Cherry Picking
The 4th C in Carnivorism
Mr. Skeptical smirks, “So you’re going to tell us how scientific studies cherry-pick what the public wants you to see, right?”
“Yes, that happens, but it goes even deeper than that. Cherry-picking looks innocent—just a few studies here, a few citations there—until you realize the entire dietary edifice of the 20th century was built on this selective sleight-of-hand.”
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 Feet
“I’ll get into the cherry picking when it comes to science, but first let’s look at the cherry-picking you see at a store or in a television commercial.”
Mr. Skeptical folds his arms. “In a TV ad?”
“Yes. TV ads and mainstream media all say that fruits and veggies are not just healthy but are also superfoods.”
“Well, aren’t they?”
“They aren’t because both veggies and fruits eventually turn into sugar. One of my clients had to Google it himself, and it was a big surprise for him when he realized that besides the fiber, all fruits and veggies eventually turn into sugar.”
Mr. Skeptical smiles, “I wouldn’t believe you either.”
“He was told he’s becoming pre-diabetic, and right after saying that, his doctor said you need to eat more fruits and vegetables.”
“Well, people trust their doctors.”
“And doctors trust what they learned in school. Most or all of it cherry-picked science to sell more drugs.”
Mr. Skeptical rolls his eyes, “Okay, but fruit and veggies turn into sugar much slower than junk food, right?”
“Yes, it’s at a slower rate, but so what. It can still lead to you becoming diabetic.”
“Well, it’s at least better than processed food.”
“And the problem is that people still think fruits and veggies are needed. If you eradicate fruits and veggies, getting rid of diabetes is way faster and easier.”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 Feet
Fruits and vegetables have a marketing arm second only to Big Tech. We're told endlessly about antioxidants and fiber, but silence reigns regarding oxalates, lectins, and phytates—the antinutrients that bind to minerals and irritate the gut. Spinach, for example, is praised for iron, but it’s non-heme iron, poorly absorbed compared to the heme iron in meat.
Then there's fruit. Nature's candy. Yes, it has vitamin C, but it also has sugar—glucose and fructose—which compete for the same transport pathways as vitamin C due to structural similarity. Net result? You don't absorb nearly as much as you think. But don’t expect to see that on your orange juice label.
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 Feet
Mr. Skeptical pouts, “Enough with the barrage against fruit and vegetables. Tell me how science can cherry-pick.”
“Take Ancel Keys. The man who villainized fat like it owed him money. In his famous Seven Countries Study, Keys decided which nations to include after noticing which had high saturated fat intake and heart disease. Countries that contradicted the hypothesis? France, Germany, Switzerland? Mysteriously omitted. It was such a contradiction that that’s where the phrase the French Paradox comes from.”
“Sounds more like Seven Convenient Countries,” Mr. Skeptical says.
“And the result? Decades of Americans swapping steak for SnackWells. Obesity and diabetes skyrocketed, but at least margarine sales were booming.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
“Cherry-picking didn’t stop with Keys. It's alive and well in critiques of the carnivore diet.”
Mr. Skeptical’s eyes widen, and he puts his hand to his forehead and sways like he’s about to faint. “How can anyone critique your sacred cow? Your carnivore diet?”
Ugh, he’s so irritating, but I ignore him because this information is too important. I add, “Critics highlight every micronutrient absent in muscle meat while ignoring bioavailability and nose-to-tail eating. They cite short-term LDL increases while downplaying triglyceride improvements, insulin sensitivity, and autoimmune reversals. And let’s not forget the studies on processed meat — as if Oscar Mayer bologna is metabolically identical to grass-fed ribeye.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
“The cost of cherry-picking isn’t just intellectual dishonesty. It’s trust erosion. It’s a woman terrified of red meat because a news anchor conflated it with bacon bits. Cherry-picking is costly because it breeds dogma. And dogma blinds us to context: ancestral diets, metabolic individuality, and food quality.”
Mr. Skeptical eyes me while I’m drinking my buttered coffee. “So, your big dietary advice is: stop eating salad and eat more steak?”
“Exactly. But I let the sizzle do the talking.”
“Next, you’ll be telling me bacon cures depression.”
“Actually, if you read the first post listed below, you’ll see that it can, especially if the bacon is crispy.”
Be aware.
Other links related to this post:
Does What We Eat Affect Mental Health?
Who Was Ancel Keyes?
Is Liver a Superfood? PS Links on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.
Very interesting and informative article. Txs,