What's the BEST diet for humans? | Dr. Christopher Gardner, PhD

What's the healthiest diet for humans? Why does this question seem so controversial and difficult to answer? Stanford researcher Dr. Christopher Gardner addresses his findings, sources of variability and conclusions of a 20+ year career studying human nutrition.
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References:
1-jamanetwork.com/journals/jama...
2-jamanetwork.com/journals/jama...
3-www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...
4-www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/...
5-www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Disclaimer: The contents of this video are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor to replace medical care. The information presented herein is accurate and conforms to the available scientific evidence to the best of the author's knowledge as of the time of posting. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding any medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information contained in Nutrition Made Simple!.
#NutritionMadeSimple #GilCarvalho
0:00 Highlights
0:21 Is there a best diet for humans?
1:04 The foundational diet
7:33 Carbs, fat & protein
12:17 Why is it so hard to stick to a diet??
21:11 Human variability in nutrition
24:50 Additional factors for success
27:35 Insulin and hunger

[@sew_gal7340]

My ancestors have both been in guiness book of world records for longevity, living well over 100 years old, my grandma died at 101 and my grandfather at 98. They always told me to balance everything in life, dont be strict and rigid in what you eat...but only eat whole foods (not processed). They are Japanese and only ate pizzas a few times a year, and it is always home made with ingredients grown in the backyard or from local farmers. 99% of the time we eat asian food, meat rarely...lots of tofu and veggies...fruit for dessert, very little seasonings...almost no oil (used water instead). Also they kept their mind active, my grandparents played video games on the pc my husband built them...they laughed a lot...and went for walks every day...they LOVE animals and sees them as a great blessing. They really stressed on BALANCE to me and my brothers, or ying and yang!

[@ApexRevolution]

@@happyapple4269 Because it's not healthy in large amounts

[@spiral-m]

nutrition changed , as did health in the Okinawan pop. - the longest-lived historical population we know probably - from the 1950s to present day. 1950s was probably the optimal.

[@JohnnyWalkerBlack142]

Japanese have longest lifespan in the world. If humans should be looking at diet inspiration from any culture, it should be the Japanese

[@JohnnyWalkerBlack142]

@@happyapple4269 Not necessarily. Depends on type of meat, and also meat is generally correlated to higher mortality

[@grumpyoldman6503]

@@ApexRevolution for most of the world and in human history, it's also expensive and harder to acquire than things that don't run away.

[@sectionalsofa]

I have no credentials but I've had a Venn diagram in my head for twenty five years. I noticed the overlap of the two main diet camps which is (just as he said) to eat vegetables and whole foods, don't eat added sugar and processed grains, so that's where I've lived. I'm now 90 percent whole food plant based, but the "whole food" part is as important to me as the "plant" part. I would sooner eat a piece of fish with a salad in a traditional restaurant than an oily, pasta based meal with no beans in a vegan restaurant.

[@moondog7694]

Why do you put the word "Vegan" in scare quotes? Do you think those restaurants aren't really vegan? Why are they not vegan?

[@sectionalsofa]

@@moondog7694 No, I completely expect vegan restaurants to be vegan.but, from my experience, I don't expect them to be "healthy." I guess quotes should be around the qualifier, if I used it. Thanks for pointing that out. It's very frustrating for me because I live in a major city and anytime a new vegan restaurant opens, I get excited , hoping I can get a healthy plant based meal, but invariably, the menu is a far cry from whole food. These restaurants cater to ethical vegans who are looking for fun foods. I get it, but it's not what I'm looking for. And the few vegan restaurants that offered whole, plant options that included beans, vegetables, whole intact grains and a dressing made from seeds, are going out of business, one by one. I patronized a few of these for twenty years. Now they're gone. Nowhere for health conscious plant based eaters to dine. It seems the processed vegan movement has overtaken the vegan health movement.

[@queengoblin]

@@sectionalsofa very sad, my favorite restaurants are healthy whole food based vegan restaurants. There's one near where I live and thankfully it does good business.

[@sectionalsofa]

@@queengoblin I live in NYC and there once were a number of them. One was amazing. I guess they could't afford the rent. Now, there are only two restaurants that I know of that serve at least one truly wfpb dish (like a Buddha bowl) but they're not great places. And honestly, from what I've seen, I think it's just a matter of time till they go under too. :(

[@terrymeland9989]

Same here. I have taken the best from the different food tribes and am very happy with what I have come up with. Now I am at the point of small tweaks now and then as I learn more.

[@pranjal86able]

GPT4 Summary: The video features a discussion with Dr. Christopher Gardner, a nutrition scientist at Stanford University. Here are the key takeaways: 1. **Foundational Diet**: Dr. Gardner emphasizes the importance of a foundational diet that includes more whole foods and vegetables, less refined grain, and less added sugar. He believes that most dietary approaches, even those at polar opposites like keto and low-fat vegan, agree on this foundation. He suggests that if people could focus on these four aspects, it would resolve about 75% of nutritional issues. 2. **Individual Differences**: He acknowledges that individuals respond differently to diets. Some people thrive on certain diets while others don't. He believes that this could be due to differences in satiety responses to different foods, microbiomes, and metabolic factors. 3. **Quality of Carbs**: He discusses the importance of the quality of carbohydrates in the diet. He suggests that replacing low-quality carbs with high-quality ones could lead to better health outcomes. He also mentions that protein intake tends to remain consistent across different diets. 4. **Adherence to Diets**: Dr. Gardner talks about the difficulty of adhering to strict diets in real-world settings. He mentions that in his studies, participants were encouraged to find a balance in their diet that they could maintain in the long term, rather than trying to strictly adhere to a specific percentage of macronutrients. 5. **Personalized Nutrition**: He discusses the potential of personalized nutrition, where diets are tailored to individual needs and preferences. He suggests that while a foundational diet is important, there is room for personalization based on factors like satiety responses, microbiome differences, and metabolic factors. 6. **Impact of Life Events**: He mentions that life events can significantly impact a person's ability to stick to a diet. He suggests that during stressful times, being part of a study or maintaining a certain diet can provide a sense of control. 7. **Future Research**: Dr. Gardner expresses interest in further research to understand what explains the variability in how people respond to different diets. He mentions factors like satiety, the microbiome, and respiratory quotient (a measure of metabolic rate and the mix of fuels being used by the body) as potential areas of exploration.

