Is there a One Size Fits All Dietary Strategy? What is a Healthy Diet?

I've been researching diet and nutrition for several decades.  After pain-staking research, my conclusion is that not everyone should be eating a plant based diet and that there is no "one size fits all" diet everyone should be on in order to be healthy.  There are many, many variables involved in determining what the best eating strategy is for a healthy adult.  There are even more variables if someone is dealing with a chronic illness.

Generally speaking:

About 10% of the current population will thrive amazingly well on a vegetable based diet with little or no animal fat/protein.  Most would need a very careful supplement program for optimal health.  Being a truly healthy vegan -- a thriving vegan-- is extraordinarily hard to do long term.  Here, we have to measure health in decades, not weeks or months!

About 30-40% would do fantastic on a vegetarian type diet with a limited, but measured, animal protein/fat... with lower fat consumption, and high carbohydrates (vegetables and healthy grains).  This is a great way to eat for the "immuno challenged". Dr. Tim O'Shea has done a great deal of work with this type of dietary strategy.

About 30-40% will thrive on a paleolithic diet that is high fat (very specially balanced, not too much animal protein), measured protein, and with an abundance of (mostly raw) organic vegetables (about six to nine cups daily to support a healthy biome).   Dr. Wahls (The Wahls Protocol) has done a great deal of clinical scientific research (real/good science) on this dietary strategy, including clinical trials with multiple sclerosis patients.  This is also the basis for the Eytons' Earth Nutrition and Detoxification Study Program.

Finally, another ~10% will thrive on what I like to call "The single/divorced cave man diet".  What a "man" would eat if living in a cave all by himself with reducing gathering skills/time, but good hunting skills.  Dr. Myhill has done a great deal of clinical scientific research on this way of eating, primarily focused on mitochondrial health.

Now, if a person tries to eat in one of those categories wrongly, it is a recipe for poor health.  Sometimes minor issues, sometimes major ones.

Please keep in mind that anyone on a fast food and processed food diet will do exceedingly well on a Vegan diet, of course.  At least, at first.  It takes many people ten to fifteen years to start to notice negative effects if they've chosen the wrong "healthy eating" strategy.  This is why there is so much confusion in the natural nutrition field!  The same exact thing could be said about eating the microwave-based SAD diet...  It takes years to decades for chronic degeneration to begin to show.

When I developed my program, I spent years and years trying to build a flow chart to figure out which way people  should go.  I had to abandon that idea.  Everyone had a unique flow chart!

What I needed to do was find the right STARTING place for people, and let them explore and discover which is right for them.  Once you find the right starting point, it becomes very easy to make adjustments!

Visit Eytons' Earth to learn more about the upcoming nutrition and detoxification study program: http://www.eytonsearth.org/foundation-nutrition-detox.php.

The "nutritional" portion of the program is a fusion of The Wahls Paleo Plus Diet and the nutritional ideology of Raymond Dextreit, author of "Our Earth, Our Cure."  With both, the operative principle is using food as medicine.

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Since I was 20yrs old I've tried many types of diets/ways of eating for a healthier life.  When I was in my late 30's I switched to a vegetarian diet. For 1 1/2yrs, getting non-meat protein for balance in the veg.diet.  Unfortunately, I went into a constant state of anemia.  Dr said, you need red meat, even if its only once a week.  I went back to meat eating, blood work became normal, I felt better. I have many vegan friends, some of which are fighting to be healthy yet won't attach their condition to their diet.  Some are raising children vegan, eating fish, eggs, etc.  Many of the children are constantly getting sick, they're pale and thin.  I respect their choices, have learned to stay clear of some conversations.

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...like so many things, we as individuals have to consciously train the mind to overcome cognitive dissonance...  We have to be willing to be capable of seeing what is right before our eyes...  if, that is, we truly desire to know what is actually real, true.

Things get complicated enough with relativity and reality... adding ego into the equation turns confusion into blindness.

I absolutely respect an individual's right to live life as he or she desires, with respect to personal choices.

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Thanks for your work,  and the concern you expressed is elaborately considered. But my take is this: we cannot live a healthy life just by minding what we eat , the quantity and ratio. there are other lifestyle principles that has to be understood and applied to be healthy and to be helped by what we eat.

For instance, those with high metabolic rate who can handle heavy foods, fats and oils, without much noticeable physical or metabolic effects, should also know that there are long term effects and should be guided by Temperance and the general principles of nutrition: which has to do with the  to eat, and what to eat... I believe there can only be marginal variations to the standard. If saturated fat is considered bad for the system, for Dick and Harry, I use it with caution even if there system appears to handle it quite well.

