Carnivore

Today is meal prep day, rendering down 5kg of beef suet into tallow.

First chunked the suet, now slowly heating it!

My hands feel very soft, like I took a bath in skin cream!

Beef, Salt, Water and a Fire

1 lb ground beef 1 lb Italian sausage 3 tbsp chopped parsley 4 oz grated parmesan 2 oz shredded parmesan 16 oz shredded mozzarella 1 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp butter 2 eggs

Professional Food Eater is amazing career!

A real mealtime video, heh; He emotes very well for the camera, I almost feel like I'm eating it with him.

Don't crack eggs into the skillet, smooth them out in a bowl first.

Keep the heat low!

Fold the eggs, don't scramble in the pan

Remove from the heat before its fully cooked

He uses mayo and olive oil - which I would prefer to avoid myself, but it does look delicious.

There are many dietary patterns available and in the zeitgeist.

MacroNutrient

On the macronutrient scale we have 3^3 (27) choices, the most common are:

• HCHFLP - High Carb, High Fat, Low Protein : This is the "standard"/default western diet
• HCLFMP - High Carb, Low Fat, Medium Protein: This is the default "healthy" diet recommended by media
• HCLFHP - High Carb, Low Fat, High Protein: A body builder bulking diet
• MCLFHP - Medium Carb, Low Fat, High Protein: Body builder cutting diet
• LCHFMP - Low Carb, High Fat, Moderate Protein : A diet that maintains the metabolic state of ketosis

MicroNutrients Inside of any macronutrient regime there are essential micronutrients/minerals that are required. Essential means the body does not have the ability to produce them from other sources. There are too many to list here, but using a diet tool like chronometer (free and can use the website) will let you see if your covering your micronutrient targets (Recommend Daily Intakes). One note is that the RDAs are usually minimums (though in some contexts may be more then necessary).

Cronometer example micronutrient display

Importantly, VERY importantly, not all foods are ingested by the human body the same, so the amount on the label is not the same that ends up in the body. This is a good paper discussing the bioavailabilty measurements of food, DIAAS seems to be the best scoring system out there to date.

Whole Foods

Regardless of macro and micro nutrient choices, the evidence, and consensus across medical professionals, and zealots, is that eating whole foods from natural sources that are not industrialized and hyper processed is a good guide to health and better outcomes.

If the ingredients for what you are eating are more complex then the name of the thing, you shouldn't eat it. Don't eat food from a factory out of a box and wrapped in plastic!

I.e. shop the outside edge of the grocery store, not the aisles in the middle.

This might be somewhat controversial, but I would include modern seed oils as a type of processed food to be avoided on a Whole food Diet. No vegetable oils that come from a factory please!

Low Carb High Fat / Ketogenic

The LCHF, ketogenic/keto/atkins, macronutrient profile has many benefits - Increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing the issues insulin resistance causes (obesity, hyper tension, pcos, diabetes 2, etc).

The key schism of LCHF diets is over the dietary necessity (or lack thereof) of carbohydrates, this well referenced document is a must read for those who are incredulous. There is NO SUCH THING AS AN ESSENTIAL CARBOHYDRATE - the human body can do gluconeogenesis and produce all the glucose it needs from fat.

Sometimes this LCHF diet is referred to a fed-fasting diet, since it maintains metabolic ketosis even when eating.

The core mechanism of action here is allowing insulin levels to return, and stay at, normal levels throughout the day which enables the body - an amazing homeostasis machine - to function properly. The body is full of feedback mechanisms, like hunger, thirst, satisfaction, etc - to stay in optimal bounds.

Being on a LCHF diet easy to maintain, because your not hungry, you can eat as much as you want - you just let your body self regulate.

NOTE - if you are on some medications, such as high blood pressure, and insulin, changing your diet can change the effectiveness of these medications and should be done under medical supervision. Either with your doctor, a metabolic doctor, or a service such as virta. Watch your biomarkers when you change a diet to make sure your medications are not taking you outside of your targets.

LCHF diets can include Plant based diets (vegetarian/vegan), Animal Based Foods (Carnivore), or any mix in between (just keto, or ketovore)

Insulin Sensitivity

93% of Americans (and probably similar in western countries) have insulin resistance, this can manifest as obesity, or high blood pressure, visceral fat, diabetes, etc. It may not be visible at all - Skinny Fat - Thin Outside Fat Inside (TOFI).