[@N22883]

How did you make this summary?

[@nomandad2000]

This was much more understandable than the video to me…

[@JMan-24]

Yeah, 5 mins in and he hasn’t said anything useful. Thanks for the summary to save me 20 minutes of nothing special.

[@carinaekstrom1]

At first it takes disciplin and motivation, but later it's just habit and it becomes the thing you prefer in all ways.

[@alexmavicair2911]

I am interested in this aspect, too. Yes, genetics are a factor, but what role does habit play in feeling satiated after a meal? And are there studies that look at the psychological level of habit building, in terms of ways that one might “reprogram” one’s habits and what makes you feel full/satiated after eating something that would previously have left you hungry?

[@Fellipe149]

When talking about nutrition, even though this is not an obligation for scientists, I think it's important to take into account also how compatilble a diet is for most of the population. This envolves economics and ethnicity, for instance. Most of the world cannot digest lactose, most people cannot buy good quality fish, especially sea fish. In those cases it is important to ask what are the alternatives for those foods, since guidelines are based around them

[@GermanTaffer]

Important point.

[@oysteinsoreide4323]

Eggs are almost always available. And it's usually cheap.

[@oysteinsoreide4323]

Canned fish is also available most places.

[@bardavidson2102]

@@oysteinsoreide4323 so does Chiken and pork.

[@oysteinsoreide4323]

@@bardavidson2102 chicken and pork are examples of high available foods? Or as alternative for sea fish?

[@erocnw1341]

It's so refreshing to see realistic, science based, non-extreme nutrition information on KZbin. It seems like 90% of the nutritional information on KZbin is focused on about 5% of the population at the extreme ends of the spectrum.

[@HidingFromFate]

True, but those extremes are the videos that draw the most eyes which in turn prompts KZbin to promote them more, and it snowballs further from there. Nuanced thought doesn't play very well in an economically incentivized environment like this.

[@ivoivic2448]

lazy people are usually the most unhealthy and lazy people don't want to put effort into getting healthier so these fad diets like vegan or carnivore get the most popularity for sponsoring "this one trick to get healthy". lazy people swallow that faster than mcdonalds.

[@ivoivic2448]

lazy people are also the largest part of youtube audience, where these fad diets are promoted.

This is the best and most believable talk on food choices that I have ever heard. Very practical and balanced.

[@user-sf7fm1bi1p]

The point about most of these extreme diets being hard to stick to for most people, but not for some, is quite interesting to me. I find most types of food pretty tasty and don't mind repeating the same meal every day so it has been pretty easy for me to stick to "extreme" diets like HCLF and vegan keto, but I think something I was overlooking is how little benefit there actually is to going this far. All these KZbin doctors promise you marvelous benefits to sticking to their special variation of a diet, like "curing" cancer, diabetes, heart desease, etc., and even extending life/healthspan. But in reality I imagine 90% of the benefits come from just cutting out all the processed foods & being at a healthy weight, and if you're trying to go beyond that, it quickly becomes a case of diminishing returns. Or at least, it seems like we don't currently have enough scientific evidence to support anything beyond that. And all these people trying to eke out those last 10% of benefit are the ones getting riled up every time there's a new study that comes out that didn't go extreme enough in enforcing some sort of diet.

[@carinaekstrom1]

I agree, but If science says red meat is a probable carcinogen, I think that's something to pay attention to as well.

[@GaryHighFruit]

I'm amazed people still aren't aware low-fat diets do eliminate diabetes, if the fat is dropped below 20%; some say 15%. So does low-carb(and I'm against LC diets). The reason this works is because diabetes is caused by a high mix of carbs AND fat together.

[@rualablhor]

@@GaryHighFruit weird, all the ones that I know/knew (t2d) got it via carb and carb only (or mostly). All the ones getting better are either via lowerLC or keto, myself included via lowerLC...

[@GaryHighFruit]

@@rualablhor ou must be overlooking fat in their diet(maybe some hidden fat). A lot of people call junk-food "carbs", but they're about 60% fat by calories. And 2% milk isn't 2% of calores from fat; it's 2% of weight. It's about 40% fat. Similar story with lean-meat.

[@11235Aodh]

@@rualablhor T2d is caused by insulin resistance caused by fat. Check out Mastering Diabetes, they can explain it perfectly.

[@Chris90.]

Dr. Gardner seems like such a wholesome guy. never heard him speak before until now. thoroughly enjoyable.

[@CristinaAcosta]

Dr. Gardner looks so happy with his work. Great presentation. As a non-STEM person this is easy to understand and apply advice. Thanks

[@jkherold63]

Well, STEM people are robots, so....

[@ramachandran8666]

This a very fascinating as well as the most comprehensive discussion I have heard (as a non-academic) about diet, nutrition, and health all packed in one place. As a retired scientist in my 70'ies, (Ph.D. in material science), find such discussions and information priceless. As we are living at a time where there is total information overload at the speed of light, it is so helpful to have such content that is credible and worth more than all the books I can read in a year to extract the core information I need to make personal health decisions.

[@alfonso365]

Man, the quality of the information and discussions in this channel is top notch. This video in particular is going to be so helpful for my patients!

