The untold story of how Big Oil spent $1.7 million to hide a food that cuts diabetes risk by 60% and contains gene-regulating compounds no plant can provide
Hi Sayer, Nice to read you substack and I agree with most of what you write. Please take the following with care because this article about Gandhi was not what I have come to expect from you. First the title is hyperbole. Did Gandhi almost die going vegan? Probably not.. He was vegan for many years and had a variety of health issues. He did long water only fasts and did not have a well balanced diet that many vegans are now able to have. Perhaps it was the way he did his vegan diet? Maybe he had a familial genetic defect or a difficult childhood. Many maybes to consider before you want to put the a vegan diet under a cow in India. Many on a vegan diet do not almost die from eating plants and live long and healthy lives. Many like Dr. Atkins and others, perhaps die from their carnivore obsession?
GANDHI was known to fast for his medical conditions...maybe that is what healed him. This is not a time to attack those that believe in eating a wide variety of plants, avoid the processed foods and junk you also eschew. Your glorification of butter is totally unjustified for many not from India or northern Europe. Dark skinned humans from Africa and light skinned humans from Asia may be absent an enzyme to break down the lactose in commercial dairy products. And I believe it was goat's milk that Gandhi had rather than the pesticide and hormone laden milk available to most of us, especially the poor! Please be careful in vilifying your friends who do not believe in eating killed animals or food designed by nature for fast growing calves. This article was far from the dialectic understanding I believe you are capable of holding. For me, this article sounds like it is coming from a dairy shill which I do not want to believe you are. Please know that both can be true, dairy products can be good and/or bad for a person depending of many factor that determine a human's health. I want to trust your writing and this one sided and potentially harmful substack gives me pause.
Thank you Jerry , I wasn’t capable of writing a reply as calm as yours . Pretty disillusioned by the cheapness of this article . Dairy products are extreme exploitation of female animals , cruelty beyond measure. I ask all women if they would like to be ‘milked’ twice a day and have their children removed so others could benefit .
Well, cows graze calmly and peacefully all day outside in the nature and pay for their living with their milk (in this case). The females of humans work around the clock to make a living, then at home to care for family, are burnt out and stressed out most of time, and this is how they pay for their living... If you ask me, I would rather be a nice cow in the pasture, look at the flowers all day and pay for my living with my milk!! We all have to give something in exchange for our existence!!
Thank you Jerry!! This article comes across as desperately misleading. Whole food plant based foods are proven the healthiest and that’s why many athletes and professionals have switched to vegan lifestyles. Any one can learn from Game Changers the movie produced by Arnold S, Jackie Chan, about what doctors say about why vegan diet is a game changer, for humans, planet and animals. This article made me suspicious whether it was sponsored or motivated by the big animal agriculture industries… they are currently attacking vegan foods from many fronts. Other outlets actively promote false facts about vegan foods, just as here with click bait title about Gandi, vegan and almost dying.
Not really! Vegan diet is generally incomplete in nutrients UNLESS one goes to extremes to supplement and add concentrated nutrients in some form... Vegan diet could be healthy for a while, but not for life- for the most of us. especially for babies, kids and elderly.
Thank You for Your comment. This article mixed up various misconceptions and faults in a unique way. First, it neglects the role of Gandhi. Second, it neglects indian culture and how the influences of vedas, gurus, sadhus and british education and military means were in this times. Third, it neglects homogenisation - but milk is individual, specific and special. Everyone who has ever milked an animal knows that. That's why it was considered sacred. You can't mix that up and still think that's great. Veda ruled that sadhus should only eat fruits and plants of the season, only nuts were accepted perservation. They should live in coherence for the moment and eat what the moment provided.
Thank you creator. Gosh, I love writing that. Yes there’s a lot more to the story that Gandhi was dying and drank cows milk like 99% of the milk in America and that saved his life. Duh?
Thank you for such a professional response - I agree with your comments 100%. This is not what I would have expected from Sayer. There are many vegans that live long healthy lives - my father who is 98 is one of them. I think there's much we now know about the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet (from the likes of Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Essylstyn, Dr. Michael Greger, and many others) that this article is suspect of an underlying commercial agenda, personal bias or a desire to sensationalize a topic for personal validation. I mean no disrespect to Sayer and I will continue to support GMI, but if this type of hyperbole pops up again, I too will have reason to question the motive.
Indeed. And let's not confuse 'vegan' for a healthy and diverse whole food plant strong diet that the National Health Association has advocated for over 75 years with great results. All the good physicians you mentioned and others have attended or presented real science at our annual Healthy Living Conference. Dr. Herbert Shelton who founded the organization as the American Natural Hygiene Society supported Gandhi and supervised his water only fasting which may had more to do with his healing than some goat's milk and/or cheese! Or maybe not, but really let's look at the science and not some anecdotes from decades past. We need to have non corporate funding of scientific studies to prove or disprove the notion that current commercial dairy foods are health promoting or perhaps mucus promoting and not healthful for some or perhaps most Americans. Thanks to all on this thread and thanks to Sayer for supporting this conversation.
