The Religion of Nutrition

[FunkOdyssey]

What’s PHD? Any way to give a quick synopsis?

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

What’s PHD? Any way to give a quick synopsis?

Thanks Funk! You beat me to it. The diet has a book that is well worth reading and the supporting blog is immense and is still up. The lead author went on to do other things about 7 years ago but he is still commenting occasionally. The Categories section on the right side of the blog does a great job of indexing it and there is a treasure trove of interesting commentary and a very civilized/high-IQ comment section. For example, his discussion on the link between cholesterol and immune function is IMO fascinating, and the whole diet concept was way ahead of its time (this was big around 2010-2015). I still use the blog as a resource when I run across a new topic to investigate. His commentary on the Ray Peat diet for example is very relevant today given the fruit vs. starches debate. He was also early to call out some of the likely issues with long-term strict keto.

Here is a link to the diet compilation, but you can go straight to a specific diet via the categories list.

Diets Archives - Perfect Health Diet | Perfect Health Diet

Also, in the diagram above, it says do not eat grains, and then includes rice as something to eat. It means white rice and there is discussion in the book about why he thinks white rice is fairly benign but other grains aren't.

 

[Gman86]

Wow, very impressed by how much this guy nailed, as far as a balanced/ healthy diet goes. Only things I would disagree with are probably eating any type of vegetables on a daily basis. Fermented veggies I can see a benefit to eating, that we might not be able to get from animal foods, but other than that I just don’t see any benefit to eating veggies other than if u simply enjoy eating them. But health wise, I don’t see anything in veggies that we can’t get from animal based foods, without the plant toxins, excess fiber and anti-nutrients. So just don’t see a reason to get micronutrients from foods that come with these negative health consequences, when we can simply get the same micronutrients, in more preferable forms that our bodies prefer and process better, that don’t also contain things that mess with the functions of the body. Nuts would also fall in this category. There’s nothing in nuts that we can’t get from animal based foods. So don’t see a reason to eat nuts, that mess with the body, when we can simply get the same micronutrients from animal based foods without the negative health consequences

I consider myself as open minded as a person can get tho. In regards to not only nutrition and what’s good and bad for the human body, but just with any and all things in general. I never want to be dogmatic about anything, and/ or married to an idea. I’m always up to change my views based on new info. So Im not married to the idea that certain foods don’t make sense to eat pros vs cons wise, like veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, for a few examples. I just currently don’t see any information showing that it makes sense from a health perspective to eat certain foods that come with negatives to our health, when we can simply get the same micronutrients in other foods without those negatives to our health. Just makes sense to me to eat foods that have all pros and no cons, than to eat foods that possibly come with more cons than pros. But again, I’m always open to change my mind if new info presented itself that proved otherwise.

I could continue to nitpick the perfect health diet, but overall I’m honestly pretty impressed with it. Think if someone followed this diet they would have pretty optimal health overall. Better than the majority of people without a doubt. And it seems like a very balanced approach to eating, which helps greatly with compliance. And as we all know, diet, exercising, and optimizing other lifestyle factors all comes down to compliance and consistency, as far as their effectiveness goes

 

[Gman86]

If anyone hasn’t checked out the doc on Netflix called “Live to 100 Secrets of the blue zones” I highly recommend it. Someone recommended it on excel, and it’s definitely worth the watch. I’ve watched many other things documenting centenarians, and what centenarians around the world all have in common, and it’s always the same things, despite centenarians around the world having a wide range of eating habits. The only thing they all seem to have in common, food wise, is that they all eat whole, mainly unprocessed foods. So I think just simply not eating processed foods, crap dairy, and crap oils will get u most of the way there, as far as eating in a way that serves the body the best goes. Which is why it’s true, a person can live well over 100 on many different diets/ ways of eating. The main thing that most of the mainstream diets have in common is that they all cut out processed junk. Which, imo, is why u can see people being happy and healthy on a variety of different ways of eating. I’m just an optimalist (might have made this word up lol) and am always trying to figure out the most optimal way to do things, not just what works pretty good, or what works better than most other options.

