Gary BreckaHuman Biologist & Longevity Innovator

STOP OVERCOMPLICATING WHAT YOU EAT - COURTNEY SWAN

16 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Gary Brecka and Courtney Swan discuss the pitfalls of restrictive, dogmatic diet trends (keto, carnivore, paleo, vegan, etc.) and argue that the key to health and longevity lies in returning to whole, unprocessed foods. Brecka shares observations that travelers to European countries often lose weight despite high‑carbohydrate meals, suggesting that food quality, not macronutrient ratios, drives outcomes. Both emphasize that the majority of calories in the United States come from ultra‑processed foods, which are not truly food, and call for a shift back to simple, real food basics to support well‑being and longevity.

Chapters

Sometimes when we travel, you go to Italy and you have a bowl of pasta and a basket of bread, maybe a glass of wine. And we realize that you feel amazing. In fact, some people will travel to European countries and lose weight, even though they're eating high carbohydrates. And I realized there's no continuity between diets that are helping people live to be hypercentenarians. It wasn't carnivore, keto, paleo, pescatarian, vegan, vegetarian. It wasn't the hyper dogmatic diets. It was just whole food, just real food. And, you know, in the States, a lot of our food is just not even food. Without sounding like fearmongers. A part of what I believe our industry and people like yourself are trying to do is just help people get around the system and just get back to the basics.
That has been the basis of my entire business, and my message is that we need to be getting back to eating real food. And right now, the majority of our calories are coming from these ultra-processed foods.