Food Freedom Friday Edition 346 - Vitamin C & The Carnivore Diet

Getting enough vitamin C on a carnivore diet is one of the most persistent concerns of people interested in following this nutrition protocol. 

The issue of lack of vitamin C is founded in a mainstream dietary fallacy that meat contains none. In fact, when eating a carnivore diet of at least 1000 grams (2.2lbs) of fresh muscle meat alone, you will exceed the amount of vitamin C you need to prevent scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). 

You can also increase your vitamin C intake on a carnivore diet with the addition of organ meats and seafood.

Role of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential dietary nutrient. This means your body can’t produce it on its own, and you need to get sufficient amounts from food. Vitamin C plays a role is vital for various bodily processes including:

·       Proper collagen formation–collagen is the connective tissue in the body

·       Metabolism of cholesterol and protein

·       Absorption of iron

·       Antioxidant actions–neutralizing harmful free-radicals

·       Proper healing of wounds

·       Production of neurotransmitters that affect mood, including dopamine and epinephrine

Benefits Of A Carnivore Diet

Though the carnivore diet is a relatively new concept to the modern dietary philosophy, it’s likely the way our caveman ancestors ate for nearly 2 million years of evolution.

There are many reasons you might choose a carnivore or meat-based way of eating, including

·       Eating only meat virtually eliminates carbohydrates, which puts your body into ketosis. This metabolic state turns fat into fuel and has been shown to help with weight loss, hunger suppression, and reducing inflammation.

·       Protects the glycocalyx–a delicate membrane that surrounds all the cells in your body and is damaged by excess carbohydrate consumption. 

·       Consuming more fat and reducing fiber can increase testosterone and reduce estrogen. Studies on healthy men showed that consuming more fat and less fiber increased testosterone by 13% and decreased estrogen by 12-28%. Elevated testosterone levels in turn, help your body lose fat and increase muscle mass. 

·       Improved digestion. Studies show that high fiber can contribute to constipation, IBS, and numerous other digestion issues. Furthermore, research looking at a zero-fiber diet showed that they reversed constipation, IBS, and bloating.

·       Eliminates plant toxins and anti-nutrients. Plants have a highly evolved arsenal of biological defenses that can damage human cells and physiological systems. Compounds including Gluten, phytohormones, and lectins are all implicated in numerous digestive and bowel diseases, mineral deficiencies, and impaired fertility. 

More recently, a study looking at how a carnivore diet affected the health of 2,029 people concluded that contrary to common expectations, adults consuming a carnivore diet experienced few adverse effects and instead reported health benefits and high satisfaction.

The results were overwhelmingly positive:

·       93% improved or resolved obesity and excess weight

·       93% improved hypertension

·       98% improved conditions related to diabetes

·       97% improved gastrointestinal symptoms

·       96% improved psychiatric symptoms

Though the data is self-reported, and therefore of relatively low quality, the marks a major step towards a new outlook on ancestral human nutrition and the diet humans evolves to eat - humans are evolved to thrive on meat, and plants are not the dietary superheroes we’ve been led to believe.

Vitamin C On A Carnivore Diet

There is an old and outdated belief that eating meat without plants will lead to vitamin c deficiency and scurvy

It is important to note a major difference between British sailors eating a diet of carbohydrates and dried meat who exhibited scurvy, and modern (and ancient) carnivore dieters eating fresh meat. 

In reality, it has been scientifically verified that fresh meat not only prevents but cures scurvy.

How Much Vitamin C Do You Need

In the context of a diet high in carbohydrates you only need 10 mg of vitamin C a day to prevent scurvy.

It is hypothesized that on a low to zero carbohydrate diet, it’s likely you need even less. This is because glucose and vitamin C have a near-identical molecular structure and share the same pathways when absorbed into cells. When glucose and vitamin C compete, glucose wins out. 

Recent research has shown that study participants on a ketogenic diet had higher vitamin C levels than participants on a moderate-carb diet, even when getting only 4% of calories from carbohydrates, making it difficult to get substantial amounts of vitamin C from non-animal sources. 

Vitamin C In Meat

According to the USDA, meat flesh contains no vitamin C. However, this is factually incorrect and based on the default practice of the UDSA to fill in vitamin C amounts in muscle meat as “assumed to be zero.” This is a huge error, considering they test for nearly every other micronutrient . 