I agree that there's probably more scientific work that needs to be done. Having said that, I don't think there will ever be enough evidence to satisfy those who simply refuse to give up their secular ideology. For example, Dr. McDougall gave a presentation long ago on molecular mimicry as the cause for joint inflammation associated with dairy consumption. That, combined with my personal trial to test his assertion, made me a believer. There's also the work Sayer did in his book Regenerate that supports this idea when he talked about food being information. For those of us who believe in a sovereign Creator God, there will always be mysteries which He chooses not to reveal to humanity - and that's OK, it's his prerogative. That leaves us with a choice to have faith in His laws that govern life on planet earth when we can't fully "observe" scientifically those things we want to understand. One big problem I discovered on this issue is the scientific definition of "health". Although variations abound, the consensus seems to be that "health is the absence of disease". The truth, as observed through the lens of God's laws for life, is that it's the exact opposite - disease is the absence of health in the same way darkness is the absence of light. In other words, there is no more a source of disease as there is a source of darkness - there are CAUSES of disease, and causes of darkness, but nothing produces disease. What we call disease is simply the body compensating for some injury or toxin - it is the power of healing at work to restore health. Anyway, I know I digressed a bit but I just thought I'd share.
For over 50 years, I ate fruit and vegetables primarily with good results. However, I went to salad bars, which was a problem. Salad dressings are loaded with fat. Every time i went I would wind up with a 3 day migraine. My liver could not produce enough bile to emulsify the fat. I also had to give up nuts, seeds and all salad oils, even coconut oil and olive. There are 14 g of fat in one Tablespoon. I have not had one headache in the last 32 years. I am very careful to keep both my protein and fat grams low....doing well at 91.
Dr. Robert Atkins, the creator of the Atkins Diet, died on April 17, 2003, at the age of 72. He suffered a traumatic head injury after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk outside his Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York City on April 8, 2003. He was admitted to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. After the surgery, he fell into a coma and died nine days later from complications, with the official cause of death listed as “blunt injury of head with epidural hematoma.”
Yes, that was the 'official' narrative. Others have questioned if it was a heart attack or other cardiac event that caused the fall. Clearly he was not in great health at the time and his medical records were not released.
There has been significant speculation and misinformation regarding his death. However, his personal physician and the Atkins Physicians Council stated that his heart condition was caused by a viral infection, not his diet, and that he was not following the Atkins Diet while in a coma, during which he gained significant weight due to fluid retention (weighing 258 pounds at death, compared to 195 pounds upon hospital admission).
The official cause of Dr. Robert Atkins’ death remains the head injury from slipping on an icy sidewalk, with no direct evidence in medical reports or investigations indicating that a heart attack or other cardiac event precipitated the fall, though some critics and media outlets speculated about this possibility without substantiation.   While Atkins did have documented heart issues, including cardiomyopathy (attributed by his physicians to a viral infection rather than his diet), congestive heart failure, hypertension, and a cardiac arrest episode in 2002, these were separate from the events leading to his death.      His widow and representatives from Atkins Nutritionals emphasized that he had no prior heart attack and that his overall health was stable before the accident, with the cardiac arrest stemming from infection-related heart muscle inflammation rather than arterial blockages or diet-induced issues.
Thank you for the article on butter! My mother was the daughter of an A2 Holstein dairy farm. I know, but everyone (7 children) was incredibly healthy. Grandpa went to agricultural school for 4 years in Wisconsin, learning regenerative organic farming. When we were children and margarine hit the shelves, mom snubbed it. We kept eating large amounts of butter and lard, along with organic fruits and vegetables from the back yard along with some cheap cuts of meat. What I remember, besides being outside all the time, we were the thinnest children in class, with the most muscle.
Now, I eat up to 1/2 stick or so of grass fed butter a day plus vegetables and fruits with meat or raw A1 cheese now and then. So as a testament, I am on no harmaceuticals, feeling great and still thin. And yes, I have your audiobook and highly recommend it!
Great comment. I grew up in a big city, so I didn’t get farm fresh food, but at least our meals were from scratch, not processed and packaged. Even when we were told Eat margarine, stay away from butter, I didn’t buy that. I ate butter and baked with butter. Nowadays, I eat about 1/2 stick of butter every day and use ghee for frying.
I believe it was a good article discussing the benefits of butter. After many decades of constant bombardment by governments and so called specialists, scientists and doctors demonising natural foods eaten by humans over 100’s or 1000’s years, then advising replacement with factory processed (vile) foodstuffs like margarine, seed oils, highly processed corn oils etc. We now see unhealthy populations, obese, sick - all needing to be treated by pharmaceuticals at great expense, thereby creating mega billions of revenue streams for these same corporations! If we add to that the lab grown meat advocated by the likes of Bill Gates, the decimation of farms and natural farming by governments, the buying of that land by big corporations, the pushing of ‘plant based diets’; the contamination of water supplies with chemicals, heavy metals, micro plastics and fluoride; the pushing of toxic chemicals like Bovaer (again by the likes of Gates) onto farmers to give to cows to stop ‘burping’ (with an excuse it’s to stop methane and hence farcical global warming). The list goes on and on! At the end of the day our health, food water and air are being ‘screwed’ so as we are kept weak and sick, thereby feeding the stratospheric revenue streams of corporations! Apologies for the rant, but it’s how I see it.
