Special episode: Episodes in the Independent Scholars (IS) series are available in full to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack. This is the full version for paid subscribers.
About the guest: Steven Rofrano became interested in human health & food, including ancestral vs. modern diets, from personal experiences in diet & allergies during college. He is co-founder and CEO at Ancient Crunch, Inc., which provides alternatives to widely consumed ultra-processed snack foods. Before becoming an entrepreneur Steven studied mathematics at Yale University and worked as a software engineer.
Episode summary: Nick and Steven discuss: ancestral vs. modern foods; seed oils & polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); inflammation, allergies, and immunity; PUFAs, free radicals, and oxidative stress; the corrupting influence of private industry on food science; the history of seed oils; animal vs. plant fats; Steven’s food startup; and more.
*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.
All M&M content, including podcast episodes & written content, is available on Substack. I mainly respond to questions & comments on that channel:
[ https://mindandmatter.substack.com ]
ABOUT Nick Jikomes:
Nick is a neuroscientist and podcast host. He is currently Director of Science & Innovation at a technology startup in the legal cannabis industry. He received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University and a B.S. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
00:00:00 Episode Intro
00:03:32 Steve’s Personal Health Journey
00:14:29 Seed Oils and Their Impact on Health
00:23:01 Biological Mechanisms of Seed Oils
00:50:11 Historical Context and Marketing of Seed Oils
00:58:42 Economic and Social Drivers of Seed Oil Consumption
01:52:32 Challenges in Funding Clinical Research
