I have to admit I cringed at some of the examples provided, as well as the associated causal evidence.
1. Eating Fruit for Breakfast => Reduced Sleep Quality [in fact, "...I figured out that any breakfast, if eaten early, disturbed my sleep".
2. Removal of Mercury Fillings => Improved Brain Function. The evidence was surprisingly lacking :
"The evidence for causality — removal of mercury amalgam fillings improved my arithmetic score — rests on three things: 1. Four other explanations made incorrect predictions. 2. The improvement, which lasted months, started within a few days of the removal. Long-term improvements (not due to practice) are rare — this is the only one I’ve noticed. 3. Mercury is known to harm neural function (“mad as a hatter”). As far as I’m concerned, that’s plenty."
I am all for self-observation, but I can't help but think that some of the causal links the OP has established may not be particularly well founded.
If this was the only writeup Roberts ever produced, the cringing would be well deserved. However, he does have a long history of correctly quantifying changes in himself and identifying their source.
Specifically, his (on its face, ridiculous) shangri-la diet works well for 80% of the people -- probably better than any other diet (Although it should be noted that about 20% of people who try report it does not work at all).
Also, his flax seed, butter and vitamin D results have been replicated consistently by many (though again, not all). You can wait 15 years until these things get verified/shown wrong, or just try them yourself.
And about "well founded" - it's easy to dismiss some guy on the internet (regardless of his track record and academic qualifications, as this particular writeup was not done in the context of these qualifications). But you should be aware of your confirmation bias - e.g., if you ever considered any of the examples I give here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4427910 well founded.
1. Eating Fruit for Breakfast => Reduced Sleep Quality [in fact, "...I figured out that any breakfast, if eaten early, disturbed my sleep".
2. Removal of Mercury Fillings => Improved Brain Function. The evidence was surprisingly lacking :
"The evidence for causality — removal of mercury amalgam fillings improved my arithmetic score — rests on three things: 1. Four other explanations made incorrect predictions. 2. The improvement, which lasted months, started within a few days of the removal. Long-term improvements (not due to practice) are rare — this is the only one I’ve noticed. 3. Mercury is known to harm neural function (“mad as a hatter”). As far as I’m concerned, that’s plenty."
I am all for self-observation, but I can't help but think that some of the causal links the OP has established may not be particularly well founded.