I've come to the conclusion that diet is a spectrum. Evolutionarily, carbs were a rare treat as most plants are toxic (incl. oxalates, phytic acid, lectins etc).

Based on carbon analysis of human remains before the agricultural revolution (approx. >7-10k years ago) it has been shown that most food (if I'm not mistaken >60%) were animals. Besides these facts there are other observations that support the strong case of humans being carnivore such as anatomy of the gut (enzymatic digestion not fermentation digestion), small entestines make up most of the gut allowing for the digestion of lots of nutrition in a short time (unlike herbevores that graze all day), also brain development which has required and still does need lots of nutrients and energy.

There are no interventional trials that proof that meat has negative health effects or saturated fat is causal to cardivascular disease, not even a mechanism exists. Furthermore, no evidence for plants or a plant-based or even vegan diet to be superior, on the contrary. The nutrient profile of plants is proven to be significantly lower than animal foods, also driven by the plant toxins (anti-nutrients) that inhibit digestion and absorption of protein and especially minerals in the gut. There is just much more money to be made in plant-based foods because these are mostly refined and processed foods. Animal foods are much less processed or not at all.

Hence, my conclusion is that the optimal diet is made up of mostly animal foods. Plants (carbs) can be added based on individual desires. They are not essential. That's the spectrum.

That's my current understanding of the diet debate after investing maybe 500h of research.

#plebchain #carnivore