What should Humans really eat/not eat

[Rosieblue12]

Does anyone else get really confused about all the noise out there about what and how we should and should not eat for health and longevity from all the professionals, Doctors and scientist that all have differing views , conflicting each other, These doctors and scientist on YouTube, Like Dr Ken Berry, he is a Carnivore, eats nothing but meat, eggs and fat, swears by it, so does his wife, eats endless amounts of bacon and butter, and salt, will not touch grain, no bread, no wholegrains, does not eat fruit and vegs, says its not good for us, does loads of research very intelligent, His wife and kids, all healthy and happy, Then there is Dr Brad Stanfield, also very intelligent , does loads of research , swears by the Mediterranean diet, says we should eat lots of fruits and veg, fish, wholegrains, including bread, rice, pasta etc, says limit meat, limits butter etc, what are we meant to believe ?
Just wondering what your thought are.

Not eat ?

Poison.

We’re omnivores, so I think probably a mix of meat and veg/fruit (unless ethics prevent the eating of meat).

Dairy, I’m not so sure about, or grains.

Mostly plants. Not too much.

Most doctors and dieticians recommend a Mediterranean diet. I follow that and the Blue Zones diet which is mainly plant based with a little lean meat and fish. I have a digestive disorder and I have asked every gastroenterologist I have seen what they think of Keto and carnivore diets and they all agree it’s not a recommended diet for the long term (certainly not for gut health).

It makes sense to me that humans should be eating as close to what we evolved eating as possible - which will vary depending on where in the world you are, but generally it'll be vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, some meat and fish, grains, and maybe some dairy and simple bread-type foods. Nothing processed in a factory.

That is not too say I eat like that! But I probably should.

I felt the unhealthiest I've ever felt on a keto diet 🤮

Most traditional diets are good. We're omnivores which is key to our success as a species.

Eat fruit and veg, lean protein and a few treats. A blow out occasionally is fine.

Get some exercise and you'll be fine.

Diets are a mugs game

The most sensible thing I’ve ever read on the subject is Michael Pollan, Food Rules.

I think we are adaptable omnivores so evolved to eat what was available.

Very few ‘traditional’ diets offered a wide enough range of nutrients for good health. Diets would be incredibly limited especially during winter with serious long term health impacts. We need to stop romanticising the past like this.

I thinks it's well balanced like medtarian diet, Obviously if ethical reasons then no meat,/or as little meat

Bacon is not good for you, Cause of stuff that's used to preservation, it's supposed to be cacengic increase cancer if eaten too much,
Red meat 🍖 too much is not good for you either, healthwise cause of fatty gristle aspect, bad for chloresterial

Sugar is no good
Obviously processed food for all sorts of reasons chemicals e numbers ect gives chlorchestrial ect

Health and reaction to different foods is so personalised that there is no one answer really. Some people process carbohydrates really well, some process fats really well and the ideal diet will be different for everyone. In general though, avoiding ultra-processed food and drinks, limiting sugar intake and eating many and varied plants (fruit/vegetables/seed/nuts etc.) is good advice for everyone.

The evidence when looked at collectively clearly shows that we should be eating:

"Real food, not too much, mostly plants"

So avoid processed food and "edible food like substances" and eat plenty of plants.

I think the best advice is to eat as little highly processed food as possible, to drink plenty of water and to eat lots of vegetables. I'm not sure anybody with any sense would disagree with that tbh. Beyond that, you can get your protein from animal products or pulses etc and you can eat a reasonable amount of natural fats. 'Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants', as Michael Pollan says. It's a pretty flexible rule.

Ken Berry advises either a carnivore or ketovore diet & intermittent fasting. A proper mediterreanan diet also has a lot of meat, eggs, fish and intermittant fasting (eg I don’t know any healthy Italian / Spaniard who eats anything but coffee for breakfast & maybe a bit of a salad for lunch & afterwards there’s usually just one main meal). Everything’s healthy if you’re not constantly stuffing your face.

I don't really believe people are that confused about what constitutes a healthy diet, I just think they find any diet hard to stick to, so they ping from one to another with constant falling off the various bandwagons. I certainly have!

Everything’s healthy if you’re not constantly stuffing your face.

That's just patently untrue. For example eating processed meat, or a large doughnut, every day would not be healthy, even if you weren't 'stuffing your face' in terms if your overall daily food intake. Eating mostly highly processed food would be unhealthy even if you weren't eating large quantities of food.

I’ve come to the conclusion that, intuitively, we all know what we should eat. Thing is a lot of us enjoy the junk. Just take care, and do not eat too much of it!

But to be really healthy, i know intuitively I should eat a wide range of natural foods, inc plenty of veg, some fruit; I know it’s not great to go to extremes (eg meat only; tho I do feel fine with almost no land-meat, and I’d prefer to be a pescatarian - but the family would rebel, and eating is about being sociable too, rather than me eating my special diet separately!).

I know that, generally, foods closest to their natural state are best. However, I also like cheese! I do particularly well with cooked pulses. Include plenty of herbs and spices in your cooking. Just stay away from alcohol, apart from when out socially. No real truth in any health benefits of wine, a bunch of red grapes would be better for you!, the benefits come from being social.

These days I don’t obsess and DONT calorie count! Enjoy your food, and your body.

Chocolate afternoon tea from Slattery's.

Plants and food made from plants obviously. Eating animals is horrific and abnormal, also obviously.

I try and eat well but don't always succeed.

I eat meat, fish and plants. And dairy - which is minimally processed. Anything that you could pick on a farm.

No processed foods ideally. Definitely none of that fake meat shite.

I buy those microwavable packets of lentils and grains and feel bad enough about that but it's better than other stuff.

A Mediterranean diet, with a focus on using wholefoods in their natural state, is the one with most evidence to support it.

Eating nothing but meat is probably going to increase someone's long term risk of bowel cancer significantly.

I did the Wildfit 90 day challenge on 2021 which is all about what humans have evolved to eat as opposed to what they haven’t.

Meat is top of the list. But not intensively reared meat which has little nutritional value and not that often. I’ve not eaten meat for over 30 years and still don’t, but we didn’t evolve to eat beans and pulses either so I don’t eat those much. Not dairy. Or sugar. Or grains.

Focus on high quality protein and green leafy veg and you won’t go far wrong. (highly recommend the programme, BTW)

Things humans should not eat are things like cyanide, arsenic, methylated spirits

Generally your body is pretty adaptable. There's no one diet that's going to make you magically healthy. It depends what you want from your diet and what "better" means. General rules are eat plenty of fruit and veg, limit processed food and try not to regularly eat more than you use.

But anyone who sells you a magic healthy diet is bs you. Especially if it's the carnivore diet

I watch a lot of these as well and I’ve come to the conclusion that the common denominator is that they don’t eat processed food. As long as you eat whole food you will be healthy, it’s what we evolved to eat. Walk round the supermarket and 80%+ of the stuff in there didn’t exist 100 years ago.