I just watched a YouTube video, “Tackling diabetes with a bold new dietary approach: Neal Barnard at TedxFremont.” He mentions there were two scientific discoveries proving that his ‘bold new’ Zero Fat Unlimited Carb diet works, but he never cited any science. He speaks about smelly barns and 2 dollar hotel rooms, stories and heresay from friends and acquaintances but no science. I had to watch it twice as I couldn’t believe what I was watching, and I he says “human beings are naturally herbivores…”. I would like to hear from others about this… is this diet as a solution even possible? We know Keto works, but HC0F? It doesn’t make sense to me and I haven’t seen any proof. I am D2 and have been on keto for 8mos with truly amazing results. I’m luckily receiving every benefit from the keto lifestyle.
Confused by Neal Barnard’s Carb Talk
Dave
Neal Barnard Carb Talk, Where's the science behind this dude?
Well I can tell you I’ve tried every diet out there. I did “Stop the Insanity” (Susan Powter) and it DID. NOT. WORK. I was even still young (early 20s) at the time! I have fine, thin hair, which I do contribute to PCOS, BUT zero fat WILL make your hair fall out. She didn’t admit it, instead she came up with some bullshit story about cutting off her hair empowered her.
It’s not so much that it needs fat, but the secretion is attenuated by the presence of fat in circulation.
The ultra low fat Kempener rice diet of the 40s used to be as much rice and fruit as you can eat - no salt or fat. It reversed Diabetes too. It works because the pancreas releases more insulin whenever fat is present and the fat cells release fat when insulin drops … so it’s like a 3rd regulatory mechanism. It’s a lot harder to stick to than keto. Kempener notoriously had to bull whip his patients to force them to stick to it … but it was for their own good, and they had asked him to do it … or at least that is what he claimed in the deposition.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I feel better knowing what this was all about. I’ll lookup the study and learn more just so I’m fully aware.
Living and loving keto and the results it brings!
Regards from Hong Kong
there are you tube videos out there that claim the earth is hollow and there are aliens living in the middle of the planet… so why wouldn’t this video be a thing? 
Ding ding ding! We have a winnah! He’s a master at verbal obfuscation, but if you listen close, nothing is backed up by real evidence.
Barnard looks great and sounds great, but there’s no “there” there. He’s also chief of PCRM which is a thinly disguised propaganda arm of PETA, which is a major conflict of interest that rarely gets mentioned in the context of his medical opinion. Like with Dr. Greger, you really need to take what he says with a grain of salt because his goal is not to make you healthy, it’s to get you to stop eating animals.
Apparently I gave Tedx more credit than they deserve. Here’s to freedom of speech! Thanks again for the thoughtful responses.
Keto on dudes!
DaveyB
I remember her! “Food doesn’t make you fat! FAT makes you fat!” She was so intense! I failed at her diet.
I just watched 2 TedX talks back to back while cooking my bacon and eggs breakfast at 10am, after my nightly 16 hour (intermittent) sleep fast.
The first was by Max Lugavere about brain health and dementia, focusing on low carb nutrition, low insulin eating goals and, healthy fats.
The second was by Neal Barnard about power foods and the human brain, focusing mainly on anti-oxidants, while demonising saturated fats and meat protein. And yes, Barnard appears well and he is a very engaging storyteller. His mom cooked in bacon grease and he wonders how he and his sibling survived.
The TedX format is a branding platform, that looks like TED talks but allows a wider expression of views. Interestingly only Lugavere’s presentation has a note that the views expressed should not be taken as medical advice or opinion.
So TedX talks should, I think, be treated like n=1 observational stories that provide interesting ideas that need more thorough research.
Both speakers were careful not to overtly spell out their underlying nutritional (or philosophical) beliefs but covered the information in the appealing storytelling format of a TEDx talk that related to the family tragedy of a parent with dementia.
The nutritional ideas sit well in contemporary thinking on the importance of food choices and dietary education in a time where life expectancy is increasing but may be outrunning health expectancy. It fits the observations that eating outside of the standard dietary recommendations appears healthier than eating what is recommended. The vegetarian/vegan low-fat approach, if well formulated has good benefits for many people. The low carbohydrate, healthy fats approach, again if well formulated, has good benefits. A low carb, healthy fats vegetarian approach, if well formulated, benefits a population that choose that path. There are probably as many variations of dietary approaches as there are people and medical conditions.
The challenge, for an individual seeking to improve their own health and their projected future health, is to find their own version of what works for them. That, I think requires, self experimentation, and collecting data from blood tests and other measurements (body fat composition, ability to exercise, ability to create or concentrate, reduction in symptoms relating to inflammation etc).
Good luck everyone.
It was interesting that the talks played back-to-back because some parallels can be drawn:
- what one eats can impact on one’s dementia health risks in the future
- eat nutritionally dense, minimally processed foods
- include some sustainable regular exercise