Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD

Assistant AD, Sports Nutrition for Purdue Athletics | @BoilerFuel | Author of The Healthy Former Athlete & Nutrient Timing 📕📔Thoughts are my own.

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

After a successful self-publish of ‘From Athlete to Normal Human’ I made the decision to republish w @skyhorsepub 📔
The republish comes with some changes👉🏼 a new title ‘The Healthy Former Athlete’ and a new, less hunky (and husband-less) cover. BUT #samebooknewlook

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

@RobertaAnding Definitely. I should have added dietitian in the list!

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

HOT TIP: If a doctor/surgeon/chiropractor reccomends supplements to you & provides you a link that is clearly an affiliate program (their name is in the link or they provide you with their code)…you should seek a second opinion as to the necessity/efficacy of those supplements.

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

I’m not saying that it automatically means those supplements are bad or unnecessary, and I’m certainly not saying it makes them a bad doctor/surgeon/chiropractor…but I AM saying it makes those recommendations biased because they’re profiting off of your purchases 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

A haunted house, but it’s just RFK Jr. in charge of our health and wellbeing.

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

The anti-science playbook is simple:

1️⃣ Pick a villain.
2️⃣ Find a scary word.
3️⃣ Cherry-pick evidence.
4️⃣ Weaponize fear words.
5️⃣ Repeat until it feels true.

Works on GMOs, glyphosate, vaccines, nuclear, you name it.

Same script. Different target.
Let me show you how it works: -

Step 1: Pick a villain
Complex science doesn’t get clicks. Villains do.
– Monsanto for GMOs
– Bayer for glyphosate
– Big Pharma for vaccines
– The “nuclear lobby” for energy

Hate the logo. Forget the data.

Step 2: Find a scary word
– “Frankenfood” (GMOs)
– “Toxic pesticide” (glyphosate)
– “Experimental gene therapy” (mRNA)
– “Radioactive waste” (nuclear)

The word itself does the fear work.

Step 3: Cherry-pick evidence
Ignore 1000s studies. Highlight 1.
– One bad rat study = GMOs cause tumors
– One lawsuit = glyphosate causes cancer
– One side effect = vaccines are unsafe
– One accident = nuclear is doomed

Context doesn’t sell. Fear does.

Step 4: Weaponize fear words
“Linked to cancer.”
“Poison.”
“Hormone disruptor.”
“Waste forever.”

No nuance. Just sticky language that terrifies.

Step 5: Repeat until it feels true
Documentaries. Lawsuits. Hashtags. Memes.
Say the lie 10,000 times and suddenly it feels like “common sense.”

The result?
We waste decades fearing the very tools that could:
🌽 Feed the world (GMOs)
🚜 Make farming safer (glyphosate)
💉 Save millions (vaccines)
⚡ Cut emissions (nuclear)

The anti-science playbook never changes.
Different topic. Same script.

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
And the “controversies” stop looking like science - and start looking like theater.

[Bryan Behar @bryanbehar]

If only Americans loved their children as much as they love their Cracker Barrel logos.

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

I’ve come to terms with the fact that having used floppy disks and CD-ROMs makes me ancient…but today I had to explain to someone ON STAFF how to use a flash drive and I am…shook 👵🏼👵🏼

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

Can the scientists just pick a new name for mRNA and tell the illiterate mob that they made a new, ancestral-raw-hormone steroid shot that prevents disease so we can get on with the life-saving technology? 🫩

Same goes for seed oils, dietary guidelines, etc etc.

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

We can only assume that if things taste better, people will consume more of them. So we’ve made no improvement in health AND we are promoting people consuming more French fries and soda…

Awesome. Totally MAHA’ing…totally 👍🏼

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

The most ironic responses to the beef tallow fries, cane sugar Coke, and other “wins” in the MAHA camp are the folks who acknowledge these changes are making zero improvements in health, but argue “yeah but they taste better” 🧵

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

So you’re telling me the hyperpalatable foods like French fries and soda taste BETTER with RFK Jr’s changes? 🧐

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

Today’s rant brought to you by this signage in the grocery store - which actually made me lol. Especially amidst the “healthy” candy bars 👌🏼

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

Friendly reminder that in the world of food/nutrition marketing, the word “natural” means *literally* nothing and isn’t regulated at all ⚠️

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

Paired with an earthy color palette and matte packaging, slapping the word “natural” on something gives the impression that the product is healthier, derived from nature, and a “better” choice…when all it really means is that they know consumers are suckers for buzz words 👹

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

@JohnnyDTOM The good news is you can do whatever you want!

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

Getting a lot of questions about BPC-157 - the synthetic peptide that is claimed to have regenerative properties. Does this RD recommend? In short, no.

👉🏼 Essentially zero human studies that show benefit. Only in rats. 🐀
👉🏼 Zero third party tested products available. ⚠️

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

@JohnnyDTOM There are looooots of things being done in professional leagues that lack solid evidence. Again, nothing I’ve said means any of the above is necessarily bad, it just means I wouldn’t recommend spending the money/drug test risk based on current evidence

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

@JohnnyDTOM (And the population I work with are drug tested, so we have to operate in third party tested spaces)

[Lauren Link MS, RD, CSSD @linktonutrition]

@1boilerfan Yep it sure is! Sugar is sugar is sugar!