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Beginner OMAD Tips

November 15, 2022 No Comments

One Meal A Day, or OMAD as it is often called, can be a very effective protocol for weight loss and other health issues. I have done OMAD Carnivore for over 4 years and even OMAD Keto for a couple of years before that. I find it fits into my lifestyle and is extremely effective for me in my own “n of 1.” Below are some tips that I have learned through trial and error through the years.

Long-term OMAD isn’t for everyone. Some people have great success on OMAD, especially for weight-loss but find that they don’t enjoy it after a month or so. This isn’t a problem at all! I suggest trying it out and seeing if you like it. See what kind of results you get and assess how you feel after 30 days or so. This isn’t like a class where there is a pass/fail grade attached. It is actually more like dating, not all relationships need to lead to marriage and not all of them will be a good fit.

We are trying to find the best relationship between you and food. Some people have tremendous success cycling OMAD every other week or one week per month, do what works best for you.

Adjust your perspective

I know this might sound a bit hokey, but it really is effective. It is often helpful if you reframe your internal narrative. For me, I personally find it very helpful to think of it as a daily feasting window. That way, I can think about the awesome meal I get to enjoy without worrying about portion size, calories, or any of that nonsense. This lets me focus on the awesome instead of thinking about it as depriving myself for the rest of the day. So, I tend to say “intermittent feasting” and not “intermittent fasting.”

Consider starting slowly. If you have been eating three meals a day, you may find more success easing into it. Many people find it easy to skip breakfast and just eat lunch and dinner at first. Then, if your schedule allows, you can inch your lunch later and later until you have blended it into your dinner, feasting window.

“I can’t eat enough at one sitting”

This is one that I hear quite frequently, and I get it. Not everyone can eat enough meat at one meal to maintain satiation for the next 23 hours, but I have some suggestions:

  • Up your fat content. I find that it is more effective for myself and many others to go more fat heavy at meal time. For example, choose fattier cuts of beef like ribeye instead of sirloin or even 73:27 ground beef instead of 80:20. Another really helpful way to add fat is butter, ghee, or tallow. I top my meats with butter very frequently. Another thing I love to do is melt butter or ghee and dip my meat into it. [Pro Tip, I often do a 50:50 mix of melted ghee and tallow for dipping]
  • Consider limiting fluids around mealtime. I don’t drink anything for at least an hour before mealtime and around 30 minutes after. I have found that this enables me to concentrate on getting enough fat and protein to last me for another 23 hours. This is also very helpful doing ADF or Alternate Day Fasting. I recently finished 30 days of eating this way, or one meal every two days and it can be a challenge to consume enough at that one meal!
  • Eliminate as much temptation as possible. This one can be tough, especially if you have others in your household who aren’t carnivore or fasting. But, if you can, get rid of as many quick snacks as possible. Most of the time, people think of things like snack cakes, cookies, chips, etc. and those definitely need to go.

Even as a carnivore, we will tend to be more successful with OMAD if we have quick carnivore* items like:

  • Cooked bacon in the refrigerator
  • Hamburger patties cooked and ready to go
  • Pre-packaged string-cheese
  • Beef jerky
  • Carnivore treats like the pre-packaged bars or dried meats

Have some other options available, such as drinks:

  • Water with lemon zest**
  • Sparkling water
  • Coffee***
  • Tea, hot or iced***
  • Hot water with salt (this is my favorite; I get to enjoy the ritual of heating water, using my coffee paraphernalia, and sipping it gives me electrolytes!)

Have ways to keep yourself busy

Boredom can be a challenge when doing OMAD. Staying busy is a great way to keep your mind off of eating outside of your feasting window. It is often much easier if you are working but you can absolutely have things planned to help, even when you aren’t working on something like:

  • Walking
  • Playing with pets
  • Working out (This can be done in short bursts throughout the day and doesn’t require a long workout session. Busting out a few squats for example.)
  • Find a hobby you enjoy
  • Calling friends or family
  • Reading or audiobooks

Be consistent

If possible, keep your feasting time around the same time every day. Your body adapts quickly around circadian rhythm, and you will find that your satiety and hunger hormones (leptin, ghrelin, etc.) will adjust accordingly. For example, I like to eat between 5:30 and 6 pm every evening. I have found that I am not hungry during the day anymore, but I get very hungry right before my normal feasting window!

Reach out for help
There are many of us coaches here on carnivore.diet with a great amount of knowledge and experience. Consider booking a coaching session or even instant coaching where you make a call and get immediate help or advice.

 

*You can always add these back after you have been OMAD for some time but the temptation early on can be difficult.
**This won’t break your fast. If you need it to help you get through or as a treat, it is ok!
*** Coffee or tea on carnivore warrants a post entirely on its own. We won’t debate it here, if you drink them, this is a good time to do so.

 

Carnivore for Alzheimer’s Prevention – A No Brainer

September 9, 2022 2 Comments

Globally, every three minutes, someone develops dementia. By 2050, an estimated 152 million people will have dementia. So chances are you know someone – a parent, grandparent, or friend – has as suffered from this horrible disease as well. But contrary to popular belief, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is not a normal part of aging. It can be prevented. The key is to take action as soon as possible since it’s thought that AD begins 20 years or more before symptoms arise. Keep reading to learn more about the causes of dementia and the choices you can make to avoid this terrible disease.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive decline of memory, cognitive functions, and changes in behavior and personality. Sadly, AD is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and the 5th leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older. AD is the most common type of dementia, a category of mental impairment that also includes cerebrovascular disease (vascular dementia) and Lewy body dementia.

 

What are the Risk Factors for Dementia?

Dementia can be prevented and, in some cases, early symptoms can be reversed. Risk factors for dementia can be categorized into modifiable and non-modifiable. Non-modifiable risk factors include age, genetics, gender (women are more likely to have Alzheimer’s), and a positive family history of dementia since more than one-third of AD patients have one or more affected first-degree relatives.

The good news is that there are modifiable risk factors – areas where our choices can mitigate dementia. Modifiable risk factors include avoiding smoking, head injury, environmental factors, and metabolic syndrome (MetSys), one of the fundamental causes of dementia. MetSys is a signal that the body is not properly handling carbohydrates and is, therefore, a risk factor for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Treating MetSys minimizes the risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in 40% of the population.

