Friends, a few words about “chicken breast.”

No, I have nothing against chicken breast — I can even cook it quite well, grilled for example, or sous-vide — finger-licking good!

I’m talking about the health zealots who’ve decided that chicken breast is the ultimate choice for their health or physique.

The logic behind this kind of diet is to get a good source of protein with a minimum of calories.

Along with this diet, a fitness trainer will usually recommend physical activity, and our hero starts losing weight on a caloric deficit.

Here’s what I have to say about this protocol:

First of all, I admire the patience and willpower of such committed individuals. But unfortunately, no amount of discipline can override nature and genetics.

The very framework of a system that chases aesthetics and externally imposed body standards is flawed and unsafe. Aesthetics should be a bonus of achieving health — and in that context, our goal isn't the number on the scale, but health itself.

But what kind of “health” are we talking about if our dietary strategy is unnatural for the human body?

Can you imagine someone in a natural environment eating like this: “I’ll eat only the lean parts, skip the fatty ones”? 😂

To stay healthy, we need all micronutrients in proper balance — muscle meat, cartilage, meat on the bone, organ meats — all of it is necessary for our bodies.

If we eat only muscle meat, for example, we’ll create a methionine-glycine imbalance, which will eventually cause problems.

Unless you have a medical reason to avoid certain foods, there’s no point in restricting your diet or eliminating whole, natural food sources — it won’t make you healthier.

Instead, we should focus on cutting out all industrially processed foods, vegetable oils, unhealthy carbs, and poor eating habits. That’s a rule everyone can benefit from.

It’s important to realize that you can’t build a truly healthy diet by only looking at the nutritional labels — without considering your phenotype, genetics, geography, current health, physical activity, individual intolerances, and many other personal factors.

I urge everyone to start understanding their own body and its needs. It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? And yet, many of us know every function of our smartphone — but pour Coca-Cola into our own “avatar.” 🙈

Wishing good health to all of us.