I know this is an old thread, but didn't want to create an identical one.
I've been studying nutrition for the past year and a half, getting into the likes of Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Jason Fung, and most recently Dr. Michael Greger. I read the China Study a few years back and tried eating vegan for a bit. I've been experimenting with my diet, because everyone is biased about the data, and here's what I found.
1) Dr. Michael Greger's whole food plant-based diet(his daily dozen) has given me the greatest feeling of well-being. I've done keto and vegan before, but the trick seems to be eating the right foods. Granted, I've only been eating this way for 2 weeks, but yesterday when I was running around with my daughter, I realized that I felt 10 years younger. Also my BP went from 135/80 to 110/72 in the first week. I checked it multiple times. I lost 20 pounds last year and my BP didn't budge. I even tried the ACE inhibitor lisinopril per my doctor; nothing. It was even in that range in high school when I would run 9 miles daily in under an hour. I'm in my mid-30's and I am so grateful to have improved my blood pressure before it wrecks me. Keto really does feel like BS to me, though I agree that you can't go around eating so much sugar. Get it from fruits(avoid juices) with fiber that negate the blood sugar spike.
2) Fasting is important, maybe one of THE most powerful things regarding diet. The timing of how fast I eat and when makes a huge difference. I've tried the whole spectrum, starting with simple time restricted feeding and a daily 16 hour fast. I did OMAD and 36/12 ADF for a while. OMAD works well for me, but unless I eat a long 2 hour meal, I am finding it difficult with the whole food plant-based diet. I'm thinking a small, mid-morning meal and dinner will be the best daily routine. I think fasting one day a week is nice and I'll probably throw in a couple week long fasts in the year. Snacking is a big no no in my household. You should work yourself into some real hunger every day, and without prolonged fasting how can you even remember what real hunger is?
3) Cheating. It's ok and even good to cheat sometimes. I'm not doing this for moral reasons and I'm not going to be "that guy" who throws a kink in everyone's meal plans at get-togethers. Holidays and special occasions are just that and should be enjoyed. My family and I will probably cheat and eat meat and dairy twice a month. We've got to get our B12 somewhere and 24/365 days a year is only 6.6%. No big deal. Next year we will be developing our homestead and chickens and livestock were always part of the plan. Animals, plants, and fungi just work too well together to be broken apart for idealogy. People have been doing this for millennia and I can almost guarantee that our number of cheat days will somehow magically work out to what we produce on the land.
What have you guys found to be true for you?