Alzheimer’s Dementia is a Metabolic Issue

While the cause of AD is multifactorial, with both genetic and environmental factors implicated in its pathogenesis, AD is arguably a metabolic issue that stems from the brain’s inability to harness energy from glucose. In addition to these lifestyle choices, we can modify (lower) our risk of AD through dietary choices.

The brain is an energy-hungry organ. Although it only typically accounts for 2% of body weight, it can require up to 20% of the body’s glucose and oxygen. That’s why adequate fuel delivery is so important. Compared to healthy people, those with AD have been found with up to a 45% reduction in the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose or CMRglu. This results in reduced fuel usage by brain regions responsible for memory processing and learning. Because areas of the brain dedicated to visual and sensorimotor processing are unaffected, it can be difficult to notice changes, even though the risk of developing AD is present. A decline in glucose metabolism can be detected decades before overt symptoms.

Type 2 v Type 3 Diabetes

You may have heard the terms “Type 3 diabetes” or “diabetes of the brain” because similar to Type 2 diabetes, the brain becomes incapable of adequately metabolizing glucose due to insulin resistance (or insulin insensitivity). Without adequate fuel, neurons in regions of the brain start to degenerate. Degraded neurons eventually become incapable of communicating, leading to symptoms associated with AD such as confusion, cognitive decline, and behavioral changes.

Type 2 and Type 3 diabetes are related in that they may have the same primary underlying cause of insulin resistance, but they are not the same. An individual does not need to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in order to develop Type 3 or AD. In fact, many people with AD have normal blood glucose levels and are not diagnosed with diabetes. The key factor is, therefore, not glucose, but insulin resistance, a reduction in the body’s sensitivity to insulin, and hyperinsulinemia (elevated levels of insulin in the bloodstream for extended periods of time.) These disturbances lead to inflammation and oxidative stress, an imbalance of free radicals which can create damage to the cells and tissue in the body. While Type 2 diabetes affects muscles, organs, and the rest of the body aside from the brain and central nervous system, damage from AD is localized to the brain.

Insulin and Beta-amyloid Plaques

Interestingly, insulin also plays a crucial role in the formation of amyloid plaques, protein fragments that accumulate in the brain. While these plaques are found in healthy brains, in AD patients, beta-amyloid plaques accumulate to an unhealthy level, interfering with cell communication. Aside from reduced glucose utilization, beta-amyloid plaques are one of the defining features of AD.

One theory as to why these plaques accumulate in the AD brain is that they are not broken down and cleared away as they should be. Beta-amyloid plaques are primarily cleared with insulin-degrading enzyme, the same enzyme the body uses to clear insulin once insulin has done its job. Because the enzyme prefers insulin to beta-amyloid plaques, it works on clearing insulin first, leaving plaques to accumulate. Chronically-elevated insulin levels lead to more plaque build-up. And the more it builds up without being cleared, the more likely it is to form plaques that interfere with neuronal communication.

The Importance of Early Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention

This article cannot overstate the importance of AD prevention. AD begins with small changes in the brain that are initially unnoticeable to the person affected. Only after years of brain changes do individuals experience noticeable symptoms, at which point disease reversal may be too late. While there is no cure for AD, it can be prevented through dietary and lifestyle interventions. Consider prevention a lifelong concern. Waiting for an AD diagnosis may be too late – the brain may have already suffered too much damage.

 

Dietary Changes for AD Prevention

Carbohydrate restriction by way of a carnivore, keto, or ketosis-inducing diet is one of the first steps we can take to begin to ease the metabolic dysfunction that causes AD. If the brain has become incapable of properly metabolizing glucose, then a low or no-carbohydrate diet utilizing another fuel source can help correct abnormalities. This alternate fuel source – ketones – are generated when the body switches from metabolizing carbohydrates to metabolizing fat. In a low insulin environment, the body will produce ketones, a product of fat burning, to provide the brain with nourishment.

“The therapeutic and neuroprotective effects of ketones are so impressive, in fact, that one of the premier researchers studying ketones and brain health has suggested that a drawback of the modern, carbohydrate-heavy diet is that is it ‘keto-deficient.’” 

The Alzheimer’s Antidote

While the causes of AD are multifactorial, dietary changes can play a significant role in preventing or even reversing AD symptoms. The price of poor brain health is too high to delay starting to pay attention today. To learn more about Alzheimer’s prevention using a low-carb diet, please refer to Amy Berger’s book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote.

 

Written by Laura Guy
I dedicate this article to my father, Stuart. I love my father dearly and have watched him transition from an ambitious, independent man to an immobile and totally dependent man with very little speech capacity. Sadly, he has experienced very little quality of life over the past 11 years due to the degenerative effects of dementia, a disease for which there is no cure.

How You Can Live a Better Life Through Eating the Carnivore Diet!

September 2, 2022 1 Comment

So you want to know how to improve your life through a carnivore diet? I’m thrilled to share with you the fantastic facts that I’m learning.

What is the Carnivore Diet?

If you’ve never heard of the carnivore diet, it is simply a diet of animal-based foods, rather than foods from the plant kingdom. If it came from an animal, you can have it, if it didn’t, you can’t have it.

Animal-derived foods are included as well, such as beef or chicken broth, caviar, butter, and cheese. Milk is not usually consumed on carnivore, however.

Some people find they do better without cheese. It may slow down weight loss, or cause congestion. If it does, just eliminate it.

Seafood and shellfish can be on your diet too. I have found that I want less of these as I progress on carnivore. At this writing, I am over a month into it. And I love it! More on that below.

What Are the Benefits of the Carnivore Diet?

Weight loss is probably the number one reason people come to the carnivore diet. For those who have a ‘broken metabolism’ and struggle to lose weight on low carb, or keto diets, carnivore is a godsend. I found that my cravings for carbs or just extra food (like a handful of nuts) stayed alive unless I dipped below 10 grams of carbs per day.

