"Always ask "compared to what" when evaluating foods When evaluating whether a food is healthy, the comparison group chosen almost entirely determines the conclusion — a methodological trap that distorts public nutrition debates. Hill illustrates this with dairy: "I can sit here and make the argument that cheese lowers cholesterol," which is true when cheese is compared to butter, "but what I"d be leaving out is that if I compared cheese to nuts and seeds and sources of unsaturated fats, cheese significantly increases cholesterol.' The same food can look beneficial or harmful purely as a function of the comparison. The decision-shaping application: whenever you read a headline claiming a food is "healthy" or "unhealthy," ask yourself what it was compared to in that study before updating your eating behavior. Source: Simon Hill, Rich Roll Podcast, 2025 Dietary Guidelines Deep Dive"