Mark Sisson gets harshly criticized by Diet Doctor Andreas Eenfeldt

(Michael Wallace Ellwood) #30

I’m actually not sure I could get wholeheartedly behind that proposition.
At least, I could get behind a proposal to strictly regulate the sale and marketing (and pricing, and taxation) of candy in a similar way to the way tobacco is highly regulated (at least in Europe).

(Sandra Watson) #31

I get the slippery slope thought… personally I think primal should be non packaged, but that is just how picky I am. Your mileage may vary :wink: PS, LOVE both the diet dr and Mark S. :wink:

#32

i’m still trying to wrap my head around this…in this case Mark Sisson and the Primal brand/lifestyle are the advertisers…on the Primal site…can’t get more “pure” than that…not like he’s promoting Twinkies
Primal has always been a for profit “movement” that gained attention from a commercially published book back when there were actual brick and mortar bookstores…

Mark Sisson has been in the supplement business for a long time. Beachbody used him to create a protein powder supplement for their workout programs many years ago (there’s a video in some of the P90X type workouts; can’t remember which).

(eat more) #33

poking around on amazon i see that he has frequent releases…the “new” primal blueprint came out this past november…i wonder if it’s “more” keto?
the primal kitchen release coming in june

in case anyone is interested :blush:

i pulled out my OG primal blueprint to see what my brain missed the first time…prob a lot due to impatience and having the wrong focus lol

#34

My understanding is that Sisson’s core values are real foods. So when I look at all of Eenfeldt’s complaint articles I see he has a point. He claims it isn’t just one candy bar. It’s a lot of lollipops, candies and sodas. It’s a trend.

Except, then I went to the Primal Kitchen website and I couldn’t find any soda or lollipops.

I’ve come to not trust the Diet Doctor in recent years. Far too many articles have his personal biases in the way. Case in point was an article he wrote about advising women to be wary of keto when breast-feeding (which was relevant for my family). Turned out he needed to edit his advice as he’d taken it too far.

Taking things too far is a trend with Eenfeldt.

That said, I can’t stand Sisson’s production-line blog process, backed by a team of 20 researchers. Bleh. I like real people blogs. Not production lines. I don’t feel I’m hearing a real person. It seems to me it’s a juggernaut sales campaign.

Eenfeldt has always had the courage to write his mind, even when it might be unpopular. I could never imagine Sisson doing that.

Then again, perhaps Eenfeldt’s standards would lift if he also used 20 researchers to verify he wasn’t taking things too far.

(Steve Stephenson) #35

Dr Andreas Eenfeldt is possibly more right than he knows to be concerned with examples of “leaders of the herd” going astray and taking their followers with them.

12 years ago the Atkins diet was making real progress, but then, as Dr Jay Wortman chronicles in Undoing Atkins: A Cautionary Tale, the herd was led astray by nutritional pundits coerced by the dark side.

In 1992, Dr. Wortman developed type 2 diabetes and quickly discovered that it could be controlled by restricting dietary carbohydrates. He went on to do clinical research on low-carbohydrate diets and became a little bit famous for a study he did in the Namgis First Nation of Alert Bay which was the subject of the CBC documentary film, My Big Fat Diet, FAQs. His research interest in the dietary management of obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes led him back into clinical practice."]

Learn how the pundits are coerced to the dark side in Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming [and LCHF diets].

Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. Remarkably, the same individuals surface repeatedly-some of the same figures who have claimed that the science of global warming is “not settled” denied the truth of studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. “Doubt is our product,” wrote one tobacco executive. These “experts” supplied it.

Possible climate changed futures:

The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future.

The year is 2393, and a senior scholar of the Second People’s Republic of China presents a gripping and deeply disturbing account of how the children of the Enlightenment, the political and economic elites of the so-called advanced industrial societies, entered into a Penumbral period in the early decades of the twenty-first century, a time when sound science and rational discourse about global change were prohibited and clear warnings of climate catastrophe were ignored. What ensues when soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, drought, and mass migrations disrupt the global governmental and economic regimes? The Great Collapse of 2093.

Above Evil: A Science Prediction Novel, by our own Stephen Phinney, who, as we know, “is a New York Times best-selling author, physician, and self-affirmed nutritional iconoclast. In his novel set twenty years in the future,” Steve posits the collapse of civilization due to a climate change induced global catastrophe and “crafts a vision of where technology might take us, and how it could offer our grandchildren a positive future.”

