Diet Insanity

[Nord Wolf]

I’m not a big fan of diets/specific ways of eating. To me they are like religions.

• Macronutrient Diet stemmed from Buddhism
• Raw Foods Diet brought to mainstream by Aajonus Vonderplanitz
• Bernard Moncriff and Shawn Baker Carnivore Diet
• Danielle Walker’s Against All Grains Diet
• Dr. Raymond Pete’s Diet
• Jessie Inchauspe’s Glucose Goddess Method
• Adelle Davis and the Unprocessed Foods
• Joseph Pilates and the Calories in matching Calories Out way of eating
• Dr. Robert Atkins and the Atkin’s Diet
• Michel Montignac and the South Beach Diet
• Jack LaLanne’s Longevity Diet
• Julie Daniluk, R.H.N. and her 21-day anti-inflammatory program of Hot Detox
• Morgan and Watson and Veganism
• The Blood Type Diet from the D’Adamo Institute
• and the list goes on and on…

They all claim research and scientific proof. They all boast hundreds or thousands of success stories based upon their unique dietary regimes. Most can spam you with research quotes, interviews and videos, as well as talk their way around any opposing topic to prove the point trying to be made, even while or especially while lowballing another diet method. And therein lies the issue. If they all claim proof and supportive research that their way of eating is best, then how can any other do the same… but they do.

None work for everybody. But with many of them, if a person has complications following a specific diet, fingers are usually pointed at the individual for not doing it right rather than admitting a possible flaw in the eating system. Many people claim to have been harmed but various styles of eating, just as many claims healing. All the diets seem to have viable points, but in my humble opinion, they all have loopholes and flaws, and lack the reality that everybody is slightly different and no one eating style can possibly suit everyone.

For me and my body I find intuitive eating that changes from season to season to be a pretty decent judge. I’ve never been a believer in any diet on the market as the one and only method.

I also know many people here on PR have such messed up or ruined digestive systems from various diseases, following any specific eating regime is near impossible. And others struggling with the old money flow because of disease simply don’t have access to foods that are locked into a strict regimented eating style.

Anyway, there is always talk about diet, so feel free to comment or not on anything you find to work for you, and or things that you’ve tried that don’t work for your body and conditions. And maybe this topic has been talked to death already.

No need to rehash what is found on the few other threads containing info on specific diets, simply supply a link to those threads if you wish. I posted this simply for sharing any new insights, personal experiences, etc... not to create a thread for arguments and heated forum fighting. Not only is that not productive, but most of us here simply don't have that sort of energy to waste.

 

[southwestforests]

When I was a child and youth Mom was a nutritionist and got her masters degree to be a dietitian, as well as being a talented cook who part paid for college, at 1950s prices, with scholarships from cooking contest wins.
Her what I'll call dietary philosophy, was all along, balanced and varied foods in moderate proportions.
Unless and until specific health conditions made alteration needed.
Brother and I grew up eating healthy whether we wanted to or not!
Dad alternated between eating Navy cooking at sea and Mom's cooking at home.

And at this 84 year point in her life, (Dad turned 84 this year too, so apparently Mom was doing something right when feeding us!) she's where some years ago the developing of diverticular disease and genetic diabetes have required her to make some changes.

I developed serious lactose intolerance during puberty which of course forced dietary changes.
Also developing were allergies and intolerances which mandated further dietary changes.
Also developing then was IBS, occasional diagnosis then negating the diagnosis then rediagnosis then negating it again, of ulcerative colitis, and then a few decades later, diverticular disease.

My physical health started a slow decline in 1990s even though it wasn't exactly perfect to begin with.
I've tried going vegetarian for something like 6 months until it showed some adverse effects actually.
Have backed off on certain foods, such as breads.
Other changes I can't consciously name any more because they have become so, what are the words, instinctively ingrained.
I know there are things I seriously need to never eat; things I'm better off not eating; things I can get away with in small portions every so often.

At this point in life my diet is a mix of that with an occasional spoonful of I just don't care any more.

My diet has been so standardized for so long that until ME/CFS started having more and more mental effects, I didn't need to have food items on the grocery list, only the other stuff like dish soap and bath soap and paper towels and cleansers and such.

 

[linusbert]

They all claim research and scientific proof.

thats right, because as long as you eat anything you won't starve to death. and i can confirm, 6 billion survivors this year due to eating anything and not starving.

but in general, i eat vegans, only grass feds though. but i learned yesterday that phytanic acid could be a problem for me, so i do not eat them that much anymore.
but i am doing best on carb rich, low fat and medium or low protein. when i did high fat and medium protein and low carbs , this was the diet one year before i first time completely crashed, and afterwards with many years experience and knowledge i know this was for me a dumb thing to do. but it was considered healthy by many.
recently approx. 2 years ago i switched from whole rye bread to rice bread and vitamin D high dose for month and i improved significantly. not only my muscular exercise tolerance increased dramatic also my diabetes improved so much that by blood levels doctors do not consider me diabetic anymore (A1C 5,5% down from 7.5%). also lost almost 20kg in weight. also got rid of medications and insulin injections and reduced my only medication (pioglitazone) i take a bit, not for diabetes, but because it improves my overall condition.
so diet is key but one diet isnt king to rule them all.

