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Miley Cyrus made headlines this week for announcing she’s no longer vegan – claiming her half-a-decade abstinence from animal products had left her brain unable to ‘function properly’.
The singer’s confession to nonother than carnivore enthusiast Joe Rogan stirred up quite the frenzy online – with social media users blasting the celeb for ‘spreading false information‘ about plant-based diets.
And just as the storm was settling – heavyweight champ Mike Tyson also denounced himself from veganism – as he sat against the same purple-curtained backdrop as Cyrus.
The boxer, who previously said he refused to eat ‘anything with a mother’, confessed to eating ‘wild’ meat such as elk and bison before commencing training to re-enter the ring.
He told Rogan that without animal-products, he would be unable to achieve what he ‘wanted his body to look like’ – before nonchalantly discussing if the hunter could kill a bison for him.
A ‘battleground’ for veganism
Rogan, who has a propensity to new diet trends and fads, has never shied away from discussing veganism – to the point where vegan ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll said he ‘brings up veganism more than I do’.
In fact, Rogan’s podcast has pretty much become a battleground for discussing veganism in recent times. He often invites low-carb / keto diet proponents with quack credentials who, at best, are unqualified to make the statements they so confidently do.
Take for example paleo advocate and licensed acupuncturist Chris Kresser – who was welcomed onto The Joe Rogan Experience to ‘debunk’ The Game Changers documentary and described it as ‘vegan propaganda’.
Rogan never deleted the interview with Kresser, even after praising producer James Wilks for defending the film’s criticism – adding that he ‘knocked it out of the park’.
‘Funded by meat companies’
Discussions around veganism are of course healthy, and even essential to rid some of the myths that even vegans are guilty of propagating, but there’s something that seems so frivolous about Rogan and the way he toys with veganism – giving voice to those who will bash out unsupported claims and seldom presenting credible and respected figures to debate.
Rogan’s bias is also evident. Last year he was slammed by renowned Cardiologist Dr. Joel Kahn for being ‘funded by meat companies‘- saying that they’re his podcast’s ‘number one sponsor’. Dr. Kahn also added that supporting pro-plant-based films like The Game Changers has the ability to ‘threaten his audience’.
Which is clear, when Rogan relishes in vegans leaving the movement and doesn’t question their blatant pseudoscience – despite admitting that his carnivore diet made him ‘more aggressive’ and made him fear soiling himself.
‘This screams placebo effect’
Just like Kresser’s attack on The Game Changers, Cyrus’s justification for eating fish and feeling ‘so much sharper’ for it have already been flattened.
ND Dr. Matthew Nagra has spoken out about how ‘fatigue (mental or physical) can be caused by a myriad of issues, which may not be diet-related
“It’s important to note that the research on omega-3 supplements (EPA/DHA) and cognitive function is mixed, with potential benefit in older adults specifically. Of course, fish is a source of these omega-3s, but so is a vegan algae-based supplement,” he said.
“That being said, it is unclear if vegans even need to supplement since we produce EPA and DHA from short-chain omega-3s (ALA) in foods like flax and our levels don’t vary much from fish eaters.”
He added: “Something that should give pause is when someone notices drastic improvements with a small dietary change. This SCREAMS placebo effect. On a physiological level, it’s impossible for a few meals of seafood to drastically change omega-3 levels, especially within the brain.
“This becomes even more likely when a vegan has constantly been told that their diet is deficient by those who clearly have not seen the data. We can start to believe it…That being said, we have no clue what Miley was actually eating.”
Similarly, Team Sherzai M.D criticised Cyrus’ claims – stating: “Entertainers, journalists and public figures don’t determine health policies. Science does…
“Her ‘brain not functioning properly’ is such a vague and multifaceted symptom affected by so many things, not just avoiding fish. Sleep deprivation, junk food, stress, not being organized, recreational drugs, etc. can affect cognition negatively.”
Tyson’s reasons were, in a way, too vague and anecdotal to properly debunk – but it’s clear from the array of vegan bodybuilders, strongmen, and athletes that you can be in top shape without eating animals.
