Health influencers you once followed but don’t any more

(Alec) #1

Dr Mercola was probably the first health influencer that I followed… at some point I realised he was more of a potion pusher than anything and stopped following…

I also followed Eric Berg for a while, but I lost patience with him a while ago.

When I started carnivore I read Paul Saladino’ s book, and really liked it and followed him… then he started down the fruit and honey route… switched off.

I thought Joey Schwartz was going to be big in carnivore, but he went mad, and slipped off the rails very quickly and disappeared from my watch list.

There are others.

Which influencers did you once enjoy/listen to that you no longer watch and why did you stop watching?

(Chuck) #2

It is the general principle of counting calories. While I now believe in to lose weight you have to have a deficit in your food intake, I believe that with a proper diet and removing trigger foods, and with proper discipline, I have learned to listen to my body’s needs, and to listen to when, how much and what to eat.
It hasn’t come easy to me but I believe I have learned to listen. I also believe that even with so many doctors screaming that intermittent fasting is bad, that at least for me it is my saving grace.

#3

I follow nobody, especially if they refer to themselves as “Influencers”.

That said, I remeber when Mercola was a little bit different, but not the straight jacket ready specimen he is today, When Berg actually tried and wasn’t a never ending bad copy of other peoples work, Saladino I’m 50/50. I like that he actually he is open to change his mind when he sees results or constant labs that aren’t producing optimal results anymore. People that only pay attention to him here and there think he’s nuts, but anybody that’s known how he is for a while knows he just gets REAL passionate about whatever he’s doing at the time, sometimes a little too much, but he’s always open to have his mind changed, and tries to have civil debates based on science with others that don’t line up with him, to me, that’s far better than the hive mind that typically comes along with Carnivore, and Keto sometimes as well.

#4

I 100% agree with you about Dr. Mercola and his wife, Erin Elizabeth, and their misinformation. Berg should keep to his bone cracking. I used to listen to Ben Greenfield’s podcast; however, last year he had a doctor on, and I found out after the podcast that he had lost his license to practice medicine. Another was author Dr. James DiNicolantonio’s book, The Salt Fix. I read the book twice. The first time, I thought it was great. The second time, I started to fact-check his information and realized it was full of inaccuracies, contradictions, and poorly researched nonsense. I pretty much do my own research now and discuss with others. My wife is a medical doctor so that does help, sort of.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

I got interested in Thomas Delauer and Mike Mutzel early on, but Delauer turned out mostly to be eye candy; his science was poorly documented and sometimes off. When he started selling supplements, I tuned out. Mike Mutzel’s knowledge is better-documented (he got his master’s degree a couple of years ago), but he also sells supplements.

These days I mostly pay attention to lectures by researchers who document their points with citations to the literature. Not to mention my favourite science journalists–Taubes’s and Teicholz’ books are so valuable precisely because they provide references to practically every worthwhile study out there.

(Steve Grand Rapids) #6

Nutrition Made Simple - Gil Carvalho – Pure Science.

For the most part he just analyzes the studies that have been done and explains what you can take away from the results.

I find that the other “experts” are a mix of education, science, and personal opinion and hypothesis. In other words, a healthy portion of BS mixed with science.

The only problem with Nutrition Made Simple is good studies are lacking. He compared keto to other diets, but they didn’t measure blood ketones. To me that begs the question… what about a diet where people are actually in a state of ketosis?

(Bob M) #7

My problem with Saladino is that I listened to him when I KNOW what was saying was wrong, and he clearly did not have an understanding. Yet he said it as if he did. (This was a covid topic.)

And then he got hyper-fixated on certain things, like eating raw liver and raw eggs, but only the yolks and not the whites. (And, by the way, one reason he might not have had a good experience on carnivore is that he ate way too much liver.)

I tuned out after that. This was way before he became whatever he is today.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #8

Such studies have been done. I don’t know why this guy can’t find them.

(Steve Grand Rapids) #9

That’s not fair at all - perhaps my fault. He probably found studies he felt were relevant. I should have phrased it more like this … His analysis on keto isn’t done exactly the way I’d like to see him do it. I suppose I have specific questions I’d like to see addressed. Specifically, how does the diet influence key markers when people keep themselves in a consistent state of ketosis as determined by measurable ketones in the blood.