[@scottcrosby9827]

This is the best conversation about nutrition I have seen anywhere. Thank you for this.

[@heatherh.946]

This was fascinating to watch. Thank you so much for the information. Keep up the good work!

[@waynecoxdrums]

What an excellent video! The simple answer seems to be eat whole foods, not too much, mostly plants.

[@marcdaniels9079]

Not really. How can he say Meatos agree to eat more fruit and veggies. Not happening!

[@beagle249]

Great discussion from two of my favorite nutritional experts. Nuts & seeds in a large salad (which I have daily) work well for me for satiety.

[@seanhenasey5065]

Great information and so down to earth. Dr. Gardner seems so genuine and happy, I’d listen to him talk about anything.

[@Burger24527]

I really need to go to bed but I can't stop watching your videos. I"m really impressed with how you're explaining all the confusing information out there. Really Awesome!

[@polmestra]

Dr Gardner's passion for his work is so pleasant to watch! This real world approach is a nice twist on nutrition. Thank you for this interview!

[@grumpyoldman6503]

it's certainly a less dogmatic approach; at the same time acknowledging both the commonalities across his experience in populations as well as small differences that can lead individuals to thrive on one diet/lifestyle vs another. Connection of the statistical to the individual is quite difficult in practice, and we all are looking for the ultimate anecdotal advise- that which is applicable to a sample size of 1 (yourself). I find it quite telling that the macros and breakdowns over the past few decades have actually remained pretty consistent, even if they are highly weighted towards crap carbs (no shock there) here in the west. My personal experience with intentional hypertrophy, is that is a dedicated effort, every day, to force yourself to consume north of 20% protein (eg- hit something like 1g protein/lb). Supplementation is basically required. I'm sure some dedicated keto and carni advocates here will pop in to disagree, but this is my lived reality. Fascinating as always, thanks Gil!

[@adim00lah]

I say this over and over again, you don't have to focus on cutting calories. Focus on eating more whole foods. Whole foods are already naturally lower in calories.

[@TomEaglesHypnosis]

This is my favourite video of yours so far, Dr Carvalho. Excellent info!

[@Donadzea]

This is probably the best video about nutrition on youtube and I've watched more then enough over 10 years.

[@bharris824]

This couldn’t have been more timely for me! Thank you

[@zoey4846]

Great talk with Christopher! He is such a cheerful person, i really enjoying your conversations.

[@samuelbass4117]

Coherent talk from Dr. Gardner. He boils all the various diet discourses down to a simple common foundation: eliminate sugar and refined flour (bad carbs) and tinker with good fats, protein and low carbs to suit your own metabolic traits. Thanks Gil for having this guest.

[@mpoharper]

That tells me one diet doesn’t fit all.

[@oolala53]

Thanks for this. Maybe I won't even listen now... I binge on this stuff too much already.

[@charleBerglund]

Thanks for summing it up as when they said the last 50 yrs, im like diets were shit then, they invented Betty Crocker. They need to address addictions, religions lots of work to do and learn were just a young planet of biology and Stardust.

[@charleBerglund]

BWT Them examples of that fancy word "satiation" I looked at the food examples and would select 2 Oats and Blueberries looks delicious and appealing wish I would have 3 squares x 2 a day. Peace.

[@takeshi_chin]

"... tinker with good fats, protein and low carbs ..." Low-carb community: we've been telling you since 1920!

[@hugomarquez3189]

What he said about the refined carbs was mind blowing, we just don’t realize how much of it we eat. But the problem I find with the mainstream recommendations that we see today is that they conflate these refined carbs with regular ones, which are super healthy, and they try to replace them with protein, which is also not all the same, since that coming from meat comes with a lot more junk. They just say cut the carbs bump up the protein, and that ends up being cutting the fruits and veggies, potatoes, beans, and bumping up the meats, which are mostly saturated fats anyway.

[@carinaekstrom1]

Exactly, it's crazy, but so common!

[@MindVersusMisery]

Spot on analysis!

[@ajesfrost3980]

Saturated fat is good tho

[@hugomarquez3189]

@@ajesfrost3980 if you wanna have a heart attack or a stroke, it’s great for that!

[@ajesfrost3980]

@@hugomarquez3189 in pretty sure its a myth that all cholesterol is bad. Your body needs it to make hormones and build cells

[@charleshartlen3914]

your channel is awesome man. thanks so much for the content!

[@DrDGr2]

Thank you for bringing this to us!

[@SiriusStarGazer]

I love this doctor! He knows his stuff. Most realistic nutritional interview I have seen on youtube,

[@minimal-vegan]

Great interview! 👏🏼 Thanks & shared 🌱🖖🏼

[@VitalTransformationsLLC]

Great video! Thank you! I love the way Dr. Gardner frames, or encircles, choices from the inner core of whole food + veg + no refined grains or added sugars all the way out to the outer rim (for you Star Wars fans ;) of dairy & red meat. Thanks again!

[@k.h.6991]

In my experience satiety changes. But yes, in my transition to a healthier diet, I first went for more nuts - to replace junkier foods I had in my diet & deal with cravings. I eat a lot less of those nuts now, because the cravings are gone. So I do think a change mindset is crucial. When transitioning to a healthier diet: swap unhealthy processed foods for healthier plant based foods - that work for you right now. And then when you're at something stable that works, you can start tweaking, because baseline has changed.

