Bizarre Comment on Diet

I was watching a video on the "Top Ten Worst Foods". The video was okay for the most part. I would have preferred, of course, some citations and more in-depth explanations, but most of the content was fairly uncontroversial and well done for a short amateur internet video.

While watching, I scrolled down to see if there was a description with some sources, when I came across a lone comment by one "Shipton". I almost started laughing reading the comment. It must be one of the most bizarre comments I have read in a while.

I am used to normal, weird internet comments where the commenter is clearly an ignoramous and/or conspiracy theorist. However, I have never seen someone comment with such a strange mix of presumed authority, ignorance, conspiracy theory thinking, and blatantly incorrect facts.

First off, fat isn\'t[sic] bad for you. [...] [F]at - especially from animal sources - was the product by which our ancestors were able to stay alive and is one of the healthiest things we can eat today.

It starts off with a true statement - fat isn't (necessarily) bad for you. There are plenty of very good fats - avocados and many nuts and seeds have good fats. However, there are also many bad fats (trans fats and saturated fats, which we hear so much about). The type of fat is generally more important than the amount. The claim that fat especially from animal sources is "one of the healthiest things we can eat today" is definitely false, though. Animal sources are full of trans and saturated fats. In moderation, many animal sources of fat aren't bad. However, to claim that animal sources of fat are the best sources of fat is blatantly false. The commenter does not differentiate between types of fat, and yet seems to think that since some aren't bad, all of them must not be bad. (For more information about fats, check out this link)

[T]hat \"2400mg\" daily maximum [for sodium] is an arbitrary number the government pulled out of nowhere; in Canada it\'s closer to 4300, and still an arbitrary number.

This is just bizarre. A quick fact check would show that, actually, the "Tolerable Upper Intake Levels" given by Health Canada is 2300mg. The adequate intakes vary from person to person (given gender, age, etc.) from between 1000mg to 1500mg. The idea that the government just pulled these numbers "out of nowhere" is really strange, given that 1) there is an enormous amount of independent research that goes into forming these guidelines and 2) the government does not in any way profit by having unhealthy citizens.

Bacon is a superfood. You keep going on about fat and calories; how many people actually get fat eating animal fat? They don\'t. They get fat from sugar.

Yes, that is a claim that bacon is a "superfood". You can pause here to laugh.

The rest of this segment is ambiguous, given that it can be interpreted (as I did in my first reading) as claiming that none of the fat in our diets would come from animal fat if we ate animal fat, but dietary fat does come from sugar (which contains no fat). I will assume the commenter meant the slightly more coherent interpretation, "how many people actually become obese eating animal fat?", and "They become fat because of sugar". Of course both fats and simple carbohydrates (i.e. sugar) both can contribute to obesity when eaten out of proportion. It is not sugar alone that can make one gain weight.

Much of the rest of the lengthy comment is made of unsubstantiated claims. Perhaps my favourite part of the comment:

As far as all this calorie counting goes, good to see you\'re part of the brainwashed nutritional sheep who control their weight via starvation. Enjoy your cancer and heart disease.

Do some research rather than regurgitating the overarching, forcefed government diabtribe.

(Note: The video just basically says that foods with high calories and little nutritional value are not good, and in no way advises starving yourself). I am used to reading people make huge claims about diet which aren't supported by the evidence, and I am used to people claiming there is a giant government conspiracy, but I have never seen these two appear together in quite this way. Is it just me, or is this a very strange case of conspiracy theory and ignorance?