Juggling Dynamite

Veganism is having a moment. From ‘Veganuary’ promotions to whole lines of products in fast-food chains such as KFC and Greggs, there is a concerted effort to lure customers away from meat and dairy. But with the boom comes a deluge of quackery and misinformation.

In this episode Marco Springmann, a public health researcher at Oxford University, separates fact from fiction. He tells Anushka Asthana what the data says about the health and environmental impact of veganism and cutting out meat and other animal products. Here is a direct audio link.

“After ’99, many tech and growth companies lost 50% to 100%. We’re thinking in 2020, everything happens much faster. So, if it took 12 months for the end to begin, now it’s going to take six months.”  Here is a direct video link.

Another familiar accelerant of price correction cycles: margin debt has exploded again.

Something to watch out for in 2021:

Margin Debt soared 50% in the past 8 months. In the past 30+ years, such investor euphoria happened exactly twice:

March 2000
June 2007
Now pic.twitter.com/BreCjy7khl

— Troy Bombardia (@bullmarketsco) December 28, 2020

Further confirming the stocks-wildly-disconnected-from-economic-reality thesis, it now requires 141 hours of work for the average worker in the US to purchase one share of the S&P 500,  This compares with a prior extreme of 100 hours in 2000, and the long-term average of just under 42 hours per share since 1947, as shown here courtesy of my partner Cory Venable and Bloomberg.

The connection between what we eat and our physical and mental health has never been more evident, and yet, most people, including doctors, do not focus on this fundamental connection.  Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s new book Fiber Fueled, written before the pandemic and released in May, is perfectly timed.  It’s also incredibly accessible and easy to read.  Will is that rare powerful combo:  a genius in his field and an excellent communicator.  His recent podcast discussion with Simon Hill is worth listening to.

Here is a direct audio link.

Dr B, as he prefers to be called, has a fun and agenda-free way of bringing the latest in gut health science to his clinical practice, website and social media (@theguthealthmd) for us all to benefit from.  Dr B’s resume speaks for itself – here is just a short list of some of the things he has already achieved in his career:

• Qualified MD, a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Board-certified in internal medicine and Gastroenterology
• Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) from Northwestern University and a certificate in nutrition from Cornell University
• At UNC he received the highest clinical award and was Chief Gastroenterology Fellow
• He has published more than 20 scientific articles and given more than 40 presentations at national meetings

On top of this Dr B continues to practice clinically.