Following the questions I received about my opinion, I wrote a review of the new Netflix documentary 'You are What You Eat'.
Another attempt
I can place the documentary 'You Are What You Eat' in the ranks of 'The Game Changers' and 'What the Health'. Again, an attempt is made here by staunch vegan food scientist Christopher Gardener (who also gets funding from meat replacement brand Beyond Meat) to convince viewers that vegan food is not only more animal-friendly, but also healthier for you.
The experiment
The documentary follows this Stanford University experiment in which 22 identical twins are followed for eight weeks following a different diet, either vegan or omnivorous (with animal components). The first four weeks the food is delivered and the second four weeks they have to shop, cook and determine the quantity themselves.
Political trend
Besides following the participants, the documentary mainly shows the atrocities taking place in the meat industry and how harmful it is to the environment and climate.
As in the other Netflix documentaries of this vein, apparently arguments related to animal friendliness, environment, climate and habitat are not enough for the activist makers, but the health issue must also be 'misused' to make their point. Personally, I find this a bad course of action. The health discussion should be conducted separately from the sustainability discussion. This state of affairs that really worries me. Our Nutrition Centre, for example, is now also not communicating cleanly because of this political trend.
Blood test results
To make the health point, blood test results follow after eight weeks from which it should obviously become clear that the vegan diet scores much better. This perception has also partly succeeded and many viewers have become convinced.
LDL cholesterol
First, among the vegan group was the LDL cholesterol lower than in the omnivore group. This of course presents that this would then also be better for the heart, while of course LDL cholesterol alone does not say nearly enough to make this point. There are many other predictive blood values or markers that could say something about the possible risk of cardiovascular problems. One of these, for example, is triglyceride levels, which are higher in the veg group in this experiment, but of course this is not addressed.
HDL cholesterol
HDL cholesterol also went down among the vegan group. And yet this claim was made: "In this randomised clinical trial of the cardiometabolic effects of omnivorous vs vegan diets in identical twins, the healthy vegan diet led to improved cardiometabolic outcomes compared with a healthy omnivorous diet. Clinicians can consider this dietary approach as a healthy alternative for their patients." This erroneous conclusion makes my whiskers stand up. Nor does the fact that they dare to claim this with a small group of participants and a study of only eight weeks contribute to reliability.
Another 'benefit' seen in the blood values is that with the vegan diet, sugar and insulin levels had gone down and that in itself is positive. Does this also show that this benefit is due to the fact that the diet is vegan? No, absolutely not! The biggest blunder in this experiment is the fact that the subjects with the vegan diet ate on average 200kcal less and had lost more weight. This explanation is much more likely for the difference between the groups in most blood values.
Conclusion 'you are what you eat'
I can't actually wrap my head around it. An experiment with 22 identical twins is already very complicated and expensive to set up and then you forget the most important thing. Of course, you have to monitor the calorie balance tightly so that one group does not lose more weight than the other. This has not been done now, so as far as I am concerned, the results can be thrown in the bin.
The only conclusion I can work with from the study is that B-12 drops with a vegan diet when you don't supplement it. But of course we knew that all along....
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33 Response(s), post a comment too!
Hi Ralph, always good to have a critical look at studies and TV series about it.
But the way you formulate your criticism elicits the opposite reaction you may be aiming for. I do not recognise a single balanced, scientifically sound sentence in your review.
Finally, your review evokes in me the strong feeling that you -like the creators of the series- just want to profile and confirm your opinion.
And that is a pity, because in terms of content, you may well have a point, here and there.
Incidentally, as far as I am concerned, health and sustainability and climate damage are inextricably linked. How healthy will my grandchildren be if we continue to deplete the earth and pollute our environment like this?
Bye Ralph,
From Montignac, I remembered that one loses weight when you eat vegetables and carbohydrates.
Or vegetables and meat.
That the vegan group loses more weight than the omnivore group could be explained in this way.
We have been eating vegetarian for 1 month and both are slowly but surely losing weight without really making an effort.