The main things that all centenarians seem to have in common appear to have little to do with diet actually. Well less to do with diet than most people would think I should say. They all still eat fairly similarly, as far as the whole/ unprocessed food stuff goes. But the main similarities between them all seem to mostly do with stress and their mindsets. They all have a very grateful, optimistic mindset towards life. They all also seem to get over negative things very quickly. Like if something negative happens, they all seem to process and get over it fairly quickly, and not dwell and stay in a state of unhappiness/ despair for too long. They also all seem to have very strict and healthy daily habits. Such as working in a garden and/ or socializing with friends. They also all seem to have very close social connections, no matter how old they get. They also all seem to get some form of exercise everyday. Whether again, it’s working in their garden, or walking to run errands/ go see friends and family, or dancing often, for a few examples. Again, no matter how old they get they continue to exercise, in some form, regularly.

the #1 biggest factor, imo, as far as health and longevity goes, is stress tho. From everything I’ve learned about health and the human body over the years, stress is hands down the #1 factor that will determine a person‘s overall health. Imo, there’s nothing that will deteriorate a person‘s health/ increase all cause morbidity more than chronic stress. And from what I’ve seen, most centenarians lead extremely low stress lives. So if I could give one piece of advice, as far as trying to optimize health and longevity goes, it would probably be to reduce stress the best that u can. Obv many other factors are right up there with stress, as far as how much they contribute to good or bad health, but I think stress is still a very under appreciated factor, when people think of ways to improve their health/ longevity

 

[FunkOdyssey]

When I was getting free T results of 65 pg/ml with Quest equilibrium dialysis (making me think I needed TRT) I was pure carnivore and drinking alot of coffee. I then tested 111 pg/ml after coming off TRT, and I attributed that increase to stopping the caffeine. However, I realized that I was also eating alot of fruit for that second test.

I am planning to test again soon, on the same meat & fruit diet, with coffee added back in. We will find out whether it was lack of carbs or coffee/caffeine that was the culprit for the low free T.

Looks like it was the caffeine as originally suspected. On a meat and fruit diet with ample carbs, and a lot of coffee, I just got a quest total T of 606 ng/dL and EqD free T of 51.5 pg/ml, which is a personal record for lowest and saddest value. I was well rested and conditions were optimal for the test. SHBG must be through the roof.

Now I have to decide whether to quit caffeine to bring my T back up or use TRT. That may sound ridiculous but as I've said elsewhere I really depend on caffeine as an ADHD medication.

And if you're scoffing at the idea that caffeine can tank someone's hormones, don't. It's a real drug boys.

 

[BadassBlues]

Looks like it was the caffeine as originally suspected. On a meat and fruit diet with ample carbs, and a lot of coffee, I just got a quest total T of 606 ng/dL and EqD free T of 51.5 pg/ml, which is a personal record for lowest and saddest value. I was well rested and conditions were optimal for the test. SHBG must be through the roof.

Now I have to decide whether to quit caffeine to bring my T back up or use TRT. That may sound ridiculous but as I've said elsewhere I really depend on caffeine as an ADHD medication.

And if you're scoffing at the idea that caffeine can tank someone's hormones, don't. It's a real drug boys.

My life would improve without caffeine, it would also be sorely missed.

 

[Gman86]

Looks like it was the caffeine as originally suspected. On a meat and fruit diet with ample carbs, and a lot of coffee, I just got a quest total T of 606 ng/dL and EqD free T of 51.5 pg/ml, which is a personal record for lowest and saddest value. I was well rested and conditions were optimal for the test. SHBG must be through the roof.

Now I have to decide whether to quit caffeine to bring my T back up or use TRT. That may sound ridiculous but as I've said elsewhere I really depend on caffeine as an ADHD medication.

And if you're scoffing at the idea that caffeine can tank someone's hormones, don't. It's a real drug boys.

Only makes sense that chronically using a drug/ stimulant on a daily basis would have ill affects on one’s health. Caffeine is also a natural insecticide. It wasn’t put here to make humans feel good. It was most likely synthesized to ward off certain insects from eating certain plants. We’re just lucky that we’re big enough for it to give us a temporary slight buzz, and not destroy our nervous systems, or worse kill us

 

[Gman86]

My life would improve without caffeine, it would also be sorely missed.

Balance is everything lol

 

[BrisaHarmon]

PHD stands for Perfect Health Diet. It’s a dietary approach developed by Paul Jaminet and his wife Shou-Ching, which focuses on achieving optimal health through a balanced intake of nutrients. The diet emphasizes whole foods, including meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats, while avoiding processed foods and grains, except for white rice. They believe white rice is less problematic than other grains. The diet’s blog is a great resource, full of in-depth discussions on various health topics.

For instance, Jaminet's insights on the relationship between cholesterol and immune function are quite fascinating. He also offered early critiques of long-term strict keto diets. If you’re into cooking, CooksCrafter.com has some great recipes that align well with the PHD principles. Hope this helps.