So, I've been following the cheerful, yet feisty Australian 'Freelea'. She's got a lot of people following what's called the '80-10-10' diet. That's raw vegan, with 80 % carbs, and 10 % fat, and 10 % protein.
She's gorgeous, frankly. She looks lean, muscular, and fit. At least in many of her photographs, and she'll flex for the camera if you ask real nice-like.
I've been mulling over this new lifestyle for a few weeks, and although it's certainly wonderful to think of being able to eat hordes upon hordes of bananas and dates. That would certainly be my happy-paradise-heaven. But, my Realist-Radar went off. It's a small, tiny little radar that sits in my gut and says, ''No way, Jose. That ain' gon' fly.''. When I don't listen to it, disaster happens.
And I'll tell you why, I think, at least, that this diet is not beneficial for long term health and fitness.
There's no doubt that anyone could subsist on this diet for a number of years. The human body is surprisingly versatile. You could eat just proteins, or just fats, or just carbs, and you'd survive (as long as you're eating enough). But, again, that doesn't mean it's healthy.
If you're eating only 30 bananas a day, that's some-odd 3000 kcal. That's not a big deal if you're active, granted. The sugar? Well, that'll hurt your teeth for sure, natural or not. And 30 bananas is about 40g of protein. And it's not complete, either. Generally, we need a nice, varied diet for complete proteins to be made in the body. They don't need to be eaten all in one sitting, but one needs to eat lots of different things throughout the day. (Or so I would be lead to believe.)
Without proper protein synthesis, the result is skin, hair and nail problems. Everything else could seem as healthy as ever. But, those are the signs of a lack of protein. It may not be terrible, or threatening to one's life. It may not even be apparent. It's just not the healthiest or most ideal, at least in my opinion.
From what I've seen of Freelea, her hair and skin doesn't glow quite as much as it used to. But, that's just how I see it.
Our bodies turn everything we eat into glucose. And there are certain times when we need faster sugars, like fruit. Especially if we're incredibly active. But, sugars that are broken down more slowly, such as complex carbohydrates, and fruits such as apples and oranges, are important too. Maybe this diet will work wonders, but I'm not sold just yet.
And what's going on, on the inside of the fruity-vegan bodies? Well, only blood tests and extensive research will know for sure. I say wait on it, no matter how tempting it may sound.
I've got my skeptic hat on for this one.
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