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.

You wouldn’t expect a lion to eat cake.

Or a chicken to eat steak.

Beavers can digest wood - should we start eating wood?

There is such a thing as the Human diet, and it’s not what food manufacturers want us to eat because they don’t profit from it!

Nobody who actually understands human evolution would say this

Yes, I was thinking the same. Humans surely haven't been around long enough to evolve anything! Evolution takes millions of years not tens of thousands.

We have advanced in terms of food production, medicine and society in order to be able to live longer than your average stone age person though.

I guess generally we should eat lots of the things that you could (technically) pick from a tree or pull up from the ground, and generally after that the more processing that is involved the less you should eat of it.

Surely we were made to eat meat, vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts? But of course we have evolved and discovered/produced other foods.

My grandparents mainly ate meat and vegetable's, no processed crap. They would eat bacon often and real butter. They all lived into their 90’s (one still alive at 96).

I don’t think we were really made to consume dairy, who decided it was ok to drink milk from a cow/goat? 🤔 but we have all been fed dairy as part of our daily diet. I am lactose intolerant as are many, so it’s something I can live without (though I miss cheese).

I think the biggest issue is with highly processed foods, salt, sugar and high fat foods.

@OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide

Which human?

West African hunter gatherer?

Meat-based Inuit?

Japanese rice and marine?

European Mesolithic (a lot of hazelnuts and shellfish as I remember)?

Evolution can happen in a couple of generations.

Can everyone please stop misinterpreting decades of archaeological research to justify fad diets?

Well now you talking about health conditions. no one is going to become diabetic through a 'everything in moderation diet'

If you are born with diabetes then yes a different diet is needed.

and there you go saying excess sugar? that's the whole point of everything in moderation, no excess sugar.......

I'm not getting into the smoking thing as an example that is on a totally different level.

I have lived in both Spain and Italy, have family in both countries, and that’s not true at all. The vast majority of the ones I know eat 3 square meals. Lots of grilled meat, fish, veg and salad etc, but always 3 decent meals. Lunch is often multiple (small) courses.

Definitely not the highly processed shite Brands and supermarkets willing us to believe it's healthy!

After that, who actually knows?

I've done the Wildfit challenge too and found it really helped me. Lots and lots of fresh veg, fruit in moderation, good quality meat and fish, seeds etc. I still eat a small amount of dairy but nothing like the amount I used to eat. Avoid processed food as much as possible and read labels - that was one of the biggest eye openers to me, I always have read labels and gone by the "if you don't recognise the ingredients try not to eat it" rule, but on the challenge we were also encouraged to look out for how many processed foods have added sugar, turned out it is in practically everything, even things like mayonnaise (I make my own now).

Different people seem to suit different ways of eating - there is a genetic element

An aboriginal Australian or Native American needs a different diet ( feast and fast, meat based ) to avoid t2 diabetes to a typical southern European ( little and often , little meat)

So no one size fits all, and evidence that we have evolved from the stone ages

People on keto have stinking breath which can't br normal. I eat a wholefood vegetarian diet and only eat in a 5 hour window fasting the rest of the time. Doing this has more or less got rid of my osteoarthritis symptoms and I feel really good. I do eat bread and potatoes but only in small amounts.

Ultra high processed food should be seen as poison. As should sugar and ethanol (alcohol).

The chemicals sprayed on fruit and veg likewise.

There are so many actual poisons we consume!

Actual carcinogens! Cured, processed meats, burnt toast, smoked foods.

Thank you for all your comments everyone
and most of you seem to agree, eat a bit of everything, limits sugar and process foods, and of course we are all different so not all foods will agree with everyone.
Im going to stop worrying about it and do just that. keep its as healthy as i can.
i also need the occasional slice of cake or bar of choc, because that brings me joy and happiness and that is important too right?

read labels - that was one of the biggest eye openers to me, I always have read labels and gone by the "if you don't recognise the ingredients try not to eat it" rule, but on the challenge we were also encouraged to look out for how many processed foods have added sugar, turned out it is in practically everything, even things like mayonnaise

I started doing the same a year or so ago and it is depressing how much sugar and general garbage is in pre-made foods, even foods that are marketed as premium products or that are seen as healthy. Reading labels has drastically reduced the range of foods I'm happy to eat from a supermarket.

Hamza (?Hanza) : modern hunter gatherers, about 45% of their calories come from honey. Humans have been eating that refined source of carbs for at least 10k years.

Fig trees were planted >10k years ago so figs should be good, too. Dates?

Omnivores so meat, fish and vegetables. Processed foods are not natural though nor is dairy really.

If you stick to minimally processed foods it doesn't really matter as much what you eat, I do get concerned about the amount of ultra processed so called healthy foods eg vegan

We are omnivores, as evidenced by our teeth.

All things in moderation is the way to go, particularly with processed foods.

I eat cake and chocolate very, very occasionally and go for the highest possible quality when I do. Wildfit teaches you to explore the reason you go for chocolate to bring you joy/happiness.

Is it an emotional need you’re trying to fill with that food?

Or is it a habit? Friday night bottle of wine, popcorn because we’re at the cinema, fish and chips at the seaside.

All okay as Autumn foods on Wildfit. So you would eat these if you were in a weight gain phase.

(Biologically, we should eat seasonally in order to cycle fat on and off our bodies. Weight shouldn’t be static.)

Eric Edmedes, founder of Wildfit, stays with the Hadza for a few months regularly. His observations of their lifestyle and health is fundamental to the programme. It’s fascinating.

I definitely feel at my best energy/body/mind when I'm not eating big carbs, and thats most of the western diet!
I feel like my body runs more efficiently on meats, fruit, veg, nuts and seeds etc.

is it an emotional thing why you eat cake and choc occasionally?
i eat it occasionally because it tastes nice and i enjoy it, no deep reason, its really not that deap at all, its an occasional treat

Same. It’s not emotional, or habit. I eat it sometimes because I enjoy it.

Could you link the peer reviewed nutritional research produced by Dr Ken Berry on the clinical benefits of the carnivore diet please @Rosieblue12 ?

Vegetable oils are poison in my opinion; especially with how they are farmed, processed.. rapeseed, canola, sunflower etc.