fitness) of anybody consuming them. However Matt’s argument of poor nutrient value should indeed win the day even for those with religious beliefs (bread will be a hard one for them given the symbolism0. Anyway look forward to this book…a collaboration with experts..wowowow:-)
Wow at some comments, no wonder his pissed and blunt, he does all this work for free, spends a ridiculous amount of time and effort for people to claim ‘I wish he used Access version’. The kid got what he deserved, he was asking stupid pointless questions which it looked like to me he knew the answers to already.
Is there any news on an updated nutrient density table? This article is from 2013.
Hi Peter!
Sadly, no. It’s been a couple years, and I haven’t heard a peep about it. But, that’s not to say it won’t be forthcoming. For all we know, the book he referenced is about to hit the shelves.
Given Mat, I doubt he forgot about it…