Last March, Stanford University researchers published the outcomes of among the longest and quite a few persuasive comparisons of weight-loss programs ever conducted. Three in the four diets inside the study are heavily promoted regimens which make their originators famous: the Atkins diet and the Zone diet, which both emphasize high-protein foods, and the Ornish diet, an idea that prohibits most unhealthy fats. The final was no-frills, low-fat diet that most health professionals recommend.

The final results, published within the Journal in the Ama, were a surprise simply because they did actually overturn the traditional wisdom. The experts’ low-fat diet was...

When it comes to nutrition science, the one thing we can count on is that research information evolves over time. Remember eggs and cholesterol? Over the last several years the buzz about the benefits of soy protein and isoflavones has gained considerable momentum, it culminated in the 1999 decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to approve labelling for foods containing soy protein as protective against coronary heart disease. But once again, we are faced with evolving research that shows the buzz may be “much ado about nothing” — or at least very little.