Why Do Most Diets Fail? The Science of Nutrient Deficiencies | Ty Beal PhD

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (0:00)
Everyone's talking about making America healthy again, but we can't fix the system if we don't understand the root cause. Today's guest, Ty Beal, is one of the most respected researchers in global nutrition, and he's here to reveal how ultra-processed foods, nutrient deficiencies, and food misinformation are quietly sabotaging the health of millions.

**Dr. Ty Beal** (0:24)
Three billion people worldwide can't afford a healthy diet. What happens in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, in many countries, they're going to be micronutrient deficient. So they're just struggling to get their energy needs.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (0:36)
If we want to reverse this crisis, this is where we start. Dr. Ty Beal, welcome to the show.

**Dr. Ty Beal** (0:43)
Thanks for having me.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (0:45)
So you are head of Food Systems Data and Analytics at the GAIN, which is Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. And the reason I wanted you to come on the show is, number one, you are deeply respected by your colleagues. So that means you are a great and humble scientist. And one of the things that you offer uniquely to the listener or the viewer is you're very interested in global nutrition. And I think as Americans or just individuals in their perspective or perspective countries that they are really micro-focused on their close demographic. But you bring it all together.

**Dr. Ty Beal** (1:29)
Yeah, that's right. It's really hard to get an understanding of what your situation is in the context of the whole globe. But it really does vary. And one thing that's important to know is that the whole food system is interconnected. And everything that we do in the US has big implications for the rest of the world.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (1:48)
Which is kind of unusual to think because in our microcosm, we're fighting over should we be carnivore, should we be vegan or vegetarian? And in essence, that's a conversation of luxury.

**Dr. Ty Beal** (2:01)
Exactly.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (2:02)
And excess. How is it in the rest of the world?

**Dr. Ty Beal** (2:07)
A lot of people don't have the choice about what they eat. We have that luxury, like you said, in the US and in many high-income contexts, we get to choose.
So we may have access to nutrients, supplements, the diversity of foods, really anything that we can get our hands on. And the issue for us is more about how do we restrict what we eat, not eat too much. In many countries, people don't have enough food. So just getting enough food, there's almost a billion people worldwide that go to bed hungry at night. That's a huge challenge, just the ability of being able to afford food. So what happens in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, in many countries, people just consume the cheapest food they can. It's usually the most common staple. Maybe it's rice, maybe it's corn. And so people don't have a diversity of foods. They're going to be micronutrient-efficient. They're going to be lacking just enough calories in general. And so they're just struggling to get their energy needs met. So the last thing on their mind is really, am I getting the right mix of these food groups and the micronutrients? They just are trying to fill their bellies.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (3:14)
And it's a really unusual way to think about it for us here. I'm curious, how did you get interested in that, in this topic of global nutrition?

**Dr. Ty Beal** (3:27)
Yeah, well, so I had a personal story of nutrition like many people have. I had ailments from traveling. I had parasites and issues with food intolerances that plague me severely. And I ended up changing my diet and addressing everything just on my own without any sort of background in nutrition. And so I got fascinated by the idea that, wow, what I eat can have a big difference on how I feel and my health. So I got into nutrition, studying nutrition because of that, and I've always sort of had a passion for helping people who have needs that aren't being met. So people who can't get enough food, people who don't have enough food and water, shelter, basic needs. And so I was sort of drawn to this global aspect where we can intervene and try to have sustainable mechanisms of helping people get healthy and get access to food. So I started by a graduate program in geography and nutrition at UC Davis.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (4:27)
So you were always interested in traveling?

**Dr. Ty Beal** (4:29)
Yes.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (4:30)
And when you traveled, did you see people that were going hungry and just conditions that you weren't prepared to see?