Omnivore, carnivore, herbivore, what diet is best?

[Devlyn]

I believe that a widely varied diet is the healthiest way to eat. To be honest, I eat much smaller portions of meat now compared to when I was younger. Opinions? Hugs, Devlyn

[Sephirah]

Probably not the healthiest diet around, but I reckon I must be about 95% carnivore. I love all god's creatures, especially slow-roasted with some good quality gravy and a nice slice of crusty bread.

I suppose because I hate most, if not all sweets and desserts, and chocolate (ugh), I swapped my sweet tooth for a lovely sharp set of canines.

[Shang]

I think a diet that incorporates a variety of foods is best.  i.e. one that includes meats, dairy, grains, fruits, and veggies.

That being said, I don't follow that diet since I'm a poor college student and I subsist off of grains and the occasional fruit or vegetable.

[BlonT]

The best diet is the one that keeps you alive
We forget that abundance of food is A:not so long around B: not world wide.
The downside of abundance is all is processed !

[luna nyan]

A bit of everything is good IMHO.
The important thing is as much fresh produce as possible from relatively clean sources.  The big problem in western society is that food is now intensely farmed/raised/processed etc, and you never quite know exactly what went on behind the scenes.

[niamh]

Grains, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, fruit and veg. Humans are cultural omnivores but in terms of our evolutionary-diet, we're herbivores. I eat a vegan diet and it does me great but most of western society is happy with a diet largely based around animal flesh.

I'd read 'The China Study' if you're curious Devlyn.

[Jamie D]

If humans were true herbivores, we would have big long appendixes, like rats.

[King Malachite]

Cheesecake isn't a diet?   

Lol I think it's good to have a little bit of everything ideally.

[peky]

Humans are omnivores; but during the last 4 thousand years several ethnic groups were forced into specific diets by their unique environmental conditions, and thus we see different metabolism in different ethnic groups. The last 100 years have brought a more international diet of junk-food and processed foods to the whole world. Even in emerging countries obesity is rearing its ugly head.

My advice is 4 portions, each about 300-400 calories, every day. Broil, bake, or BBQ fish or chicken, grains, fruits, tubers, nuts, and low fat diary products.

[dalebert]

The Paleo diet is getting really big. It's based on the notion of eating the foods that our ancestors have been eating for a very long time, i.e. what we evolved to eat.

I experienced an almost overnight dramatic health benefit when I started it. Right away, I dropped several pant sizes in a few weeks and was suddenly filled with energy, sleeping shorter nights but being more rested in the morning and staying wide awake and alert all day. ADHD--gone. Needing naps almost every day just to function--gone. My friends have experienced things like being more horny and feeling like their testosterone levels were boosted. I've always been crazy horny so I can't say I've noticed.

It's not crazy low carb like Atkins, but it does take into account that most people eat WAY too many carbohydrates, something that our body has to release massive amounts of insulin to handle and type II diabetes has been exploding in the population. Some of my health benefit has tapered off somewhat because I got over-confident and slacked off and started eating way too much sugary and carby foods, which are crazy addictive. It's hard to eat them in moderation. I still eat way less carbohydrates than the average person but still too much and especially sugary foods. Been eating ice cream almost every day. My health is still dramatically better than it has been since before I started a more Paleo-ish diet, but I recently decided to crack down and get back on track. The ice cream left in my freezer is the last that I will actually keep in my house.

I've got friends who have a cheat day once a week when they eat whatever they want. I think I'll go that route and that will be my ice cream day.

[Shang]

The Paleo diet is getting really big. It's based on the notion of eating the foods that our ancestors have been eating for a very long time, i.e. what we evolved to eat.

I experienced an almost overnight dramatic health benefit when I started it. Right away, I dropped several pant sizes in a few weeks and was suddenly filled with energy, sleeping shorter nights but being more rested in the morning and staying wide awake and alert all day. ADHD--gone. Needing naps almost every day just to function--gone. My friends have experienced things like being more horny and feeling like their testosterone levels were boosted. I've always been crazy horny so I can't say I've noticed.

