WE AS A SOCIETY KNOW LITTLE TO NOTHING ABOUT NUTRITION.
Indeed, even our scientific and medical communities, even the ones that specialize in such things, argue over what the best diet for optimal human performance is. In fact, most of them can only seem to agree on one thing: the food pyramid is garbage. In fact, it is one of the only sources of nutritional advice that propagates the low-fat/high-carbohydrate diet that has been disproved by every other legitimate nutritional organization.
The USDA approved food pyramid
The question is: are you eating for performance or health? There are plenty of cases of people thriving on a ketogenic diet, a low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet. However, there are even more cases of the diet leading to low energy levels and even catabolism in those that find it difficult to eat enough protein and fat to make up for the loss of calories from carbohydrates. I have personally experienced good results from this diet, most of which were aesthetic rather than performance-based.
The ketogenic pyramid
The best diet I have found for personal performance was the paleolithic diet, which I find strange. There are few third party organizations that consider the paleo diet a legitimate and viable nutritional source. In fact, it would seem the only people that extoll the virtues of such a diet are the ones who created it in the first place. Many organizations agree that a healthy diet should be high in vegetables, high in meats, and relatively low in most grains and other carbohydrates but few believe in cutting out grains altogether; even fewer believe in the exclusion of dairy and legumes, both of which are excellent sources of amino-rich proteins and healthy fats.
The paleo food pyramid
My nutritional philosophy is the same as my training philosophy: experiment and find what individual factors work best towards your personal goals. Use common sense, stay away from what is universally considered junk food, and remain open minded in your methods, but single-minded in your goals.
Sources:
- http://www.csicop.org/si/show/science_and_pseudoscience_in_adult_nutrition_research_and_practice/
- http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/publications/mypyramid/originalfoodguidepyramids/fgp/fgppamphlet.pdf
- http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/
- http://thepaleodiet.com/
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