This is a link post.

Linus Pauling was a chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. He later became well-known for advocating large doses of Vitamin C.

I've heard that advocacy referred to as a cautionary tale, but I've long had a bit of sympathy for Linus, and I'm writing this post to explain how and why.

mainstream nutrition

One reason for my sympathy for Linus is that I've heard him used as an example of why you shouldn't go off on your own instead of trusting mainstream views in a field, yet his advice, while not particularly helpful, caused much less harm than contemporary "mainstream nutritional advice", such as:

the food pyramid
"partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is healthier than butter"
"a very-low-fat diet is healthy"
"eating very little salt is healthy"

I certainly wouldn't suggest trying [...]

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Outline:

(00:25) mainstream nutrition

(01:18) my view of Vitamin C

(04:13) conclusion

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First published:
June 3rd, 2024

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CyZeedcbztE7ngF8L/in-defense-of-linus-pauling

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“in defense of Linus Pauling” by bhauth

LessWrong (30+ Karma)