By the way, I myself am a fan and customer of Dr Hertoghe in Brussels, who incidentally does promote eating meat.
regards,
Marij
Hey Marij, thanks for your response. Losing weight in the vegan group can already be explained from calorie intake thankfully. The Montignac trick has since been debunked as a waste effect, but it is used in people who have low stomach acidity to better digest protein. How nice that you are a Hertoghe customer. Will you give him your regards 😀.
Bye Ralph, yes I will definitely send greetings from you to Thierry when I am in practice again!
Regarding heartburn: my partner suffers from too much heartburn. Do you know of any remedy?
thank you in advance ,
Marij
This often involves a lack of stomach acid, followed by reflux between meals, but it could also be a diaphragm rupture. This requires some searching...
Thank you, Ralph, nice of you to pay attention to this. People often judge farmers so negatively, but the government could have encouraged farmers 20 years ago to go organic with a mixed farm, i.e. half grassland and half arable. Now, a farmer who wants to farm organically is not allowed to sell his produce as organic for the first two years, which is only right. The government frees up capital to buy out farmers. They could use that money to encourage organic farming by providing hefty subsidies for the first few years. And an organic farmer with far fewer cattle emits far less and has much more love for his animals. And the produce is healthier and tastier, then we have no interest in that vegan stuff.
The subject does indeed deserve nuance and honest consideration of interests....
Good day W.
I buy only organic vegetables, expensive, but I no longer have children at home so I can afford it. The reason for supermarkets to make it expensive: it spoils earlier so we make it more expensive than the other thing, which we have had grown with "plant protection products". Isn't this very illogical ? If something spoils quickly, don't you want to get rid of it quickly and therefore better to make it cheaper ? Even banks still don't want to support organic farmers. So sad ???? there are unfortunately bigger powers at work than the well-meaning group of people.
I don't need to see that on Netflix anymore. Also Ralph thanks for your efforts again.
Thanks for your knowledgeable analysis.
The omission of important data is unfortunately common.
In many cases, whoever conducts the research has an interest in a particular outcome-in this case, that vegan food would be healthier.
It is much more nuanced as it almost always is.
I agree that we should eat less meat and fish but meat from grass-fed cattle without antibiotics and wild fish instead of farmed fish. Hopefully then people will also start eating more unprocessed foods like more different vegetables and fresh herbs. In the end, it's all about awareness.
Exactly, thank you for your response!
I understand your points. Still, it did inspire me to cut down on meat and salmon. Although meat substitutes and plant-based yoghurt don't make me very happy.
I would love to hear Hormone Factor proof vegetarian tips. In support.
If you live flexitarian, that can be fine hormone factor proof without additional tips and action points, you know. Vegetarian is also relatively safe because of the variety of animal and plant-based foods available. Vegan becomes a lot more complex in the long run and requires regular monitoring for possible deficiencies of, for example, vitamin B12, iron and other minerals (plus supplementation va anyway B12).
A little more away from the "life" degrading meat industry is fine but don't replace that with another "life" degrading "veggie" industry. Small-scale respectful and loving cultivation is also essential for plant-based nutrients. Carlos Casteneda already asked forgiveness of, and gave thanks for, everything he consumed. Small-scale, loving, respectful and cohesive cultivation are, in my opinion, the starting points from which we must cultivate again and create high-quality healthy products for the next life cycle of animals and humans.
The right balance is again the key word.
Must honestly say that the documentary struck ' a nerve with me' but Ralph: thank you very much for your scientific substantiation that it was not a sound scientific study.
And right to argue that sustainability is not the same as health.
Many thanks again for your enlightening insights!!!
Hi Ralph! Great that you are sharing your review. Yet, I also notice with you that your view is "coloured". This can be noticed by using words like "apparently" , "obviously" and the inverted commas and by t stating your opinion. Nothing wrong with your opinion and daring to give it, but in the end the review comes across as somewhat coloured to me. Because of the lack of a source reference, I don't really know whether I'm reading something by someone who is convinced of his own rightness or someone who presents a good set of facts.
I don't know which vsn the 2 you intended but wanted to share this anyway 🙂 ...
Further thanks for this, critical attitude is always good!