Reassuring to see someone pointing out the full nutritional content of real foods (the full components of which science is not yet in a place to fully measure, but clearly go beyond the short list of essential vitamins and minerals).
Thanks to Gamechangers and other industry propaganda, I've often had to have challenging conversations with new clients where I have to point out its not just a case of getting enough protein and taking B12 supplements. Its also about getting enough Vitamin A, B12, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Choline, Creatine, Carnitine, Carnosine, Co-Q10, Taurine, Methionine, Glycine, Calcium, Vanadium, Chromium, Iodine, DHA/EPA, stearic acid, plasmalogens, etc...
People should be allowed to eat whatever they wish. But the idea that a diet that fails to provide optimal levels of all of the above is the 'healthy option'...
An ALL animal with VERY HIGH animal fat, almost immediately reversed my severe arthritis, which was so severe, I was about to end up in a wheelchair. I also began to sleep better and eliminated anxiety attacks. It balanced my brain and nervous system. This diet basically saved my entire life.
I have a theory that before the advent of mass vaccination (and other chemical assaults) Americans (and humanity as a whole) had an easier time dealing with plant toxins then they do now. Therefore, during times of scarcity (of meat) humans could turn to plants without such severe harms. But almost everyone has been jabbed, (over 99.76% in America) with something. Clearly, the carnivore diet reverses immune disorders caused by these jabs. Which also means it's the optimal diet for humans at any time, particularly during this phase of our existence;-)
Great article. I am so glad you have re-introduced the benefits of eating butter as a counter to the age long demonising of it that has lingered so long that when I offer sandwiches with butter, I am asked what I used to make them taste so good. People today are still afraid to venture to using butter because somewhere in their subconscious is the notion that it's doing them harm. Thank you for outlining all the issues so succinctly.
This is a load of crap! Propaganda by big dairy! Milk products are designed to make that species baby, grow big. Babies of all species stop consuming this stuff after infancy. If it’s designed to make stuff grow, what’s it gonna do and make grow in an already grown human? Cancer!!! The academy of nutrition & dietetics (from all over the planet) states that a well planned whole foods plant based diet is the healthiest diet on the planet!!! Watch the documentary “The Game Changers” There’s many vegans who have never consumed a drop of dairy in their entire life and are perfectly healthy! The African-American community has the highest lactose intolerant rates amongst every race and can not even digest this stuff. Shame on you (& RFK) for pushing this when you have participated in so many natural health documentaries, such as the Truth About Cancer. I’ll trust the real doctors on this stuff!
Actually the healthiest diet, generally for most of us is Mediterranean diet, and that includes dairy... If you would live in the cold North, you could not survive on veggies.
Milk itself, from cows or others, is MUCH beloved food by most other species- dogs, cats, humans, mice, snakes, you name it. It is not that milk is designed only for the species producing it, but rather is a question of availability to other species!! A dog or cat could eat and love cow milk every single day!!! You are not much educated in diets and nutrients therefore it is better to be a bit more respectful to those who ARE! "Load of garbage" - is definitely not appropriate to define this article!!
Yes, everything I said is absolutely appropriate and correct. I follow several plant based doctors who actually know what they’re talking about. Why are so many people lactose intolerant than if it’s so healthy in your terms? (Dr. Milton Mills has done many studies on lactose intolerance in the African-American community. Maybe you should look them up!) The hormones injected in the cows are not healthy. The factory Farms, which is the way 90% of these animals are produced are not healthy. The way we produce these animals to produce more secretions is not healthy. Hens are only supposed to lay an egg a month NOT one every day. Humans have genetically manipulated these animals bodies to do things they are not supposed to do to. These animals are unhealthy (look at all the cases of bird flu, HPAI and how many flocks have been culled in each state) Humans literally breed these animals into existence ourselves by rap!ng them. We have manipulated them in ways to make them produce more flesh and secretions then our creator made them to. These products are not healthy. You are spewing a bunch of propaganda for profit. I don’t own stock in big broccoli and I have done my research as well, (you have DR by your name, not GOD so you don’t know everything) and I follow people who are professional plant based doctors who know what they’re talking about. The Nutrition and Dietetics Associations all over the planet have said that a whole foods plant-based diet is the healthiest diet on the planet regardless of who we are or where we live. I do realize it’s harder for some people to get plant-based foods in their region, but that’s not who we’re talking about here, are we? …. the majority of the population can go plant based. You’re using fallacies to try prove your false narrative.
