This letter will be "rare," and at the same time "well-done." It will be “provocatively reasonable” and will give you basic truths about what carnivore is, and what it is not.
I am always confused when people say eating carnivore is an eating disorder but eating plants is not?? Hmm. I believe that there is a version of each for each individual. I currently eat 85% animal based carnivore which allows meat, seafood, dairy, fruit and raw honey if required but yes I also have some vegetables every once in a while and even some sourdough bread. 😲 And that works best for me.
Thank you for an unbiased and logical article. The number of people (including myself) who improved their health or simply healed serious diseases is growing and fascinating.
The fact that our ancestors all lived on a Keto diet is for me proof enough that it can't be wrong. Otherwise, you and I wouldn't be here.
And the more I see how Pharma tries to fight the carnivore diet, the more I'm convinced that it is the way to eat. For most of us.
I look up "How long have homo sapiens been on earth?" The given answer is "200,000 years". I look up "How long have homo sapiens had agriculture?". The given answer is "12,000 years". So for 94% of the time homo sapiens have been estimated to be a recognized species on earth, homo sapiens were hunter/gatherers. So doesn't that mean that homo sapiens mostly ate meat? And if that's true, then how can you reasonably write that a carnivore diet isn't best for all humans? It strikes me that the simple fact is that humans have turned out to be apex level predators. There aren't supposed to be 8 billion of us. So certainly the earth is suffering for our predominance. But that doesn't change the likely fact that meat is best for an individual homo sapien? Your post loses its sharp point when it allows reasonable environmental concerns to muddy a basic understanding about human physiology...that humans do really well with a meat-heavy diet.
There's nothing wrong with writing "I don't know how we're going to feed 8 billion people what will make them optimally healthy and still keep the earth around us". That's an honest statement. But the difficulty in feeding 8 billion of us our best diet shouldn't get in the way of also writing, "Meat seems to be what keeps humans healthiest".
«Now, admittedly in this study, very low dose carbohydrate was supplied but only to offset exercise-induced hypoglycemia.»
The carb loafers (loaders) continue their unremitting belief contrary to Tim Noakes' shift from carb loading to fat burning.
As far as hypoglycemia, IMHO, it is 100% a direct result of reliance on sugar burning. There is no "hypoglycemia" when in ketosis, as wrestlers and boxers and other elites will testify. [Or, that I can verify from my schizophrenic brother's 40 mg/dL CGM reading with 3.0 mmo/L βOHB—he went for a walk that day]
«𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗹𝘆𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰? Wide blood glucose level swings due to metabolic illness such as diabetes, hyperglycemia to hypoglycemia, are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. (Monnier 2012). Additionally, blood sugar levels dropping precipitously after consuming refined carbohydrate laden meals, 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗹𝘆𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮, can lead to acute and severe symptoms. 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚕𝚞𝚌𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚢𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚗𝚘𝚗-𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚢𝚙𝚘𝚐𝚕𝚢𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚊. (𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔 1972). 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴.»
● M Malagón (19 Nov 2022) Layperson terms for ketone body metabolism? Metabolic Multiplier, is.gd/tQUes5
● Drenick, E. J., Alvarez, L. C., Tamasi, G. C., & Brickman, A. S. (1972). Resistance to symptomatic insulin reactions after fasting. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 51(10), 2757-62. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI107095
Read the rest of the section. I caveat the 4 week study with a statement about longer term keto adaptation. That said, I disagree with your statement that there is 'no hypoglycemia when in ketosis.' There certainly can be. Also there's a different between symptomatic hypoglycemia and relative hypoglycemia during high intensity exercise (in this case ~250 Watts, avg. and sustained)
Very useful thanks. But the nuance needs to change a little i think. Vitamin C. I believe the form found in meat is in the form DHAA which is 1000x more bioavailable than the plant form. GLP1 glucose receptor through which it's transported into cells has 1000x higher affinity for this form. That's the mystery of your C levels even going up on a carnivore diet solved! Excellent video here: https://youtu.be/ozTV96Stbco?si=I4JEmRPJfT8Jl1bQ
Gut microbiome diversity- carnivores have been shown to have a HIGHER diversity! Hard to believe but true. So your fears could be unfounded. Mechanism could be through carbs leading to flourishing of certain bacteria which crowd out beneficial bacteria and other beneficial organisms ( microbiome is far more than bacteria of course, including viruses, fungi etc). Excellent video -note case of Shaun O'Mara https://youtu.be/SciG4Jl0N5Y?si=ksMcY_CB4dl62lbV
Hope you can put out a revised version in due course.
