The NIH just released a proposal that will apparently hide peer reviewers’ impact scores and percentiles from the research team, their institution, and NIH program officers. All the better to obscure how funding decisions will be made primarily via political review, I’m guessing.

YOU NEED MORE PROTEIN BRO! Julia Belluz & Kevin Hall’s book, Food Intelligence, explores the roots of the wellness industry in non-scientifically backed protein supplements, and shows why you’re almost definitely getting enough protein.

"Book Club: Food Intelligence" Conspirituality @matthewremski.bsky.social @derekberes.bsky.social @julianwalker.bsky.social 13 Jun 2026 [0:29:23] #QAnon #Cult https://s.cultpodcasts.com/j-mJVCVk6EmwyHVP4eB6bw

Book Club: Food Intelligence

In the first edition of the Conspirituality Book Club, Derek dives into Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us by Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall, PhD. First, he looks at how RFK Jr and Jay Bhattacharya forced Hall out of his nutrition research position at the NIH in 2025. Then he covers some of the book's most intriguing findings, including: Why most people don't have "slow metabolism" Why most of us don't actually need more protein The origins of the wellness industry's fascination with products over science Why ultra-processed foods are actually dangerous (it's not what MAHA claims) The importance of calorie absorption Those microbiome tests are more scam than science Show Notes Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

open.spotify.com

Thoughts on Food Intelligence: • You're getting enough protein • Consumer microbiome tests are largely garbage • A calorie is an "absorbed" calorie • "Slow metabolism" isn't really a thing • UPFs aren't the real villain; it's the food environment derekberes.substack.com/p/you-almost...

You (almost definitely) don't need that much protein

Reading Food Intelligence in an age of wellness influencers

derekberes.substack.com

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 8 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/DhKYY

When should we expect to read a vigorous rebuttal from current NIH directorJay Bhattacharya to his buddy’s new op-ed advocating for abolishment of NIH?

Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Scott Atlas, the champion of herd immunity as an Fox News commenter and the Trump Advisor during COVID, weighs in with a DEEPLY MININFORMED op-ed in the WaPo. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202... 1/7

Scott Atlas, the champion of herd immunity as an Fox News commenter and the Trump Advisor during COVID, weighs in with a DEEPLY MININFORMED op-ed in the WaPo. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202... 1/7

Opinion | Abolish the NIH

A $48 billion government monopoly should give way to the market.

washingtonpost.com

OK. I am noticing a pattern... Today is the second "NIH Scientific Freedom Lecture" to be given by Gary Taubes on "Energy Balance or Fuel Partitioning? A History Lesson in the Science of Obesity Pathogenesis, and Its Implications." 1/11

Russell Vought is the director of the Office of Management & Budget. He is promulgating a new rule to install political control over ALL federal grant-making. Forget the experts. Russ is the decider-in-chief now. Write your members of Congress today. And share this. actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...

Oppose OMB Proposal to Put ALL Federal Government Funding Decisions in the Hands of Political Appointees

On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), OMB-2026-0034, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance. The scope of this proposed regulation is...

actionnetwork.org

The Battle over the Constitution Has Spread to American Science. I'm out in the @theatlantic.com today about the new OMB proposed rule. It's just the longtime agenda of the the Supreme Court. US science and cancer cures now all depend on us picking up a fight with the Roberts Court.

The Unitary Executive Takes Over New Territory

The Trump administration’s theory of how the federal government should work is a threat to American science.

theatlantic.com

“The ultimate deciders of these grants will be the political employees at the agencies,” Duncan noted in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Douglas Natelson@nanoscaleviews.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🧪⚛️ OMB is not being shy, at all, about wanting to cancel or deny grants based on political preferences. This is very very bad. www.politico.com/live-updates...

We tackled ultra-processed foods and how they affect our health in a three-part series today. First: @kevinh-phd.bsky.social, former senior investigator at the NIH discusses his groundbreaking study on how human bodies respond to ultra-processed foods. Take a listen: wnyc.org/browse/shows...

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods and What Are They Doing to Us? | WNYC

Kevin Hall discusses his groundbreaking research tracking how bodies respond to ultra-processed foods.

wnyc.org

I wrote to Director Bhattacharya with an idea about how to convert these "scientific freedom" lectures into something potentially useful. 1/3

Attending #ADA26 is a sad reminder that nutrition has been chronically underfunded, with limited federal support and both limited & largely unserious industry support. The breadth and quality of data here, largely driven by commercial incentives, puts the field of nutrition to shame.

Well respected and brave scientists were removed from the American Diabetes Association meeting today simply for distributing copies of a published editorial critical of the administration’s policies. www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo...

