The
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3 rounds for time:
Italian Wedding Soup
Sugar industry secretly paid for favorable Harvard research
Row 500 meters
25 GHD sit-ups
25 hip extensions
A comforting, savory soup with tender meatballs, fresh spinach, and a rich broth—simple, hearty, and full of flavor.
Uncovered documents show how industry funding shaped early research blaming fat—not sugar—for heart disease
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Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef or turkey
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and black pepper, to taste
For the Soup:
1 Tbsp butter or tallow
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups fresh spinach
½ cup diced celery
¼ tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Macronutrients
(per serving, serves 4)
Protein: 25g
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 3g
Preparation
In a bowl, mix ground meat, Parmesan, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper until combined. Roll into small meatballs, about 1 inch wide.
Heat butter or tallow in a pot over medium heat. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Then remove from pot.
Add diced celery and oregano, stirring to coat the vegetables in the rendered fat. Add meatballs back to the pot after a few minutes, when the celery becomes translucent.Â
Pour in chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
Cover and cook for 15–20 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and tender.
Add spinach and simmer for another 2 minutes until wilted.
Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve warm.
This 2016 article reports on uncovered documents revealing that the Sugar Research Foundation secretly funded and influenced Harvard researchers in the 1960s to publish review papers that downplayed the role of sugar in heart disease. The industry group paid the equivalent of about $48,000 to researchers to critique studies linking sugar to coronary heart disease while promoting the idea that fat and cholesterol were the primary dietary risks. These reviews were published in the New England Journal of Medicine without disclosure of industry funding, at a time when conflicts of interest were not required to be reported.
Internal correspondence showed that the sugar industry helped select which studies to address, reviewed drafts, and set clear objectives for the conclusions. The resulting papers dismissed evidence against sugar while supporting fat as the main culprit, helping shift public health focus toward low-fat diets. These findings highlight how industry influence have played a significant role in shaping decades of nutrition policy and delayed recognition of sugar’s role in chronic disease.
MONDAY 260504