After living on that level for a few weeks, I realized that I was almost at carnivore anyway! I decided to take the plunge and see for myself if it was as miraculous as they say.

I think this the very best way to get on the carnivore diet. By cutting down to Very Low Keto, or Ketovore first, you’ll find it very easy to make the switch to zero carbs – it will be a piece of cake. (Sorry!)

Well, this is where I say it is easier to list the non-benefits of the carnivore diet because the benefits list is a mile long! We could literally be here all day, so I’ll just include some of the major ones.

Here are a few of the improvements patients have reported:

I’d like to mention just a few more:

Thyroid problems vanish, ADHD subsides, and both children and adults become calm and focused. Children should be slowly weaned off sugar and carbs onto the ketogenic diet first, and then onto carnivore, if necessary, until their symptoms subside.

Elderly people can improve their mental faculties and regain memory:

“Ketone bodies, which are produced naturally by the human metabolism in the absence of glucose or reduced presence of glucose, have a neuroprotective impact on aging brain cells. Ketones improve mitochondrial function and reduce tissue inflammation. This reduced inflammation also improves digestion and autoimmunity, so can also maintain healthy brain tissue.” – Coach Elizabeth B., carnivore.diet

At any age and stage, people find their brains become sharper and more focused. No drugs needed!

High blood sugar damages the brain because the brain cells develop insulin resistance as well as the rest of the body. This leads to impaired ability to regulate metabolism, as well as impaired cognition and mood.

So many illnesses and chronic conditions appear to be the result of one root cause: The Wrong Human Diet.

The Carnivore Diet Meal Plan

Here I’d like to include a sample menu so you can see what a day on carnivore might look like:

  • 1st Meal of the Day: Eggs in butter, any style, with bacon. Coffee with butter and salt. No sweeteners.
  • 2nd Meal of the Day: Tuna fish or salmon patties, made with canned fish well mixed with an egg and fried in lots of butter. Salt to taste. Water, tea, coffee. No sugar substitutes.
  • 3rd Meal of the Day: Ribeye steak, burgers, and/or hot dogs. Cheese is optional. Zero carb beverage such as sparkling water.

Notice anything? That’s right! There are no limits on how much you may eat at a meal. Eat till full is the rule! Another rule is to eat fatty meats. In the case of fish, you can add fat using butter or bacon drippings.

It seems Carnivarians usually end up feeling so full that they drop one of these meals after a short while on the diet. It is so easy to do intermittent fasting with carnivore, it just happens naturally.

A Carnivore Diet Food List

Here is a list of the foods you can choose from:

  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Lamb
  • Venison
  • Bison
  • Elk
  • Organ Meats
  • Poultry
  • Eggs
  • Animal Fats
  • Cured Meats, no added sugar, carbs, or MSG
  • Bacon
  • Hot dogs
  • Fresh or Canned Fish
  • Seafood and Shellfish
  • Deli Meats and Sausages
  • Jerkies and Meat Sticks, no carbs, no MSG
  • Pork Rinds, plain, no sugars, no MSG
  • Caviar
  • Meat Broths
  • Butter
  • Cheeses, low carb (keep to a minimum)

Nothing sweet is allowed but use as much salt as you like.

If any food disagrees with you, just leave it out. This is sometimes called an Elimination Diet. You should pay attention to the effect foods have on your body and remove those that cause congestion, runny nose, indigestion, low energy, or other problems.

Note: You may have constipation or diarrhea in the first week as your body gets used to the new diet. Your gut microbiome will be changing over to its new environment. Extra fats in the diet may also cause loose stools. Don’t panic, just adjust accordingly and go forward.

The waste products from a carnivore diet are much less than from a plant-based diet. It is normal to pass stools two or three times a week. They’ll be much smaller too. Just another benefit!

Carnivore Diet Results

The results of a carnivore diet are ongoing. People report greater levels of healing the longer they stay on the diet. The first thing to go is the excess water (edema) your body was holding due to high sugar/glycogen levels. Carbohydrates cause the body to store extra water. When we eat carbs, the energy that we don’t use right away is stored as glycogen. Each gram of glycogen comes with three grams of water attached.

You can see this happening even in the first and second weeks. And less edema means lower blood pressure. In fact, you may want to supplement with electrolyte drops to replace potassium and magnesium, especially.

Weight loss is another measurable result even in the first week. It is so encouraging!

Inflammation throughout the body begins to fade away. As a result, all the chronic conditions associated with inflammation begin to resolve as well. Pain, sore joints, chronic headaches, skin conditions, bowel inflammation from plant lectins, and autoimmune disorders will heal according to case studies.

Mood disorders and low energy are replaced with a cheerful outlook and steady, even energy.

Yes, it sounds like the mythical magic wand, but its not. It is simply replacing a harmful diet with, as Dr. Ken Berry says, a Proper Human Diet.

Dr. Anthony Chaffee in a YouTube interview with Kelly Hogan made the following statement:

“95% of the results from the carnivore diet come from letting go of the last 5%” (of carbs, the old way of eating and drinking)

This is huge. As soon as you feel ready, go all in! Get those great results!

The healing will continue throughout the weeks and months. I’m into my second month at this point, and I have lost significant weight and inches; I feel younger and have great energy. I need less sleep. I’m more motivated and creative. Nails and hair are growing faster. Most people say they’re hooked after the first month, and I’m one of them! I can’t wait to see what will heal next!

One more thing … food no longer controls my body or my thoughts. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. Then I don’t think about food again until the next time I’m hungry. I’ve wanted this all my life: total freedom from cravings and food obsession!

Carnivore Diet for Mental Health

Yes. The carnivore diet heals mental health issues. From anxiety and depression all the way to full-blown schizophrenia. I know that’s a lot to say. But research proves it. The case studies and personal accounts are proving it. The evidence is stacking up in favor of carnivore: this diet heals the brain!

I first found Dr. Chris Palmer on an interview with Dr. Shawn Baker. Dr. Palmer, MD is a psychiatrist who received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine. He did his internship and psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard School of Medicine. He is the author of a brand-new book called Brain Energy in which he teaches how ketogenic diets heal the brain from mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, depression, and more. His book is due out in November of 2022.