Great article, but how the heck can they ever do a RCT on a carnivore diet? I can tell if you are feeding me meat or vegan or SAD.
BTW, I know of a young (early 50s) lady vegan who had a heart attack and stent put in who is/was in a study at Mayo Clinic on why "healthy" women are having heart attacks. Study does not consider the lack of eating meat to be a factor, which always seemed like a flaw even before I ever heard of a carnivore diet IMO.
About vitamin C: I have read several times that vitamin C is mainly used in the human body for the synthesis of collagen, and more precisely as a cofactor in the synthesis of hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. So I would happily add this 3rd mechanism to myth #2.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collagen: "Lysines and prolines are hydroxylated by the enzymes 'prolyl hydroxylase' and 'lysyl hydroxylase', producing hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. This helps in cross-linking the alpha peptides. This enzymatic step requires vitamin C as a cofactor. In scurvy, the lack of hydroxylation of prolines and lysines causes a looser triple helix (which is formed by three alpha peptides).
My comment has been published incomplete: its conclusion is that the collagen intake provided by a carnivorous diet is high enough to compensate for the endogenous synthesis of this molecule reduced due to the absence of exogenous intake of vitamin C, provided that a sufficient quantity of fresh meat is regularly consumed.
That’s key to be aware and conscious… this is key to make your own choices and be the N=1 eating mainly meat equal have a huge amount of nutrients and micro nutrient and be satisfy even with not so much volume! Aminoacids and fats singal to the brain, via the gut, we are nourished. Elimination diets are so old but at that time they did not named them as carnivore or paleo or animal based! I was lucky to have a great internship in IBD unit with a great mentor: parenteral, enteral nutrition, fasting, then zero fiber, quality proteins and evo oil…
Great article, keep up the good work!
I will try my best.
Awesome. I have been keto for 8 years 🙏🏾
Long time… what does it become “unsustainable?” ;)
I am always confused when people say eating carnivore is an eating disorder but eating plants is not?? Hmm. I believe that there is a version of each for each individual. I currently eat 85% animal based carnivore which allows meat, seafood, dairy, fruit and raw honey if required but yes I also have some vegetables every once in a while and even some sourdough bread. 😲 And that works best for me.
Thank you for an unbiased and logical article. The number of people (including myself) who improved their health or simply healed serious diseases is growing and fascinating.
The fact that our ancestors all lived on a Keto diet is for me proof enough that it can't be wrong. Otherwise, you and I wouldn't be here.
And the more I see how Pharma tries to fight the carnivore diet, the more I'm convinced that it is the way to eat. For most of us.
I’m glad you thought the approach was unbiased and logical. We both know we need more of that. Nuance > Dogma.
Absolutely 💯
I look up "How long have homo sapiens been on earth?" The given answer is "200,000 years". I look up "How long have homo sapiens had agriculture?". The given answer is "12,000 years". So for 94% of the time homo sapiens have been estimated to be a recognized species on earth, homo sapiens were hunter/gatherers. So doesn't that mean that homo sapiens mostly ate meat? And if that's true, then how can you reasonably write that a carnivore diet isn't best for all humans? It strikes me that the simple fact is that humans have turned out to be apex level predators. There aren't supposed to be 8 billion of us. So certainly the earth is suffering for our predominance. But that doesn't change the likely fact that meat is best for an individual homo sapien? Your post loses its sharp point when it allows reasonable environmental concerns to muddy a basic understanding about human physiology...that humans do really well with a meat-heavy diet.
There's nothing wrong with writing "I don't know how we're going to feed 8 billion people what will make them optimally healthy and still keep the earth around us". That's an honest statement. But the difficulty in feeding 8 billion of us our best diet shouldn't get in the way of also writing, "Meat seems to be what keeps humans healthiest".
I'd be interested in your comments on whether Neu5Gc in meat is a concern (Dr. Gundry believes it is).
Nick, great summary.
One quibble:
«Now, admittedly in this study, very low dose carbohydrate was supplied but only to offset exercise-induced hypoglycemia.»
The carb loafers (loaders) continue their unremitting belief contrary to Tim Noakes' shift from carb loading to fat burning.
