14 ms·

Basically anything that isn't the standard western/American diet where "balanced" is supposed to mean: 3 meals, snacks in between, excessive fructose from fruit

Basically anything that isn't the standard western/American diet where "balanced" is supposed to mean: 3 meals, snacks in between, excessive fructose from fruit, excessive polyunsaturated fats from manufactured seed oils, constant eating and all energy coming from at least 60% carbodydrates (primarily processed, pre-digested, pulverized grains with a massive glycemic load). Anything that is not the above, many variations low carb high fat or carnivore - will make your risks of modern chronic diseases (aka, hyperinsulinemia, diabetes, chronic inflammation, dislipidemia) go down dramatically. Especially if you are strict about your feast and fast cycles. Humans are not omnivores we are obligate carnivores with a beneficial tolerance for a tiny number of plants. Plants have anti-nutrients that many are sensitive to. Now bring on the downvotes I know they're coming.

hombre_fatal 4y ago
It's funny how well the "seed oils bad" myth infected every diet camp. You see it in every HN thread on diet even though seed oils like canola oil improve health outcomes in humans, especially when compared to saturated fat. Even my dad randomly started railing against seed oils once the nonsense started popping up on his youtube recommendations. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to redpill yourself by looking at outcome data: https://www.the-nutrivore.com/post/a-comprehensive-rebuttal-to-seed-oil-sophistry https://www.the-nutrivore.com/post/a-comprehensive-rebuttal-...
- AlexandrB 4y ago
  I wonder how much of it is "grassroots diet fad" and how much is the meat lobby throwing out FUD to confuse the issue. Having lived through several diet fads already, neither would surprise me.
SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
What other apes are obligate carnivores? What carnivores have our dental structure? And what separates "obligate carnivores with a beneficial tolerance for a tiny number of plants" from a facultative carnivore? I think you're making a logical flaw in saying that "excess {blah} is bad, therefore any {blah} is bad" which is untrue.
- jononomo 4y ago
  Once I went carnivore, my dental and gum health became perfect. The reason other carnivores don't have our dental structure is that other carnivores don't use fire, and other carnivores use their teeth to kill their prey.
  - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
    I am not a carnivore, my dental health is perfect - never had a cavity. What does that mean for our two anecdotes? Regarding your second point - our dental structure is roughly the same as the great apes (who are NOT obligate carnivores), but with less emphasis on canine teeth (which are used for display in the apes) - so when did we develop the carnivore teeth then develop teeth that match our fellow great apes? Our dental structure is not suited for a carnivorous lifestyle, but somehow the rest of our digestive track is? Edit: Sorry, should specify, I meant "I am not an OBLIGATE carnivore". I still eat meat.
    - alwayslikethis 4y ago
      Neither means anything. I'm not inclined to believe that humans should be obligate carnivores, given vegans seem to live more or less fine. Though I wouldn't exclude the possibility of some essential or highly beneficial nutrients that are only abundant in meat.
      - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        > Neither means anything. 100% agree. There's clearly nutrients that have better sources in meat and can be vital - if one suffers from heavy menstruation sometimes the only solution to prevent anemia is heme iron, which is found in animal flesh.
      - jononomo 4y ago
        Vegans literally need to take supplements, or else they die. Vegan women lose their menstrual cycles without supplementation.
jononomo 4y ago
You're absolutely correct. I preach the carnivore diet as well, and people on Hacker News constantly spew contempt at me for doing that, but the carnivore diet really works. It is practically a panacea.
- shlant 4y ago
  >It is practically a panacea Biggest diet dogma red flag. It sounds like you might be spending too much time in an echo chamber. inb4 << a bunch of anecdotes >>
- lambdaba 4y ago
  So do I... There is a (literally) visceral feeling you get when eliminating plants (and frankly, even most supplements except minerals) that the gut is finally at rest / not disturbed, it becomes impossible to ignore that our digestive apparatus is primarily adapted for eating meat. Judging from the many anecdotes I've come across, breakdown of the gut barrier brought about / contributed by most plants is at the root of many diseases. Not the sole cause, I think gut microbiome disruption plays a big part in the bad effects from plants, but that's another story and there doesn't seem to be a solution for that yet (not enough to just chug copious amounts of probiotics).
  - shlant 4y ago
    > breakdown of the gut barrier brought about / contributed by most plants is at the root of many diseases And yet we have a unending amount of evidence that consuming plants results in better health outcomes...
    - lambdaba 4y ago
      This is discussing a strict carnivore (meat ONLY) diet. I'm not aware of such a comparison.
      - shlant 4y ago
        what comparison? If what you are saying is true - that eating plants = bad gut health = bad health outcomes - then we would see that in the data but instead we see the opposite.
lentil_soup 4y ago
but the article kind of contradicts you in regards to plants. Vegetables, fruits and nuts are the base of a mediterranean diet with a small portion of meat