You can use your TG/HDL ratio has a very good approximation for your insulin sensitivity. You want to be <0.9 (mmol/L) or <2 (mg/dL). If your ratio is low, congratulations you are insulin sensitive

Carnivore

Carnivore is a strict subset of a LCHF/Ketogenic diet that restricts itself to only animal sourced foods (ASF). The reasons for doing this can include:

• Better food bioavailability - Need to eat less food
• Inflammation from different plant based foods - oxalate / lectins
• Allergies
• Regenerative and Sustainable farming lifestyle (Local farm can provide biocomplete nutrition without needed to transport rare foods over long distances)
• Ease of adherence (not that many choices, hard to do it wrong, don't have to count carbs)

ASFs are almost entirely digested in the stomach and large intestine, very little makes it to the small intestine - This is why people eating strict carnivore have less frequent bowel movements, and people with gut issues can see impactful quality of life improvements on this intervention

What should you choose?

Ask yourself what your trying to achieve? What issues are you tackling? The only thing that matters in personal health is your personal outcomes. Focus on what works for you, or is specifically sustainable for you.

Weight Loss - Don't lose weigh to get healthy, get healthy to lose weight - A LCHF diet, or even a Whole Food diet, can be used to regain a healthy metabolism

Most of the benefits of Carnivore can be achieved with just LCHF/keto (Even a vegan keto diet). In terms of most effective things you can do, don't worry about carnivore start with LCHF.

If LCHF/Keto isn't enough, such as persistent inflammation, or prolonged gut issues, then Carnivore could be a good option for you.

If your insulin sensitive, you can keep doing whatever you have been doing - Keep being awesome!

Civility

I'm sure this conversation will touch on people's passions and triggers, I just ask that when you participate you consider the whole human and speak with each other with compassion and empathy for their choices.

The entire process, from the farm to the plate documented in one video. It's perfect, the hair spray bottle used to mist the pig. The Uncle assisting! Reminds me of a hot summer on the farm.

Has english subtitles. This channel has a great cooking series, kind of like being there with them in the back yard.

TLDR - Contrary to common expectations, adults consuming a carnivore diet experienced few adverse effects and instead reported health benefits and high satisfaction. Cardiovascular disease risk factors were variably affected. The generalizability of these findings and the long-term effects of this dietary pattern require further study.

Background: The “carnivore diet,” based on animal foods and excluding most or all plant foods, has attracted recent popular attention. However, little is known about the health effects and tolerability of this diet, and concerns for nutrient deficiencies and cardiovascular disease risk have been raised.

Objectives: We obtained descriptive data on the nutritional practices and health status of a large group of carnivore diet consumers.

Methods: A social media survey was conducted 30 March–24 June, 2020 among adults self-identifying as consuming a carnivore diet for ≥6 mo. Survey questions interrogated motivation, dietary intake patterns, symptoms suggestive of nutritional deficiencies or other adverse effects, satisfaction, prior and current health conditions, anthropometrics, and laboratory data.

Results: A total of 2029 respondents (median age: 44 y, 67% male) reported consuming a carnivore diet for 14 mo (IQR: 9–20 mo), motivated primarily by health reasons (93%). Red meat consumption was reported as daily or more often by 85%. Under 10% reported consuming vegetables, fruits, or grains more often than monthly, and 37% denied vitamin supplement use. Prevalence of adverse symptoms was low (<1% to 5.5%). Symptoms included gastrointestinal (3.1%–5.5%), muscular (0.3%–4.0%), and dermatologic (0.1%–1.9%). Participants reported high levels of satisfaction and improvements in overall health (95%), well-being (66%–91%), various medical conditions (48%–98%), and median [IQR] BMI (in kg/m 2 ) (from 27.2 [23.5–31.9] to 24.3 [22.1–27.0]). Among a subset reporting current lipids, LDL-cholesterol was markedly elevated (172 mg/dL), whereas HDL-cholesterol (68 mg/dL) and triglycerides (68 mg/dL) were optimal. Participants with diabetes reported benefits including reductions in median [IQR] BMI (4.3 [1.4–7.2]), glycated hemoglobin (0.4% [0%–1.7%]), and diabetes medication use (84%–100%)

From the journal of Current Developments in Nutrition.