It's not crazy low carb like Atkins, but it does take into account that most people eat WAY too many carbohydrates, something that our body has to release massive amounts of insulin to handle and type II diabetes has been exploding in the population. Some of my health benefit has tapered off somewhat because I got over-confident and slacked off and started eating way too much sugary and carby foods, which are crazy addictive. It's hard to eat them in moderation. I still eat way less carbohydrates than the average person but still too much and especially sugary foods. Been eating ice cream almost every day. My health is still dramatically better than it has been since before I started a more Paleo-ish diet, but I recently decided to crack down and get back on track. The ice cream left in my freezer is the last that I will actually keep in my house.

I've got friends who have a cheat day once a week when they eat whatever they want. I think I'll go that route and that will be my ice cream day.

I'm glad to hear that the Paleo Diet worked for you!  I've been tempted to try it and even bought the book for it.   How expensive is the diet to maintain?

[Devlyn]

Niamh, thanks for the reference, I have not checked it out yet, but I am sticking with my belief that a varied diet is best.  Hugs, Devlyn

[dalebert]

I don't think I spend any more on food now than I did before. I don't buy all the crap at the grocery store that I used to but the things I do buy are probably a little more expensive. I think it sort of evens out. No matter what diet you're on, I find it helpful to primarily stick to the perimeter of the grocery store and be very leery of anything in the aisles. That tends to be the heavily processed stuph that has a tons of things you don't want in your body.

You need to cook more, I find. I cook my breakfast every day now but I find that I don't get hungry until dinner time most days. One of the best benefits I've found is not getting hit suddenly with overwhelming hunger that makes me inclined to over eat. Hunger is something that comes upon me very gradually now and that alone makes it easier to eat less.

When I was eating a high carb diet, I'd get really hungry multiple times a day. It would be so bad sometimes that I'd always be thinking about food and it would be hard to plan things because I always had to plan eating frequently throughout the day. If I didn't, I'd be miserable. Now I hardly ever think about food and can easily go all day long and have energy without snacks.

[dalebert]

That sudden and frequent hunger throughout the day is your blood sugar and insulin roller-coaster ride. Besides being a miserable and distracting experience, it's also really hard on your body.

[Vanora]

Grains, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, fruit and veg. Humans are cultural omnivores but in terms of our evolutionary-diet, we're herbivores. I eat a vegan diet and it does me great but most of western society is happy with a diet largely based around animal flesh.

I'd read 'The China Study' if you're curious Devlyn.

The China Study is repeatedly stated as proof that a vegetarian diet is good for everyone.  However, if anyone reads the book in detail they will see that the author doesn't provide any real proof that the study says what he says it says.  The book is a weak and biased analysis of the China Study data.  And his conclusion is widely controversial, see:  http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/385/.  This is one of those books where people read what they want to read in it.  Some people seem to do fine on vegetarian diets.  But for many people, a higher amount of protein and fat in their diet is the only way to keep their blood sugar down and their overall hunger down.  Probably 2/3 of the population falls into this category.

There is no credible evidence that humans evolved as herbivores.  Moreover, humans did not eat any grain or cow milk until 10,000 years ago even though we have existed as a species for nearly 200,000 years.  10,000 years is probably not enough time for significant evolution for our bodies to prefer a high grain, high cow milk diet.  Cows milk has one purpose in nature and that is to rapidly grow baby cows into large cows weighing at least twice the weight of a human. Why would it be good for us?  We can get calcium by eating lots of healthy vegetables including broccoli and spinach.

I personally believe everyone should try what they think will work and get detailed blood work and other tests before and after their change in diet.  For blood, check cholesterol (Triglycerides, HDL, LDL and VLDL), HemoglobinA1C (to measure average blood sugar), C Reactive Protein (to measure inflammation) and perhaps insulin and blood sugar levels after fasting.   Also check blood pressure and % body fat (not total weight.)