hombre_fatal 4y ago

It's funny how well the "seed oils bad" myth infected every diet camp. You see it in every HN thread on diet even though seed oils like canola oil improve health outcomes in humans, especially when compared to saturated fat. Even my dad randomly started railing against seed oils once the nonsense started popping up on his youtube recommendations. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to redpill yourself by looking at outcome data: https://www.the-nutrivore.com/post/a-comprehensive-rebuttal-to-seed-oil-sophistry https://www.the-nutrivore.com/post/a-comprehensive-rebuttal-...

AlexandrB 4y ago
I wonder how much of it is "grassroots diet fad" and how much is the meat lobby throwing out FUD to confuse the issue. Having lived through several diet fads already, neither would surprise me.

SketchySeaBeast 4y ago

What other apes are obligate carnivores? What carnivores have our dental structure? And what separates "obligate carnivores with a beneficial tolerance for a tiny number of plants" from a facultative carnivore? I think you're making a logical flaw in saying that "excess {blah} is bad, therefore any {blah} is bad" which is untrue.

jononomo 4y ago
Once I went carnivore, my dental and gum health became perfect. The reason other carnivores don't have our dental structure is that other carnivores don't use fire, and other carnivores use their teeth to kill their prey.
- SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
  I am not a carnivore, my dental health is perfect - never had a cavity. What does that mean for our two anecdotes? Regarding your second point - our dental structure is roughly the same as the great apes (who are NOT obligate carnivores), but with less emphasis on canine teeth (which are used for display in the apes) - so when did we develop the carnivore teeth then develop teeth that match our fellow great apes? Our dental structure is not suited for a carnivorous lifestyle, but somehow the rest of our digestive track is? Edit: Sorry, should specify, I meant "I am not an OBLIGATE carnivore". I still eat meat.
  - alwayslikethis 4y ago
    Neither means anything. I'm not inclined to believe that humans should be obligate carnivores, given vegans seem to live more or less fine. Though I wouldn't exclude the possibility of some essential or highly beneficial nutrients that are only abundant in meat.
    - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
      > Neither means anything. 100% agree. There's clearly nutrients that have better sources in meat and can be vital - if one suffers from heavy menstruation sometimes the only solution to prevent anemia is heme iron, which is found in animal flesh.
    - jononomo 4y ago
      Vegans literally need to take supplements, or else they die. Vegan women lose their menstrual cycles without supplementation.

jononomo 4y ago

You're absolutely correct. I preach the carnivore diet as well, and people on Hacker News constantly spew contempt at me for doing that, but the carnivore diet really works. It is practically a panacea.

shlant 4y ago
>It is practically a panacea Biggest diet dogma red flag. It sounds like you might be spending too much time in an echo chamber. inb4 << a bunch of anecdotes >>
lambdaba 4y ago
So do I... There is a (literally) visceral feeling you get when eliminating plants (and frankly, even most supplements except minerals) that the gut is finally at rest / not disturbed, it becomes impossible to ignore that our digestive apparatus is primarily adapted for eating meat. Judging from the many anecdotes I've come across, breakdown of the gut barrier brought about / contributed by most plants is at the root of many diseases. Not the sole cause, I think gut microbiome disruption plays a big part in the bad effects from plants, but that's another story and there doesn't seem to be a solution for that yet (not enough to just chug copious amounts of probiotics).
- shlant 4y ago
  > breakdown of the gut barrier brought about / contributed by most plants is at the root of many diseases And yet we have a unending amount of evidence that consuming plants results in better health outcomes...
  - lambdaba 4y ago
    This is discussing a strict carnivore (meat ONLY) diet. I'm not aware of such a comparison.
    - shlant 4y ago
      what comparison? If what you are saying is true - that eating plants = bad gut health = bad health outcomes - then we would see that in the data but instead we see the opposite.

lentil_soup 4y ago

but the article kind of contradicts you in regards to plants. Vegetables, fruits and nuts are the base of a mediterranean diet with a small portion of meat