As I said, I suggest a more polite and tolerant tone, since as we know, in every topic there are MULTIPLE opinions, and that is completely acceptable. Look at other comments of people who finally!! healed with meat based diet from deadly illnesses. Of course, the organic pastured meat is the healthiest, as well as animals without hormonal treatment. There is a huge difference between factory farms and small farmer, and quality of products is of course v different. You seem to present only extremes! Also, indeed humans have selected and improved species so they can serve as better nutrition and have more nutrients. That goes for almost ALL- from apples, to hens, from pigs to grapes, you name it. The original apples were sour and v acid - hard to eat and enjoy. The hens selected to produce more eggs are also very WELL fed daily, have access to good nutrition, otherwise they will not produce. It is very different from the wilderness! I am not "spewing" anything, and I do not work for any profit. I am an experienced medical scientist with 2 doctoral degrees. I have seen directly the HUGE benefits of eating a complex, all inclusive diets, and also the diets that are meat-based. Any wise person should be tolerant and polite in a discussion, you do not have the monopoly of truth. Nobody has .
Look at the statistics on the people who “heal” from meat-based diets. It is because they cut out all the garbage, processed foods They didn’t heal cause of the meat. They actually end up long-term with diseases from the meat.
The majority of the animal products do come from factory farms. Small farms are not sustainable for a huge growing population. That’s why there is factory farms to begin with. And either way, you’re still killing someone who does not want to die.
Your “hens have access to good nutrition” now, is a lie. This is why their bones are brittle and their bodies give out from underneath of them because of the weight of their overgrown, hormone ridden, genetically manipulated, bodies none of these animals live to their life expectancies because of their health as well as we unalive them for food while they are mere babies I never claimed to have the monopoly of truth like you were… Why don’t you look at the statistics from some of the plant-based doctors and do some research yourself since you are the arrogant one spewing your credentials, and think you know it all. The majority of the medical doctors in the medical professions nowadays only have maybe 19 hours of nutritional training for the entire 4 years they are in medical school (average is about 3-4 hours per year) and 58% of the people said they got no formal nutritional education whatsoever. As you said, nobody has the monopoly of truth and that’s exactly why I look to other doctors and medical professionals as well. Don’t just take someone’s word for it. You haven’t even looked into plant based nutrition because simply put you have no interest in it. No one likes to hear that their diets are wrong for their own health, the health of others around them, the planet, or cruelty to animals.
Yes, that was the 'official' narrative. Others have questioned if it was a heart attack or other cardiac event that caused the fall. He was probably not in great health at the time and his medical records were not released. Most likely to protect the brand and the business.
Hi Sayer! Thank you for this interesting article on Ghee, yet I do agree with Jerry on many points.
Please note that ghee, which contains 99% of fats is completely devoid of lactose and casein, the sugar and the main protein of milk and dairy products in general. In your article, there is sometimes a little mixing up between "ghee" and "dairy products". You certainly know the famous "China Study" which mentions enhanced cancer development due to casein in rats. So please stick to your usual scientific approach without diabolizing vegans and do not put in the same basket the use of ghee and diary products!
loved it ! I hope you can get an article on how they are vaccinating our our animals with mRNA vaccines . no one wants to talk about this .......why? big pHARMa is in animal market too . Unconscionable !
After reading this what is truly saddening to note is how traditional (ancestral) dietary knowledge has been demoted and demonised by the capitalist enterprise to the great detriment of society.
As an Indian growing up in the 70s I recall the fervent transition that our well meaning mothers made towards transfat vegetable oils that was being hailed (through suggestive advertising messaging) as the new health paradigm that every indian kitchen must embrace.
In this rush to heed the 'call of science' they put away Ghee, which had up until then been our great and steadfast companion on the road to total health.
A few points for Sayer ji :
You highlight butter made from the milk of grass fed cows. one assumes this is superior.
Most of the commercial brands of butter (in India) are made using milk solids. With a population like India's it is not easy to find that much milk from purely grass fed cows. Most dairies ( small and large scale) use commercial cattle feed, which is, again, industry mass produced. We have no idea what kind of processing it undergoes there. This is what gets fed to the livestock eventually.
Now that you have mentioned the importance of animal fat in human diet, I would like very much to hear your thoughts on eating meat. Is a vegetarian diet capable of meeting all our nutritional needs? What are the health risks of eating eggs and meat regularly ? Thanks.
I’m old in my sixties but as a kid I wouldn’t eat Margarine. It first came with a packet of yellow dye to mix with it to make it look like Butter. Yuck tasted absolutely gross…
Hi Sayer, Nice to read you substack and I agree with most of what you write. Please take the following with care because this article about Gandhi was not what I have come to expect from you. First the title is hyperbole. Did Gandhi almost die going vegan? Probably not.. He was vegan for many years and had a variety of health issues. He did long water only fasts and did not have a well balanced diet that many vegans are now able to have. Perhaps it was the way he did his vegan diet? Maybe he had a familial genetic defect or a difficult childhood. Many maybes to consider before you want to put the a vegan diet under a cow in India. Many on a vegan diet do not almost die from eating plants and live long and healthy lives. Many like Dr. Atkins and others, perhaps die from their carnivore obsession?
