Dr. Nina Teicholz
Investigative Science Journalist / Author / Executive Director, The Nutrition Coalition
Dietary fat • saturated fat • seed oils • nutrition policy • dietary guidelines • cardiovascular nutrition
About the expert
Focus: Saturated fat, seed oils, and nutrition policy reform
Nina Teicholz is an investigative science journalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Big Fat Surprise (2014), which challenged the scientific basis of dietary fat guidelines after nearly ten years of primary literature review. She holds a BA from Stanford University, an MA in Latin American Studies from Oxford University, and a PhD in Nutrition from the University of Reading (2024). She has published in peer-reviewed journals including the BMJ and Nutrients, and is Executive Director of The Nutrition Coalition, a nonprofit advocating for evidence-based reform of US dietary guidelines.
Why this matters
Investigative science journalist (BA Stanford, MA Oxford in Latin American Studies, PhD in Nutrition from University of Reading 2024) and Executive Director of the Nutrition Coalition, a 501(c)(3) advocacy organization explicitly campaigning for changes to US dietary guidelines on saturated fat. Author of The Big Fat Surprise (2014). Her central thesis — that the saturated-fat-cardiovascular guidance is built on weaker evidence than commonly presented — sits at one end of one of the most contested debates in modern nutrition; the 2020 Cochrane review and continued AHA / WHO / US guidelines positions sit at the other end. Strongest on the methodological critique of mid-twentieth-century observational nutrition research; the broader 'guidelines are wrong, saturated fat is harmless' framing should be treated as advocacy positioning rather than balanced scientific summary. Substantial commercial and media exposure built around this thesis (book, advocacy organization, media profile), relevant context when weighing any particular recommendation.