Carnivore January

Throughout January a group of us (and we would like to invite you too) are going to restrict our diet to just meat from ruminants, free range eggs and a little cheese. No vegetables, no grains, no alcohol etc.

Why are we doing this? ... For several reasons:

It seems to work

Over the past 20 years I have spent time with the indigenous Maasai communities in both Tanzania and Kenya and witnessed the healthy results of their natural carnivore diets first hand.

Image Steve in Wamba, Kenya 2012 & 2014.

This year, Christian Dailly who contributed his brilliant knowledge on metabolic fitness to help Health Results develop a 12-week fitness programmes, experienced amazing personal results eating this way for over 6 months. Not only are all his metabolic markers excellent, at 49 years of age he is deadlifting wights that seem almost impossible to comprehend. And he looks superbly lean too. But Christian is not alone, consider how Dr Shawn Baker has set several world records in rowing since turning carnivore (read about his journey in his book the Carnivore Diet).

A toxin reset

While we know that some plants contain vitamins and minerals, we also know that they contain many toxins. Dr Paul Saladino in his book the Carnivore Code, describes how as unlike animals who can run away and hide from danger, as plants are rooted to the spot, their only defence mechanism against predators was to release toxins. And these toxins for some can cause amongst other things gut issues.

Things a carnivore diet might fix or at least make better

Bloating, farting (sorry, but its true), digestive discomfort, any autoimmune issues caused by an intolerance you may not know you have, any side effects of hyper glycemia, any side effects of hyperinsulinemia, IBS, effects of inflammation, gout (yes, the opposite to what many have been informed), strengthened telomers (the ends of your chromosomes), libido, improved bone mass and bone density, anaemia, reduced brain fog.

The month might help slow down aging too. Why? Because carnosine which is a dipeptide (meaning it has 2 amino acids) helps prevents glycation (a process which leads to impaired elasticity of tissues such as blood vessels, skin, and tendons) and may be the ultimate antiaging molecule in the human body, we get it most from eating meat.

There may be longer term benefits too. As Dr Shawn Baker writes in is brilliant book the Carnivore Diet, 'we are observing a growing number of people who experience dramatic improvement in things like auto immune diseases, mental health disorders, and chronic gastrointestinal diseases when they completely remove plants from their diets, it becomes very easy to wonder whether some of the potentially noxious chemicals in plants they have a role in their problems even at low dose chronic exposure.'

Meat is packed full of useful things

Meat is a rich source of carnosine, carnitine, creatine, taurine, zinc, vitamin B12, iron, some of which just aren’t present in plants.

Meat is what we are designed to eat

Ask an anthropologist, and they will tell you there is no question we have always been meat eaters. Look at cave paintings drawn a million years ago, and you don’t see them cultivation plants, but chasing their dinner with spears. While we our primal ancestors occasionally ate a plant or two, their main food was always meat. Hunter came before Gatherer for a reason; our stomach acid is so high to help us digest meat and our large and small intestines are designed for meat eating too.

Since we started growing crops some 12,000 years ago, the detrimental difference in the human body has been staggering. We have lost some 200cm³ of brain size, shrunk in height and suffered a significant loss in bone density.

How will we measure our health?

We will measure and monitor the 5 metabolic markers of insulin resistance: waist to height ratio, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL and blood sugar levels. In aition we will self-score on a scale of 1 to 10, our sleep, mood, sharpness of mind, energy levels, physical strength, resting heart rate and our general feeling of wellness.

Isn’t meat bad for the planet

This is something we hear all of the time, but its complete nonsense. Virtually every report ever written that blames the cow for global warming, is funded by someone with a vested interest. You will find research funded by airlines trying to divert attention and of course food corporations who want us to swap beef for lab created chemically infused synthetic foods and pharmaceutical companies that benefit only when food companies have made us sufficiently sick.

Free ranging cattle, living on the land as they have for millions of years is part of the solution and not the problem. Yes, cattle force fed corn in gigantic sheds is for sure contributing to global warming, but free roaming cattle restore the integrity of the soil which helps sequests over a billion ton(s) of atmospheric carbon per year.

An extract from Fat & Furious, where I am interviewing Dr Robert Lustig:

People talk about greenhouse gasses as if they are all the same; they are not. It turns out there are three greenhouse gasses:

1. Carbon Dioxide. It has a heat-retaining capacity of 1. We need carbon dioxide, we would die without it, but there is too much.
2. Methane. It has a heat-retaining capacity of 25. And it is true that ruminants produce methane. But the point is that the amount of methane the ruminants make is only about 5% of the methane and most is coming from industry and cars etc.
3. Nitrous Oxide. It has a heat-retaining capacity of 210. Nine times greater than methane. This is the one that nobody gets. Where do you get nitrous oxide from?

