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Question for carnivores/carnivore-curious folks
80 sats \ 5 comments \ @Signal312 3 Dec 2023 meta
Someone just sent me a reference to this study: Identical twins tried plant-based and omnivore diets — the vegans were biologically younger and healthier in just 8 weeks
(Here's an archive link if you can't read it: https://archive.vn/5tmlt)
I looked at the original paper (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2812392). One of the author affiliations is the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. So I'm assuming it's a pro-vegan slant. Now that I'm interested in the carnivore diet, I really notice a pro-vegan bias all over the place.
Anyone know how to evaluate this kind of study? How could it be biased?
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120 sats \ 1 reply \ @trevor 3 Dec 2023
There are so many things wrong with this "study".
  1. The meals during the first 4 weeks were pre-made for them, so we don't know if they were actually "healthy" meals.
  2. They were able to eat whatever they wanted in the second 4 weeks on the assumption that they would continue eating the same way.
  3. We don't know the total caloric intake of each group, which can affect the lab results.
  4. Lower LDL-C is actually something you don't want because it actually a) is NOT associated with lower CVD/CVA risk and b) is NOT good for mental health and immunity
  5. Vegan diets are inherently protein-deficient which is largely associated with sarcopenia
  6. I don't see anything about activity levels in either group
I could go on.
My 2 sats: I did pure carnivore for 2 years (2lbs of ribeye per day and that was it). BY FAR the best I've ever felt. Incredible sleep, incredible energy, incredibly recovery in the gym, boners like I was a teenager, got a six pack for the first time since college. There were just so many benefits. The only reason I'm not doing it now is because I'm married, but I'm still largely animal-based.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 4 Dec 2023
This is great, thanks so much. Where would be a good place to search, to look for a really detailed critical analysis of the study? I'm assuming that something like that has been done. Or at least, is in the works. I'm new to the carnivore world, and don't know where to look.
But based on some of my reading (latest is The Great Plant Based Con), I don't trust the results of this study at all.
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60 sats \ 1 reply \ @GlobalThreat 3 Dec 2023
i ate nothing but fruit and vegetables for two weeks and my blood pressure went from extremely high to normal. Unfortnately for me that isn't a sustainable diet.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 3 Dec 2023
Eating nothing but fruits and vegetables for 2 weeks could potentially be a very low calorie diet, close to fasting. And fasting is well known for bringing down blood pressure.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @NoStranger 3 Dec 2023
I have a friend who did bodybuilding and later switched to long distance cycling (around 50-60 km per session), he tried both diets and said that eating meat is better for intensive sports, since it's more efficient for assimilation proteins, when he went vegan he needed to take supplements because his muscles got weaker and on longer sessions he needed much longer time to recover.
I instead eat everything without care, but I usually eat less meat and fish just because I don't like the taste that much.
I'm no expert in the slightest, but I think that if humans can digest both plants and meat then both are necessary to function properly, we just need to find a good balance.
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