If you don’t know, any diet that puts you into ketosis is a keto genic diet. That covers Keto (20 grams or less of carbs/day) and Carnivore (zero carbs/day).

This is truly the high calling of the carnivore diet: the ability to heal the mind. It struck home with me because I have two family members who are afflicted with severe mental disabilities. Dr. Palmer’s mission is to spread the word and educate mental health professionals as well as everyday folks like us. We don’t have to live with these disabilities anymore!

I’m excited for the future by all the promise that the carnivore diet holds for people. I’m blown away by the incredible healing, both physical and mental, that eating a pure meat diet can bring. It will literally change our lives!

Why All the Fuss Over Fiber?

August 23, 2022 No Comments

When thinking about starting the carnivore diet, one of the first questions people ask is, “Where will I get my fiber?” This is based on our conception that fiber is good for us and that our bodies need to process fiber in order to function properly. We’ve all heard of a “high fiber, heart-healthy diet” or been told that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

However, similar to other popular nutritional advice, science does not support the claim that fiber is healthy, necessary or even beneficial. Keep reading to learn where the fiber myth originated, why conventional advice about fiber is inaccurate, and how much fiber – if any – you should be eating per day.

What is fiber?

Fiber is a carbohydrate composed of indigestible plant matter that is further categorized as soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber can be partially dissolved by water while soluble fiber cannot. Despite this distinction, by definition, the body cannot fully digest fiber, which leads many people to believe that it moves through the colon “sweeping” other waste matter along to its inevitable exit out of our bodies. 

How much fiber do we need?

Believe it or not, the answer is none. According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an essential nutrient is defined as “a vitamin, mineral, fatty acid, or amino acid required for normal body functioning that either cannot be synthesized by the body at all, or cannot be synthesized in amounts adequate for good health, and thus must be obtained from a dietary source. Other food components, such as dietary fiber, while not essential, also are considered to be nutrients.” 

Not convinced? Well, if you’ve been following a low-carbohydrate diet, then you may be familiar with the following statement from the Panel on Macronutrients: “The lower limit on dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fats are consumed.” If fiber is a subset of carbohydrates, then we don’t have a need for fiber, right? 

Unfortunately, convincing most people why fiber is unnecessary is not as simple as this logic. Our medical and lay community is filled with high-fiber recommendations and conflict with the Panel’s. Let’s take a closer look. 

Where did high-fiber recommendations come from?

High-fiber recommendations originated in the 1970s based on observations of Ugandan populations by Dr. Denis Burkitt. He compared their disease patterns to Western diseases and concluded in the British Medical Journal that many Western diseases –  such as coronary heart disease, diabetes type II, colorectal cancer, obesity, and hypertension –  were the result of Western diet and lifestyle. His book about fiber became an international bestseller and led to the now widespread conventional advice that low-fiber diets cause disease.


Why Burkitt’s simplistic approach was readily and widely accepted is unclear. But it has led many to believe that necessary for digestion and is protective again colon cancer, heart disease, and digestive issues. According to human physiology and research studies, does increasing fiber increase our overall health? 

Don’t we need fiber to break down undigested carbohydrates?

A lot of people will argue that we should eat copious amounts of fiber to break down carbs. But let’s take a look at what fiber does once consumed – it is broken down into short-chain fatty acids, namely propionic acid (propionate), acetic acid (acetate), and butyric acid (butyrate), which is the fuel source preferred by the large intestines endothelial cells. 

But you don’t need to eat fiber to get butyrate. In fact, butter is the best dietary source of butyrate and it doesn’t require carbohydrate consumption. There is no need to consume glucose, fructose, and/or processed foods to realize the benefits of butyrate for digestion. 


Does fiber reduce the risk of colon cancer?

In 2005, a study was published that aimed to get to the bottom of inconsistent observational findings related to fiber and colon cancer. Researchers followed 725,628 men and women involved in 13 other cohort studies for 6 to 20 years to determine which individuals had higher incidents of colorectal cancer. While dietary fiber intake was inversely associated with the risk of colorectal cancer in age-adjusted analyses, after accounting for other dietary risk factors, high dietary fiber intake was not associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Similar to other nutrition-based research, other factors were at play. 

Fast-forward to 2017 and researchers still do not have strong evidence. This study systematically reviewed five studies of over 4000 subjects. Researchers concluded there was no evidence to suggest that increased dietary fiber intake would reduce the incidence or recurrence of adenomatous polyps within a two to four-year period.

Does fiber reduce the risk of heart disease?

But what about heart disease? Fiber is widely recommended as part of the “heart-healthy diet.” While fiber intake has been shown to improve glycemic control, a factor related to diabetes – a risk factor for heart disease – that fiber administration using psyllium has no effect and does not lower serum cholesterol. 

What about fiber and digestive issues like constipation and IBS?

If fiber acts like a broom in the colon, then shouldn’t it help with digestive issues like constipation and IBS? Should it accelerate transit to push matter to its inevitable exit? One systematic research review of 17 randomized controlled trials found that the treatment of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) patients with fiber is controversial. 

The conclusion: “The benefits of fibre in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome are marginal for global irritable bowel syndrome symptom improvement and irritable bowel syndrome-related constipation. Soluble and insoluble fibres have different effects on global irritable bowel syndrome symptoms.” Clinically, bran was no better than placebo in the relief of the overall symptoms of IBS and is possibly worse than a normal diet for some symptoms.

Summary 

Is fiber beneficial? In some instances, like lowering blood sugar, yes, it can help. Is fiber necessary? No. Unfortunately, recommendations for high-fiber diets started with mere observations that confused association with causation and we can support our digestion with animal fats, butter being an excellent source of butyrate. Hopefully, these facts provide you with the information you need to move forward with an animal-based way of eating. 

Is Dietary Fiber Necessary For A Healthy Diet?

August 23, 2022 2 Comments

Dietary Fiber became a part of the public’s nutritional consciousness in the mid-1970s, when the newly released US Dietary Guidelines recommended that a healthy diet include plenty of “foods with adequate starch and fiber.” With that advice, along with the simultaneous ostracism of animal-based saturated fats, dietary fiber secured its place as a sacred component of mainstream nutritional wisdom.

