Species Appropriate Diet
Takeaways from #CarnivoryCon.
Here I am collecting my experience attending the first ever Carnivore Conference. First, I will summarize each presentation. And note a question or two that each talk brought to mind for me.
After working through the presentations, I will present my own personal views on what a species appropriate diet is for humans.
Morning Session
Mikhaila Peterson | @MikhailaAleksis
- How to Use the Carnivore Diet to Treat Autoimmune Diseases
Zsofia Clemens | @ClemensZsofia
- Intestinal Permeability in Autoimmune Diseases and Cancer: Measurement, Results, and Implications
Paul Mason | @DrPaulMason
- From Lupus to Diabetes: How Your Diet Can Impact Autoimmune Diseases
George Diggs | His Website ( no Twitter )
- Plant Defense Chemicals: The Dark Side of Food Plants
Miki Ben-Dor | @bendormiki
- How Much Protein? The Evolutionary Answer
Amber O’Hearn | @KetoCarnivore
- Rethinking RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances)
Mikhaila’s Talk
Overcoming Autoimmune Disease — A Self-directed story of recovery.
Mikhaila was sick all through her youth: arthritis, depression, fatigue, etc. She was prescribed many, many medications — these did not solve anything, nor did they mitigate many symptoms. Things got so bad that she had a hip replacement at age 17 and soonafter an ankle replacement. Luckily, this story has a happy ending.
What solved her autoimmune issues? Three things: beef, salt, and water.
How is this possible? Perhaps her diet was chronically damaging her, exacerbating an autoimmune response, and thus making a negative feedback loop. For Mikhaila, this chain was broken by eliminating all foods aside from beef, salt and water.
One of the principal precepts of bioether is: Primum non nocere // First, Do No Harm.
Zsòfia’s Talk
Intestinal Permeability.
The digestive track is a tube or tunnel that begins at the mouth and ends at the anus. It is a hole that extends through our bodies. The quality of that edge condition is important for our health. Further, it is a selective barrier — ie. Let’s good things in, keeps bad things out.
Diseases with Intestinal Permeability at their source: IBS, Ulcerative Colitis,
What happens if this selective barrier is not intact? Rather than good things in, bad things out we end up with things in, things out.
Okay. But, so what?
Don’t we need to know what eating patterns cause degradation of the digestive tract? Well, yes… that would be great. BUT, what if we know what restore intestinal permeability to its normal range.
Zsòfia Clemens is studying exactly that with Paleo Medicina in Hungary. They treat patients with the PaleoKetogenicDiet. This normalizes gut health in +/- 4–6 weeks.
This points a trustworthy list of foods that alleviate ( cure? ) many diseases of civilization.
Paul’s Talk
Overcoming Autoimmune Disease — Doctor-driven.
This account is similar to Mikhaila’s, but from a different perspective. Paul shared his experience administering low carb/zero carb therapies to patients with autoimmune diseases. Rather than one-instance of success, we are provided with many.
How many could benefit from a doctor such as Paul?
George’s Talk
Plant Defences.
Forget everything you know about ‘eating your fruits and veggies!!!’
Many health-conscious people avoid human made pesticides. However, these are not the only pesticides. Plants themselves make their own — without legs & feet, they can’t exactly run away from hungry animals!
Here I am faced with a choice: Nature vs. Man // Organic vs. Synthetic ( however you like to phrase it )
Now, humility is not my strength, but I believe Nature is our greatest teacher. And so, I give the pesticide edge to plants with their 700,000,000 years of development vs. the short time humans been tinkering with synthetic pesticides.
We understand this with certain plants and certain contexts. Take a plant like hemlock for example. And of course, the dose makes the poison. But, if we are blind to the poison, how are we to know what dose we are taking?
Perhaps today, plants are best used as drugs and medicines, rather than as foods. [ acute exposure vs. chronic exposure ]
I realize that George’s talk is far more technical than my summary. Please see his talk from the Ancestral Health Symposium in 2014 for better reference.
Miki’s Talk
Evolution.
What did we evolve to eat? Protein and fat.
Where did we get this protein and fat? From megafauna.
( aside: if you haven’t had the pleasure of exploring the wonders of creatures such as: ground sloths, giant beavers, irish elk, giant short-faced kangaroos — please, stop what you are doing and enjoy )
It is theorized that humans hunted these species to their extinction — our ancestors put the hunter in hunter-gatherer!