Video: Police Tussle With Diabetes Experts at ADA Meeting

Researchers told they could no longer attend the annual scientific sessions

medpagetoday.com

"911, what's your emergency?" "Hello, Police? Yeah, our highest award recipient is at our meeting handing out copies of an article that we published. And uh....we....well....shit, nevermind."

Incredibly disturbing story broken by @medpagetoday.com team. www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo...

Video: Police Tussle With Diabetes Experts at ADA Meeting

Researchers told they could no longer attend the annual scientific sessions

medpagetoday.com

Make some noise about this 🧪 www.npr.org/2026/06/03/n...

President Trump seeks control of science funding

The White House Office of Management and Budget is moving to take more control of billions of dollars in federal grants. Critics say the proposed change would jeopardize the integrity of U.S. science.

npr.org

Just finished "Food Intelligence" For me, the density of post-its is always an indicator of valuable points in a book. This one has loads! Thank you @kevinh-phd.bsky.social and @juliabelluz.bsky.social for such an informative read #appetite #eating #foodenvironment #food #science

ICYMI: How do we feed ourselves? Our recent episode is a great conversation with two people who spend a lot of time unpacking this question: journalist @juliabelluz.bsky.social & nutrition researcher @kevinh-phd.bsky.social. Catch up on episodes of American Dish wherever you get your podcasts. 🍴

This week marks the release of the UK paperback of Food Intelligence, my book with @kevinh-phd.bsky.social @wildfirebooks.bsky.social A ❤️felt thank you for all your support! Our book explains why eating has become so fraught for many, and why shortages of willpower have nothing to do with it.

This is 3 of the bestest people in food, so you should listen!

Kevin Hall@kevinh-phd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

It was a pleasure to join my co-author of Food Intelligence @juliabelluz.bsky.social as a guest on the #AmericanDish podcast hosted by food policy journalist @hbottemiller.bsky.social youtu.be/flBGxRoKXvc?...

Also see chapter 12 of Food Intelligence: “The Calorie Glut”

Dr. Jonathan Foley@globalecoguy.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Did you know that only ~1/3 of the world's crops are actually eaten as *food*? Amazingly, we lose a little more than half of our crops to biofuels and inefficient feedlots. In other words, less than half of the world's crop calories actually become available as food. drawdown.org/news/only-ha...

It was fun to speak with Bob McDonald in the last segment of this week’s episode of CBC’s Quirks and Quarks about my book Food Intelligence coauthored with @juliabelluz.bsky.social. www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks...

Apr 4: What we hope to see on the far side of the moon, and more… | CBC Radio

The Artemis II mission blasts off, Neanderthals were expert hunters, studying the secrets of long life in fish and how our food environment shapes what we eat.

cbc.ca

I listened to part of this today & as usual with Simon's podcast, it is great. Lots of good information about processed food & what we know versus don't understand. I'm also halfway through Kevin's book Food Intelligence and highly recommend it.

Kevin Hall@kevinh-phd.bsky.social · 5mo ago

It was a pleasure to finally have a discussion with Simon Hill about a wide range of topics in nutrition, metabolism, and obesity science! youtu.be/YWm386QmqFw?...

It was a pleasure to finally have a discussion with Simon Hill about a wide range of topics in nutrition, metabolism, and obesity science! youtu.be/YWm386QmqFw?...

World-Leading NIH Metabolic Scientist: Why You Eat 500 More Calories a Day Without Knowing It

YouTube video by The Proof with Simon Hill

youtu.be

This is one of the most important issues with the global food system, yet it is often ignored. Put simply, we don't actually grow much *food* in our farms around the world. Instead, we grow grossly inefficient animal feed and biofuels. drawdown.org/news/only-ha...

Only half of calories produced on croplands are available for human consumption, study finds

Study: 1/2 of the calories produced on croplands are unavailable for human consumption

drawdown.org

This reveals one of the challenges that Director Bhattacharya has in developing trust. It often appears that he doesn't know what is actually happening at NIH or lies about it. He comes up with positive-sounding or benign explanations that are not based on facts. 6/6

a south park cartoon character says you 're making stuff up

ALT: a south park cartoon character says you 're making stuff up

media.tenor.com

It was a pleasure to join my co-author of Food Intelligence @juliabelluz.bsky.social as a guest on the #AmericanDish podcast hosted by food policy journalist @hbottemiller.bsky.social youtu.be/flBGxRoKXvc?...

What we still don't know about ultra-processed foods with Julia Belluz & Kevin Hall

YouTube video by American Dish

youtu.be

The quiet part being illuminated: there have been very few new awards from NIH this fiscal year, for some very specific reasons 🆘 www.science.org/content/arti...

Delays in awards and funding calls worry NIH-funded researchers

Many programs may be pushed into the next fiscal year, and some could face funding gaps

science.org