Page 215, “What they came up with is actually simpler and safer than taking some drug. They want us to try taking all of the starch and sugar out of our diet, so that most of our energy will come from fat and some from protein. Its composition would be something like a traditional Inuit diet. What led them to this was that 25 years ago, some diet doctors showed that a low carbohydrate diet reduced the body’s level of inflammation and its production of free radicals (Cassandra Forsythe, et al. Comparison of low fat and low carbohydrate diets on circulating fatty acid composition and markers of inflammation. Lipids. 2008: 43: 65-77) …", which affords the dieter some radiation protection.

So people in high radiation environments (e.g., X-ray technicians and patients) should be following LCHF diets.

#36

Awesome post. Appreciated.

(David) #37

Thanks for linking this. For what it’s worth here’s my 2c.

I can’t object to these products existing. We live in a world where products meet needs.

I can’t object To Mark Sisson selling them through his website. He has to make a living like everyone else.

Most wild/paleo books and sites tell you that you can have paleo “cheesecake” , or “wild” double chocolate chips everythings. Even the recipe section on this site is awash with pudding/bread recipes. It’s what people want.

But, the reality is that we are all on a slipperly slope where keeping your footing is difficult and you can fall far and fast. I don’t keep 90% dark chocolate in my cupboard because I know I will eat it, first as a treat, but later as a habit. Then I will start to slip and before I know it I am eating candy and chips and all the things.

The Daily Apple website is like a cupboard. If I go there I will see these ads. I don’t want to want the sweet things sold there. They will cause me, sooner or later, to lose my footing.

So I will stay away.

#38

I didn’t know that Dr Phinney authored a sci fi novel! Wow.

Geez, the new and surprising things I learn each day!!!

(Michael Wallace Ellwood) #39

It’s what some people want.

(imho, of course).

(David) #40

Fair enough. I just meant there is a demand for it.

(Steve Stephenson) #41

It’s a fun read, too!

I wonder if he has an idea for a sequel … ?

(Steve Stephenson) #42

The link above is to the abstract; the authors are Forsythe CE, Phinney SD, Fernandez ML, Quann EE, Wood RJ, Bibus DM, Kraemer WJ, Feinman RD, Volek JS.

(Zack F) #43

LOL. You mean that’s not vegan propaganda about “Art and Science of Low Carb Living.” He really did write a sci-fi novel?

edit: I missed part of the thread.

#44

I think CICO propaganda is sci fi!

#45

Such interesting book options will have to look into them

(GINA ) #46

My last birthday cake was made from a recipe on the Diet Doctor site. Is birthday cake superior to a candy bar? Not in my mind.

My “issue” (which really isn’t much of an issue because I don’t really care much) with Sisson is how he changes his professed beliefs when there is a new market to tap into. First it was no “chronic cardio” at all. Long endurance work is bad. Well, people that do endurance runs and triathlons and such things don’t do them just because they think it is efficient exercise. You do it because you love it and it is a lifestyle, so they kept doing it. The MDA forum got an endurance section and eventually out came Primal Endurance- OK, endurance sports are OK, but do it “my way” (which is really Phil Maffetone’s way. Sisson does give him full credit). I bought the book and it is good advice, but mostly contrary to the original Primal Blueprint.

Then there is ketosis. Not necessary in the original Primal Blueprint. He only recommended below 50 carbs to a few people needing weight loss. But Keto kept growing in popularity anyway. So now there is The Keto Reset book. Ketosis is good now, but his way.

Don’t get me wrong, he seems like a good guy when I hear him speak and I still read his stuff, but Primal Blueprint is a business and needs to make money. Just know that.

(Karen Parrott) #47

I don’t think it’s wrong to profit (if it’s not scammy or abusive), expand or change. Marks input into the community was very much needed in 2012 when I came into the space. There wasn’t much Paleo/Primal/ or LCHF/Keto.

It is what it is. I admire Mark for finding a market niche and making a career out of it. None of the non-scammy folks say “This is the only way” they all say try it and see if it works.

I won’t buy his stuff other than books because of the use of dairy and the cost of dressings, bars, etc. for myself. That’s just me. I’m saving money so making my own dressings works better.

If I see someone evolving, even to catch market share, I’m cool with it, better than MLM stuff I’ve seen-IMO>

#48

You absolutely captured what I was thinking. I stumbled across Mark before I found this site last year. I think I got there from Denise Minger. It is nice but a little slick for my taste. I was not keto or paleo in 5 years ago so have no idea of the history. Mark seems very successful at what he does, way more than any of the other people I read which makes me wonder since most other people are not in it for the money as far as I can tell

Again I have nothing against them but he seems like a professional health guru, like Mark Hyman and Joe Mercola neither of whom I follow although I do not disagree with them

(Brian) #49

No dog in this fight. I like my goodies but I make them at home. None of the prepackaged stuff for me.