"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"