[@Strattiffy]

Couldn't agree more. 🙂

[@10khillred]

I followed a low carb diet for 20 months which is very similar to what Dr. Gardner described, basically I eat everything except refined carbs and added sugar. I lost 20kg (about 44 pounds) in the first year (75kg - 55kg) without ever starving (except fasting on purpose occasionally). I was prediabetic with high blood pressure now all symptoms are gone. In fact I make sure to be full every meal. I eat whenever I want and may have 1, 2, or 3 meals a day, but mostly 2 meals a day. My GF and I taught many friends and relatives (including a buddihst monk) to do this and many of them succeeded as well. We use simliar approach by telling them cut carbs by half then another half, or have no carb days, or keep a ball park percentage, and eat whole foods to their perference, meat, fish, vegetables, etc. We also eat a lot of kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, etc. that we made ourselves. Our menu are pretty flexible, we change the proportin of meat, fish, eggs and vegetables to our liking. We limit sweet fruits and foods with refined carbs and sugar by feel. It's not hard and doesn't need much dicipline. We made it a life style. We ended up eating more protein and a lot more vegetables on average (but fewer meals in total). Exercise and sleep also matter but that's another story.

[@RogueCylon]

My body reacts great to Mediterranean Keto, in fact I thrive on it. I don’t demonize carbs, in fact once a month or so I will carb cycle and hit some favourites. I miss carb dense foods less and less each cycle, as I taste more the actual flavors (or lack of). This holiday I ate some of my old favourites and just missed the great foods I’m on with Keto. The Whole Foods, and non-processed foods. I get all my macros and vitamins from my diet and look forward to each meal.

[@10khillred]

@@RogueCylon yes, same here. I enjoy each meal a lot more than before. I hardly miss carb foods while I could have them more liberally after a workout or hike, or when tasting local delicacies. I'm adding back a little more fruits and eploring exotic ways to cook rice and flour, such as turkish style rice with many spices, kefir raised dough, etc. There are so many things to experiment with.

[@andriybilan4047]

So what do you consider as carbs ? Because I eliminated gluten, sugars, meat, but still don't feel good. But maybe I have other underlining conditions that might affect my wellbeing. I've got an anxiety disorders, which also affects my overall health.

[@RogueCylon]

@@10khillred sounds like we are on a similar journey. Carbs have a place, highly processed carbs do not. I love trying new foods, and different nationalities. So when I want to carb cycle, I will say go to my favourite Indian restaurant (Himalayan actually as the family I trust), and they will on request cook my food in Ghee. I will enjoy Naan, Papads and lentils. I love Asian, Mediterranean (Spanish, Turkish, Greek, Italian) food, as well as French, and Portuguese. I love cooking, and my wife is an amazing cook. So we rarely do any processed foods now. If I want a simple healthy meal to break fast, one of my favourites is something I put together - chopped in a bowl Olives, Sweet Red Peppers, Pickled Cucumbers, Pickled Beets, Aged Goat and Sheep Cheese, or blue cheese, macadamia and Brazil nuts, some protein, often Italian made aged Prosciutto. Small batch fresh pressed EVOO, and ACV. I love it and never get bored of enjoying every morsel.

[@10khillred]

@@andriybilan4047 for anxiety, go out have more sun and exercise. I had it and got rid of it partly by doing extreme sports. If you feel depressed, go out and walk or jog, take a cold shower, watch horror movies, go for a bungee jump or sky diving, run a marathon, read good books. Get yourself stimulated.

[@ZsuzsaKarolySmith]

Thank you for bringing some sense back into this argument! I totally agree 🙌

[@OneDougUnderPar]

Lovely conversation, I would appreciate more of the aptly named Dr. Gardner! He has such a well-nourished enthusiasm, and hits me right in my biases, which is individuality and whole foods! In fact, I think there's room for more discussion on individuality. Part of that is accessibility, not everyone can afford regular blood/stool/genetic testing like Dr. Lustgarten, so they look for what has the most appeal. It would be interesting to see a study focused on mindful eating with personal tailoring, that's what made the biggest difference for me.

[@stellasternchen]

The more I read about nutrition, the more confusion and division there is. What I discovered is there are some basic principles in most diets, regarding food quality. So I'm glad I'm on the right track with that.

[@jhunt5578]

Micheal Pollans' words keep ringing true

[@sussusamogus7831]

Thank you for this, great video

[@juliabendixen2184]

This was gold! Thank you!!

[@dudamel1217]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!! Such a great channel!

[@aidanpmahoney]

absolutely love Dr. Gardner! so unbiased and real.

[@Articulate99]

Always interesting, thank you.

[@RiDankulous]

Thanks for having such an esteemed guest. The professor's lecture of the various types of studies in nutrition is easily the best I have seen. It's two hours long but filled with excellent information and has solid, basic information in nutrition. Being wfpb, I'll admit I'm stuck in my camp to a degree, but I understand his philosophy, which may make the biggest difference across the population. He's targeting most people as opposed to the strictest but healthiest diet, but this is also a downside of what Nathan Pritikin calls "Maximum Compliance; Minimum Effectiveness". If most people can eliminate low quality carb as he recommends, and then up the high quality carbs, that will make a tremendous difference and it is in agreement with my theory that low fiber intake is the biggest problem to be solved, which is done by increasing high quality carbs. In my little world of whole food-plant based I have improvements to make like carefully measuring salt in the shaker daily; I'm far from perfect myself.

[@bandelay2134]

Eat whole foods. Not too much. Mostly plants. And no sugar. Ta da!

[@talks2squirrels953]

Christopher is my favorite in the health and nutrition space.

[@diciplineisfreedom8384]

Just wow ❤ lovely balanced video thank you so much

[@Judgement220]

Awesome Interview!

[@lindakautzman7388]

Could not stop smiling through out this talk..finally hearing info that reflects reality. Good advice that is helpful..Been frantic dealing with all the contradictory info coming from all directions.

[@jimparker2646]

Great discussion.

[@kengoodrich9027]

Having binged on KZbin nutrition videos for about three months, I have to say this is the single most informative and entertaining one I've come across. Thank you for pulling so much together.