Today, nearly 50 years later, most nutritionists still insist that plant fiber is necessary for optimal human health. But when we look more closely at what fiber does within the body, it becomes difficult to see how it provides any health benefit. With the health success that many people find with all-animal-product diets, fiber is being shown in a new light, and in most cases, it’s proving to be more a nuisance than a nutrient for human health.

A problem with discussing dietary fiber is that, on the surface, much of the conventional wisdom makes sense. The idea that ingesting a good amount of plant roughage to help “scrub” our intestines and colon to keep us regular and free of disease seems intuitive. The thought that we must keep our gut biome happy and well fed with a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber to assure gastrointestinal tract health sounds reasonable.

What is Dietary Fiber?
Simply put, fiber is the non-digestible part of plant foods. Common fiber types include cellulose, pectins, beta-glucans, and gums. Fiber is classified as soluble or insoluble based on whether it is dissolvable in water. Beans, oat bran, avocado, and berries are sources of soluble fiber; whole grains, wheat germ, beans, flax seeds, leafy vegetables, and nuts are sources of insoluble fiber. Animal-source foods, such as meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy, contain no fiber.

At a molecular level, plant fibers are chains of sugar molecules (polysaccharides) that our digestive tract can’t break down and that don’t offer any nutritional value to humans directly. Plant fibers pass through the stomach and end up in the small intestines intact, where they are either broken down and enjoyed by bacteria or pass through us unchanged. While the fiber-eating microbes in our gut are happy, they break down a small percentage of the rough plant materials for their own benefit, with no direct use to us.

Plant Fiber Myths
Fiber has multiple alleged mechanisms of health, but the impact of each is largely unsupported. Claims for dietary fiber’s preventative and healing powers include benefits for various illnesses and diseases, including constipation, colon cancer, diverticulosis, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and more. Unfortunately, these wisdoms are based primarily on best-guess assumptions and epidemiological studies (studies that get data from patient or subject group questionnaires). Over the decades, there have been a few controlled scientific studies regarding dietary fiber, and the results fall short of conventional nutritional advice.

Is Fiber Needed to Cure Constipation?

The notion that humans need plant fiber for proper bowel function and intestinal health is false. Research regarding fiber and constipation shows that plant fiber does not lead to better outcomes; it often worsens things. While fiber does cause those with constipation to have larger bowel movements, it does not improve any of the unpleasant symptoms of constipation. Studies have shown that removing fiber from one’s diet can improve constipation. Many carnivorous mammals (and humans) have no problem whatsoever having normal, regular bowel movements in the complete or nearly complete absence of fiber.

Does Fiber Prevent Colon Cancer?

In line with the idea of scrubbing our insides for health, many believe that high fiber intake helps reduce the risk of colon cancer, but studies have proved this to be erroneous. The Nurses’ Health Study in 1999 followed 88,757 women over 16 years and found no significant benefit in reducing colon cancer risk. In 2000, a similar randomized study of high fiber intake also failed to show any reduction in precancerous lesions known as adenomas.

Can a High-Fiber Diet Heal Diverticulosis?

Diverticulosis is the pathological process that occurs when the innermost layer of the colon (the submucosa) protrudes through the outer muscular layer, forming small pockets that pouch out from the large bowel. A high-fiber diet and increased frequency of bowel movements are associated with a greater, rather than lower, prevalence of diverticulosis. Patients with IBS, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis all seem to respond similarly well to a reduced fiber diet.

Does Dietary Fiber Prevent Heart Disease?

The Diet and Reinfarction Trial in 1989 randomized 2,033 men to three different diets after their first heart attack. A standard, low-fat diet did not seem to reduce risk at all, and a high-fiber diet showed no benefit to cardiovascular health. The high-fat Mediterranean diet was shown to be beneficial. More recent trials such as the PREDIMED confirm the benefits of eating more natural fats such as meats, nuts, and olive oil. In all of these trials, the beneficial impact of fiber was essentially nonexistent.

Can Fiber Help Control Diabetes?

The role of fiber in insulin sensitivity and diabetes is open to debate. There is some evidence that dietary fiber can help, but only in indirect ways. High-fiber foods require more chewing, which may help to reduce food intake. Soluble fiber absorbs water to form a gel, further increasing the food’s volume, helping fill the stomach, and boosting satiety. Fiber bulks up food, decreases its energy density, and slows the body’s insulin response to carbohydrates. But we must remember that plant fiber from whole fruits, starchy vegetables, and grains usually comes with more sugars and carbohydrates, which are associated with poor glycemic control.

But Fiber Works for Other Animals

The animal kingdom’s ruminants, herbivores, and omnivores have evolved many ways to extract nutrients from plants and convert them to the building blocks needed for their growth and health. A cow’s stomach has multiple compartments, each with a highly specialized microbiome to break down and digest plant materials. Gorillas and other great apes have massive intestinal tracts and colons to deal with the nearly 40 pounds of plant material they eat daily — a volume that speaks to how little nutrition is in plant materials, even for a highly adapted herbivore. Cows and great apes graze and forage almost constantly throughout their waking hours. Yet even with these plant-digesting guts, the fiber mostly just passes on through. Cows, apes, and most all other herbivores produce a lot of waste!

Humans have small colons, comparatively short intestinal tracts, a small stomach, and a gut biome that is more suited to breaking down animal proteins and fats into building blocks we can use. If the need arises, humans can digest a limited range of plant foods (fruits, berries, nuts, roots, etc.) without issue. Still, the benefit — immediate energy availability — is small and certainly not required for long-term health.

Summary

So, is dietary fiber necessary for a healthy human diet? The answer is no. The goal of human nutrition is to provide our bodies with the energy and the structural components needed to build and maintain our animal-based cells — we don’t need anything from plants to accomplish these nutritional goals. Just because humans can ingest fiber-filled food, this ability in no way indicates that fiber is a nutritional health requirement. Much of the touted benefits of plant fiber have been based on erroneous assumptions and flawed epidemiological surveys. For these reasons, plant fiber should be regarded as unnecessary at best, and perhaps even harmful for many.

