This is a topic I personally do a lot of research on and have formulated my own opinions as I believe you should take ownership of your health and nutrition - take it for what it's worth. When it comes to "the right diet" for health, there tends to be too many extremes. In my view, the human body needs a diverse and balanced diet from wholesome, natural foods. While that is a broad statement, it encompasses the middle ground of all these extremes. Humans are omnivores. Period. Every "extreme" diet has some level of deficiencies. A pure vegan diet is severly lacking in vitamin B12 and Omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. I am not referring to ALA from nuts which the body has to convert to DHA and EPA via a very inefficient process. Paleo eliminates some essential minerals and the preferred usage of glucose for fuel and is too restricitve in my opinion. High carb/no fat diets eliminate a key macro-nutrient in healthy fats.
At the end of the day, the body needs balance. The issue is that the food supply of today is vastly different than the food supply of 50-100 years ago. Meat is highly processed and full of hormones and chemicals, vegetables and fruits are full of pesticides, grains are GMO and exposed to deadly Round-Up pesticide, fish is farmed, and dairy is full of hormones and antibiotics. All these studies that expound the virtues of one method of eating and villify another are ALL victims of bias. They are ALL funded or supported in some way by the respective group or government agency with a vested interest in pushing a certain agenda. For all the studies on people who are purely Vegan living the longest, there are an equal number of people who eat just meat and fat (Eskimoes, Mesai Tribe, etc) that live just as long. The movies on Netflix like "What the Health", etc overhype many of the perceived dangers of certain eating styles to push a alterior agenda - in this case prevention of animal cruelty. The producers of that film are staunch animal rights activists.
Our bodies learned to adapt over millions of years to all types of food sources to survive. We can process dairy, meat, vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, insects, and fish. There are certain situations where dairy (lactose intolerance) or gluten (Celiac disease) preclude the eating of certain food groups but to make a general statement that dairy and gluten are bad for us is just irresponsible. The continual debate over saturated fat and cholesterol causing heart disease is paid for by the pharmaceutical industry protecting its 30 Billion/year Statin business. We now know that this assertion is incorrect yet it is still propagated in the media. The government and associated "health" groups like the AMA, AHA, ACS, etc are the WORST people to get unbiased nutritional advice from as they are all influenced by money. The intent is honorable but the old adage "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" plays here. The food industry is worse and they use these "expert" studies to influence our purchasing decisions. The whole anti-fat and cholesterol dogma has lead to the highest levels of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia rates in the history of man. Now everyone is anti-gluten or anti-dairy which is bullshit unless you have Celiac disease or lactose intolerance. We have a deluge of unhealthy vegetable oils (corn, soy, safflower, sunflower) and high fructose corn syrup as a sweetner in our food and drinks because we produce more corn, wheat, and soy than any other country and it is heavily subsidized by the government to make it very cheap to use. There is no concern for the dire health consequences these "products' produce but rather only pure profit. However, healthy oils like coconut and olive oil are either villified (coconut) or not pushed as much in the U.S. (olive oil) because no money is made for our food industry in doing so.
The main cause of all the chronic diseases we now face in epidemic proportions is NOT due to any of the food we eat but rather the QUALITY of the food we eat. Our food supply is devoid of nutrients and lacks all the essential vitamins and minerals we need to survive as it is now heavily processed to save money. Cancer is not a disease but rather a symptom of malnutrition at the micro-nutrient level. A controversial statement, yes, but in the 40+ years since Nixon declared a war on cancer and we have spent billions of dollars on research we still have no cure. You can't cure something unless you address the root cause and the root cause is the food we eat and the environment we live in. The only true genetic source of cancer is childhood cancer. The majority of adult cancers are due to poor food quality and environmental factors. You can choose to believe this or not but years of research and billions of dollars spent don't lie - cancer is a business and a lucrative one at that. The cancer researchers of today have great intent and are truly committed to their mission. It is true cancer is a very complicated process with many factors based on the individuality of our own bodies. However, the cancer answer is like asking "what time is it?". Instead of giving the time, they are explaining how the watch works. Sometimes the most complex of things can be simply explained. As Einstein once said "Everything should be made as simple as possible, not simpler".
At the end of the day, find an eating pattern that meets your individual needs, incorporates healthy, non-processed foods, makes you feel good, and is something you can stick to everyday. However, don't be blinded to think that your particular way to eat is the be-all-to-end-all. Long healthy living involves many other things in conjunction with a healty diet like exercise and stress-reduction.
John
