Super Baby Food Book

Chapter 1. The Alarming State of Health in America

Questions Parents Ask—Answered by Nutrition Studies

Nutrition advice can sometimes seem confusing or contradictory. One of the best ways to understand what scientists actually know is to look at the studies themselves.

Chapter 8 of Super Baby Food organizes landmark nutrition research around eight questions parents may naturally ask. The printed book gives a short, parent-friendly introduction to each study. This website provides the deeper dive: links to the original research, details about how the studies were conducted, important findings, limitations, follow-up research, and other information for readers who want to learn more.

Landmark Nutrition Studies

Jump to a question:

  1. Can Food Allergies Be Prevented?
  2. Does It Matter When Healthy Eating Begins?
  3. Does Diet Affect the Gut Microbiome?
  4. Does Ultra-Processed Food Really Matter?
  5. What Is the Healthiest Overall Diet?
  6. Can Diet Prevent Disease?
  7. Can Diet Reverse Disease?
  8. What Happens Over a Lifetime?

Question: Can Food Allergies Be Prevented?

8-1 — The LEAP Study

Question: Does It Matter When Healthy Eating Begins?

8-2 — The Project Viva Study

8-3 — The Australian Childhood Diet Study

Question: Does Diet Affect the Gut Microbiome?

8-4 — The David Gut Microbiome Study

8-5 — The Wastyk Gut Microbiome Study

8-6 — The Fackelmann Gut Microbiome Study

Question: Does Ultra-Processed Food Really Matter?

8-7 — The Hall Ultra-Processed Food Study

8-8 — The Chen UPF and Type 2 Diabetes Study

8-9 — The Du UPF and Type 2 Diabetes Study

8-10 — The Kim UPF and Type 2 Diabetes Meta-Analysis

Question: What Is the Healthiest Overall Diet?

8-11 — The Barnard Low-Fat vs. the Usual Diet Study

8-12 — The Barnard Low-Fat Vegan vs. Mediterranean Diet Study

8-13 — The EAT-Lancet Commission — The Planetary Health Diet

Question: Can Diet Prevent Disease?

8-14 — The DASH Study

8-15 — The Diabetes Prevention Program Study

8-16 — The PREDIMED Study

8-17 — The Lyon Diet Heart Study

Question: Can Diet Reverse Disease?

8-18 — The Ornish Lifestyle Heart Study

8-19 — The Esselstyn Coronary Artery Disease Study

Question: What Happens Over a Lifetime?

8-20 — The Nurses’ Health Study

8-21 — The Health Professionals Follow‑Up Study (HPFS)

8-22 — The Framingham Heart Study

8-23 — The Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2)

8-24 — The EPIC-Oxford Study

8-25 — The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)