GANDHI was known to fast for his medical conditions...maybe that is what healed him. This is not a time to attack those that believe in eating a wide variety of plants, avoid the processed foods and junk you also eschew. Your glorification of butter is totally unjustified for many not from India or northern Europe. Dark skinned humans from Africa and light skinned humans from Asia may be absent an enzyme to break down the lactose in commercial dairy products. And I believe it was goat's milk that Gandhi had rather than the pesticide and hormone laden milk available to most of us, especially the poor! Please be careful in vilifying your friends who do not believe in eating killed animals or food designed by nature for fast growing calves. This article was far from the dialectic understanding I believe you are capable of holding. For me, this article sounds like it is coming from a dairy shill which I do not want to believe you are. Please know that both can be true, dairy products can be good and/or bad for a person depending of many factor that determine a human's health. I want to trust your writing and this one sided and potentially harmful substack gives me pause.
Thank you Jerry , I wasn’t capable of writing a reply as calm as yours . Pretty disillusioned by the cheapness of this article . Dairy products are extreme exploitation of female animals , cruelty beyond measure. I ask all women if they would like to be ‘milked’ twice a day and have their children removed so others could benefit .
Well, cows graze calmly and peacefully all day outside in the nature and pay for their living with their milk (in this case). The females of humans work around the clock to make a living, then at home to care for family, are burnt out and stressed out most of time, and this is how they pay for their living... If you ask me, I would rather be a nice cow in the pasture, look at the flowers all day and pay for my living with my milk!! We all have to give something in exchange for our existence!!
You’re most welcome. And thank you for adding a feminine perspective to the conversation which I’m sure Sayer appreciates.
Thank you Jerry!! This article comes across as desperately misleading. Whole food plant based foods are proven the healthiest and that’s why many athletes and professionals have switched to vegan lifestyles. Any one can learn from Game Changers the movie produced by Arnold S, Jackie Chan, about what doctors say about why vegan diet is a game changer, for humans, planet and animals. This article made me suspicious whether it was sponsored or motivated by the big animal agriculture industries… they are currently attacking vegan foods from many fronts. Other outlets actively promote false facts about vegan foods, just as here with click bait title about Gandi, vegan and almost dying.
Not really! Vegan diet is generally incomplete in nutrients UNLESS one goes to extremes to supplement and add concentrated nutrients in some form... Vegan diet could be healthy for a while, but not for life- for the most of us. especially for babies, kids and elderly.
Thank You for Your comment. This article mixed up various misconceptions and faults in a unique way. First, it neglects the role of Gandhi. Second, it neglects indian culture and how the influences of vedas, gurus, sadhus and british education and military means were in this times. Third, it neglects homogenisation - but milk is individual, specific and special. Everyone who has ever milked an animal knows that. That's why it was considered sacred. You can't mix that up and still think that's great. Veda ruled that sadhus should only eat fruits and plants of the season, only nuts were accepted perservation. They should live in coherence for the moment and eat what the moment provided.
Thank you creator. Gosh, I love writing that. Yes there’s a lot more to the story that Gandhi was dying and drank cows milk like 99% of the milk in America and that saved his life. Duh?
Thank you for such a professional response - I agree with your comments 100%. This is not what I would have expected from Sayer. There are many vegans that live long healthy lives - my father who is 98 is one of them. I think there's much we now know about the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet (from the likes of Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Essylstyn, Dr. Michael Greger, and many others) that this article is suspect of an underlying commercial agenda, personal bias or a desire to sensationalize a topic for personal validation. I mean no disrespect to Sayer and I will continue to support GMI, but if this type of hyperbole pops up again, I too will have reason to question the motive.
Indeed. And let's not confuse 'vegan' for a healthy and diverse whole food plant strong diet that the National Health Association has advocated for over 75 years with great results. All the good physicians you mentioned and others have attended or presented real science at our annual Healthy Living Conference. Dr. Herbert Shelton who founded the organization as the American Natural Hygiene Society supported Gandhi and supervised his water only fasting which may had more to do with his healing than some goat's milk and/or cheese! Or maybe not, but really let's look at the science and not some anecdotes from decades past. We need to have non corporate funding of scientific studies to prove or disprove the notion that current commercial dairy foods are health promoting or perhaps mucus promoting and not healthful for some or perhaps most Americans. Thanks to all on this thread and thanks to Sayer for supporting this conversation.
I agree that there's probably more scientific work that needs to be done. Having said that, I don't think there will ever be enough evidence to satisfy those who simply refuse to give up their secular ideology. For example, Dr. McDougall gave a presentation long ago on molecular mimicry as the cause for joint inflammation associated with dairy consumption. That, combined with my personal trial to test his assertion, made me a believer. There's also the work Sayer did in his book Regenerate that supports this idea when he talked about food being information. For those of us who believe in a sovereign Creator God, there will always be mysteries which He chooses not to reveal to humanity - and that's OK, it's his prerogative. That leaves us with a choice to have faith in His laws that govern life on planet earth when we can't fully "observe" scientifically those things we want to understand. One big problem I discovered on this issue is the scientific definition of "health". Although variations abound, the consensus seems to be that "health is the absence of disease". The truth, as observed through the lens of God's laws for life, is that it's the exact opposite - disease is the absence of health in the same way darkness is the absence of light. In other words, there is no more a source of disease as there is a source of darkness - there are CAUSES of disease, and causes of darkness, but nothing produces disease. What we call disease is simply the body compensating for some injury or toxin - it is the power of healing at work to restore health. Anyway, I know I digressed a bit but I just thought I'd share.
