A vegan YouTuber has blasted Jordan Peterson’s diet – branding it ‘anti-science’.
Peterson is known for authoring the bestselling self-help book 12 Rules for Life. He is a public speaker and clinical psychologist. YouTuber à-bas-le-ciel, real name Eisel Mazard, describes him as the ‘esteemed political leader for right-wing, post-Modern Christians in the United States and Canada’.
Going carnivore
According to Mazard, Jordan Peterson and his wife Tammy adopted the carnivore diet – where they only consume beef, salt, and water – on the advice of their daughter Mikhaila, who says it’s cured a range of ailments she has suffered from, including autoimmune disorders and depression. According to Peterson, he lost 60lb following the diet, and felt improvements in his anxiety and depression.
Mazard believes there is ‘peculiar psychological relationship’ between Mikhaila and her father, which he says is a result of Mikhaila ‘not having a lot going on’ in terms of her professional or academic careers, until Peterson became famous, at which point she starting ‘running his business’.
“She has lived her whole life in her father’s shadow,” says Mazard.
à-bas-le-ciel talks about Jordan Peterson’s carnivore diet
Not healthy
Speaking about the her diet, Mazard says: “[Mikhaila] made this so-called discovery, totally pseudo-scientific – it’s not even pseudo-science, it’s anti-scientific, contrary to the entire progress of the science of nutrition in the last 100 years. She decides on her subjective personal experience that eating a 100 percent meat diet is good for her.
“And guess what? It’s our job to say ‘no, it’ll kill you. No, this is a diet with a body count. This is a diet with really serious, really negative life-altering side effects, for you, for your father, and for your mother’.
“Psychologically [Mikhaila] has a sense of redemption, she has a sense of being an important person in her own right, she now has a sense of going on tour and giving keynote speeches. She’s now the one standing behind the podium, addressing the crowd – not her father.”
‘Absolutely ridiculous’
The carnivore diet is unpopular among many dietary professions. Speaking to The Guardian, Lisa Sasson, a clinical professor in nutrition at New York University, branded it ‘absolutely ridiculous’.
“The claims that are made are preposterous. Atkins was bad – this is 50 times worse. This is probably the worst diet I’ve ever heard and I’ve heard such bad ones,” she said.
“To me, it’s amazing anyone would think there’s any merit to something like this. We all know that fruits and vegetables are important. That’s where you get so many of your nutrients: plant-based foods. There’s absolutely nothing here.”