Dr. McDougall and the Healthiest Diet on the Planet

DIG THIS POST? SHARE

Written by Doug Hay

Dr. John McDougall is a giant in the plant-based nutrition community, but his approach is surprisingly different from that of many of his colleagues.

Instead of focusing on micronutrient-rich whole foods, he looks to the humble starch as the key to a healthy diet. As Dr. McDougall says in our interview,

“All large, successful populations of civilized people have obtained the bulk of their calories from starch.”

For that reason, according to McDougall, it’s not leafy greens or fruits that should make up most of our meal, but potatoes, rice, and other starches.

In today’s episode, we chat with Dr. McDougall about his approach to nutrition, his new book, The Healthiest Diet on the Planet, and how in his opinion, the Paleo Diet got it wrong.

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

• What percentage of our calories should come form starch?
• Why Dr. McDougall says eating micronutrient-rich food is akin to taking supplements
• … and why (aside from B12) he doesn’t like supplements
• Is the Paleo Diet sexist?
• How athletes should adapt his diet

Or:

• Click here to download the MP3 file (you may need to right-click and “save link as”)
• Subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher so you never miss an episode

If you like what we do at NMA Radio, we’d greatly appreciate it if you’d leave us a rating and review on iTunes. Thank you!

Links from the show:

• Dr. John McDougall’s website
• The Healthiest Diet on the Planet by Dr. John McDougall
• The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall
• The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain
• The Paleo Diet for Athletes by Loren Cordain