Well, it’s in every field, and the reason is because that is what happens to the nitrogen runoff, from the nitrogen fertiliser, that was needed to grow the crops. Because the animals who use to fertilise the crops, because of their manure, because that’s nitrogen-fixing, now aren’t there because the cattle are in Kansas and the corn is in Iowa. So, you have to spray the corn with the nitrogen, which becomes nitrate oxide, which causes way more greenhouse gas emissions than the methane ever did and guess what, you have to do that for vegans too.

Free roaming ruminants Improve soil fertility, preserve biodiversity and the growing grass helps sequester carbon dioxide.

What are we eating and what we are avoiding

Eating:

We are restricting our diet to only a few items that contain little to zero toxins. This 30-day experiment is not just about what we are eating, but also what we are not. We will be eliminating all potentially toxic foods. While this diet might not be sustainable in the long term (although there are many healthy individuals that live on just these few staples), this reset will hopefully provide a sharp and deep health reset.

Our aim is to eat just meat from organic ruminants (cow, sheep, deer, or buffalo), eggs and butter. Why meat from just ruminants? Because their four stomachs remove more toxins from the land than the likes of poultry and pigs.

We may also add the following:

Cheese. From either buffalo, sheep, or goat. Why not cheese from cows? Because there are two types of caseins in cheese, casein 1 and casein 2. Casein 1 from cow dairy, may cause inflammation and weight gain. It can also worsen acne, eczema, asthma, allergies, and digestive problems.

Salt. Ideally rock salt which contains less toxins than sea salts.

Shellfish. Mussels, oysters, prawns etc. These rarely contain toxins.

Fresh water salmon. Not farm grown salmon which are fed commercialised pellets, nor fish from deep water that may contain contaminants.

What we are avoiding:

Pretty much everything else! And here is why:

We will avoid foods that contain oxalates. Oxalates are common in leafy green vegetables, and in some fruits, nuts and seeds. Anti-nutrient and may cause several medical problems including gastrointestinal irritation and leaky guts which may lead to autoimmune issues.

We will avoid foods that contain lectins. Lectins may also cause leaky guts, autoimmune issues and gastrointestinal irritation and we find these in things such as nuts, nightshades, grain, corn, nightshades, some fruits, quinoa, vegetable oils, legumes, squash and beans.

We will avoid foods that contain glycoalkaloids. These are found in the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes and peppers) and may be connected to IBS, and psoriasis.

We will avoid foods that contain goitrogens. These can interfere with the functioning of the thyroid and are found in soy and vegetables of the cruciferous family. These include cauliflower, cabbage, kale, water cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mustard.

We will avoid foods that contain cyanogenic glycosides. They may contribute to thyroid and neurological disturbances. We find these in cassava, cherries, peaches, plumbs, almonds, flaxseeds, linseeds.

We will avoid foods that contain phytic acid. They may have a negative effect on the body’s ability to absorb minerals such as calcium, zinc, magnesium and iron. The result of a lack in these minerals leads to a whole host of issues and illnesses including cardiovascular, neurological and even hair loss. We find phytic acid in grain, seeds, nuts, and legumes.

We will avoid foods that contain saponins. These have been shown to cause thyroid problems, digestive problems and damage to red blood cells. We find saponins in garlic, beans, legumes, peas, and asparagus.

We will avoid foods that contain salicylates. Some individuals are allergic to them and other sensitive to them and they can cause inflammation, headaches, skin rashes, itching, diarrhoea, and trigger asthma. We find them in some spices, Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, radishes, spinach, and zucchini all contain high amounts of salicylates.

Consider Iceland

Not the British shop full of frozen goods, but the country. Here is an extract from Shawn Bakers book the Carnivore Diet, 'Iceland, a frozen island of fearsome Vikings, has a population of only about 300,000 people. They’ve historically relied heavily on an animal-based diet because fruits and vegetables just don’t grow in that climate. Iceland has produced nine winners of the World’s Strongest Man contest. The only other country with more winners is the United States, which boasts eleven champions and a population 1,000 times as big as Iceland. Icelandic women have won four of the twelve CrossFit titles as well. Despite traditionally having little access to fruits and vegetables, Iceland is among the world’s leaders in male centenarians per capita. What does Iceland’s production of strong people and centenarians say about our belief that you have to have a certain number of vegetables and fruits per day to be healthy?'