For over 50 years, I ate fruit and vegetables primarily with good results. However, I went to salad bars, which was a problem. Salad dressings are loaded with fat. Every time i went I would wind up with a 3 day migraine. My liver could not produce enough bile to emulsify the fat. I also had to give up nuts, seeds and all salad oils, even coconut oil and olive. There are 14 g of fat in one Tablespoon. I have not had one headache in the last 32 years. I am very careful to keep both my protein and fat grams low....doing well at 91.
Dr. Robert Atkins, the creator of the Atkins Diet, died on April 17, 2003, at the age of 72. He suffered a traumatic head injury after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk outside his Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York City on April 8, 2003. He was admitted to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. After the surgery, he fell into a coma and died nine days later from complications, with the official cause of death listed as “blunt injury of head with epidural hematoma.”
Yes, that was the 'official' narrative. Others have questioned if it was a heart attack or other cardiac event that caused the fall. Clearly he was not in great health at the time and his medical records were not released.
There has been significant speculation and misinformation regarding his death. However, his personal physician and the Atkins Physicians Council stated that his heart condition was caused by a viral infection, not his diet, and that he was not following the Atkins Diet while in a coma, during which he gained significant weight due to fluid retention (weighing 258 pounds at death, compared to 195 pounds upon hospital admission).
The official cause of Dr. Robert Atkins’ death remains the head injury from slipping on an icy sidewalk, with no direct evidence in medical reports or investigations indicating that a heart attack or other cardiac event precipitated the fall, though some critics and media outlets speculated about this possibility without substantiation.   While Atkins did have documented heart issues, including cardiomyopathy (attributed by his physicians to a viral infection rather than his diet), congestive heart failure, hypertension, and a cardiac arrest episode in 2002, these were separate from the events leading to his death.      His widow and representatives from Atkins Nutritionals emphasized that he had no prior heart attack and that his overall health was stable before the accident, with the cardiac arrest stemming from infection-related heart muscle inflammation rather than arterial blockages or diet-induced issues.
Thank you for the article on butter! My mother was the daughter of an A2 Holstein dairy farm. I know, but everyone (7 children) was incredibly healthy. Grandpa went to agricultural school for 4 years in Wisconsin, learning regenerative organic farming. When we were children and margarine hit the shelves, mom snubbed it. We kept eating large amounts of butter and lard, along with organic fruits and vegetables from the back yard along with some cheap cuts of meat. What I remember, besides being outside all the time, we were the thinnest children in class, with the most muscle.
Now, I eat up to 1/2 stick or so of grass fed butter a day plus vegetables and fruits with meat or raw A1 cheese now and then. So as a testament, I am on no harmaceuticals, feeling great and still thin. And yes, I have your audiobook and highly recommend it!
Great comment. I grew up in a big city, so I didn’t get farm fresh food, but at least our meals were from scratch, not processed and packaged. Even when we were told Eat margarine, stay away from butter, I didn’t buy that. I ate butter and baked with butter. Nowadays, I eat about 1/2 stick of butter every day and use ghee for frying.
Harmaceuticals.
May I use that?!
I’m not on any either. I rely on good food, a bit of exercise, good sleep & love!
YESSSSSSSSS. GOOD fat keeps you... SLIM! Same here
PS, I thanked mom for feeding us that way, she is almost 94 yo.
Butter moms rule!
I believe it was a good article discussing the benefits of butter. After many decades of constant bombardment by governments and so called specialists, scientists and doctors demonising natural foods eaten by humans over 100’s or 1000’s years, then advising replacement with factory processed (vile) foodstuffs like margarine, seed oils, highly processed corn oils etc. We now see unhealthy populations, obese, sick - all needing to be treated by pharmaceuticals at great expense, thereby creating mega billions of revenue streams for these same corporations! If we add to that the lab grown meat advocated by the likes of Bill Gates, the decimation of farms and natural farming by governments, the buying of that land by big corporations, the pushing of ‘plant based diets’; the contamination of water supplies with chemicals, heavy metals, micro plastics and fluoride; the pushing of toxic chemicals like Bovaer (again by the likes of Gates) onto farmers to give to cows to stop ‘burping’ (with an excuse it’s to stop methane and hence farcical global warming). The list goes on and on! At the end of the day our health, food water and air are being ‘screwed’ so as we are kept weak and sick, thereby feeding the stratospheric revenue streams of corporations! Apologies for the rant, but it’s how I see it.
Reassuring to see someone pointing out the full nutritional content of real foods (the full components of which science is not yet in a place to fully measure, but clearly go beyond the short list of essential vitamins and minerals).
