Home > Health+Nutrition

Controversial prof says booze is good—but breakfast, carbs, and high-intensity exercise are bad

Fredrik Nyström has a whole lot of opinions about fitness and nutrition that made headlines

Controversial prof says booze is good—but breakfast, carbs, and high-intensity exercise are bad Photo by: Sirroti

Swedish professor Fredrik Nyström has a host of controversial health opinions that have recently made headlines. In a feature by The Telegraph, the internal medicine specialist and endocrinologist shared some very strong views.

First off, exercising may not be as good as people think, he claimed.

The marathon will be the death of you btw

“People die in big marathons all the time. Of course, it’s not good for people to exercise hard,” he said.

However, according to an article in Running Magazine, that statement is misleading.

A study in the National Library of Medicine found only 26 deaths among 3,292,268 marathon participants over 30 years. That’s equivalent to only two deaths per 1,000,000 hours of high-intensity exercise.

Nyström also said that happy people are healthy people, citing studies he conducted measuring health outcomes using a “peppiness” scale. “We put people on a scale from one to five based on how peppy they felt,” he explained. “Those who felt peppier, despite having the same or even worse physical health markers, lived longer and suffered less cardiovascular disease.”

Breakfast is evil

To maintain a healthy weight, Nyström advises individuals to skip breakfast entirely, avoid carbs, stick to two big meals a day, and steer clear of snacking. He also believes dieting “crushes you” and is “what kills you.” However, he notes that each person is different, and those with higher activity levels will require more fuel to replenish depleted energy stores.

The professor believes his health advice could be lifesaving for some. “If I can make people feel less bad about the things they do wrong, some lives might be saved, and people will have a higher quality of life.”

If you’re a fan of booze, however, there’s good news: Nyström says moderate alcohol consumption is “probably even good for you.”

Bring on the hooch

The professor argues that the body has a very specific system to break down alcohol.

“Why would we have evolved that if we weren’t supposed to drink it?” he said, insisting that red wine—or the alcohol-content equivalent of vodka or other liquors—can help lower blood glucose levels. However, he fails to mention the negative side effects of alcohol consumption, including increased risks of cancer, mental health conditions, and premature mortality. This claim also contradicts other studies, which have concluded that no amount of alcohol consumption is safe for health.

Despite the controversy surrounding his views, Nyström believes his advice could help people. “If I can make people feel less bad about the things they do wrong, some lives might be saved, and people will have a higher quality of life.”