Depressed "Nutritionist" Knows Everything Better Than Dr. Eric Berg @AbbeysKitchen

Watch on YouTube · 2022-07-26 · 20 min

0:00 Hey guys, I'm going to review the video that Abby Sharp made about Dr. Eric Berg.

[video] 0:05 Oh god, this is like bottom of the barrel YouTube bad. Hey everyone, I'm Abby Sharp. Welcome to Abby's Kitchen.

0:18 This stupid intro.

[video] 0:25 Today I will be chatting about keto and intermittent fasting enthusiast, everyone's favorite doc, Dr. Eric Berg. Oh boy, where do we start? We have a lot to unpack here folks, but I do want to kick things off with a classic diet review from the man behind the healthy ketosis program who insists you need to do keto and intermittent fasting to be younger, thinner, happier, smarter, and less diseases.

0:53 Keto is going to keep you younger. I don't agree with the starvation.

[video] 0:56 That's quite a tall order there, bud. I don't know what you're talking about, but my gut says no. Well, let's take a look at what Dr. Burke himself eats apparently every single day from his video with over a million views.

1:10 It sounds like she's jealous that he gets so many views, really.

[video] 1:13 5.30 in the morning, and I will have coffee, a very small cup of coffee. It's organic, and I put cream in there, whole cream.

1:24 It's pretty irrelevant if the coffee is organic, because coffee is simply a type of bean soup, which simply provokes stress in the body. It's not healthy in any way at all.

[video] 1:36 And it's grass-fed, organic. Half a teaspoon of xylitol. So I will drink that, and then I'll have about four of my nutritional yeast tablets. I just feel good when I take this. I get up early, I study nutrition, and during the time I might have a Ticino, which is a non-decaffeinated alternative coffee type drink, or some more tea. Nutritional yeast by itself for breakfast? I'm a fan of Nooch, but this is such a strange suggestion. Like it seems kind of like a clunky way to squeeze in a plug for a product from his supplement line. Why not just put it in your eggs? So my first meal is at 1.30.

2:15 I agree with her about nutritional yeast, obviously, but she doesn't even mention that he drinks so much caffeine.

2:25 Oh my God, man.

[video] 2:26 And of course I love eggs. They're pasture raised organic eggs. I put sea salt,

2:33 He starts eating at 1.30 p.m. approximately. That's terrible, of course, because you should have a really big breakfast. I don't agree with intermittent starvation, which is what it is. Fasting is a synonym of starvation at all.

[video] 2:46 Pepper, and they're fried in butter. In addition, I'll do six slices of bacon or three sausages or two grass-fed hot dogs, okay, with the eggs. That's a lot of saturated fat and salt in one go. Listen, like...

3:00 What's the connection between saturated fat and salt? All of our cells are made out of saturated animal fat. As far as cooked food goes, he's eating a very good meal at 1.30 PM, which is way too late.

[video] 3:15 i am a huge fan of eggs and i'm also not opposed to any of these ultra processed meats in moderation but it does seem ironic that he advocates eating two hot dogs a day yet his website explicitly differentiates his healthy ketosis program approach from the traditional keto plan by suggesting you avoid processed foods grass fed or farmer's market, it doesn't really matter. Like these are all still ultra processed foods that should be enjoyed in moderation because in excess, they have been linked to things like heart disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and all cause mortality.

3:47 I agree with her that they should be eaten in moderation if you eat cooked food and that kind of stuff. But again, most people eat such absolute garbage that really it is a pretty good meal if you compare it to what most people eat.

[video] 4:02 And this is just one of many examples where Berg continually contradicts his own advice. Now I'll do four ounces of cheese. It doesn't sound contradicting. I'm a little spoiled with cheese, okay? So this is the type of cheese that I like. And this cheese is produced from sheep on a mountaintop in France. I would love to know what would happen to Mr. Berg here if the sheep who produced his cheese were not to come from a mountaintop in France.

4:29 sure why doesn't she simply say great you actually care where your food comes from from the mountaintops of France sounds really good to me I will also add that in there and that's pretty much my meal and then right after the meal I may consume about four tablespoons of almond butter with celery I really don't understand why he eats avocados at all. He kind of understands the purpose of eating animal fat, but then he still eats an avocado, which really only has a few minerals and vitamin E. That's it. Fat-wise, it's pretty much useless.

