I'm often asked what my opinion about a diet or disease is.

Who cares what my or anyone else's opinion is?

Always you care about is what the science says.

What does the best available balance of evidence

published in the peer-reviewed medical literature

have to say right now?

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

It's time for the Nutrition Facts Grab Bag.

We look at the latest science and whole variety of topics.

And we start today with a story on the MicroMort.

And no, that's not a nickname for your short uncle.

Think of it as a unit of comparing and communicating risk to patients.

Hundreds of millions of operations are performed every year.

And the risk of death is typically around half a percent.

To which patients might say things like,

I could just die as easily crossing the road.

Making it clear they really don't understand the difference in magnitude of risk.

One way to communicate risk is by analogy.

For example, just going under anesthetic carries about a one in a hundred thousand

chance you won't wake up.

How much is that?

...