Comments about keto don’t seem valid to me unless you’re talking about people with measurable ketones in their blood.

(Bob M) #10

That is true. Although I’ve seen studies where athletes eating high carb diets will produce (low amounts of) ketones after a certain amount of exercise. But for a general diet, it’s not ketogenic if you don’t have some measurable ketones.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #11

For me, when I first started, I needed influencing … basically I needed info. After a while you become more discerning.
Takes a while to realise there’s plenty of recycled stuff out there. And of course the more you learn then more you can drop these commentators.
We find our own path.

#12

I have been suckered and spun around by nutrition influencers for about a decade. My focus was always looking for information on nutrition and dementia. I started out listening to Jimmy Moore 2013. Read Taubes and Teischolz, and Volek and Phinney. Especially when Jimmy teamed up with MindBodyGreen vegetarian doctor who wrote the keto vegetarian book, Will Cole. I met Jimmy at LowCarb Brisbane. I don’t listen to Jimmy or Will any more. Interested if Taubes and Teischolz pop up. Volek is a bit dry.

I watched a documentary film by Shannon Harvey called The Connection: Mind and Body. That led to watching health documentaries of varying quality.

I enjoy Ivor Cummins’ work. The Low Carb MD podcast is a good one with Dr. Tro and Dr. Brian. I have listened to all of the episodes of Peak Human hosted by Brian Sanders, I like his quasi-Californian surfer accent. I still listen to them.

Dr. Salad Saladino was always a bit too intense for me like my vegan on Scandanavian friends. I suspect Dr. Salad is a vegetarian in wolf’s clothing? No more Dr. Salad.

STEM Talk is good, I think, it’s a bit more science than others. I still listen.

I liked Diet Doctor podcast for quite I while, but have drifted away. The Two Keto Dudes were a good combo in their time but relied too much on allulose for my taste.

I listen to general mainstream health podcasts to keep understanding how fringe and misunderstood ketogenic eating is to the majority. I still feel I am a novice but have been pre-diabetic and non diabetic for a decade. So, there is a benefit in the methodology for me.

(Bob) #13

I never listened to Mercola. I thought he was a wacko from the get-go. I used to watch Dr. Eric berg, but I’ve lost interest in favor of other influencers. I can’t think of anyone I use to adore and now I can’t stand though. I watch a lot of “influencers”, mostly actual doctors.

(Brian) #14

I started out with Dr. Berg. It was a place to start but I’ve really not found he’s someone I want to stick with long term.

There aren’t a lot of others that I got too attached to that I don’t still listen to. I still listen to Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Baker, and maybe a few others.

(Rosemary Easter) #15

Basically the same as you but not too keen on Laura Spath or Lily Kane either.

(Alec) #16

I have never followed Lily (don’t really know why), but I still follow Laura… she doesn’t provide much insight, but I don’t find what she says objectionable in any way.

#17

Similar experience for me and Delauer. When I started on my ketovore/carnivore journey, I watched his YT videos along with Dr. Ken Berry’s and Dr. Eric Westman’s. Delauer seemed to promote so many products, and in some videos it sounded like her contradicted himself. Moreover, he’d get into these high-flying overly complex explanations that I really couldn’t make heads or tails about. Berry and Westman have no-BS, straight-forward approaches with clear, simple explanations.

(Alec) #18

Nailed it! Delauer just confuses things and is a jumble of words with little meaning ie he can’t communicate. No such problems with Drs Berry and Westman.

The only issue I have with Dr Westman is his focus on him needing to make this a clinical experience. I give him the benefit of the doubt in that there must be people who need that as he seems to successfully provide a wanted service. For me, it is all pretty straightforward: eat primarily fatty meat and eggs. End of. I don’t need an expensive clinician to help me with that!

(Allie) #19

Thomas Delauer too, I really tried with him, but the advertising killed it for me… paying an excessive amount for YouTube Premium to get rid of adverts then getting bombarded by his own adverts was just too much.

#20

yes, I have Premium at a premium price - though it’s really for the music - but getting those long-winded, ‘I-use-it-because-it-works-and-not-because-they’re-paying-me’ ads of his just destroys all credibility.