[video] 5:02 Or pecans. Okay, so if you're going to go keto, I say this is where you want to put your money. I would love to see a greater emphasis on some of these plant-based sources of fat, which provide the benefits of fiber and phytonutrients with less saturated fat, sodium, and nitrate.

5:18 Fiber, that's the indigestible part of the plant. Why would you want more of that? And phytonutrients, those are plant nutrients, completely useless for a human being. We can't do anything with them. Those are literally not nutrients for us as an animal. And less sodium. It has some sodium, meat has also some sodium. Yes, the processed food, which is man-made, of course will have more salt, which is bad, because salt is a rock which he probably doesn't even understand.

[video] 5:47 Again, I'm not saying to not have your hot dogs or your bacon, but rather to shift the proportion of our fat sources to plant-based where we can. But I mean, even still, four eggs,

5:58 There's no real reasoning as to why. Plants pretty much only have plant oils. You as a human being need saturated animal fat, which is what you are made out of. Why would you switch to plant-based fat oils?

[video] 6:13 Six rashers of bacon, half a brick of cheese, olives, an avocado, quarter cup of almond butter, pecans, and dairy butter all together seems like a lot of fat for the old gut to process at once, which is naturally the slowest macronutrient to digest. Most folks would not feel so good.

6:29 It's slow also because it has more calories than protein and carbs. It's supposed to give you slow energy. That's the whole purpose of eating fat. What do you not understand?

[video] 6:39 We'll add some electrolyte powder, wheatgrass juice powder in a mason jar. Shake it up. drink that down it seems to give me some good energy through the afternoon so i want to clarify this electrolytes and powders do not give you energy calories do and specifically for folks who are not in ketosis carbs are the energy source of choice i just think as a professional burke needs to be a little more cautious about some of the claims that he makes about supplements that he sells himself

7:03 What is she talking about exactly? If you have problems with minerals, then of course a mineral boost, if you like, is going to help you. I would never recommend what he is recommending specifically. I would recommend eating seafood, oysters and whatnot for minerals. But of course somebody who has an imbalance or simply is low on some minerals is going to feel an energy boost. Absolutely.

[video] 7:27 Electrolytes are, however, helpful for some when doing keto or fasting because a drop in insulin can increase water and electrolyte loss. So if you're feeling some of the symptoms of hyponatremia, like headaches, lightheadedness, fatigue, nausea, and muscle cramps, it's worth seeing if a little extra sodium can help. Wheatgrass, on the other hand, isn't stimulating nor...

7:45 Sodium is the last thing that anybody needs, especially somebody who does keto, for sure.

[video] 7:51 Now, about 5.30 is when I'll eat dinner, okay? I'll have a huge salad. I'm talking like about 10 cups, okay, all at once. And I don't do spinach, I do other types of lettuce, leaves and cabbage. Cut bell pepper, I'll stick sometimes an avocado on there.

8:06 Bell pepper, avocado, those are fruits.

[video] 8:09 Maybe some other vegetables, sometimes pork rinds and seeds, roasted seeds.

8:14 Pork rinds I would agree with, again, if you eat cooked food. I don't know why he would add any seeds to the salad, seeds are the most toxic part of any plant.

[video] 8:21 ...that are salty, with sea salt, okay. So then I'll have my grass fed beef or pork sausage, which is from the farmer's market again, wild caught salmon as my protein. And sometimes for dinner, I'll have the summer sausage, probably half of this with cheese. 10 cuts? Oh dear Lord. Like again, I'm happy to see some vegetables going on, but this diet is screaming indigestion and bloat. And this is one of the many reasons why combining keto and a very short intermittent fasting eating window is often bad news bears. Without any carbs, we're looking at needing to eat large amounts of very slow digesting fats and high volume fibrous foods all at once just to meet your nutrient needs. And that is not going to feel...

9:05 He doesn't eat the vegetables to meet his nutrient needs because vegetables basically don't have any micronutrients. They are mostly full of toxins, which you would probably call phytonutrients or antioxidants and whatnot.

