María Corina Machado’s Fight to Free Venezuela

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Key Takeaways 

Protein RDA is survival-baseline, not optimal: The 0.8g/kg recommendation from mid-20th century potato studies prevents deficiency but doesn’t optimize health
For thriving, aim for 1.6-2g/kg dailyBenefits include appetite control, muscle maintenance, and a healthy weight with no evidence of harm at these levels 
Nutrition science cycles through macronutrient villains: The field repeatedly demonizes different nutrients (seed oils, protein, carbs, fats) in predictable patterns
This creates heroes and villains instead of nuanced understanding, with “ultra-processed” becoming the latest catch-all villain, despite most foods being processed to some degree 
“Ultra-processed” is an arbitrary, unhelpful category: The distinction between processed and ultra-processed foods is poorly defined (wine, cheese, and cut fruit all qualify as processed)
What matters is molecular structure and overconsumption patterns, not food ancestry or the number of processing steps
Observational studies waste resources that should fund RCTs: Nutrition research repeatedly produces epidemiological studies that establish associations we already know, while randomized controlled trials that could establish causation remain underfunded; this represents a fundamental misallocation of scientific resources Current obesity interventions have comprehensively failed: Conventional public health strategies aren’t working and likely won’t work in their current form; progress requires courage to stop funding trivially variant approaches and instead invest in perceived “radical” interventions that could actually move the needleGLP-1s may become standard preventive care: Similar to how low-dose statins became routine for cardiovascular prevention, GLP-1 medications could transition from treatment to default preventive intervention

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Congratulations are not usually in order for someone who has been forced into hiding, someone whose children are scattered across continents for their safety, someone whose supporters are sitting in prison cells for the crime of believing in democracy. 

But our guest today, María Corina Machado, just won the Nobel Peace Prize—joining the ranks of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Dalai Lama, to name a few. 

On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded their 2025 Peace Price to the Venezuelan opposition leader for her tireless work “promoting democratic rights,” describing her as “a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.” She is Venezuela’s first-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner. 

Machado’s story, as Jonathan Jakubowicz wrote in The Free Press, “is a political thriller come to life. A 58-year old industrial engineer and former member of parliament, she spent two decades as the most relentless opponent of Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro.” That thriller came to a head on July 28, 2024, when Edmundo González, Machado’s stand-in candidate, swept Venezuela’s elections with over 90 percent of the vote. But Maduro, Venezuela’s longtime dictator, claimed victory anyway and seized power. Since then, Machado has been living in hiding, her location undisclosed even to most of her allies, as the regime has arrested hundreds of political prisoners and issued a warrant for her arrest. 

Machado has been nicknamed Venezuela’s “Iron Lady,” the same moniker given to Margaret Thatcher, who happens to be her personal hero. She represents what may be the most significant challenge to authoritarian socialism in Latin America, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her here today.

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