Food Freedom Friday Edition 271 - Carnivore Concerns

Many people are surprised to hear that human beings can live exclusively on animal foods. There are numerous anecdotal accounts of both adults and children thriving exclusively on animal foods. People struggling with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and severe mental illness do very well on an animal protein exclusive diet. In some severe cases a carnivore eating plan is the only diet that allows patients to be well, stop all medication, reach their normal body weight, eliminate all digestive symptoms and function to their full capacity.

Most come to carnivore to seek severe symptom relief and often times stay because the benefits outweigh the sacrifices. With some, not all, any deviation from the plan can cause a flare up of pain or a recurrence of symptoms and that is enough to keep them away from plant foods.

However, the question arises whether the carnivore diet sustainable long term. Will it provide a nutritional ground to stand on through healing, without causing its own set of problems?

Concerns Around The Carnivore Diet

Nutrient Deficiency

Carnivore diet experts will tell you that a carnivore diet is nutritionally dense and complete and that supplements are unnecessary. This assumes you are healthy to begin with. If you are beginning with nutritional deficiencies, some supplementation may be called for and could be worth talking to your doctor about and/or pursuing lab tests to determine.

Traditional cultures show meat eating to be sustainable. The Inuit people of the arctic, for example, had lived for ages on almost exclusively meat and fat before modern society encroached on their villages. Though actual scientific studies of people eating only meat are rare, the story of famed arctic explorer Vilhjamur Stefansson is well-known. After living among the Inuit and eating with them for 7 years over the course of three expeditions, he returned to society raving about the merits of a meat-based diet. He was, understandably, met with skepticism. To prove his point, he agreed to be studied. In 1928 he (and a cohort) checked into the Bellevue hospital in New York and were subjected to all manner of testing and observation while eating only meat for an entire year. They subsisted on muscle meat, organs, marrow, salt and fat. By all measures the two men thrived, showing no nutritional deficiencies, normal bowel function and even improved dental health.

Further investigation on a few key nutrients might begin to explain how this was possible.

Vitamin C

Yes, there is Vitamin C in raw meat?

Scurvy is famously caused by a lack of vitamin C and was once common among sailors who embarked on long voyages and ran out of fresh food. This is what many think will happen on a plant-free animal only diet. It turns out, even doses of vitamin C as low as 10 mg a day (currently, 60 mg/day is the RDA for adults) is enough to prevent scurvy. It is, in fact, easy to obtain this amount from a meat-only diet. Vitamin C in meat and organs has not been formally measured and evaluated, resulting in many food trackers reporting levels at 0. A little vitamin C actually remains in thoroughly cooked or dried muscle meat. Fresh meat, however, is another story. Raw beef has about 15 milligrams of vitamin C per pound so eating your meat medium or medium rare is more than just the tasty option, it provides a little boost of vitamin C! Organ meats can have 30-40 milligrams per 100 gram serving (about 3.5 ounces.)

There is also a theory that greater your insulin sensitivity, the more efficient you become and utilizing vitamin C. Eschewing plant foods that are often high in sugars and starches can, thus make you more efficient and in need of less. It is further surmised that many plant flavonoids compete for absorption (as does sugar) so the absence of such in a meat diet would also contribute to the need for less vitamin C.

Without taking the time to go nutrient by nutrient you can use vitamin C to demonstrate how nuanced and subjective nutrition can be.

It’s not as easy as saying, “humans need a certain amount of a substance or nutrient to stay alive.” It is actually more appropriate to say that a person on a diet of certain foods and a fitness level of that needs a certain amount of a specific nutrient. A carnivore-type diet simply redefines some of these parameters.

Fiber

Perhaps even more common than the vitamin C query is the fiber concern. There are many parallels between plant and animal food. Plants make non-heme iron where animals provide heme iron (much more bioavailable). Plants make vitamin A as beta-carotene where animal protein provides retinol (a superior, more usable form of A!) Plants provide fiber in different forms. The animal equivalent happens to be collagen!

You may be aware that your body uses fiber to feed your microbiome so that they in turn can produce short-chain fatty acids for you to utilize. New studies are showing that collagen can perform the same function in the gut! Perhaps collagen should be called “animal fiber?”

You may be wondering about fiber’s other function—poop. While it is true that fiber will bulk up stools and cut down transit time in the colon, is that really necessary? Essentially, fiber increases the size and frequency of bowel movements. Research is beginning to show that removal of fiber can resolve constipation. Frequency and size may go down in conjunction with this, but stools become easier to pass.

There can be a period of adjustment initially before bowel movements stabilize and your body adjusts to passing stools without a battering ram of fiber pushing it through. A lazy bowel will perk up and do the job it was made to do. Stools become less frequent and smaller, but easier to pass and healthier looking. Again, parameters are changing and measures are being redefined depending on dietary choices. With a more efficient diet, there are less by-products to dispose of. No fiber needed.