• Full text at above link

A randomized, controlled school feeding study was conducted in rural Embu District, Kenya to test for a causal link between animal-source food intake and changes in micronutrient nutrition and growth, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Twelve primary schools were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups. Children in Standard I classes received the local plant-based dish githeri as a midmorning school snack supplemented with meat, milk, or fat added to equalize energy content in all feedings. The Control children received no feedings but participated in data collection. Main outcome measures assessed at baseline and longitudinally were 24-h food intake recall, anthropometry, cognitive function, physical activity, and behaviors during school free play. For cognitive function, the Meat group showed the steepest rate of increase on Raven's Progressive Matrices scores and in zone-wide school end-term total and arithmetic test scores. The Plain githeri and Meat groups performed better over time than the Milk and Control groups (P < 0.02-0.03) on arithmetic tests. The Meat group showed the greatest increase in percentage time in high levels of physical activity and in initiative and leadership behaviors compared with all other groups. For growth, in the Milk group only younger and stunted children showed a greater rate of gain in height. The Meat group showed near doubling of upper midarm muscle area, and the Milk group a smaller degree of increase. This is the first randomized, controlled feeding study to examine the effect of meat- vs. milk- vs. plant-based snacks on functional outcomes in children.

Full paper at the above link

A Central Asian dish focusing on very energy dense foods, hearty, good for cold winters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beshbarmak

The term beshbarmak means "five fingers" because nomads traditionally eat this dish with their hands.[6] Another name for beshbarmak in Kyrgyz is tuuralgan et, which means crumbled/chopped meat. Beshbarmak is usually made from finely chopped boiled meat, mixed with dough (typically egg noodles) and chyk, an onion sauce. It is typically served on large communal platters, shared between several people,[4] after shorpo, which is a first course of mutton broth served in bowls called kese.

Not exactly carnivore, and the noodles are a carb overload, but not all preparations require the carbs, and they can be skipped (i.e. just don't eat the noodles when its served). Lots of bone marrow in the boiling, and nutrient dense foods!

A much longer full cooking video https://youtu.be/CWMW_Zp2PrQ if you want more details

Similar to Japanese Sashimi, this dish uses fresh uncooked shrimp soaked in fish sauce. The quality of this dish requires good shrimp, and excellent fish sauce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_chae_nampla

fresh raw shrimp soaked in Thai fish sauce and served with chunks of gourd, cloves of garlic, chilies, and spicy sauce

The video is great energy great video production values. Some of the 1990's sound effects - are just state of the art lol.

Originally published in 1930 - The journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-the-academy-of-nutrition-and-dietetics_1930-12_6_3/page/216/mode/2up (It's so old, I don't have a direct doi link)

Based on Vilhjalmur Stefansson's reporting of Inuit diets (the wiki is a great read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhjalmur_Stefansson ; People were incredulous (much like today actually) - So Vilhjalmur and his partner agreed to be kept for a YEAR in medical supervision in a hospital on staten island. This is the study/publication of the results.

TLDR - The pure meat diet worked for a year, under total medical supervision, without any issues, including vitamin levels. Just like it worked for the native Inuit people.

This is a seminal paper, it's about 85 pages, so it's going to take a minute to read. I'll post notes as I get through it.

A survey of literature and review of the knowledge on nutritional adequacy of the "carnivore" diet.

Purpose of review: The aim of this study was to summarize current contributions affecting knowledge and predictions about the nutritional adequacy of plant-free diets, contextualized by historical accounts.

Recent findings: As demonstrated in recent experiments, nutrient interactions and metabolic effects of ketogenic diets can impact nutritional needs, sometimes resulting in nutrient-sparing effects. Other studies highlight conflicting hypotheses about the expected effect on metabolic acidosis, and therefore mineral status, of adding alkaline mineral-rich vegetables.

Summary: A carnivore diet is a newly popular, but as yet sparsely studied form of ketogenic diet in which plant foods are eliminated such that all, or almost all, nutrition derives from animal sourced foods. Ketogenic diets are already nutritionally controversial due to their near-complete absence of carbohydrate and high dietary fat content, but most ketogenic diet advocates emphasize the inclusion of plant foods. In this review, we discuss the implications of relying solely on animal sourced foods in terms of essential nutrient status.