 There may not be a one-fit-all approach but there is one avenue to it and we all to travel therein , howbeit, on our pace.

Healthy diet consists of the food element and applied knowledge:  please see some of the Health principles here  colorsandfacts.com/newstart-health-principles/

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Greetings,

You have an interesting website, I hope that those who need the information you provide find it and the information that they need.

I agree that many things should be considered for vibrant health, but I can't put them all into one forum post!

When you say, "If saturated fat is considered bad for the system", I have to strongly disagree.  When you start off with the wrong supposition, you will always end up with the wrong answer.

Saturated fat is critical and necessary for vibrant health for most people.  I say "most", because absolutes seldom exist in this world. What is harmful is consuming too much of the wrong kinds of saturated fat.

I agree, that everything should be used with caution and understanding.

Luckily, there is a place within everyone that knows the truth about what is best for them.  I see my "job" as helping individuals...and only those individuals who express this common desire/interest... to find that place, so that they can adapt their own lives without having to rely upon outside sources; to discover their own...  often very, very simple... freedom of being.

My work on nutrition is completely research and science based.  When the science changes, so will my work.

There is a lot of bad science out there.  I don't have the time or inclination to point out all of the bad research and bad science, but when you have twenty or thirty years of daily experience evaluating research, it becomes easier to identify.  I prefer to focus on the good research, but I do have a book nearly done that does address, at least in part, some of the prevalent myths about nutrition that are passed off as facts.

I present my work and my finds, and let the reader/visitor decide what is right for them.

As far as macro nutrition goes, my work is mainly based upon the clinical trials conducted by Dr. Wahls, coupled with the laboratory testing she's done for her patients for her research on successfully healing and reversing multiple sclerosis.

The alternative to her approach, for those who have different constitutions, is a macrobiotic based eating ideology.

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Interesting! I am just about to start Dr. Tim O'Shea's 60 day program. After having attempted the earthcures bare bones heavy metal detox, I had to conclude it was wiser to start with cleaning the colon first.

I read the page you linked in your post here, to your nutrition and detox program. You mention it is based on O'Shea's 60 day program, I am curious to learn what modifications you made to it. And what your thoughts are on the long term sustainability of the "New West diet" O'Shea talks about.

I'm familiar with the confusion all the different diet information can help cause. I continue to learn. I appreciate your diligence in studying and providing insightful information.

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Greetings, Suzanne:

Yes, you just never know how a deeper heavy metal detox will affect you until you try it.  I generally think that it IS wiser to do digestive system restoration program first!

I have a  complete 120 day detox and nutritional program done; it's on its last editing stage, but I'm not sure when it will be ready for publication.

The detox portion is very close to the colon cleanse shown on this site... although the "bare bones" cleanse drops the systemic enzymes and adds clay into the mix, which I think is extremely wise.  You can add the systemic enzymes in, they are extremely helpful.  The point of writing up the "concept" detox protocol was to create a bare minimum program that requires as little financial investment as possible.

Also, you'll notice that there is a "page 2" of adjunct protocols designed for very specific conditions and provides some optional improvements, such as more complex clay colloids and the use of fulvic acid to speed healing of the digestive tract tissue.

Most importantly, the document provides information on exactly what has to happen in order to transform and heal the digestive system.  With this knowledge, making intelligent and wise decisions is easier than following a program blindly.  Plus, this makes it possible to discover any errors in reasoning or missing pieces, if they do exist.

https://www.earthcures.org/digestive-system-simple-cleanse.php

The whole program is based upon three things:  1. Dr. Tim O'shea's detox (the history of where this came from is outlined exactly, it is not really his).  2.  Dr. Wahls nutritional program (her strict program complies to the New West Diet, but it is more effective at addressing immune system triggers, and backed by very clear scientific clinical research).  So in essence, it is a perfected version of the New West Diet based on what I feel is a better understanding of human nutrition.  While what we use is more strict for 120 days, many people will do perfectly fine on the "New West Diet" after completing the 120 day program.

Finally, the two systems are united and expanded based on the work of Raymond Dextreit.  For example, Wahls says that one must consume a certain amount of certain kinds of vegetables and fruits per day.  Dextreit gets very specific and says you should, if at all possible, include the seven healing foods, which include sea salt, lemon, garlic, etc.  He also brings a vast knowledge of healing and herbology into the mix.

What is very interesting?  All three of these individuals contradict each other.  This is my way of showing that very, very talented, knowledgeable, experienced, and passionate people can be very right...and very wrong... all at the same time.

I haven't found a perfect person yet, myself included.