[@burger101ful]

Can you please summarise the information for me please in a simple way? I have a hard time understanding because of my impairment.

[@brandywillis3998]

@@burger101ful Dr. Gardner emphasizes the importance of a foundational diet that includes more whole foods and vegetables, less refined grain, and less added sugar.

[@burger101ful]

@@brandywillis3998 thank you for taking the time to reply

[@Mimulus2717]

I think one of the unmentioned factors in satiety is the large variability in gastric emptying time. It's my understanding that is one of the mechanism of action of the GLP and GIP-1 medications like mounjauro and wegovy. They dramatically slow down gastric emptying so you fill up quicker, eat less and feel full hours longer. If you have a hungry brain due to differences in incretin hormones, then these meds can be a game changer.

[@grumpyoldman6503]

Hormonal differences in individuals and as a consequence of diet, exercise (or lack thereof), genetics, and pathology (see- insulin resistance) are what make the studies 'hard'. But it's ultimately the thing all of us are most interested in 'solving' for ourselves. For sure medications can plug that gap and make that which was not sustainable, possible. I'm not convinced it's a great long-term solution for anyone but big pharma, but it does get to the heart of much of what was being discussed here at the individual level for mass studies (and why they are both hard to stick to and tend to merge together, but while there are still outlier individuals in all cohorts).

[@sabbathunlimited]

This was so fun to watch because of Dr. Gardner's enthusiasm. 😊

[@SahnigReingeloetet]

This dude is so insanely refreshing. I LOVE his vibe.

[@thedeeptissuedoc288]

Riigghhtt???

[@davidternes4523]

Great video, thank you both so much! Hopefully correct summary with CGPT: - The question of whether there is a universal ideal diet or if it varies for individuals is raised. - Dr. Christopher Gardner, a respected nutrition scientist, suggests a foundational diet: "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." - The importance of whole foods and vegetables and the reduction of refined grains and added sugar are emphasized. - The suggestion is made that this foundational diet is agreed upon by most nutrition experts. - There is also mention of an outer core of foods, including beans, fruit, nuts, eggs, and fish, that many diets agree upon. - The idea is put forward that focusing on these core principles could resolve around 75% of nutritional issues. - The challenge of adhering to specific diets and the difficulty of prescribing exact percentages are discussed. - Emphasis is placed on the role of satiety in diet success and how individual responses to foods vary. - The video also mentions factors like life events and stress affecting diet adherence. - There is a brief discussion of the concept of respiratory quotient (RQ) and its potential relevance in diet success.

[@RogerHyam]

Totally sane! But it would be good to have a definition of a low quality carb. Sure table sugar and cake is bad but if i make a veggie Bolognese and have it with a good quality Italian pasta it doesn't FEEL like bad carbs. On the other hand I skip the entire bread aisle at the supermarket because what is sold as even whole grain bread there is actually cake!

[@VeridianBlues]

I have been vegetarian for 13 years and vegan for ~7 years. I stopped consuming eggs 15-16 years ago and pigs 15 years ago. I just disliked eggs, where they come from, what they represent and the smell. Then all of it became an ethical and moral issue for me, so I switched to plant-based diet and vegan life style. I have never went plant-based for my health, which I think is important to state. I was not really into healthy way of eating. I do not measure how much of anything am I putting into my body. People are the ones who made me feel anxious by constantly claiming that I am going to die, that my teeth will fall out etc. But, the opposite has happened. The last time I had a tooth problem was 9 years ago. Since then, I am just going for a regular check-up. That is weird because my teeth were never really a high quality. I started having enormous headaches at the age of 14. Two years into vegetarianism I have noticed that intensity has dropped. Once I went plant-based, they stopped. Now, I do have them once in a couple of months - which is nothing compared to what I used to have. My stomach does not hurt after the meals. It used to be bloated. My period pain has decreased in intensity. I still have them but I am not ending up in hospitals. With all that said, I wonder how much better would it all be if I actually took care of what I was eating, which is what I have decided to do now. Veganism helped me to get off refined sugar because there are not many vegan sweets out there. :D I would really like to know more about the dairy and breast cancer link. I read a lot of studies, but it is never enough. Thx.

[@myggggeneration]

I want to echo the sentiment of the OP, though I went from vegetarian (27 yrs) to vegan (7 yrs ago) for health reasons to improve my struggle with Type 1 diabetes. This actually worked very well - and lead to other, unexpected improvements (incl insights to animal rights :-) ). What I miss in reports on this channel is connecting the dots - how changing eating habits affect the environment (= OUR LIVING CONDITIONS !!) which in turn affects our lifestyle which reflects on our health. Sadly, academics' tunnel vision, and the quest for neat, easy to present reports, defeats the goal of advocating for whole-some living. It's not about *this or that factor* but about how it all plays out *together* and how we can achieve the necessary balance. A vegan WFPB lifestyle ticks all those boxes, IMO

[@GaryHighFruit]

And a lot of ex-vegans would've found the same light at the end of the tunnel if they weren't scared off.

[@thezenvegan8519]

Check out the book The China Study

[@annarose477]

Loved this, thank you. I’d love to hear more from Dr. Gardner Edit: he mentioned dairy which really piqued my interest

[@judyjohnson9610]

I'm glad that you brought up adherence. Very important. I once saw that many doctors recommend the Mediterranean Diet, not just because it's healthy, but because it has been found that it's easier to stick to. It's also family and budget friendly (my conclusions) I was surprised to hear him talk about how some people in the study didn't eat the food that was delivered to them. Maybe it was too much trouble for them to cook?

[@justfmax]

Dr. Gardner is refreshing and insightful. But most importantly, he's realistic. Great interview!

