Peak Human - Unbiased Nutrition Info for Optimum Health, Fitness & Living

Part 7 - Denise Minger on Questioning Nutrition Dogma

Jul 10, 2018

01:25:14

Denise is a joyful ball of energy and talent. She speaks at conferences, writes books, and is an all around great person. I love her view on things and her balanced approach, but she does lean towards the high carb diet side. But here’s the thing - she advocates eating a lot of nutrient dense animal products, no sugar, grains, or vegetable oils - so a lot to agree with there. I want everyone to hear this to see an opposite approach and see if it might work for you. The Unifying Theory of Nutrition says things can work on both sides - so here’s the other one.

I still think it’s insane to expect people to live like a tribesman in the bolivian wilderness. You’re asking all of America to eat an ultra-clean Vegan diet plus organ meats. To maybe 99% of the population that sounds awful. Like the worst ever.

I didn’t agree on everything but I went along with it. In retrospect I could have challenged her more and I also want to see some studies that actually show this dietary approach works in a scientific setting. I could have brought up more of the points supporting low carb diet showing much better results in clinical trials and on lowering risk factors for heart disease, etc. but I didn’t want to argue and we already yammered on for almost 90 min.

So support the Food Lies film on Indiegogo and let’s hear what Denise is all about!

Show notes

Famous for her teardowns of things like the China Study, and vegan propaganda like Forks Over Knives and the book How Not to Die http://deniseminger.com
Her story of ruining her health as a vegan
Questioning the China Study and blowing over night
She always questions dogmatic thinking in the nutrition world
From her book “we leave the classroom woefully unequipped with the thinking skills that matter most: how to balance open–mindedness with skepticism, how to identify bias, and how to challenge assumptions – including our own – in a way that’s truly objective.”
Ancel keys and the story of how began thinking fat was bad for us
The McGovern Report which prescribed America with a low-fat, high-carb diet.
Why was meat demonized when it was and still is so highly regarded as prized source of nutrition?
Confounding variables with meat-eaters. What are you eating with the meat? Lifestyles are very different for different groups
Why did we ever think vegetable oils were good for us?
America does not actually eat low fat.
Humans can actually do well on a true low fat, whole foods diet
How does this other metabolic state work?
Big food would ruin things if they got the go-ahead from the government to do low-carb high fat
I don’t believe it’s realistic at all to expect people to eat this way in America. You’re asking people to eat a Vegan diet plus organ meats
What would you actually be eating on this sort of diet?
If you’re vegan or vegetarian this doesn’t work
Do vegetables have anti-nutrients or other toxins we should be worried about?
Is fiber necessary?
Nutrient density and satiety
Problem with people eating all the time
Killer combo of fat and sugar… it’s irresistible
So how do we figure this all out? It’s confusing when 2 totally different paradigms seem to work.
Eating whole foods, going back to nature