When it comes to nutrition in humans, there is simply no one-size-fits-all solution. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something.

If you’re anything like us, you’ve had a ton of Facebook friends try to sell you on watching “What The Health,” a “documentary” promoting a pure plant-based diet.

We were intrigued, because there’s a lot of evidence that plant-based diets can be a truly effective strategy for many people (see the work of actual scientists like Dr. Dean Ornish et. al). Also, I’m not a fan of torturing animals in factory farms, so minimizing the suffering of conscious creatures is certainly a positive by-product of a mostly-plant diet (see also the Netflix movie Okja).

Then we watched the documentary.

Thanks to our sacrifice, you can save yourself 1.5 hours of pure torture by watching our responses here!

This movie displays all the great characteristics of really bad thinking. Confusing causation with correlation in clinical trials? Check. Cherry picking data to support your view while ignoring data to the contrary (i.e., “confirmation bias)? Check. Relying on “experts” who are selling books and seminars but have nothing to do with real science, as evidenced by their fundamental misunderstand of basic physiology (carbs can’t make you fat? diabetes is caused by chicken consumption?) –> Chickity check.

Steve-O as a nutritional expert?? CHECK-MATE.

So vegans, relax. If a plant-based diet works for you, your lifestyle, your ethics, and your genetics, then mad luv to you and hella namaste bro.

But this movie is still a steaming piece of rotten meat.

 

And if you want to learn of the perils and pitfalls of interpreting nutrition research, check this video out.

Wanna see a little nuance in the deleted scenes? Check it:

 


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