As far as hypoglycemia, IMHO, it is 100% a direct result of reliance on sugar burning. There is no "hypoglycemia" when in ketosis, as wrestlers and boxers and other elites will testify. [Or, that I can verify from my schizophrenic brother's 40 mg/dL CGM reading with 3.0 mmo/L βOHB—he went for a walk that day]
«𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗹𝘆𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰? Wide blood glucose level swings due to metabolic illness such as diabetes, hyperglycemia to hypoglycemia, are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. (Monnier 2012). Additionally, blood sugar levels dropping precipitously after consuming refined carbohydrate laden meals, 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗹𝘆𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮, can lead to acute and severe symptoms. 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚕𝚞𝚌𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚢𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚗𝚘𝚗-𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚢𝚙𝚘𝚐𝚕𝚢𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚊. (𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔 1972). 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴.»
● M Malagón (19 Nov 2022) Layperson terms for ketone body metabolism? Metabolic Multiplier, is.gd/tQUes5
● Drenick, E. J., Alvarez, L. C., Tamasi, G. C., & Brickman, A. S. (1972). Resistance to symptomatic insulin reactions after fasting. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 51(10), 2757-62. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI107095
Read the rest of the section. I caveat the 4 week study with a statement about longer term keto adaptation. That said, I disagree with your statement that there is 'no hypoglycemia when in ketosis.' There certainly can be. Also there's a different between symptomatic hypoglycemia and relative hypoglycemia during high intensity exercise (in this case ~250 Watts, avg. and sustained)
This is the first time I've heard/read someone stating this... "I’d say some “normal” eating patterns could themselves reflect an eating disorder."
I've never thought about it this way. Even after people have said to me "that's crazy" when I tell them I'm following a keto diet.
Very useful thanks. But the nuance needs to change a little i think. Vitamin C. I believe the form found in meat is in the form DHAA which is 1000x more bioavailable than the plant form. GLP1 glucose receptor through which it's transported into cells has 1000x higher affinity for this form. That's the mystery of your C levels even going up on a carnivore diet solved! Excellent video here: https://youtu.be/ozTV96Stbco?si=I4JEmRPJfT8Jl1bQ
Gut microbiome diversity- carnivores have been shown to have a HIGHER diversity! Hard to believe but true. So your fears could be unfounded. Mechanism could be through carbs leading to flourishing of certain bacteria which crowd out beneficial bacteria and other beneficial organisms ( microbiome is far more than bacteria of course, including viruses, fungi etc). Excellent video -note case of Shaun O'Mara https://youtu.be/SciG4Jl0N5Y?si=ksMcY_CB4dl62lbV
Hope you can put out a revised version in due course.
Great article, but how the heck can they ever do a RCT on a carnivore diet? I can tell if you are feeding me meat or vegan or SAD.
BTW, I know of a young (early 50s) lady vegan who had a heart attack and stent put in who is/was in a study at Mayo Clinic on why "healthy" women are having heart attacks. Study does not consider the lack of eating meat to be a factor, which always seemed like a flaw even before I ever heard of a carnivore diet IMO.
English is not my native language. What is a restack?
I thin it’s like a retweet… a way of sharing the article.
Thanks. I am not a tweeter user, so this feature is probably of no use for me.
No, sorry. It was an analogy. It's not a share to twitter feature. I think it's a share to your substack audience feature.
About vitamin C: I have read several times that vitamin C is mainly used in the human body for the synthesis of collagen, and more precisely as a cofactor in the synthesis of hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. So I would happily add this 3rd mechanism to myth #2.
I’m not sure how this is an extra mechanism?
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collagen: "Lysines and prolines are hydroxylated by the enzymes 'prolyl hydroxylase' and 'lysyl hydroxylase', producing hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. This helps in cross-linking the alpha peptides. This enzymatic step requires vitamin C as a cofactor. In scurvy, the lack of hydroxylation of prolines and lysines causes a looser triple helix (which is formed by three alpha peptides).
My comment has been published incomplete: its conclusion is that the collagen intake provided by a carnivorous diet is high enough to compensate for the endogenous synthesis of this molecule reduced due to the absence of exogenous intake of vitamin C, provided that a sufficient quantity of fresh meat is regularly consumed.
That’s key to be aware and conscious… this is key to make your own choices and be the N=1 eating mainly meat equal have a huge amount of nutrients and micro nutrient and be satisfy even with not so much volume! Aminoacids and fats singal to the brain, via the gut, we are nourished. Elimination diets are so old but at that time they did not named them as carnivore or paleo or animal based! I was lucky to have a great internship in IBD unit with a great mentor: parenteral, enteral nutrition, fasting, then zero fiber, quality proteins and evo oil…
Besides puns, _sarcasm_ would be appropriate for this topic, given the term's etymology.