Is There Any Topic More Confusing...

...than that of what constitutes the best human diet? High carb, low carb, high protein, raw foods, vegan, macrobiotic, etc, etc, to infinity and beyond! I've read extensively on some of these, and at least a bit about most of them. Most of them can sound quite convincing, even though they often contradict one another. The whole thing can be quite frustrating. High protein-low carb has been one of the most popular in recent years, in a number of incarnations and, generally speaking, one of the diets I trust least. Let me explain a few things I think are important...

• The human digestive system does not resemble that of a carnivore, nor do we have the teeth and head/neck musculature of one. We do not manufacture vitamin C in our own bodies, a feature common to true carnivores.
• Neither do we have the digestive tract and teeth of a ruminant. We only have one stomach, just to point out one of the most obvious things.
• What we do have are teeth that are almost identical to those of an orangutan. It can be difficult for an expert to tell them apart if they are just loose on a table. What do they eat? Fruit, leaves, seeds and nuts are the mainstays of their diet, if I'm not mistaken.
• Chimpanzees and gorillas (more close relatives of ours, along with the orangs) are not all that different in what they eat. In lean famine years, chimpanzees supplement with starchy roots and tubers. They eat small amounts of meat and insects, as well.
• The highest rates of osteoporosis are found in the countries with the highest rates of dairy consumption (and protein, therefore). Excess protein in the human diet is excreted in the urine. Said protein leaches minerals (calcium, magnesium, etc) from the bones on its way out. There are a number of additional problems that can come from a high protein diet.
• Paleolithic people, if they had decent access to food, generally were bigger than us, and had better teeth and denser bones. They ate a lot of wild game and fish, wild greens, vegetables and fruits.
• The people of Crete were found to have the healthiest diet (in relation to cardiovascular disease and cancer) in a major study that spotlighted a variety of cultures around the globe. A lot of the low carb diets speak out on the evils of grains. And yet the people of Crete eat about three times the bread Americans do! All of it is whole-grain, though.

I could go on for awhile. A thing that I think is key, from all the reading I have done, is the consumption of omega oils. This was found to be central in the Cretan diet (The Omega Diet). It is also central to the paleolithic diet advocated in the The Paleolithic Prescription. There have been a number of books written on this topic since, but I was not happy with them. They seemed a simple repackaging of high-protein, low-carb diets. Domesticated meat sources are NOT the same as wild game and fish. When we start hybridizing (i.e., breeding) animals, one of the first things lost are the high levels of omega oils found in wild proteins. Additionally, wild game is much leaner than domesticated meat. Another key is the consumption of large amounts of dietary fiber...at least 30 grams a day.

Personally, I have come to the conclusion that the ideal diet would include large quantities of leafy greens, vegetables, and fruit, supplemented with smaller quantities of wild game, fish and whole grains. Oils should all be cold-pressed. Highly processed foods should be avoided as much as possible. Fermented foods appear to be healthful in a number of ways. Pasteurization is not a good thing. Organic, locally produced foods are a good idea. Chemicals are not. Neither are feedlots and factory farms. If it is domesticated, it should at least be organic and free-range.

I believe there is some merit to the idea that a lot of a person's intestinal flora and fauna are set in youth. I do quite well digesting beans...but I ate them a lot as a child. If I am active and feeling good, I do well digesting dairy products...another thing I had large quantities of, growing up. Some people are not so fortunate. I do not digest large quantities of meat well. What works best for one person may not for another. We need to learn to listen to our bodies. They can tell us a great deal.

A good diet by itself is not enough. An active lifestyle is also required, as are good strategies for dealing with stress.

(And this is not meant to be a scholarly tract complete with hundreds of references, endnotes, etc...just my thoughts concerning something that bothers me a bit)