This is indicative of the nature of humanity and the way the universe operates, and a key concept of how a project like Earth Cures is supposed to work, in theory.  Looking at things constantly from a fresh, unbiased perspective, always following both the wisdom of humanity (wise traditions), and the emerging science which the better half of humanity pursues with such abandon (GOOD science)....

...where wise traditions meets good science.

Let us know how things progress in your own health journey!

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hey Jason,

what you are saying about very knowledgable people being right and wrong at the same time makes a lot of sense. I recognise that too and love the approach you are describing, always attempting to look at things from a fresh unbiased perspective. It takes humility and a certain ability to handle fear to do this. An attitude that is quite rare these days, in my opinion.

I will look more into what you've shared here in terms of diet and healing the digestive system, it is very helpful information at this point in my own journey. I will keep you posted. Will do the 60 day program first, starting next week, as my products have just arrived.

Have a nice day and thanks again for what you do.

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Hi Suzanne:

You are very welcome, thanks for stopping by and joining the coversation.

I had an interesting exchange where one "side" was talking about how delicious bacon is, and how the "other" side talked about how bad it is, and I wanted to share my experience on how, with food, you can get to the actual truth.  Looking at bacon is a conversation powder keg when it comes up with health-oriented individuals! 

The central theme here is that both sides can be right and wrong, depending upon the circumstance.  I thought it would be a fitting addition to this conversation/thread.

It highlights what an elimination diet along with a digestive system cleanse and restoration program did for me, personally... a gift which keeps on giving...

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I've noticed that the fat of bacon, and the fat on pork ribs, have unidentified and extraordinary health-promoting substances that are not replicated elsewhere, and that may be survival-necessary for an individual at a given time (in many cases, saturated fat is actually cancer defensive, provided that it is used in proper quantities in an otherwise well designed diet).

However, its use in this manner (health-corrective) is very short term; reasonable servings once to twice weekly for two weeks to a few months.

Individuals who crave and eat bacon on a regular, daily basis are not feeding their bodies, they are probably poisoning their bodies while feeding an imbalanced microbiome.

In order to self-understand dietary requirements in this manner, the way to achieve it is to do a full elimination diet, and then provide the exact quantities of specific nutrients required for human health AND to maintain an ideal healthy gut bacterial balance.

Once this is done and gut health is restored (mucoid plaque MUST be eliminated in order to achieve good gut health, if not, it doesn't matter what you eat or don't eat, you will not be able to trust your senses), the body will actually communicate in perfect order what it needs to both survive and thrive, at least as far as dietary needs go.

I wish this was true with toxicity as well, but it is not.  The digestive system still cannot identify, which means cannot defend from, millions of man-made chemicals that are now in our entire ecosystems.

(I haven't eaten bacon in about two years, but if my body needed it, it would let me know in no uncertain terms! I no longer eat for pleasure, so it doesn't matter how much I love a given food, it doesn't dictate my eating habits).

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If I may go a little OT....Interesting comment about lard and the healing properties. Many years ago I came across a survival site about Pemican. I researched and found out it was used extensively by indigenous people as the main food for travel, N. Pole expeditions for survival (dogs too) also by soldiers in WW's which was mixed with chocolate and sugar. There was even a Pemican War.  Fat is the main ingredient in Pemican, adding in dried meat plus dried fruit, Saskatoon berries, etc. Curious, I made some using tallow, dried beef, a few other ingred and put it up for storage.  I have to say... its an acquired taste. 😳  Heating pemican with what ever the traveler found along the way made it much more palatable. As everything centuries back was organic, food was far more healthier, including fat.  We now know balance in food choices is healthier and staying away from processed food is key including bacon. 

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Wow, that is extremely interesting.

Looks like Pemican is an interpretation/idea of a perfectly balanced paleo meal, naturally preserved.  I find it interesting that sugar is added, I wonder how much sugar the "end" serving contains?

I do VERY dark chocolate to supplement fat intake, it is 90% dark chocolate...  I'd prefer no sugar, but a serving has 3 grams of sugar, and it looks like my body doesn't have a problem with it (I try to eat very low sugar).  I don't seem to have a problem, like some do, with oxalates... at least not currently.

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The only place where sugar was added was for soldiers in the WW's.  They carried two containers on their belts, one pemican, the other choc and sugar.  When officer said eat, they mixed them together.  Yes, I would say pemican is the original paleo.  I have lard, tallow and duck fat in my refrigerator that I use occasionally to cook with. My son told me the best French fries he ever ate were cooked in duck fat.  I don't make FF but if I did, maybe I'll try it. I'm with you on the dark choc.

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