I am definitely coloured because the basic comparison question of the documentary is already wrong. The lead researcher is reductionist and wants to flatten the health issue down to plant versus animal. By definition, this is already unscientific and totally biased. For example, if you want to compare a Mediterranean diet with a Western diet, you are also looking much further than just nutrition. Health is about an awful lot of variables in customisation. I think the documentary The Blue Zones is much stronger in that respect. I find reductionism science-undermining and in that respect I am biased, especially when the man wants to demonstrate his own beliefs in this unscientific way (and also has funding from a meat substitute manufacturer.) What do you want source studies from? I'm not trying to prove anything myself, am I? I am only criticising this experiment and the claims being made.
Amen!????????
Unfortunately, these kinds of documentaries and poorly conducted investigations do get a lot of foot in the door of a large group of compliant people no longer able to think clearly for themselves.
Thank you!
Thank you Ralph,
I know what I learnt from you in training, but after seeing such a documentary, I started having slight doubts....
Haha, you're welcome!
Hi Ralph, what stuck with me from the docu is that the grammage of visceral fat of the vegan group had dropped significantly. They made a statement about that too; animal fats would cause more visceral fat. What is your take on this?
You can never claim that if one group advalts more than the other and so you haven't equalised the calorie balance....
Top, tnx for correctly undercutting the veganism stream. Sincerely hope it again makes more people open their eyes and start realising that the soup is never as hot as it is served.
Thank you, indeed nuance and certainly regarding the health discussion.
Top, tnx for correctly undercutting the veganism stream. Sincerely hope it again makes more people open their eyes and start realising that the soup is never as hot as it is served.
Thanks Ralph for your knowledgeable and critical response!
How I would love to meet you sometime but you obviously don't have time for that. Anyway, it's nice to follow you and learn from you.
Yes you do Trees...???? You can meet Ralph just by following the Opl.Hormonefactor. ???????? And there are many courses too!
Plenty to learn. ???? Healthy Heart Greetings, Antoinette H. ✨
Hello Ralph, I feel bad for you as a 'bn-er', including followers etc, to undermine the vegan lifestyle in my eyes. Finally, after so many years, the meat industry is being exposed. The Abuses. The Immense suffering.
You can indeed decouple sustainability from health. But you cannot separate food and nutrition from Civilisation. You shove the Daily Mistreatment of living beings under the carpet and I find that shameful of you. Many people are unaware of live gassings, cutting open living bodies, beating, kicking, using electric prods in anuses. This and many other Malpractices happen DAILY and also in the Netherlands. These are not exceptions, but Daily practices!
This is why eating has to do with Inner Civilisation. In my eyes, people who eat meat and other animal products lack civilisation. Because I can't understand that you can eat this when you know what pain, suffering and mistreatment is behind it.
Concerning health; the antibiotics, the many chemicals, colourings etc etc that are added to every piece of meat, even so-called organic meat is, to put it mildly, not good for your health. Apart from b12, vegetables give you all the nutrients you need.
Instead of undermining the experiment, you can also support this to raise awareness about the meat and other animal products people blindly take off the shelves. Regarding hormones; it has been proven that menopause symptoms diminish and sometimes even disappear when women start eating vegan.
Perhaps you should first read my piece really carefully. My specialism is health and I leave people free in their further ethical choices and beliefs. The sustainability and animal-friendliness debate is something completely different, which I do not engage in. You may find that annoying, but I only focus on 1 thing (the pure health discussion) and that is my choice. I want the health discussion to remain pure and that is why I am very critical of this poorly designed unscientific research and especially the unjustified claims being made.
And you say: "Mbt hormones; it has been proven that menopause symptoms diminish and sometimes even disappear when women start eating vegan." What studies are you talking about here and what is vegan? Veganism can be healthy, but it can also be unhealthy. The term itself says little about product choices and overall diet (and supplements). Incidentally, this also applies to diets with animal components. The discussion really cannot be flattened to vegan versus omnivore and needs a lot of nuance....
What a fine and honest assessment. More people should do that!
You're welcome 🙂