[video] 9:21 Or even be safe necessarily for the vast majority of his 7 million subscribers. Listen, if you're absolutely convinced by the benefits of keto or fasting for you, they can absolutely be had without needing to go to such extremes. And that's it, folks. That's what Berg eats in a day, apparently every single day.

9:41 And to my comment section warriors coming at me, I can understand why he eats the salad at the end of the day, because as she said, and I'm surprised about it, he's most definitely going to have digestive issues, bloating and so on from so many indigestible vegetables full of poison. It is what it is. It's also no surprise that he doesn't eat breakfast because he still probably has digestive issues from the day before when he ate all of those vegetables. A lot of things now make sense about him. I never really watched his videos so much. I also understand why he looks kind of... I don't want to say emaciated, but most certainly gaunt. Most people who do intermittent fasting for a while look kind of like him.

[video] 10:27 Oh, but that's not his most recent one-night-a-day. I got you, babes. Because I watched that one too, and it's pretty much almost identical. Like, same saying, different year, but with a little less commentary. And that just goes to show how painfully monotonous this way of eating can be. In his more recent video, he includes a disclaimer that I can eat the same thing every single day. And I assume that is the case. At the end of the day, there are only so many options.

10:50 For the most part, he eats very satiating animal foods. I'm not surprised that he can eat the same thing every day, except of course for the vegetables. But a lot of people who eat so many vegetables end up eating once or twice a day because of the digestive issues.

[video] 11:06 you need to meet your calorie needs on such a limited number of allowed foods but it's important to note that diet variety is actually really important for long-term health not to mention the health of our microbiome so this is just one of the many reasons why i would never recommend a diet as restrictive as this for the general population i also think that to share what you eat personally with a disclaimer that you know this is just how i eat i wonder what she means what's really restrictive about it is one thing. I am actually not against intermittent fasting or the keto diet for the right person. If it works for you and you feel good eating that way, amazing! Like, you do you. But when a health professional's personal diet becomes the only diet they promote and prescribe, we're playing in grossly unprofessional waters. No nutrition professional would only recommend a singular way to eat. Our job is to shelve our own bias, acknowledge that all bodies are unique, and to take into consideration an individual's

11:58 All human bodies are the same, naturally. Yes, a lot of people nowadays are sick, but for the most part, most humans on Earth would thrive by eating their natural food, as it is for every animal. For humans, that's raw meat. Of course, there are people nowadays who are missing their gallbladder and whatnot, but how many people are those, actually? You're talking about extremes, which we'll mostly not find.

[video] 12:22 preferences, budget, lifestyle, morals, culture, and unique health conditions and concerns. We need to meet people where they are. But Berg's pages are overwhelmingly slanted to cherry pick and present a strict keto intermittent fasting lifestyle as the key to good health. He also is known to completely ignore the body of evidence to further his personal agenda and opinion. So for example, Burke states that the keto diet will decrease your bad LDL cholesterol. But meanwhile, a large 2013 systematic review actually found it to do the opposite. Further, a 2019 review found that keto diets are not superior to other methods of weight loss, but rather they have low retention rates, have negative side effects, and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.

13:06 You can find so many studies saying that keto is good, that keto is bad, all of this stuff. At the end of the day, what do you have to look at? What humans eat in nature, what we always have been eating, and what food we thrive on. That's the only thing that matters, because if humans in nature eat mostly meat, then of course that's what we are supposed to eat. The only thing that ever matters when you talk about anything, not even food, is nature and what is natural, because that is always right and healthy.

[video] 13:39 So instead of citing the best evidence on these topics that we have, he cites one super small study with like 66 obese patients, aka not the general population, that had a positive LDL effect. It is scientific fact. That's not how we do science, people. That's not how we do research. And that's not the only thing the knowledge doc, as he calls himself, has been known to give dubious advice about. In his video on why you shouldn't eat 100% whole grains in your diet, he puts a bunch of scary words on the screen like increases weight gain, fatty liver, and cholesterol, malnutrition with 10.9 million deaths.

14:10 All of that is absolutely right.

[video] 14:12 Under five years old. Like, that's frightening. But meanwhile, literally all the evidence that we have to date points towards the benefits of eating whole grains.

14:22 All the evidence.

[video] 14:24 For things like cholesterol, weight management, and longevity.