Tips for Success

Nose To Tail Eating

There is an ethical component to nose-to-tail eating. Beyond that, nose-to-tail just makes sense. In a traditional omnivore diet or even a vegetarian one, variety is stressed. It is no different with the carnivore plan. The more variety the better to assure you’re getting the full spectrum of nutrients you need.

Organs

Organ meats are the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet. Unfortunately, organ meats have fallen out of favor in a modern world where taste and convenience seem to have taken preference over nutrition. The familiarity and respect once had for the most valuable pieces of an animal is lost. Organ meats often get discarded or relegated to pet food. Some of the nutritional benefits organs offer:

·       Beef liver is high in vitamin A, K2, and copper. It contains all the B vitamins and is especially high in B12. If the cow was finished on grass, it even contains vitamin D! Some people struggle with the taste and texture but find it easier to eat as a pate or in supplement form. It is the most nutritionally dense of any organ so it deserves all your efforts to get it in!

·       Kidney is rich in B vitamins and selenium.

·       Spleen is the highest source of vitamin C in animal products: 100 grams contains 76% of your daily allowance! It is high in iron and a good source of many other micronutrients. Spleen is most regularly found in a supplement form as opposed to the butcher counter.

·       Heart tastes like a lean cut of meat. It is rich in CoQ10, riboflavin, iron, and other micronutrients. If you grind it you can cook it like ground beef and no one will notice!

·       Sweetbreads are the thymus and pancreas of an animal. They are fattier than other organs and have a surprisingly mild flavor. They are an excellent source of Vitamin C and have a good spectrum of nutrients.

Odd Bits

Aside from eating organs, there are numerous other pieces of the animal which are typically thrown away. Bones should be saved for bone broth; they are a goldmine of minerals and amino acids and particularly soothing for your gut and joints.

Eat more cuts bone-in and try to chew on the cartilaginous ends of bones. Enjoy the unctuous marrow! Chew the gristle. Eat poultry with the skin on. Chicken heads, necks, and feet are powerhouse additions to your soup pot! If you can’t bring yourself to eat ligaments, and tendons then throw them in a pot and make broth! Find ways to get the good stuff in

Eggs And Dairy

If you have underlying health issues, you may have to test your tolerance for eggs and dairy. If you can safely eat them, consider pastured eggs, especially the yolks! Try salmon roe and other fish egg. If you tolerate dairy, consider fermented dairy like kefir and yogurt. Experiment with goat milk, ghee, and other delicacies you may not have tried. Always strive to get the best quality available.

Fat

The days of avoiding animal fats are over. There is a reason fat was prized above all else by ancient msn. Fat contains more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates and is an efficient fuel. It is satiating and necessary for the absorption and assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins. Your brain needs fat to thrive. If you struggle with energy or focus on the carnivore diet, add more fat to your daily regimen.

Is Carnivore For You?

Not only can you survive, you can thrive on a carnivore diet! But is it for you? It really comes down to a cost-to-benefit analysis.

Can You Give Up Plants?

It is one thing if a single bite of lectins make you itch all over or you find any fiber destroys your gut. But if you are generally healthy, can you fathom passing on the roasted asparagus? The garden tomatoes? The fresh picked strawberries? Can you forgo the grilled peaches and sweet potato fries at the backyard barbecue? There is a cost to eating plants and accessing their nutrition. If you are not compromised, perhaps you can afford that cost?

Monotony

Many people struggle with the monotony of the diet. You can get creative with textures, cooking methods and rotate different kinds of meats. It’s surprising to find the diversity you can achieve on a carnivore diet with a little creativity and tenacity. But at the end of the day, you might just miss the crunch of a carrot or the sweet burst of a berry. You may dream of a salad. There is nothing in the carnivore world that can match that juicy explosion of a Bing cherry. Again, boredom could be a cost to consider.

Social Stigma

It can be awkward to be the only one at the restaurant with no greens on your plate. You may find yourself socially isolating rather than explaining at a party why you don’t eat the cake, let alone the salad!!!!. Some people are unphased by social pressures to eat like everyone else, but for others this is a formidable challenge. It can help to have a strategy, like eating before you go, being as subtle as possible, or psyching up to be loud and proud. You need to expect some uncomfortable confrontations and consider if they are worth it for you.

Cost to Benefit Ratio

Carefully assess what you’d gain by going carnivore. What do you have to lose? Pain? Pounds? Rashes? Gas and bloating? What about food freedom? Eating out? Your obsession with the Sugar Rush (wait, that’s me ;-) )

If you have a robust digestive system and don’t struggle with autoimmunity, you might think long and hard about eating meat every day and giving up the beautiful variety that comes with an omnivore’s lifestyle.

Perhaps you’ll settle on a carnivore lifestyle with occasional plants and maybe some supplementation here and there. When it comes down to it, you know your body and your lifestyle. You are the captain of your vessel!