Research does confirm that fresh beef has approximately 1.6 mcg/g of vitamin C in grain-fed meat, and 2.56 mcg/g in grass-fed meat per 200 grams.

On a carnivore diet, if you’re eating 1000 grams of meat, or 2.2 lbs per day, you will be consuming 25.6 mcg and 16 mcg of vitamin C, respectively. Far more than enough to prevent scurvy. 

Vitamin C in Organ Meats and Seafood

Though fresh muscle meat alone will more than cover your daily vitamin C needs, you can boost your vitamin C intake by including organ meats, including beef pancreas, beef kidney, beef heart and liver. 

While seafoods like fish roe and oysters also provide significant amounts of vitamin.

Antioxidants

The recommended daily values of vitamin C are to provide antioxidant protection: “based on the vitamin C intake to maintain near-maximal neutrophil concentration with minimal urinary excretion of ascorbate”

These RDA’s are not to prevent vitamin C deficiency. As stated above, to avoid deficiencies (scurvy) you only need 10 mg of vitamin C per day.

However, when vitamin C is reduced on a low-carb diet, your body can make up for its antioxidant properties by producing endogenous (made naturally in the body without reliance on dietary sources) antioxidants uric acid and glutathione. 

These two compounds are considered “inborn” antioxidants that your body evolved the ability to produce specifically because you cannot produce vitamin C on your own. On a low-carb diet these powerful antioxidants are upregulated. While at the same time, the carnivore diet eliminates sugars and plant toxins that would otherwise cause oxidative stress and necessitate antioxidants. 

Vitamin C & Carbohydrates

The idea that a carnivore diet will produce a vitamin C deficiency only makes sense within the context of a high-carb standard Western diet. 

In the context of a low-carb ancestral diet that is more aligned with your physiology, vitamin C deficiency is not likely to be an issue. 

Signs of Scurvy

Scurvy is the term used for severe vitamin C deficiency.

Vitamin C deficiency can begin with mild symptoms and progress to more severe symptoms if left untreated. However, most people treated for scurvy improve quickly and recover within 48 hours to 2 weeks.

Progressive tell-tale symptoms include: 

·       Weakness

·       Exhaustion

·       Tender and bleeding gums

·       Wounds that are slow to heal

·       Bruise-colored raised bumps at hair follicles with brittle hairs that appeared corkscrewed

·       Bleeding under the skin

·       Tooth decay

·       Chest pain

·       Mood swings

·       Fever

·       Tooth loss

·       Intestinal bleeding

Vitamin C Deficiency

Though vitamin C deficiency is rare, there are some groups of people and lifestyle choices that can increase the risk of vitamin C deficiency. 

Alcohol

Numerous studies have found that drinking alcohol is associated with vitamin C deficiency. 

Further research suggests that drinking alcohol can lead to enterocyte toxicity in the intestines resulting in malabsorption of vitamin C. Alcohol can also interfere with the transformation of vitamin C into active metabolites. 

Menstruation

Menstruation requires blood cell production that relies on vitamin C. If you’re menstruating or have a heavy flow, you may be more susceptible to vitamin C deficiency. 

Adding lemon or lime juice to a glass of water should protect you from deficiency. Lemon juice offers 11.8 mg of vitamin C per 1 ounce. 

Carbohydrates

If dairy is a part of your carnivore diet, you are likely consuming carbohydrates and may be cycling in and out of ketosis depending on the amount you eat.  

The more carbohydrates in the diet, the more challenging it is for the body to absorb vitamin C, and the more you will need to consume. 

The Takeaway

Getting enough vitamin C on an all-meat diet is a common concern. However, fresh meat on its own will exceed the vitamin C needs of most people. 

Adding in organ meats can boost your vitamin C intake even more. 

When you reduce carbohydrates, your body absorbs more vitamin C, as vitamin C and carbohydrates compete for the same metabolic pathways. 

Furthermore, when you reduce carbs your body upregulates the production of endogenous antioxidants that can accomplish many of the functions of vitamin C. 

The idea that not eating plant foods will lead to scurvy makes sense in the context of a standard Western diet high in carbohydrates and low-nutrient processed foods. However, when consuming a low to no-carbohydrate carnivore diet centered around fresh meat, it’s likely that you will not experience vitamin C deficiency.