[@ionagibbons9906]

I am 55yrs and have ulcerative colitis and then changes from menopause but recently realised I was avoiding fibre and depending on carbs as avoidance for other foods. I didn’t know you can change your ability to digest fibre if you do it incrementally and know the difference between soluble and insoluble. I have just really changed around and really low carb like a gluten free wrap a day. Now just plant based certain plants only going slowly to keep things that won’t spark inflammation but will grow better gut microbiome. Protein lactose free cheese and nuts. Then only eat between 4pm and 9pm but that’s not difficult cos of having had lots of digestion problems sticking to something that stops pain retrains your mind to stay within a framework. But it’s also about building up a tolerance piece by piece but you have to get involved with managing it. My biggest surprise has been how lowering carbs and grains is actually doable and plant choices can be made accessible even to low tolerance types like me when done with a lot of personalised information about your own personal tolerance levels. I think we need that time and space to get into our personal ways in to lowering carbs as some foods will be better for some than others. But for sure non pesticide products have got to be a main standard and getting a carrot to taste like a carrot is increasingly difficult with mass produced or industrial farming. So again sourcing the right food that you can afford requires managing. But I have to say my motivations have all come because of pain and medicines not working. It would be better if motivation could be formed from good habits but however you get into the low carb no processed grain route to know it is something like the doctor says is a main foundation that really has major health impacts is a diet worth staying with particularly when there are many longevity stats to confirm it too.

[@arlettasloan6453]

Per what he was saying near the beginning about the low fat vs low carb diet, I got a DNA test for varied reasons related to health and one of the things I was told was that I show a genetic predisposition to need a low fat, higher carb diet. Which, before I was told that, I had already tried a higher fat keto diet and a lower fat keto diet, as well as eating primarily kitchari (but, sometimes still having a doughnut or some meat) and living for about a week and a half mostly following the advice of Dr. McDougall with a little Ornish advice thrown in, but still eating prefab burritos. Low fat keto diet worked great, as long as I did intermittent fasting AND had sudden bouts of eating candy, corn chips or rice. That sort of thing. I lost so much weight, felt great, gut was hurting so much less. Kitchari die worked great. Did not lose much weight but some even though I was eating 4 times a day and my gut felt better than on any keto diet. The week and a half of McDougall (basically) I lost 32 lbs and a lot of it was toxic waste. I was full of energy, definitely was burning fat. And, then I experimented and found if I had a little coconut milk the weight loss sllowed down but did not stop. If I had meat, the weight loss slowed down. If I had more processed food than the prefab burrito or two, the weight loss slowed down. If I had any significant portion of meat or processed food or fat, the weight loss stopped ead in its track and if I combined them, I would gain weight and my gut would start hurting again, so bad, and al the old bathroom problems would start. So, I learned a lot. I also learned that when people started nagging at me to invite people over and make them a real dinner, then the weight loss slowed down or even turned into weight gain and I had more cravings. I have no point other than to share information in case someone finds it helpful to know.

[@chuckbecker8735]

This upbeat communication style is easy to listen to thus it holds the attention.

[@jm08050]

I completely disagree. His style - with all the exaggerated hand gestures - is so off-putting and so 70s.

[@shetaz905]

I agree. What a pleasure.

[@hpcam1]

Ditto

[@ScottOstr]

If prediabetic or diabetic, then go low carb. If not, go either "lower" carb OR "lower" fat but not both. If you have a serious problem with hunger, then go lower carb and increase protein. Prioritize protein and eat nutrient dense foods. At some point, do an elimination diet to see certain foods affects your body.

[@ScottOstr]

Limbo titrate quality diet sounds a lot like intuitive eating with a nice touch of Noom. ❤️

[@petermartin5030]

Happy with the core diet, but if you have digestive problems, it is worth cutting back to a really simple diet then gradually adding things back in to check if you are allergic or sensitive to something. Gluten, wheat and lactose are the commonest such items, but other specific things like peppers, mushrooms, onions etc affect some people.

[@brandywillis3998]

so use your common sense

[@yangtse55]

I think a lot of people need to learn to stop being scared of farting occasionally and learning that it is a sign of a healthy microbiome. This should be taught in childhood

[@hisairness28]

Dr Gil, can you talk about best blood tests/markers for health? Is it liver enzymes, metabolic markers, kidney function?

[@Nicksonian]

Exciting to see two of my favorite nutrition experts talk to each other. There is so much reasoned sanity here in a wider field full of strident screaming matches. People don’t want to hear that the answer can hing on, “well, it depends.” The human diet has been so varied over a million years that it’s absurd to think that there is one, perfect diet. The message Drs. Gil and Chris deliver is that, while diet is important, and there are foundational concepts, stop stressing about it so much.

[@oloblish]

The human diet has not been that varied over millions of years. Pre agriculture (10,000 years ago) and before homo sapiens left Africa (60,000 years ago), we ate a pretty simple diet of meat and fruit. Maybe some occasional bugs and bark during famine, but definitely not more variety than most other species of animal.

[@Nicksonian]

@@oloblish Omnivores, as humans are, must be opportunists and use what's available, therefore your statement lacks common sense. Besides, there have been archeological finds from different locations with different results. One depended upon carbs from tubers and the like while others seemed to lean more on game. Food sources would vary considerably depending upon location and season. The fruit season would be limited a few months a year. Live near water and they ate fish. Inland, not. Etc. Etc.

[@bensmalley6357]

Why are you conveniently missing out the fact we've been eating starch/tubers for 100,000 years?

[@grumpyoldman6503]

@@Nicksonian Indeed, the key to our success as a species is precisely our adaptability in our available food resources. The very fact that we have both ketogenic and glucongenic pathways is a testament to this fact (as is more and more of the paleo-archaeological record).