This has shown that men and women could not have been taking kill from other animals or eating those that had died of natural causes. They were selecting and killing what they wanted.”
Another point he stressed was that humans chose to kill the bigger stronger animals, which contain a higher amount of body fat. ( humans run on fat )
Miki’s talk focused on what our prehistorical ancestors ate. To sum up his findings: MEAT, and lots of it. This is based on study of archaeological data and understanding the available food sources in the past ( hint: not many fields of corn [ or soy ] back then. )
Reading the Teeth! Teeth are stronger than bones. Their durability is our archaeological benefit. Did you know that the first recorded cavity is dated 15,000 years ago and sourced from Morocco? This indicates the first existence of high-starch diet — thanks agriculture! ( also: agriculture shrunk us )
{ for more on teeth see Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets and Their Effects by Weston A. Price }
Amber’s Talk
Rethinking RDA’s.
Who established RDA’s? Why? And in what context?
RDAs = recommended dietary allowance
Let us pause to appreciate context. Is eating 100g of carbohydrate, waiting 4 hours and eating 50g of protein the same as eating that same 100g C and 50 g P in a single sitting?
Clearly, it is not the same. There are different metabolic responses to each situation. A digestive system does not have the same tasks when it is dealing solely with fat as it does if it must process fat and carbohydrate concurrently.
Q: Do the RDAs account for the effects of combination on metabolism?
A: No.
RDAs were established in 1943 — during WWII — in order to “provide standards to serve as a goal for good nutrition.” These amounts are based off a high-carbohydrate diet. And, it is known that if you intake more glucose [ carbohydrates digest into glucose ] your requirements increase for many things, iodione, folate synthesis, zinc, vitamin C, etc.
For many nutrients: digestion, absorbtion, or both are incomplete. A number of nutrients are measured via a proxy. For example, carrots are said to contain 10,191 IU of Vitamin Aper 61 g. What is not commonly understood is: that there is no Vitamin A in plant foods. It is only in animal products.
Wait, really?!
Yes. In plants there are various carotenoids that can be converted into Vitamin A. But do all bodies convert at the same rate? What about the same person but different days? Again interdependence arise — what about when a carrot is accompanied by other foods? This is complex. Do we have a firm grip on all these possibilities?
So, if I eat thing X, then my body must be ready to convert thing X into useful thing Y. But do we know how this plays out for all permutations of food combinations?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Do the RDAs serve as a foundation made of sand or stone?
( loud whisper )
87.8% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy
If we fast for a day, do we need 2x the RDAs the following day?
Is the arbitrary use of 24 hours a meaningful time-frame to base requirements from?
How did any humans in the past thrive without these RDAs?!
LUNCH!
with house-smoked bacon and cheese on the side
(No plant products anywhere!)
(No plant products anywhere!)
Afternoon Session
Peter Ballerstedt | @GrassBased
- Reading the Environmental Hoofprints
Nick Mailer | @bokkiedog
- The Tragedy of the Empathetic Carnivore
Georgia Ede | @GeorgiaEdeMD
- The Brain Needs Meat: Mental Health Benefits of the Carnivore Diet
Shawn Baker | @SBakerMD
- The Plural of Anecdote is Data: Lessons from N=many
Dave Feldman | @DaveKeto
- Reverse Engineering the Carnivore Diet
Siobhan Huggins | @siobhan_huggins
- N=1 Field Guide: The Why of Citizen Science
Peter’s Talk
Reading the Environmental Hoofprints.
Peter is a Forage Agronomist. Put simply, he deals with the ecological relationship between livestock and their feed. ( sounds simple — it isn’t )
Many people point to livestock as a significant contributor toward climate change. Peter shows this claim to be hyperbole at best. Ruminants eat many plants that are not edible by humans. And, don’t forget that forage land is not the same as arable land. Arable land is suitable to cultivate crops on, while forage land ( also referred to as pasture ) is agricultural land that is used for grazing.
Take the cow for instance. This glorious animal eats the things we cannot eat and converts it into STEAK! This is a good magical thing, seriously! Not only is this sustainable, but it is symbiotic.
The rise in chronic disease is what is truly unsustainable.
