Where is the science!

Except it's a science with many, many variables and potential combinations of factors. If we were all exactly the same, an authority could tell us all that eating vegan is the best thing for us and we could all eat vegan and be healthy.

But it doesn't work that way. In fact, a quick search will pull up people who did everything "right" by vegan eating and were woefully unhealthy. The same goes for the Primal/Paleo eating, and yes, even just the simple "eat less, exercise more" base.

Why is that? Because people have different levels of various hormones, and react differently to different substances. For example, people with the various syndromes that are associated with insulin resistance often respond well to "low-carb" (or "no-bad-carb") diets, such as Atkins, Primal, or Paleo, and very likely won't thrive on a veg*n diet due to its relatively high-carb nature. Conversely, someone with intolerances to certain compounds in meats, or eggs, probably would do far better on a veg*n diet than on a Primal or Paleo diet.

It's also why only some people are lactose intolerant, or have Celiac, or have Diabetes, and why not every single pack-a-day-for-40-years smoker gets lung cancer. It's also why a friend of mine is allergic to Tylenol, while it isn't effective at all for me.

There are general guidelines that can be followed to form a foundation from which to start:

1. Excercise regularly, including strength training
2. Eat an amount to fuel your body, but not too much that you gain weight (this exact number will differ depending on the individual's size and activity level)
3. Eat whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible

From there, you may have to experiment to get what works for you. For example, there are a number of people on here that simply "eat less", without worrying at all about their macros and have successfully lost weight. However, I did that for six months to no avail (I ate what MFP calculated for me, plus 4-6 days of rather intense exercise), but when I started working on cutting out grains and started even loosely following the Primal guidelines, I dropped nearly 10lbs within the first two weeks.

Science, especially when it comes to biological beings (and especially when it comes to humans), isn't as clean-cut as grade school makes it out to be. Experiments/studies that involve humans are highly regulated, so scientists' hands are tied when it comes to what they can do and what they can control. This also makes them quite expensive to conduct, so they need backed by someone with money. And who usually has the money? Drug companies, large corporations, usually, sometimes governments (or individuals within a government). Most of the studies they fund are aligned with the agendas of these agencies, which nearly always calls the studies' motives into question, even if the studies are unbiased. I've no doubt that several people scoffed when they saw you mention various government agencies as examples of unbiased sources.

We need an indisputable list - not from Jenny Craig, not from Jillian Michaels, not from Shaun T, not from Tony Horton - they all have their own agenda!

who do think should provide you with this list? I really dont understand your point unless maybe you've had a few pints

It was a long post so I understand why you didn't read it all

"we need to be told these things once and for all by an impartial, unbiased organisation with the sole agenda of telling the facts!"

Governments, World Health Organisation, United Nations, Universities, National Health Service ....

hormones. play. a. huge. role.

i'm pretty sure.

just sayin'