[@hiker-uy1bi]

best nutrition channel on KZbin

[@adamrisch]

I actually do get over 50% of my calories from carbs (it's roughly 55/30/15 carbs/fat/protein), and the only refined grain I eat is Grape Nuts Flakes (which I eat for the vitamin B-12, as I'm a vegan and every b-12 supplement I've tried makes my face breakout). That is unless you count whole durum wheat couscous, which I think is still considered a whole grain? But anyway 3g of added sugar in the Grape Nuts Flakes and 0 in the couscous, and 9g of dietary fiber between them. That's the only added sugar in my diet. I also eat a half cup of steel cut Quaker Oats every day as well, but that's definitely a whole grain. I'm one of those weirdos who eats the exact same thing day in and day out, with only the occasional exception, so we do exist haha. I've just chosen foods that work for me where I can eat them day after day. I guess my diet would fall under the LLQC umbrella. Anyway great video as usual.

[@Heintjoo]

super informative

[@Fvfm2000]

Great video with a balanced perspective. Nothing crazy, nothing extreme. Just whole foods in reasonable amounts.

[@Greedman456]

Wow that was so insightful, the doctor was so well spoken and got his ideas through very eloquently. I would love to read some of his research. Thank you for the information

[@nealiecruz2532]

Wow! What a handsome doctor! Beautiful skin, would love to know his skin care routine.

[@ybokors8524]

I don't know why but dr. Gardner explaining the foundational diet just made everything so clear to me.

[@jm08050]

You must be easily impressed. I thought he was jumping around and never got to the point.

[@stan8926]

If you do not eat for pleasure it is actually very easy to eat pretty constant proportions for a long period of time.

[@michelangelobuonarroti916]

Agree, but I would phrase it differently and say to avoid eating as recreation.

[@stevelanghorn1407]

Why does Dr Gardener smile when he gives us bad news? Such a cheery chappie!

[@86oldbehave]

I am so grateful that someone on an Instagram post sent me here. I experience chronic illness and I have two groups of friends telling me the opposite things. One side is vegan and the other carnivore 🤦🏻‍♀️ My comment was how do I discern the truth cuz you can find tons of so called nutritional videos that attempt to prove that their camp is the ONLY camp

[@katherinefiori]

gooosh this man is just SO NORMAL!!! THANK YOU 🙏🤍 👉 no processed foods 👉 no processed sugar 👉 eat as organically as possible 🤍

[@beldir1701]

Me too, grateful

[@Insomniaclife]

Once again I am more confused than enlightened. I think you have a real challenge with demonstrating conclusions and summaries. Consider perhaps providing clear takeaways and summaries at the end of your videos, especially when you give them a click bait title.

[@stan8926]

It is designed to be less controversial and pleasing for wide audience.

[@jm08050]

Yes, this guest just jumped around so much without developing anything. All sound bites and lots of hand gestures and the Cheshire cat smile: so annoying.

[@helenclough4926]

Brilliant video! I love your channel. Not that I’m good at complying, I do believe that a whole food diet is best for us. It’s natural. I went on the Hay Diet years ago. Aside from the separating protein and acid fruits from carbohydrates and sweet fruits, one of the things promoted was natural food. Butter not margarine etc…. I felt really fit and healthy. My cellulite went! I had a healthy glow. I think it was more to do with the abundance of whole foods and lack of processed foods that contributed to that. We are what we eat. We wouldn’t put inferior fuel in our cars, so why would we put inferior food in our bodies?? I’d eat both the oats and fruit as well as the cheesy eggs by the way. Both look delicious to me!! Like Dr Gardner (he’s got some great racing bling there!), I’m an athlete so food is fuel to me. It’s a bonus that it tastes good!! 😋

[@terrirecker4566]

I would love to listen to you on the science of the proper diet for a better bone mineral density for healthy, or those with osteoporosis or osteopenia. Where does animal or plant based protein and collagen plays a role.

[@jimmaworkurgessa8247]

Eating healthy food,walking a lot,reduced stress,making fun and having healthy social life is mandatory to be healthy as well as to live longer.

[@dalehicks6112]

"The most qualified person to talk about diet." I like the info he is sharing but I say expand your mind and have a Traditional Chinese Doctor on your show. Traditional Chinese Medicine has been around for approximately 4,000 years. I believe they have much wisdom on health and diet to share if our western culture would be willing to listen.

[@Baalaaxa]

I have always recognized and promoted the healthiness of a proper LLQC diet, and I've always reveled in the debauchery of HLQC diet.

[@seanet1310]

Excellent interview. I assume high quality carbs are things like whole foods be it grains, seeds, legumes, vegetables, potato's etc?

[@Aryhada]

Yes...and some people stress some about phytates and nutrition blockers...wash it properly soak it properly and all of your problems are gone right there.

[@SolidNate99]

The only thing that makes me so sad about all this is that no matter what diet video, they don't seem to approve of white rice. White rice is a staple of like 4 billion people. Are we all just dumb?

[@ValeOfSorrow]

As much as I am with you on that there’s one explanation that does make sense - these 4 billion ppl genetically adjusted to this rating it for hundreds of years whereas for the rest of us it was introduced quite recently 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@ashy969]

Actually, white rice is not a staple food since that long. Only nobility / wealthy people could afford it for a long time. And since white rice took the place of whole rice in main population, diabetes became an issue in asian countries, too (check the research on diabetes in china for example). But, if you eat rice with lots of veggies and lean protein / beans / soy, I guess it is still balanced enough. While if you eat mostly white rice with little on the side... what most people do... you get higher rates of diabetes. The main reason now white rice is prefered is its shelflife (virtually forever consumable while whole rice lasts for about 6 months). Not because it is traditionally eaten.

[@LEMONS884]

Just eat brown rice.