Thanks to Gamechangers and other industry propaganda, I've often had to have challenging conversations with new clients where I have to point out its not just a case of getting enough protein and taking B12 supplements. Its also about getting enough Vitamin A, B12, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Choline, Creatine, Carnitine, Carnosine, Co-Q10, Taurine, Methionine, Glycine, Calcium, Vanadium, Chromium, Iodine, DHA/EPA, stearic acid, plasmalogens, etc...
People should be allowed to eat whatever they wish. But the idea that a diet that fails to provide optimal levels of all of the above is the 'healthy option'...
Indeed!
An ALL animal with VERY HIGH animal fat, almost immediately reversed my severe arthritis, which was so severe, I was about to end up in a wheelchair. I also began to sleep better and eliminated anxiety attacks. It balanced my brain and nervous system. This diet basically saved my entire life.
precisely! And it is happening in MANY other diseases, some "incurable", or doomed to a life of petrochemical intake.
I have a theory that before the advent of mass vaccination (and other chemical assaults) Americans (and humanity as a whole) had an easier time dealing with plant toxins then they do now. Therefore, during times of scarcity (of meat) humans could turn to plants without such severe harms. But almost everyone has been jabbed, (over 99.76% in America) with something. Clearly, the carnivore diet reverses immune disorders caused by these jabs. Which also means it's the optimal diet for humans at any time, particularly during this phase of our existence;-)
Great article. I am so glad you have re-introduced the benefits of eating butter as a counter to the age long demonising of it that has lingered so long that when I offer sandwiches with butter, I am asked what I used to make them taste so good. People today are still afraid to venture to using butter because somewhere in their subconscious is the notion that it's doing them harm. Thank you for outlining all the issues so succinctly.
yes,, the brainwashing against butter was very effective. just like against eggs, lard...
This is a load of crap! Propaganda by big dairy! Milk products are designed to make that species baby, grow big. Babies of all species stop consuming this stuff after infancy. If it’s designed to make stuff grow, what’s it gonna do and make grow in an already grown human? Cancer!!! The academy of nutrition & dietetics (from all over the planet) states that a well planned whole foods plant based diet is the healthiest diet on the planet!!! Watch the documentary “The Game Changers” There’s many vegans who have never consumed a drop of dairy in their entire life and are perfectly healthy! The African-American community has the highest lactose intolerant rates amongst every race and can not even digest this stuff. Shame on you (& RFK) for pushing this when you have participated in so many natural health documentaries, such as the Truth About Cancer. I’ll trust the real doctors on this stuff!
Dairy
https://youtu.be/PDP5Uan7UQU?si=3qwZPUB98LFMUXxb
Erin Janus - Dairy is Scary
https://youtu.be/UcN7SGGoCNI?si=F0427GUUEYBjAbkv
Milk: make up your own mind documentary
https://youtu.be/d5wabeFG9pM?si=0Dkfr6ZQZv9_YWsP
And I just read this load of garbage this morning and then I just now saw this in my newsfeed about the butter recall!!!
https://people.com/fda-elevates-recall-64800-lbs-of-butter-due-to-undeclared-milk-11783851
Actually the healthiest diet, generally for most of us is Mediterranean diet, and that includes dairy... If you would live in the cold North, you could not survive on veggies.
Milk itself, from cows or others, is MUCH beloved food by most other species- dogs, cats, humans, mice, snakes, you name it. It is not that milk is designed only for the species producing it, but rather is a question of availability to other species!! A dog or cat could eat and love cow milk every single day!!! You are not much educated in diets and nutrients therefore it is better to be a bit more respectful to those who ARE! "Load of garbage" - is definitely not appropriate to define this article!!
Yes, everything I said is absolutely appropriate and correct. I follow several plant based doctors who actually know what they’re talking about. Why are so many people lactose intolerant than if it’s so healthy in your terms? (Dr. Milton Mills has done many studies on lactose intolerance in the African-American community. Maybe you should look them up!) The hormones injected in the cows are not healthy. The factory Farms, which is the way 90% of these animals are produced are not healthy. The way we produce these animals to produce more secretions is not healthy. Hens are only supposed to lay an egg a month NOT one every day. Humans have genetically manipulated these animals bodies to do things they are not supposed to do to. These animals are unhealthy (look at all the cases of bird flu, HPAI and how many flocks have been culled in each state) Humans literally breed these animals into existence ourselves by rap!ng them. We have manipulated them in ways to make them produce more flesh and secretions then our creator made them to. These products are not healthy. You are spewing a bunch of propaganda for profit. I don’t own stock in big broccoli and I have done my research as well, (you have DR by your name, not GOD so you don’t know everything) and I follow people who are professional plant based doctors who know what they’re talking about. The Nutrition and Dietetics Associations all over the planet have said that a whole foods plant-based diet is the healthiest diet on the planet regardless of who we are or where we live. I do realize it’s harder for some people to get plant-based foods in their region, but that’s not who we’re talking about here, are we? …. the majority of the population can go plant based. You’re using fallacies to try prove your false narrative.