These whole grain diets are not natural.  The proteins that are in wheat are not designed by humans to be eaten.  They cause many diseases including gluten sensitivity, celiac disease and potentially a whole host of other auto immune problems when they leach into the bloodstream through the intestines which they irritate.  Once they leach into the blood stream the immune system gets confused and attacks the body. Many diseases including multiple sclerosis are suspected of being caused, in part, by auto-immune reactions triggered by wheat.  It is now becoming increasingly believed (but not conclusively proven) that these grains cause a bunch of other sub-clinical problems linked to poor health. 

Dairy products also have similar issues. 

I believe different people will be sensitive to different diets. But the notion that we are not designed to eat meat as part of our diet does not hold water.  We have teeth that can eat plants and meat.  Most mammals have teeth for one or the other.  We have stomach acid which easily digests meat unlike many herbivores. 

Your vegan diet may be wonderful for you.  But it may literally kill other people 20 years early from increased blood sugar and undiagnosed secondary effects from gluten sensitivity. 

[Vanora]

My advice is 4 portions, each about 300-400 calories, every day. Broil, bake, or BBQ fish or chicken, grains, fruits, tubers, nuts, and low fat diary products.

Everyone is a different size and has a different metabolism.  Why should everyone eat 300-400 calories per meal? Why should people eat grains and dairy?  Why is fat bad? I'm eating a paleo diet with limited dairy and grain and all the fat I want and my cholesterol levels are stellar.  They have not always been that way.  LDL (i.e. the "bad" cholesterol is driven more by sugar consumption than fats.  So why is some fat bad? 

You left out vegetables which are probably way more important than grains, tubers, fruits and dairy.  Fruits are high in fructose which is processed in the liver which may be part of what throws cholesterol out of whack. Vegetables provide most of the nutrients for fruits with a lot less sugar.  Early humans probably at some but not a lot of fruit.   

[Devlyn]

I think Vanora hit it on the head, it's going to be different for everyone. There isn't a right or wrong diet. And there certainly isn't a universal diet. If I limited myself to 1,600 calories a day, I would blow away! I walk miles a day with my dogs, and 2,500 to 3,000 a day is normal for me. Just remember to end your post "for me" (Thanks Stephe!) and everything will be just fine. Hugs, Devlyn

[peky]

This is a very intersting thread.

I would agree that every body should have a diet that works for them. The diet discussion seem to be an issues in societies with abundant food. The supply-challenged people seems to do just fine with what food  is at hand, and do not get obese or overweight.

200,000 year ago or so when the first modern human appear, their food choices in the Rift valley were limited to wild grain, tubers, soil invertebrate, seasonal fruits, and occasionally some meat stolen from some other animal kill.

As far as evolution, no other animal matches the evolutionary pace of humans. One common example of this, as it pertains to diets is the metabolism of alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized in an ethnic and gender specif manner.

[dalebert]

It's true. Everyone is different. I have a number of friends that don't seem bothered by grains at all, but for me and a growing number of other friends, they're a disaster. I have a gluten sensitivity as do many who don't yet know it (I only just discovered in my low 40s after eating them all my life) which means my body cannot fully digest the proteins in grains. The undigested protein strands tear through the lining of the intestine inflaming it and causing digestion problems, then they enter the bloodstream where they can travel to various organs and cause inflammation all over the body. I've been learning more about this from different sources but I've heard Wheat Belly is a great book on the problems that grains cause for many (but definitely not all) people.

Besides being engineered from grasses into something more edible for people only in the last 10,000 years as already mentioned, some theorize that some of the more serious problems with grains are related to modern engineering methods and drastic changes in most of the grain that is produced for human consumption in just the last few decades. Can you say "Monsanto"? Many of us just haven't been able to adapt (yet).