Nutrition Basics: Politically Incorrect Nutrition101 [PART1]

August 25, 2025

Nutrition Basics: Politically Incorrect Nutrition101 [PART1]

I have been spending the past 3+ years researching human nutrition from an evolutionary perspective. I am not funded by anybody, and I like to think for myself. I love questioning what I have been told. And here is what I have found:

The diet recommended to us by the government, dietitians, nutritionists and doctors is the opposite of a healthy diet.

Here is what they recommend:

- Base your meals on high-fibre, starchy carbohydrates such as skin-on potatoes, pastas, wholegrain breads, cereals.

- Some people say starches make you fat, but that’s wrong because carbohydrates have half the calories of fats. What you should do is eat more potatoes and not eat any fat.

- Eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables in a day. Peas, sweetcorn and carrots count as part of your 5 a day. [2] So does fruit juice, or raisins.

- Eat 2 portions of fish in a week, one of which should be oily fish. You should ensure you eat enough omega 3 and 6 in the diet. If vegan, eat flax seed oil and walnut oil. [3]

- Do not eat any fat except for a little bit of vegetable oils and margarines, as they reduce your cholesterol. Saturated fat from butter is terrible for your health and you will get a heart attack. LDL carries bad cholesterol that will kill you.

- Eat low-fat dairy products such as skim milk and low fat yoghurt and processed dairy alternatives. Make sure you avoid full fat dairy, as it is high in calories and will make you fat.

- Some protein, predominantly from plant-based sources such as beans and pulses. White meat like chicken and some fish. Keep red meat to a minimum because it is dangerous for your health (It causes colon cancer & apparently diabetes?)

- Avoid added sugars, but make sure you eat around 300 grams of carbohydrates a day. (See figure below)

- For vitamins and minerals, make sure you eat fortified cereals and whole wheat breads and pastas that are fortified. But if you look closely at the vitamin and mineral section, you will notice that the best sources for this are organ meat, eggs, dairy and sea food. [4]

- Do not eat more than 1 tsp of salt a day, as it will cause high blood pressure.

- Did I mention to eat WHOLE WHEAT breads, cereals, weetabix etc? Make sure it’s whole grain and high in fibre.

Nutrition Basics: MACROS and MICROs.

Now, I am going to condense this Nutrition article and explain a simple concept within nutrition - macros and micros. Macro means large and Micro means small. By definition, macronutrients are needed in larger amounts to provide energy to the body. Micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals are essential for body processes, but needed in small quantities (such as micrograms)

MACRONUTRIENTS 101

There are 3 types of macro nutrients:
1. Protein (This is a chain of amino acids) - ESSENTIAL IN DIET
2. Fats (This is a chain of fatty acids) - ESSENTIAL IN DIET
3. Carbohydrates (This is a chain of sugars) - NOT ESSENTIAL IN DIET

Our cells, hormones and enzymes are made of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in varying proportions. So we need all 3. In our diet, protein and fats are essential (They must come from outside) whereas carbohydrates are NOT essential. What this means is that we can live without carbohydrates, as our liver will produce all the sugar we need for essential body processes.

The government recommends about 40-50 grams protein, 70-80 grams fat and at least 250-300 grams of carbohydrates per day. [1]

PROTEIN

#1: PROTEIN recommendation is too little.

It is the building block of life, and is absolutely essential. Not just for building muscles, but for your liver to function properly and produce all the hormones and enzymes that it needs. Muscle mass is also necessary to look good, feel good and age well. Good muscle mass & regular exercise reduces risk of diabetes, heart disease, improves mental and physical well being.

The government recommends a protein intake of 0.8g/kg body weight. This is based on out dated nitrogen balance studies from the 1800s, which tells us the MINIMUM amount needed to prevent malnutrition.

A more accurate amount for optimum health is 1.2-1.5 g/kg body weight. [6]

#2: PROTEIN does not damage your kidneys, it protects your kidneys, liver and all other organs.
Unless you eat more than 3 g/kg body weight every day (which for me as a 65 kg woman is almost 200 g protein a day - I have never eaten that much protein in a day!), you will not damage your kidneys. Dr. David Unwin recommends a minimum 100g/day protein intake to reverse diabetes in his patients, and guess what happens to his patients over 7 years time- their kidney function improves! [5] As a doctor, most of my patients have damaged kidneys or 'Chronic Kidney Disease'. This happens due to diabetes, high blood pressure and often due to kidney-damaging drugs (such as painkillers/NSAIDS). Diabetes and BP is reversible using a protein rich, high fat, low-carbohydrate diet; fasting and other lifestyle changes.

#3: Lentils and Beans are not a source of protein. Protein quality matters.

They are a source of carbohydrates. They do not contain all the amino acids that the body needs. Most of the protein is not absorbed in the gut to be utilized by the body, as they have a low DIAAS score. Animal protein is SUPERIOR to Plant protein. I have elaborated this on the article here.

FAT

Fat in the human, animal or plant body is present in the form of 'triglycerides'. Triglycerides are a chain of fatty acids. These fatty acids in turn are of various types, classified as below. [8]

SFA spalmitic acid (PA; C16:0), lauric acid (C12:0), myristic acid (MA; C14:0), and stearic acid (STA; C18:0

#1: A low-fat diet is disastrous for health in every single way. But let's start with how our body is designed to use fat as energy.

#1a: Evolutionary Evidence

The human brain evolved during the ice age times, where we were hunting large mammals and eating plenty of fatty meat including brain and bone marrow. This availability of high quality proteins and fats allowed our brain to increase in size, while the gut decreased in size. This is known as the Expensive Tissue Hypothesis [7] I have discussed gut size and compared human guts to other animals in my article on fiber, here.

#1b: The way our body processes dietary fat:

When we eat fat, it does not go through the liver. It does not need hormones such as insulin for digestion. It is emulsified by bile acids, and is absorbed by the small intestine, and it goes DIRECTLY into the blood stream/lymphatic system where it is used as energy. Heart and Muscle particularly uses fatty acids as energy.

#1c: Our mitochondria are designed to burn saturated and monounsaturated fat as energy

#1d: When we eat carbohydrates, our pancreas produces insulin which converts sugar into saturated and monounsaturated fat.

#2: Let us talk about satiety, cravings and eating disorders.

#3: Animal fats contain essential vitamins.

#4: Fats and hormonal health

Fats and gut health

Fats and skin health

#5: Fats and cholesterol levels

#6: Eating fat does not cause heart disease

#7: Vegetable oils are extremely processed and horrible for health. Clinical trials on vegetable oils show increased heart attacks, cancer and deaths.