 

[pamojja]

The insanity comes about from 'the one way fits all' and the 'one agent against one ill' of the pharmaceutical approach. Though it should be obvious, that doesn't work most of the time in most areas of life.

Even if scientifically validated with a beneficial effect, that too means for a theoretical average of a study population and some more or less important outcome. Some few in that study population might have strong beneficial, some lesser and a few even worsening effects. As theoretical average, it would still show as in average some beneficial effect.

Best example, the blockbuster drug class of statins. Just one in 83 taking this drug for 5 years, does thereby have a benefit in not reduced mortality, in average. No data beyond 5 years, while most take statins indefinitely till their deathbed.

Therefore, only the experimental approach could work, to determine if some medication, diet adaptation or life-style changes would work with a particular individual, with different biochemical individuality (different medical history, genetics, toxic exposures, metabolism, etc.).

6 billion survivors this year due to eating anything and not starving.

Best example of most not needing any interventions: A few even drink, smoke, eat junk food and don't supplement, but still reach even higher ages in better health, than others with healthy life-style habits.

To me they are like religions.

Due to the 'one size fits all' illusion, I personally can follow only traditions, which follows an experimental approach too (ie. does it work for me?), but leaves it to everyone's else own considerations, what or if to follow. Without the usual missionary one size fits all approach. That way, religion or diet-adherence isn't the wrongly conceived one size fits all. And can be beneficial.

 

[Nord Wolf]

When I was a child and youth Mom was a nutritionist and got her masters degree to be a dietitian, as well as being a talented cook who part paid for college, at 1950s prices, with scholarships from cooking contest wins.
Her what I'll call dietary philosophy, was all along, balanced and varied foods in moderate proportions.
Unless and until specific health conditions made alteration needed.
Brother and I grew up eating healthy whether we wanted to or not!
Dad alternated between eating Navy cooking at sea and Mom's cooking at home.

Thanks for sharing.

In the 70s I had a similar food experience. We lived far out in the mountains and my parents always had a large garden. We raised chickens for eggs and meat as well as rabbits. Hunting for meat and fishing were also regular activities to bring meat to the table. Our neighbor, half mile away, raised goats for milk and meat and we used to swap. When I was in my teens, I worked for a small-time farm that raised their own cattle and pig and we did everything from tend the animals to slaughter and butcher, so I was able to bring home free meat regularly.

A variety of foods was common for us as well as was for you.

Then I had my fair share of military diet after… only to eventually return to a pretty simple way of eating, and nothing but organic non-GMO, no prepared foods or crap marketers try to pass off as food. Throughout the years my wife and I had tried this and tried that, tossed aside what didn’t work for us and moved on, always experimenting and researching. And, as you said, with the development of chronic illnesses everything changed and diet has become more finite, which for me does shift from season to season.

And yes, those days were you just say Screw It and eat for pleasure do come and go… but even me eating for the pure pleasure isn’t very off the food reservation. I just don’t like the taste of prepared, processed garbage “food.” Maybe because I wasn’t raised on it… and maybe because it really isn’t food.

It does sound like we share similar food philosophies.

but in general, i eat vegans, only grass feds though. but i learned yesterday that phytanic acid could be a problem for me, so i do not eat them that much anymore.
but i am doing best on carb rich, low fat and medium or low protein. when i did high fat and medium protein and low carbs , this was the diet one year before i first time completely crashed, and afterwards with many years experience and knowledge i know this was for me a dumb thing to do. but it was considered healthy by many.
recently approx. 2 years ago i switched from whole rye bread to rice bread and vitamin D high dose for month and i improved significantly. not only my muscular exercise tolerance increased dramatic also my diabetes improved so much that by blood levels doctors do not consider me diabetic anymore (A1C 5,5% down from 7.5%). also lost almost 20kg in weight. also got rid of medications and insulin injections and reduced my only medication (pioglitazone) i take a bit, not for diabetes, but because it improves my overall condition.
so diet is key but one diet isnt king to rule them all.

I recall you telling me about this before. Though it was a while ago I I think you were still highly experimenting with what you could tolerate. Good to hear you have found some methods that are working a bit easier for you.

For a laugh, and everyone keep in mind I'm not posting this to knock vegans or anyone else. If this was about ANY form of eating it would be hilarious!

The insanity comes about from 'the one way fits all' and the 'one agent against one ill' of the pharmaceutical approach. Though it should be obvious, that doesn't work most of the time in most areas of life.

Even if scientifically validated with a beneficial effect, that too means for a theoretical average of a study population and some more or less important outcome. Some few in that study population might have strong beneficial, some lesser and a few even worsening effects. As theoretical average, it would still show as in average some beneficial effect.

Fully agree!

 

[Wishful]

developed serious lactose intolerance during puberty which of course forced dietary changes.
Also developing were allergies and intolerances which mandated further dietary changes.