As I said, I suggest a more polite and tolerant tone, since as we know, in every topic there are MULTIPLE opinions, and that is completely acceptable. Look at other comments of people who finally!! healed with meat based diet from deadly illnesses. Of course, the organic pastured meat is the healthiest, as well as animals without hormonal treatment. There is a huge difference between factory farms and small farmer, and quality of products is of course v different. You seem to present only extremes! Also, indeed humans have selected and improved species so they can serve as better nutrition and have more nutrients. That goes for almost ALL- from apples, to hens, from pigs to grapes, you name it. The original apples were sour and v acid - hard to eat and enjoy. The hens selected to produce more eggs are also very WELL fed daily, have access to good nutrition, otherwise they will not produce. It is very different from the wilderness! I am not "spewing" anything, and I do not work for any profit. I am an experienced medical scientist with 2 doctoral degrees. I have seen directly the HUGE benefits of eating a complex, all inclusive diets, and also the diets that are meat-based. Any wise person should be tolerant and polite in a discussion, you do not have the monopoly of truth. Nobody has .
Look at the statistics on the people who “heal” from meat-based diets. It is because they cut out all the garbage, processed foods They didn’t heal cause of the meat. They actually end up long-term with diseases from the meat.
https://nutritionraw.com/carnivore-diet-trap/
The majority of the animal products do come from factory farms. Small farms are not sustainable for a huge growing population. That’s why there is factory farms to begin with. And either way, you’re still killing someone who does not want to die.
Your “hens have access to good nutrition” now, is a lie. This is why their bones are brittle and their bodies give out from underneath of them because of the weight of their overgrown, hormone ridden, genetically manipulated, bodies none of these animals live to their life expectancies because of their health as well as we unalive them for food while they are mere babies I never claimed to have the monopoly of truth like you were… Why don’t you look at the statistics from some of the plant-based doctors and do some research yourself since you are the arrogant one spewing your credentials, and think you know it all. The majority of the medical doctors in the medical professions nowadays only have maybe 19 hours of nutritional training for the entire 4 years they are in medical school (average is about 3-4 hours per year) and 58% of the people said they got no formal nutritional education whatsoever. As you said, nobody has the monopoly of truth and that’s exactly why I look to other doctors and medical professionals as well. Don’t just take someone’s word for it. You haven’t even looked into plant based nutrition because simply put you have no interest in it. No one likes to hear that their diets are wrong for their own health, the health of others around them, the planet, or cruelty to animals.
This is a fabulous report on butter and compares well with my own research and personal experiences. It is very much worth a read🌸
FANTASTIC article Sayer! And so true. I always loved butter and used it plenty, I know its healthy! Thank you!
Yes, that was the 'official' narrative. Others have questioned if it was a heart attack or other cardiac event that caused the fall. He was probably not in great health at the time and his medical records were not released. Most likely to protect the brand and the business.
Hi Sayer! Thank you for this interesting article on Ghee, yet I do agree with Jerry on many points.
Please note that ghee, which contains 99% of fats is completely devoid of lactose and casein, the sugar and the main protein of milk and dairy products in general. In your article, there is sometimes a little mixing up between "ghee" and "dairy products". You certainly know the famous "China Study" which mentions enhanced cancer development due to casein in rats. So please stick to your usual scientific approach without diabolizing vegans and do not put in the same basket the use of ghee and diary products!
Barbara
loved it ! I hope you can get an article on how they are vaccinating our our animals with mRNA vaccines . no one wants to talk about this .......why? big pHARMa is in animal market too . Unconscionable !
And then we eat the animals. Let's get our animals healthy before thinking about eating them!
After reading this what is truly saddening to note is how traditional (ancestral) dietary knowledge has been demoted and demonised by the capitalist enterprise to the great detriment of society.
As an Indian growing up in the 70s I recall the fervent transition that our well meaning mothers made towards transfat vegetable oils that was being hailed (through suggestive advertising messaging) as the new health paradigm that every indian kitchen must embrace.
In this rush to heed the 'call of science' they put away Ghee, which had up until then been our great and steadfast companion on the road to total health.
A few points for Sayer ji :
You highlight butter made from the milk of grass fed cows. one assumes this is superior.
Most of the commercial brands of butter (in India) are made using milk solids. With a population like India's it is not easy to find that much milk from purely grass fed cows. Most dairies ( small and large scale) use commercial cattle feed, which is, again, industry mass produced. We have no idea what kind of processing it undergoes there. This is what gets fed to the livestock eventually.
Now that you have mentioned the importance of animal fat in human diet, I would like very much to hear your thoughts on eating meat. Is a vegetarian diet capable of meeting all our nutritional needs? What are the health risks of eating eggs and meat regularly ? Thanks.
For most people a vegetarian (whole food plant sourced) eating plan can be successful. For some that is difficult based on individual factors.
I’m old in my sixties but as a kid I wouldn’t eat Margarine. It first came with a packet of yellow dye to mix with it to make it look like Butter. Yuck tasted absolutely gross…
IIRC, fats were demonized by the sugar and corn syrup industries.