Won’t an all-meat diet give me scurvy?

August 8, 2022 4 Comments

Do people on carnivore diets develop scurvy, which is a deadly result of vitamin C deficiency? Basically, the answer is a resounding no. The one exception would be if you attempted to live off a diet of only dried and preserved meats. That type of diet is the reason British sailors developed scurvy. For months at a time, they lived off dried, salted meats while they traveled the sea. High-carbohydrate items comprised the rest of their diets, and those foods potentially made matters worse.

Vitamin C has numerous roles in the body. One role is to assist in the synthesis of collagen, which is a vital protein used structurally throughout the body. When collagen synthesis is down, we see some of the classic symptoms of scurvy, such as bleeding gums, loss of teeth, joint dysfunction, and nonhealing wounds. The body also uses vitamin C to help form carnitine, and vitamin C acts as an antioxidant that plays a role in modulating our immune systems. Humans who are deficient in vitamin C start to show signs of scurvy within a few months.

Okay, so if vitamin C is necessary, meat doesn’t contain vitamin C (at least according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture), and humans can’t make vitamin C, what gives? Why are so many people who follow an all-meat diet not walking around with their teeth falling out? Well, several things are in play.

It has been known for well more than 100 years that meat, particularly fresh meat, both cures and prevents scurvy. This evidence was well documented among many nineteenth-century Arctic explorers. Fresh meat is the key difference in a modern carnivore’s diet compared to the diets of the British sailors, which was dominated by dried, salted meat.

Amber O’Hearn, a brilliant long-term carnivore, investigated the USDA’s claim that meat has no vitamin C. She was shocked to discover that the USDA had never bothered to test for vitamin C in meat. As it turns out, meat does contain a small but sufficient amount of the vitamin, particularly in the context of a fully carnivore diet.

Vitamin C enters your body through the intestinal tract. Interestingly, glucose can directly compete with vitamin C absorption because they share a cellular transporter. If there’s a lot of glucose in your system, vitamin C absorption is effectively inhibited. In a meat-only diet, glucose is effectively zero in the intestines; thus, vitamin C becomes more available. Interesting work coming out of the Paleo Medicina group in Hungary has shown that serum vitamin C levels are normal in patients who follow a carnivore diet. In fact, animal-derived vitamin C was more effective than similar plant-derived vitamin C for maintaining serum levels.

Dietary antioxidants are widely believed to benefit us, although there are some significant challenges to that theory. As I mentioned previously, vitamin C has a role here. It’s interesting to note that when an animal that can manufacture its own vitamin C starts eating a carbohydrate-restricted diet, the animal’s synthesis of vitamin C decreases. It’s almost as if eating carbohydrates increases the requirements for antioxidants. Although humans can’t make vitamin C as other animals can, in the presence of a low-carbohydrate diet, we see an increase in some of our endogenous antioxidants (that is, our body makes them).

The role of vitamin C in helping to form collagen involves the hydroxylation of the amino acids proline and lysine to form hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, respectively. When you eat a meat-rich diet, some of those molecules are absorbed in the already hydroxylated form via specific gut transporters; therefore, you likely require less vitamin C.

The upshot is that when you’re on an all-meat diet, vitamin C absorption is more efficient, and your body’s requirements for it go down. You get a sufficient amount of the vitamin from the food (fresh meat) you eat, and you don’t get scurvy.

Excerpted from The Carnivore Diet, By Dr. Shawn Baker.
Learn more HERE

Water: The Classic is Back!

August 8, 2022 No Comments

Every animal on the planet drinks water; it works well for hydration. Seventy percent of your body is made of water. It’s all you need to drink, and as you get unhooked from sugar and artificial sweeteners, you’ll come to enjoy it. If you want to go crazy, get some sparkling water. Although you might feel like you might die at first, you really and truly won’t perish if you don’t have some kind of sweet beverage to drink. Water—it’s good. Drink it!

What about bone broth, alcohol, and coffee? Bone broth is fine. It contains some good stuff and can help to satisfy your urge to drink something hot or flavored. However, drinking bone broth isn’t crucial to the success of the carnivore diet. You don’t need to drink it unless you want to. You can get all the nutrients you need without it, but if you enjoy or benefit from it, feel free to indulge.

Alcohol is not a health food. It won’t make you live longer, and it won’t make you any hardier. When you’re deciding whether to indulge in alcohol or skip it, understand that ethanol is toxic. Once in a while, I have a glass of red wine or two. I generally can expect my sleep to be less restful, and my athletic performance often is a little impaired the next day. Neither issue is the end of the world; the important thing is that I understand what the negative consequences of having the wine are and account for them when I make my decision. Most people who do a carnivore diet for a long period report their desire to drink alcohol drastically diminishes. Beer and certainly sugary mixed drinks are a bigger negative than a dry wine or a distilled spirit. Some people even have problems with the grains that are distilled to make the liquor.

Coffee is something I have little experience with. I’ve tried a few cups here and there over the decades, but I’ve never enjoyed it. Perhaps, if you’re a coffee lover, my inexperience is reason enough for you to stop listening to me. Many people find coffee incredibly satisfying and often turn drinking it into a ritualistic experience.

The science on whether coffee is good or bad for us continually changes. Caffeine has some effects on our physiology and acts as a central nervous system stimulant. It also affects the sympathetic nervous system and has been shown to aid in sports performance. However, research has found that it leads to sleep disturbance and can negatively affect gastrointestinal motility and gastric acid secretion. Some people find that caffeine acts to dysregulate appetite, often suppressing it. It may interfere with nutrient and mineral absorption. In all likelihood, though, for most people caffeine probably has a minimal impact in the grand scheme of things.

My suggestion is that you not try to quit coffee or caffeine during the initial phases of the diet. Once you’ve adapted to your new eating habits, give it a go if it’s something you want to take on.

Excerpted from The Carnivore Diet, By Dr. Shawn Baker.

