I ate like Warren Buffett for a week, and people kept suggesting a massive conspiracy theory about his food habits

Last week, I went a little bit crazy and decided to eat like Berkshire Hathaway CEO, legendary investor, and folk hero (to some) Warren Buffett.

It was awful.

If you'd like to read more about that experience, be my guest. This post, on the other hand, is about a conspiracy theory regarding the diet. In fact, so many people have posited the theory to me that I'm starting to think it's true.

Buffett's diet consists heavily of junk food - he even admits that he eats like a six-year-old. Buffett downs Coca-Cola products, McDonald's, Dairy Queen, and See's Candies.

Interestingly enough, Buffett not only indulges in these foods, he also invests in their makers. Buffett and Berkshire own See's Candies and Dairy Queen, and Coca-Cola is his third-largest investment by shares.

This is where the conspiracy theory comes in. What if Buffett doesn't actually eat any of this junk - or at least not as much as he claims - but only says he does because he wants suckers like me to buy products from companies he has a financial stake in?

The thought struck me sometime during my second DQ chili-cheese dog of the week. Am I being a useful idiot in Buffett's quest to get everyone to gobble his own companies' food?

This idea, in fact, was one of the most common responses I got to my story. I got it on Twitter:

 

I got plenty of emails that posited that Buffett may be crafting a bit of a tale. One reader in particular took the theory to a dark place.

"Has it ever occurred to you that buffett is a psy-op, a creation of fiction, a caricature, spokesperson for elites in the guise of a folksy neighbor?" a reader named Shawn Foster emailed (I haven't corrected/edited any of the grammar). "He doesn't really eat that stuff, he simply promotes it to the simpletons so they die faster."

People I know brought up the idea. One person I know texted me: "There's literally no way he eats like that."

Another person I know said they knew someone who knew Buffett and that person told my friend that Buffet actually ate incredibly healthy.

A friend of a friend with inside information about a lying billionaire? Classic conspiracy theory stuff.

Even one of my meals seemed to bring up this question. Buffett is a noted hater of vegetables, yet when I dined at his favorite restaurant in New York City and asked for what Warren ate (he visited just a month before I went), I was given creamed spinach. (Then again, the meal also included a two-pound steak.) 

I can't definitively say whether the theory is true or not. But, based on how I felt after eating like Buffett, I sure hope it is.

If you have a theory or tip about Buffett's diet, feel free to email me at bbryan@businessinsider.com. No idea is too outlandish, so send 'em on.