He Traded Pizza for Salads, and his Cholesterol Doubled!

Minutes ago, a new N = 1 experiment was posted by Dave Feldman that may break the internet. But there's more to the story than you think. The rabbit hole goes deep.

Here’s an excerpt from an article that was published moments ago on the tandem (N = 2) Vegan-Keto Experiments performed by myself and my friend, Dave Feldman:

“[G]eneralized dietary guidelines often lack nuance... [U]ltimately resulting in blanket recommendations that overlook the complexity of individual biology.

In my N = 1 experiment, I went from an Animal-Based Ketogenic Diet to a Vegan-Ketogenic diet. I reduced my saturated fat intake over 4-fold, increased my fiber intake by over 20 g/d, increased my polyunsaturated fat intake, and tanked my cholesterol intake to zero. And yet, my LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) increased by 14%.

Dave’s results, published minutes ago as I write this, were even more stunning!

In Dave’s N = 1 experiment, he went on a Standard American Diet, filled with Pizza, Tacos, Skittles and all manner of junk food. On this high-carb junk food diet, his LDL-C was 97 mg/dl, an “optimal” LDL-C level according the American Heart Association for someone with his risk profile. Then, he went Vegan and his LDL-C more than doubled to 215 mg/dl in just one week!

Yes, in trading Pizza and Skittles for Avocados and Salads, Dave Feldman’s LDL-C went from 97 to 215 mg/dl!

That’s bananas! (Not really… Bananas aren’t keto.)

But why did we do these experiments?

Was it to troll the internet?

Was it to put egg on the face of vegan and plant-based diets?

Was it to get clicks on a video so that we can buy twin red Ferraris with the ad revenue and sponsorships we acquire from the Big Beef Illuminati?

No.

It was to stimulate critical thinking.

The fact of the matter is there is immense frustration, skepticism and confusion with respect to nutrition information presented by federal bodies and the media. And it’s easy to understand why: blanket statements and platitudes serve individuals poorly. And we see the scaled impact of this fact at the population level, with unwaveringly high rates of obesity and chronic metabolic diseases.

This – however – is juxtaposed to the amazing success stories of people who have accomplished the seemingly impossible. Like my other “Dave” friend, Dave Danna, who went from being >400 lbs, depression, and in financial debt to dropping more weight than I weight, improving his mental, social and financial health, completing an MBA, getting married and even hanging out with Arnold Schwarzenegger at Muscle Beach and at his house.

Some may consider Dave Danna an anomaly, an outlier. But I prefer to ask the questions, “What made him successful?” And, “How can we replicate that success at scale?”

In my opinion, that answer is clear: we need to empower people to take charge of their own N = 1 metabolic health journey. I delve into exactly what that means in other op-eds, letters, and videos.

But the short of it is that we are each unique and need to identify and capitalize on our uniqueness to approach optimal metabolic health.

Some may do best on a whole food plant-based diet. Others on a carnivore diet. Yet others on a paleo diet. The labels don’t really matter. There are no strict rules. It’s beyond diet tribes. It’s about questioning, adapting, iterating and evolving.

Clarification: It’s not about the Cholesterol

Of course – and let me be clear – most people will not experience a drop in their LDL-C when they go on a vegan diet. Hopefully that’s obvious. But that’s also the point.

Because in understanding our particular metabolic circumstances, we were able to “overpower” the “conventional knowledge” to generate results that appear counterintuitive but – to us – were predictable and replicable.

And THAT is the point: when you are inquisitive and understand what’s unique about you, you can generate jaw-dropping results that “platitude thinkers” find astonishing and provocative, like dropping your cholesterol with Oreos or while eating 720 eggs or while on a Vegan Diet, or transforming your body and mind in a manner that makes you nearly unrecognizable.

Speaking candidly, we also have the addition motivation to amplify out existing published research. True, if we were “just” pulling N = 1 (or N = 2) stunts on the internet, that would be a little sketchy. But we’re not. We’re running clinical trials, publishing meta-analyses of human randomized controlled trials, and so on. (For a short-list of publications, click HERE.)

But because the results of these works seem to abut against “conventional wisdom,” some see them as a threat and try to suppress, diminish or ignore them.

The N = 1 demonstrations are a great tool to force a spotlight on these data, advance discussions about physiology, mechanism and cardiovascular risk that need to happen. And they help us acquire partnerships and resources to get more research done.

Our detractors don’t like it. But it works. Or, maybe, they don’t like it because it works?

Closing & Call to Action

In closing, I want to emphasize two quotes from this morning’s article:

"These personal experiments direct attention to existing literature and spark grassroots interest to get more trials funded and executed… It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about asking better questions and getting people to think critically about their health."

And

Norwitz and Feldman hope their work inspires a new era of personalized nutrition, encouraging people to see themselves as active participants in scientific exploration rather than passive recipients of health advice. ‘Our experiments don’t mean everyone will see the same results,’ Norwitz said, ‘but they encourage people to ask, 'What’s healthy for me?'"

Now, if you haven’t definitely check out Dave Feldman’s new video! It’s a jaw dropper!

And read the new article by health reporter and registered nurse, Sheramy Tsai.