How to Conduct Your Own Diet Experiments Like a Scientist

Low-carb or low-fat? No fruits or no meat? Only meat or only fruits? Are you genetically predisposed towards obesity or miraculously endowed with a clockwork metabolism? Paradoxically, there are so many recommended nutritional guidelines, with most of them contradicting one another, that it is now impossible to look at the nutritional studies performed and obtain valuable data for personal use.
Given the level of advancement that medical technology enjoys in 2018, this situation is thoroughly unacceptable. Even the American Heart Association (AHA), the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) can’t seem to agree on it.1 Are we supposed to look at dietary reference intakes (DRIs), estimated average requirements (EARs), or recommended dietary allowances (RDAs)?

As it turns out, many of these contradictory health claims can be simultaneously valid, just not that one about the chocolate bars. Odds are you are eating too much chocolate, like me, and guac toast. My precious. The general nutritional paradox we currently find ourselves in is caused by the variety in the target population of each study.
Some were done on people with specific issues, such as an elderly population with elevated blood cholesterol, adults with moderate physical activity, or obese teens, while others welcome a great diversity of patients. From these claims, a number of diets with cult-like followers have emerged, but their claims to be the best way of eating are just as tenuous as the nutritional studies that support them. I too was a low-carb evangelist until I gradually included whole foods in my diet. For me, this translated in a visible boost to my energy levels. For instance, I could do anywhere from 10 to 20% more sets and reps with the same weights.