14:28 Cholesterol is an antioxidant. Every cell of yours is made out of cholesterol. What are you even talking about? Cholesterol is not something you would ever want to reduce.

[video] 14:38 Like the evidence in support of whole grains of all things is pretty indisputable. Hard stop.

14:45 Whole grains basically don't even exist in nature. It's a completely new man-made food. It's incredibly toxic. You're eating seeds of the plants, which are, as I said before, the most toxic part of the plant. It's just so stupid.

[video] 15:00 I have to give the guy's team credit for his clickbait talent. But when the content itself is also like total BS, I get pissed. I am so freaking pissed. his blood sugar support for these clips that she puts in between the clips she's really trying to be cool or something it's really sad for example which i do feel is kind of crossing an ethical line in a lot of ways healthy people don't need supplements to fix their blood sugars and folks who do need support because they have diabetes or insulin resistance should be working with their health care team on an appropriate safe strategy taking freeze-dried grass-fed bovine pancreas is not a safe or evidence-based way to fix your pancreas in fact there's no evidence on the safety of this for humans and the only other product that...

15:45 If you have a problem with an organ, then the best thing you could possibly do is eat that specific organ, absolutely. I wouldn't recommend getting some kind of powdered, freeze-dried garbage, of course.

[video] 15:58 I could see that uses bovine pancreas isn't dog food. I don't want to yuck anyone's yum, but no. I also think it's important to note that my team and I looked but found no mention of third-party

16:09 Most dogs eat better than humans nowadays, and our natural diet is pretty much the same.

[video] 16:15 Which, if you're a regular Abby's Kitchen viewer, you know should be red flag number one. And it gets even more dangerous than this. He's been accused of spreading misinformation linking vaccines to autism, which is a dangerous assertion that has been... I don't agree with the intermittent starvation, but everything else...

[video] 16:51 The fact that Google hasn't de-indexed this guy's website is irresponsible as . Ultimately, this is what happens when healthcare professionals overstep their professional boundaries and scope of practice. I never want to disrespect the work of any allied health professional or paint them all with the same brush. Obviously he studied nutrition way more in depth than you did and you are an actual nutritionist officially.

[video] 17:33 and constantly branding himself as doctor without clarifying that he was a chiropractor, not an MD. Again, no offense to chiropractors. I know there are a ton of talented and evidence-based practitioners out there, but I do wish that they had a different designation that didn't lead to this confusion. Same with MDs who I also support, but who's a...

17:52 MDs don't really know anything about nutrition. What are you even talking about anyway? What's your point?

[video] 17:57 Approach and scope are very different compared to MDs. Ultimately, I rarely watch a YouTube channel that fills me with such rage. Most of the time when I critique the misinformation I see from influencers on YouTube, I feel some personal empathy and compassion because most influencers have just been misled on their wellness journeys themselves. While they still should be held responsible for their content, I often think they genuinely don't mean to do harm. But people like Dr. Berg should and do know better. He was taught his scope. He was taught how to read, interpret, and cite research. He was taught he is to do no harm. But with over 7 million vulnerable subscribers, I see a lot of potential harm.

18:36 She really sounds jealous. And it's very clear that she doesn't understand the first thing about nutrition and is actually promoting very dangerous things such as whole grains for human beings. Grains!

[video] 18:51 So please, if you see one of his videos pop up in your feed, scroll on by. Like, nobody's got time for science. Nobody really cares about your opinion. That's all that I have for you guys today. If you like this video, be sure to give it the thumbs up.

19:04 Some very gullible, naive girls who don't understand anything at all about nutrition watch Ebi Sharp's channel. People who watch Dr. Eric Berg's channel understand a lot more and they are actually curious about nutrition, health, food and so on. People who watch my channel really understand what's going on and what a natural food for human beings is. Thanks for watching, guys.

[video] 19:32 just feels like it's all going to . A call to action to reduce the stigma around mental illness and getting help for your mental illness. The real issue is just that I need to get my anxiety better under control and that might mean more medication in the future.

[video] 19:55 my SIBO and my IBS and all of the horrible GI troubles I've had over the past, I don't know, 10 years. I don't think my anxiety is caused by my unhappiness. And he's trying to do all these little things to help me and to make me feel better so that maybe I can just like be happy and not need medication.