[@thuggie1]

I chose a low-carb diet as I could just pack away carbs, so every time I eat a diet with carbs, I just craved more. I think when I reach my goals, I will reintroduce carb in a small amount. I was 336lb now. I am now 289lb, so I have a way to go, but I would say that for the first time in my life, I have an understanding on how to eat in a way that suits my body and not use food as a crutch.

[@emilrdk]

Well, hitting percentages is actually easy. i use macros tracking app and for me is just a 5 min a day. Some days definitely you can’t track everything but overall is not that hard to hit your goals. However, I do emphasise with the fact it’s not easy thing to do for most people, definitely can’t ask my mom to do this. For me, looking for my performance and body composition, is a way to go while I can literally enjoy everything. I found this the opposite of being restrictive, as in fact, I don’t do any diet, just do a 80 % whole foods with the rest of 20 being fun foods. Anyways, great talk!

[@marc31415]

i went really low fat, and it was very hard to maintain it while eating in a way that stiumlates my apitite. so i added a little bit more. i was going up and down by feel. i think the trick is you can get use to doing to much of something.

[@RiDankulous]

I agree meeting the macro-nutrient percents isn't reasonable but having a different structure is easier but still difficult for most people. They revert. They remain unhealthy. More food counseling is necessary and that takes one-on-one with dieticians and food logging; the first costs money and the second is avoided by most people. So personally, my philosophy is that we need more counseling like is given by Mcdougall's program or the way Esselstyn has in his program.

[@pjcdm]

My vegetarian-mostly-diet uses a delicious mushroom and onion-based in oil/water base to which I add all kinds of other vegrtables including legumes (which are cooked separately to remove gas issue and then added fro the fridge) with more water. Add and simmer. Add salt and pepper and herbs. Make it delicious. 60, 62kg, 1m70. Play sport daily. Non-smoker/non-drinker.

[@carlyndolphin]

Boring life

[@nomandad2000]

@@carlyndolphinno kidding

[@AmaleeWilson]

You’re a legend.

[@chewiewins]

Satiety is Key. Could not agree more. People will keep to diet if they are satieted. Simple as.

[@lilytea3]

0:00: 🥦 Dr. Christopher Gardner discusses the best diet for humans and the goal of nutrition science. 7:21: 🍽 The speaker's hope is to establish a foundational diet that can be personalized based on individual preferences and needs. 10:18: 🥦 The speaker discusses the importance of maintaining a balanced diet with lower quality carbs and higher protein and fat percentages. 14:16: 🍽 The speaker discusses the difficulty of following a specific diet plan and calculating the exact percentages of macronutrients. 17:37: 📚 Participants in the study were encouraged to make significant changes to lower their cravings or weight, and then adjust their intake based on their personal preferences and goals. 21:06: 📚 The video discusses why some people are able to stick to extreme diets and if it is due to discipline or metabolic differences. 24:18: 🍳 The speaker discusses the satiating effect of cheesy eggs and the impact of stress on eating habits. 27:44: 📊 Continuous glucose monitoring is helping us learn more about individual needs and preferences when it comes to diet and insulin expression. Recap by Tammy AI

[@workingclasscook870]

A small serving of oatmeal with eggs most days, but prepared in a variety of ways to keep it interesting.

[@Paul-mw4cy]

good show real information

[@alexmavicair2911]

I am interested in the aspect of habit-forming. Yes, genetics are a factor, but what role does habit play in feeling satiated after a meal? And are there studies that look at the psychological level of habit-building, in terms of ways that you might “reprogram” your habits and what makes you feel full/satiated after eating something that would previously have left you hungry? Is it habit or is it genetics that makes you predisposed to a certain diet?

[@anggadi1564]

Exercise(resistance training) works for me, its feel like my metabolism back to normal so i dont feel as hungry as i never exercise before

[@pynn1000]

Habit, genetics, bugs? We have +/- 2kg (4+ pounds) of good bugs in our digestive system, linked to our brains. We can live on a wider range of foods than many animals because of this biome.. Only firm conclusion, so far, is they thrive on a wide variety of unprocessed food. (Poop samples are now part of many nutrition studies - this is relatively new.)

[@bedtimestory1318]

We probably don't have to replace all of the 40% refined carbs, since we already eat too much.

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

good point

[@JamieR]

I think Dr. Sten Ekberg, an Olympic decathlete & holistic doctor, who now runs a KZbin channel, would be a fantastic guest on your channel.

[@EmilyTienne]

Ekberg was invited but never responded, possibly due to his lack of reliance on provable facts. Gil did a critique of Ekberg in one of his videos.

[@JamieR]

@@EmilyTienne thanks for the reply :) Yeah I saw he did a video on him recently. I'm worried when so many of these channels make claims and never give substantial evidence, or miss the mark completely. We're lucky to have Gil in this space. Hopefully his channel blows up. More people need this knowledge and information. I hope you have a good day 😊👌🏻

[@vermontmike9800]

Why don’t more nutritionists speak about the Blue Zone study? As they seem to support what this particular specialist is speaking too.

[@robertusga]

That's because Blue Zone studies are designed terribly and do not meet the requirements for scientific rigor. Mostly mechanistic speculation without the needed outcome based data from quality studies in humans.

[@cutabove9046]

They don't speak about it because it doesn't exist. There are individual studies of people within what is called the Blue Zone, but no such thing as a Blue Zone Study. One example is the 7th Day Adventist studies that have been going on for decades.

[@sandyf1632]

Living well at 61 after significantly reducing/omitting salt, sugar, and oil. Big time sugar lover here! since I replaced sugar with puréed dates that I purée myself and use in place of sugar in cooking, eating, and even in my beverages. It has been a life changer! Mr. Fish: “ Uh, Chris…I’m more than just a pretty face, I have a life! “ 😅