That just shows that even a healthy balanced diet prepared by a dietitian (and under the daily supervision of) won't protect a person from developing allergies and intolerances. You can't blame such problems on the person "not doing it right"; it's just the complexity of the human body.

I just eat what feels right, based on past experience. I mostly ignore diet theories. Large-data statistical evidence has greater weight in decision-making. If such a study shows that eating large amounts of <whatever> daily results in an 88% higher rate of colon cancer, then it's a good idea to avoid that.

The occasional "bad for you" treat might be balanced by psychological benefits, so judge those things for yourself.

 

[Strawberry]

I personally like the seafood diet. I see food, I eat it.

Honest now, I do my best to eat clean and unprocessed, but with this disease some days I’m lucky I have Vienna sausage cans…….

 

[Viala]

There probably is a perfect human diet, just like there is a perfect diet for cats, dogs and any other animal. The problem is the food nowadays is so bad that people get sick even if they try to eat healthy. They eventually start to look for solutions and may find a diet that works for them, then many make a logical mistake that this is a perfect diet for everyone and it's usually some extreme diet that's not good long term at all. Some dietaty groups work like cults now. I have seen it as well, if diet didn't work, that person must have done something wrong, no way that the diet isn't perfect.

Then there are dietary trends purposefully inflated on social media and many young people hop onto them, whatever suits their needs, vegan, carnivore, keto, raw. It looks like a part of social engineering to divide society even further. There are not many moderation dietary trends, and there should be. Without anyone who has all the answers, people scatter into small groups. There is so much conflicting information, that there's no way to figure out everything without trying things out on our own. That can take a lifetime and if some diet will harm us, then we'll need more time to heal from that, but if the food isn't healthy, it's even more complicated.

The root of the problem though is that people get too emotional and less logical with time, and that creates all sort of issues including heated debates about diets and less tolerance for other points of view. It's a vicious cycle because an unhealthy diet won't feed the brain properly, it will create an imbalance within the body and that will fuel discord. Then there's the whole world of food additives, especially in the US, that impacts people on emotional, mental and physical levels. Mix that with pesticides in food and gene polymorphisms, microbiome diversity, air pollutants, all depending on the region and also where crops come from, and it creates a total chaos. It also won't get better with AI on board. So I think we will see more of all of that, as new generations will get weaker. It serves some purpose. But someone knows all the answers.

 

[Wishful]

There probably is a perfect human diet

Unlikely. We are just too different as individuals. There's no common perfect microbiome for all humans, so there's no perfect mix of foods for those microbe populations. "Perfect diet" for cats or other animals is just a (false) marketing concept. Animals vary just as much as humans do.

 

[sunshine44]

Thanks for sharing.

In the 70s I had a similar food experience. We lived far out in the mountains and my parents always had a large garden. We raised chickens for eggs and meat as well as rabbits. Hunting for meat and fishing were also regular activities to bring meat to the table. Our neighbor, half mile away, raised goats for milk and meat and we used to swap. When I was in my teens, I worked for a small-time farm that raised their own cattle and pig and we did everything from tend the animals to slaughter and butcher, so I was able to bring home free meat regularly.

A variety of foods was common for us as well as was for you.

Then I had my fair share of military diet after… only to eventually return to a pretty simple way of eating, and nothing but organic non-GMO, no prepared foods or crap marketers try to pass off as food. Throughout the years my wife and I had tried this and tried that, tossed aside what didn’t work for us and moved on, always experimenting and researching. And, as you said, with the development of chronic illnesses everything changed and diet has become more finite, which for me does shift from season to season.

And yes, those days were you just say Screw It and eat for pleasure do come and go… but even me eating for the pure pleasure isn’t very off the food reservation. I just don’t like the taste of prepared, processed garbage “food.” Maybe because I wasn’t raised on it… and maybe because it really isn’t food.

It does sound like we share similar food philosophies.


I recall you telling me about this before. Though it was a while ago I I think you were still highly experimenting with what you could tolerate. Good to hear you have found some methods that are working a bit easier for you.

For a laugh, and everyone keep in mind I'm not posting this to knock vegans or anyone else. If this was about ANY form of eating it would be hilarious!

Fully agree!

Lol! To this skit.
That’s what we need.
LAUGHTER therapy through all of the diet fads.

It’s really truly wild when you think of how many healthy eating diets each of us have been on!

Ps. I was a vegetarian for 13 years and think because I did not treat my body well during this time always, it created some mineral and vitamin deficiencies in me. I also dated a vegan and had many vegan friends (in my teens abd 20s) and many of us will now discuss the vitamin deficiencies and strange autoimmune diseases we have etc. although I think that the human body can thrive on vegetarian and veganism, due to a variety of reasons, it’s not attainable for many I’ve found in myself and my circle.

And that’s all I’ve got on my life lessons through hell tonight. Come back for more next time kids of how we should NOT eat soy burgers for years during my formative years. Fantastic move (not) for my developing body. K. Have a great night!