I’ve been watching Dr. Ken Berry for years now and can speak to some of the criticisms I’ve read here.
Regarding hotdogs, SPAM, baloney, cheap eggs, etc., his main point is to not let finances stop you from switching to an incrementally better diet (because Chris had asked about how expensive it is to do this type of diet). Although 100% organic grass-fed beef is without a doubt the best, if you can only afford cheap ground beef from the grocery store, then it’s still better to do that than continuing to feed yourself grains, sugar, and seed oils.
Regarding eliminating sugar and carbs, he doesn’t necessarily say you should eliminate these items 100%. He said you should find the right mix that works for you. The main point, again, is that whatever you’re probably eating now (if you’re on the SAD diet) is probably way more than what is healthy.
Somebody else mentioned fruits. I think it’s important to keep in mind that historically we have not had access to such large amounts of fruit at any given moment. In a natural setting, the fruit only comes in short windows of time, they’re much smaller, and you have to compete with other animals to get them. It’s not “normal” to be able to go to the grocery store 365 days a year and pick up a 5-pound bag of grapes to eat while you sit at your desk. My approach to fruit has been to only eat it seasonally, or at least opportunistically (meaning, I eat them if they come my way but I don’t go purchase them).
I’ve also looked a bit into ancestral diets, and I think it’s worth individuals investigate this as well. Genetically, I’m nearly completely Irish. Imagine my surprise when I found out potatoes didn’t even exist in Ireland until very recently (originally coming from South America). For thousands of years, inhabitants of that part of the world ate mostly boiled meats, dairy, and some root vegetables and barley.
Personally, I switched to keto but then naturally progressed to “pretty-much carnivore”. I initially did it to try and get my dad to try it, but then I stuck with it after noticing how good I felt. Now I eat lots of meat, the fattier the better, and don’t shy away from dairy (milk, cheese, and kefir). I’ve gone from hungry and crampy all the time to only eating twice a day and feeling great. Some issues I’ve had my whole life (that I literally didn’t even know were “issues”) went away. Getting offal into the diet has been the only challenge (more because I don’t have access to it all the time), but I do take an organ mix supplement now.
Dr. Berry’s been a great source of information for me and I was super excited to see him on the program!