Learn more HERE

Truth About Kidney Health and Gout

August 8, 2022 No Comments

People who are emotionally invested in avoiding protein often state that protein damages the kidneys, particularly when that protein comes from animals. Where did this theory come from? Not from studying humans. On the podcast I share with ultra-endurance world-record holder, Zach Bitter, I was talking with Dr. Stuart Phillips, one of the world’s leading protein experts, and we got into this topic. The misconception about this issue evolved from some work researchers did on rats, but no research on humans has ever shown the same results.

Protein doesn’t damage kidneys, but damaged kidneys tend to leak protein, which is something that contributes to the confusion about the relationship between protein and the kidneys. Many physicians have bought into this myth that protein damages kidneys even though the assertion has almost no scientific support. As with other misconceptions, you can look at the treasure trove of nutritional epidemiology and find some relationship between a high-protein diet and an increased incidence of kidney disease, but, as always, you have to ask the question, “Does it apply to all people in all situations?”

In my experience, people who eat a high-protein carnivore diet aren’t finding that their kidneys are compromised. I’m not saying that no one who follows the carnivore diet will ever have kidney problems; they can occur for many reasons. But I do not think that an all-meat diet causes kidney issues. I know of some cases where chronic kidney dysfunction has started to get better for several people.

Let’s put this in perspective. Humans evolved in an environment where eating copious amounts of meat was likely a common occurrence. We have several historical accounts of humans consuming very large amounts of meat, and those accounts show no evidence that the people experienced kidney problems. As I mentioned earlier, the explorers on the Lewis and Clark expedition were noted to have eaten as much as 9 pounds of meat per day. Modern-day competitive eaters have sometimes eaten more than 20 pounds of meat in one sitting without damaging their kidneys. If protein did indeed damage our kidneys, humans would not have made it this far through history.

Another common myth about the consumption of meat is that it leads to the development of gout. This perception goes back to the days when gout was considered a “rich man’s” disease. Because the financially well off were diagnosed with gout more frequently than the less affluent population, and the rich also were the people who could afford to eat meat, the assumption was that meat was the cause of gout. However, what do you think we find when we look at people who eat only meat? They don’t get gout, and if they had it before they start the carnivore diet, the gout generally clears up.

One of the beautiful things about a carnivore diet is that it tends to make some things crystal clear. You can wallow around in pointless epidemiology or use some questionably applicable animal studies to try to interpret something about the effects of eating meat, or you can take the simpler route and look at people who eat only meat. When we look at populations of meat eaters, such as the Maasai, Mongols, or Sámi, we see that there’s no indication that they were hobbled by gout. Today I routinely observe people with gout who go on an all-meat diet; for them, gout becomes a distant memory within months.

So, what about those rich dudes from a few hundred years ago? Why did they have gout? Because they had access to something that the common folk did not. Sugar! The wealthy also had more access to alcohol, and both sugar and alcohol are strong drivers of gout. The traditional view of gout is that it’s caused by an increase in uric acid because we can see uric acid crystals when we view gouty tissue under a microscope. I’ve taken care of plenty of gout patients over the years, and I’ve even removed large gouty tophi (which are basically giant blobs of crystal deposits in the skin that resemble toothpaste when cut open) from all parts of the body. None of my gout-afflicted patients has said he was a pure carnivore.

We know that purines form as food breaks down, and they can lead to increased uric acid production. Meat is often high in purines, and thus experts concluded that meat was the reason for the rich man’s disease. The problem is that most food leads to purines being produced, and high uric acid levels do not always lead to gout. As with all things, the path to gout isn’t a simple route. Is uric acid more of a problem when an underlying inflammatory state exists?

If so, what drives the inflammation? What about hyperinsulinemia (excess insulin)? Because of the complex system that comprises the human body, we have to look at issues like gout from all angles. Fructose is a vital component of table sugar, making up 50 percent of the sucrose molecule; the other 50 percent is glucose. We’ve seen that as fructose consumption goes up, the incidence of gout also goes up. Coincidentally, markers of inflammation and uric acid levels also rise as fructose consumption increases. Alcohol is another major contributor to higher uric acid levels. Like fructose, higher alcohol consumption tends to increase the incidence of gout.

One caveat is that if someone already has gout or is strongly predisposed to it, that person may experience a flare up during the transition phase into a ketogenic or carnivore diet. The flare-up is likely a result of a preexisting inflamed state combined with entering into a state of nutritional ketosis, or it’s because a transient uric acid elevation is a likely reason for the short-term occurrence of gout. After a person has fully transitioned to an all-meat diet, the gout generally subsides for good.

Excerpted from The Carnivore Diet, By Dr. Shawn Baker.
Learn more HERE

The Red Meat Cancer Risk Doesn’t Add Up

August 8, 2022 No Comments

Some researchers have said that red meat leads to colon cancer. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed that red meat was a Class 2 carcinogen, and that processed meat was a Class 1 carcinogen, which puts it in the same category as smoking cigarettes in terms of the risk of developing colon cancer. The level of relative risk was around 17 percent for red meat and 18 percent for processed meat.

Scientists from all over the world have criticized this proclamation for several reasons. Independent observers of the process that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) used to inform the WHO’s declaration have pointed out that it was not a consensus decision because approximately 30 percent of the participants disagreed. About 800 studies were considered, but only about 50 were deemed worthy of supporting the position that meat causes cancer; the other studies were thrown out for various reasons.

Dr. Georgia Ede has done a remarkable job of sorting through the same data that the IARC cited, and she has determined that the evidence in support of the claim that meat causes cancer appears to be fairly underwhelming. You can find Dr. Ede’s critique at DiagnosisDiet.com, and it’s well worth reading. To summarize, her findings show that the vast majority of the data comes from epidemiology, which always lumps true meat eaters with those people who eat junk like burgers, shakes, and fries.

Much of the other research was based on rat studies in which the animals were genetically bred to develop cancer, given a cancer-inducing drug, and then fed meat and some toxic rat chow. These types of studies are hardly applicable to a normal human being who eats a healthy diet that includes meat, and the studies in no way accurately represent the habits of a purely carnivorous human. Among those studies on rats and mice were a majority that didn’t support the hypothesis that meat causes cancer, and there even exists a study that concludes that bacon was relatively protective against colon cancer. Dr. David Klurfeld, who was one of the IARC panel members, has recently spoken out about the process. He was fairly concerned that contradictory evidence was dismissed and that a large percentage of the panelists were vegan or vegetarian but did not disclose that information on the review.