Key Points

• All essential nutrients can be found in animal sourced foods.
• Some such nutrients are not commonly eaten in high enough amounts to meet recommended intakes.
• Studies on individuals eating only meat did not reveal nutrient deficiencies.
• Carnivore diet nutrient profiles and effects on metabolism may reduce or increase the needs for some nutrients.
• More study is warranted to understand long term implications of plant-free diets

CONCLUSION Every essential nutrient can be found in ASFs, but not always in high levels in commonly eaten ones. Some nutrients are rarer than others and may require planning if the goal is to guarantee meeting established recommended daily allowances. Because of systematic differences in metabolism and food matrix contexts, requirements on a carnivore diet may likewise differ systematically. Historical and clinical data suggest that all acute micronutrient needs can be met without plants, but long-term consequences are unknown. Calcium levels in particular may be compromised over time, and merit further study, especially in order to disentangle effects of acidity, bone growth stimulation and interacting nutrients

Full PDF Here

Great step by step video, including rending down left over fat for tallow for other cooking later.

Makes me want to buy a smoker today!

Chapters
00:10 Trimming
04:35 Tallow
05:20 Rubbing
08:15 Smoking (time & temp)
12:45 Endure Hardship (optional)
13:15 Wrapping
14:00 Finishing (when to pull)
15:15 Resting
16:00 Slicing

TLDR - There is far from consensus in the vilification of red meat in dietary guidelines. This article dives into the details of the ongoing schism.

Mainstream dietary recommendations now commonly advise people to minimize the intake of red meat for health and environmental reasons. Most recently, a major report issued by the EAT-Lancet Commission recommended a planetary reference diet mostly based on plants and with no or very low (14 g/d) consumption of red meat. We argue that claims about the health dangers of red meat are not only improbable in the light of our evolutionary history, they are far from being supported by robust scientific evidence.

Full paper at the above link.

Viet style Pate! I have to say, its really good, goes on anything really.

Ingredients (divide these ingredients in half for a smaller batch):
1lb chicken liver
45 grams butter
4 tbsp fish sauce
6 garlic cloves
2-3 shallots
3 tbsp neutral oil
1/2 cup water (add as much or little until you get the desired consistency)

Continuing to look for small youtubers with good content! 3600 subs.

Fascinating talk of improving agriculture in developing areas.

Livestock's Vital Role in Nourishing the World: Ensuring food security through sustainable production systems.

Presentation by Prof Gbola Adesogan, PhD, Univ of Fl, Crop Science Society of America, San Antonio, TX, 13 Nov 2024.

https://youtu.be/6vIi1VHKGD8

Preparing chicken in two styles fried in tallow, vs air fried.

I think the clear winner is tallow for the crispiness.

Very small youtuber, but great speaking voice.

TLDR - Meat has been unfairly blamed by bad (possibly biased) statistical analysis.

some investigators may test many alternative analytic specifications and selectively report results for the analysis that yields the most interesting findings.

when investigators analyze data from observational studies, there are often hundreds of equally justifiable ways of analyzing the data, each of which may produce results that vary in direction, magnitude, and statistical significance

Evidence shows that investigators’ prior beliefs and expectations influence their results [5]. In the presence of strong opinions, investigators’ beliefs and expectations may shape the literature to the detriment of empirical evidence

Basically given a all the possible variable permutations they took a very large sampling of inputs to outcomes and looked at the resultant hazard ratio, demonstrating that you can cherry pick to get the results you want (good or bad). This is the core weakness of observational studies.

Curve analysis demonstrates itself as a valuable too in iterating through many of the combinations of observational data to show stronger trends.

The left/blue side of the graph are outcomes that show meat decreased all cause mortality, the right/red side of the graph are outcomes that show meat increases all cause mortality. If you were a hungry researcher, you could publish unending papers indicating either way from this same observational data pool! - Hence the constant news cycle driven by dietary agendas - not based on hard science RCTs.

Full recipe: wurstcircle.com/recipes/liverwurst

• 60 % pork belly (600g)\
• 20 % pork shoulder (200g)\
• 20 % pork liver (200g)

What is your favorite way to prepare ground beef? What tips and tricks do you have?

6/5

Ingredients

• Ghee
• Steak

I've been idly looking up different clean chili recipes and ideas. I like the very old style chili, just stewed meat with chilis - Simple and delicious.

Found a super small creator (steve cooksey) <330 subs, who gives a nice example cooking of a simple chili. He has a fun way of stabbing the ground beef with a spatula that isn't super effective, but entertaining.

Full recipe: https://www.diabetes-warrior.net/2020/10/23/minimalist-carnivore-chili/

• ground beef
• chili powder
• cumin
• salt
• black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• paprika
• grated cheese/sour cream
• coffee