Let’s assume that the weak evidence that the WHO used was sufficient to suggest a true relative risk increase in cancer of 18 percent. What does that mean? Well, the generally accepted lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is about 4 percent. If the WHO is correct, that risk goes to 5 percent. In other words, based on the data that supports the WHO’s claim, there’s a whopping 1 percent increase in absolute risk. This is one of the classic statistical numbers games used to scare people from consuming something that someone doesn’t like for various reasons. As always, meat consumption is not the only factor in the risk of developing cancer; we also could look at things like hyperinsulinemia, abdominal obesity, and chronic inflammation (and we could paint a far scarier picture).

As I see it, there are two possible approaches to the WHO’s decree: You can question the findings of the WHO because of the poor science backing them, or you can put the findings in context with other factors to determine your overall risk. People who follow a carnivore diet often report greatly improved insulin status, lower levels of abdominal obesity, and significantly reduced inflammation. When you put the whole package together, you find that overall risk for colon cancer likely falls for people on a carnivore diet. Remember—when we talk about associational data, you always should ask, “Does this apply to all people in all situations?” Rats that have been genetically bred to develop cancer and have been given a drug that promotes cancer shouldn’t chase down a bolus of toxic rat chow with a steak. Similarly, people who spend their lives eating sugar, vegetable oils, and refined grains and become insulin resistant and obese may want to avoid triple bacon burgers with a side of fries and a shake.

In Asia, red meat and processed meat (whether cooked or raw) has basically no association with colorectal cancer. Is meat on that continent magically different than in North America? Not likely, especially because much of the red meat in Asia is imported from the United States. Do the Asians have special meat-resistant genes? That’s also not likely because when Asians emigrate to the United States, the likelihood that they’ll become sick and fat and develop cancer goes up. Instead, perhaps the higher incidence of colorectal cancer in North America has to do with the garbage that we eat with our meat rather than with the meat itself. (Note: Only about 4.5 billion people live in Asia, so I’m sure it’s totally fine to ignore their data.)

Excerpted from The Carnivore Diet, By Dr. Shawn Baker.

Learn more HERE

Switching to a Healthier, Meat-based You

August 8, 2022 1 Comment

We’re now ready to discuss some detail about common strategies to transition into the diet. There are pros and cons to these methods, and no solution is going to fit everyone. Your starting diet may help dictate which method you want to pursue.

Hard-Core Carnivore

This method is pretty much a direct drop into the purest form of the diet. If you go hard-core carnivore, you go straight to meat and water all the time right from the get-go. Many long-term carnivores recommend using this technique, which is analogous to removing a bandage by quickly ripping it off. There might be more discomfort in the short term, but the overall process often is quicker than easing into the diet.

With this method, on day one, you start eating nothing but meat and drinking nothing but water, and you repeat until you’ve adapted. This approach works best for very motivated individuals and those who are transitioning from a mostly animal-based ketogenic diet (because they’re already pretty well accustomed to fueling on fat). The downside of this cold turkey approach for many people is that the symptoms associated with the transition can be more severe than with a more gradual switch. Consequently, some people quit because the transition is too difficult.

Carb Step-Down Strategies

If you’re coming from a carbohydrate-heavy background, a good strategy may be to first adopt a lower-carbohydrate diet for at least several weeks before transitioning to a full carnivore diet.

If you’ve been on a standard American diet, which is high in carbohydrates, and you’ve been taking medications to address high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic pain, or depression, you should visit with your physician to discuss potential medication changes that might need to occur as you shift your diet. I’ll use blood pressure medication as an example: Many people find that medications to treat blood pressure can lead to dangerously low blood pressure as your body adapts because the diet can normalize blood pressure. The result is that the medication becomes unnecessary or needs to be reduced. The body can make similar adjustments for the other types of ailments, and it’s important that you and your doctor make corrections to your medication as necessary.

For some people, a good transition strategy is to include more meat-based meals gradually over time. One example schedule is to spread three fully meat-based meals throughout the first week. The next week bump up to eight carnivore meals. In the third week, try two days of only meat-based meals, and spread ten carnivore meals on the other days. In the fourth week, you should be able to handle five days of carnivore meals, and by the fifth week, all but two of your meals will be meat. In week six, your transition to full carnivore will be complete.

Alternatively, you could set short-term challenges to go full carnivore three days out of a week. The next challenge is to go one full week of eating only meat. The third challenge is to go for two weeks; finally, you attempt to go carnivore for thirty days in a row. This method is pretty much what I used, and it was a fairly smooth process.

The third technique for a gradual transition is to fade the vegetables and starch off your plate as you increase the amount of meat you eat each day. A drawback to these gradual techniques is that for some time, you still have access to addictive or otherwise problematic food, which may make it harder for you to let go of those things. It’s kind of like having an alcoholic quit drinking by only having alcohol twice a week.

However, as long as you continue moving closer to a fully carnivore diet, you will likely feel better, and those cravings will subside over time. Also, the gradual withdrawal of fiber- or oxalate-rich foods might make the transition easier. By gradually reducing fiber from your diet, your colon may better adapt to being able to absorb fluid and minerals efficiently. Gradually tapering from oxalate-rich foods may help you avoid a potential rapid precipitation of oxalate crystals into your joints, skin, or other tissues.

 

The Beginner Phase

How long does the beginner phase last? It can vary, but here are some signs that identify you as an experienced carnivore rather than a beginner:

  • Food no longer rules you, and you no longer see food as a form of entertainment. Instead, it’s a deeply satisfying form of nutrition.
  • You have no problem passing up a food that was previously one of your favorites.
  • You can go out socially and not cave to pressure to eat something just to satisfy someone else.
  • Nothing other than meat seems like food.

For some people, these signs are evident within a few months. Other people need years to reach all these milestones.

Excerpted from The Carnivore Diet, By Dr. Shawn Baker.
Learn more HERE

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