Humans are Heterotrophs! We derive our energy from eating other living things. As heterotrophs there are two choices for energy:
Animal Sources | Plant Sources
Peter points out that isocaloric quantities are NOT isometabolic. Similarly, isometric quantities of proteins & minerals are NOT isometabolic. And that vitamin requirements are dependent upon source.
ie. 300 calories of ribeye are not the same metabolically as 300 calories of bibb lettuce
This is taken into account in animal nutrtition. There is a measure for “gross” calories. A measure for metabolizable calories. Sorting the isocaloric into a range of metabolizable amounts allows farmers to provide the best nutrition for the best cost to their livestock. Peter adds that he will wait patiently for human nutrition to catch up.
A cow’s dietary intake is referred to as FEED. Whereas Human nutrition is FOOD. Why do our measures for feed account for the gap between calorie and metabolic use, while our measures for food only scratch the surface?
For humans, there is a common pattern between plant-sources and animal-sources: plant nutrients are hard to metabolize while animal nutrients are easy to metabolize.
Take the protein measurements of beans for instance. Beans listed with 22.7 g crude protein actually contained 13.1 g true protein. ( what is ‘crude protein’ that you speak of?! )
Currently humans derive: 84% calories from plant sources / 16% calories from animal sources.
60% of adult Americans have one or more chronic conditions.
This is unsustainable.
Nick’s Talk
The Tragedy of the Empathetic Carnivore.
Nick examined the ethical arguments made against eating meat. His presentation was great — no slides — and I won’t do it justice. Instead I will pose a few of my own ethical questions.
Is pushing for vegan eating in an animal that is not an herbivore ethically defensible? Think of a cat. Is it appropriate to deprive an obligate carnivore of meat? A clear no answer resounds.
But is this question different when it comes to humans? Once we attach our identities: out goes logic, in comes politic.
Georgia’s Talk
The Brain Needs Meat: Mental Health Benefits of the Carnivore Diet .
Georgia spoke about the effect of diet on brain health. Proper human neurology requires certain inputs to support energy and tissue demands in the brain. The brain is composed of fat ( 66% ), protein, cholesterol, energy production: vitamins & minerals, fuel: glucose / ketones. In order to keep our brains happy do we feed it plant foods or animal foods?
Anti-Nutrients.
Phytic Acid. Phytic acid ( found in plant seeds ) effects mineral absorption — iron, zinc, and calcium are all difficult to intake when phytic acid is present. To illustrate, take these three situations:
- Eat 120 g Oysters, absorb about 120g of zinc [ 100% ]
- Eat 120 g Oysters + Black Beans, absorb about 40 g of zinc [ 33%]
- Eat 120 g Oysters + Corn Tortillas, absorb 3–5 g of zinc [2–4%]
Learning about lectins. Lectins are plant proteins that bind to carbohydrates. One must soak and boil plants to remove lectins. What else do lectins do? Bind to cells, stimulate insulin receptor, traverse the vagus nerve to cross the blood brain barrier. Lectins are dubious little fellas.
This argument is expanded upon greatly in Georgia’s article, Your Brain on Plants: Micronutrients and Mental Health.
Shawn’s Talk
The Plural of Anecdote is Data: Lessons from N=many
Shawn shared the results of N=Many. Put simply, N equals Many is a collection of data submitted on a voluntary basis. In a way, it is an open-source study. Shawn outlined the carnivore protocol for n equals many in this video. Clearly, this is not a Randomized Control Trial, and that the data generated from it must be taken with many grains of salt — preferably sprinkled on a ribeye. BUT, it is data generated at low-cost; lowering the barrier to entry for studying how people eat.
What resulted from nequalsmany?
Consistent weight-loss was reported. Better sleep. Normal bowel movements ( but muh fiber! ). Harder erections.
Many reported skin conditions improving. And other positive benefits.
Also, recorded were people that struggled with the diet and did not improve, though Shawn noted this was not a prevalent pattern.
Dave’s Talk
Reverse Engineering the Carnivore Diet
Dave measured everything.
Really, that’s what he does. For his talk, he shared his experience running on the carnivore diet. And contrasted it to his experience with Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen Challenge.
Dave noted the large difference in time spent preparing food, admitting that his issue with the carnivore diet is, “It makes me lazy.”
Grab meat, salt it, heat it, eat it.
He spoke to how easily meals on the carnivore diet met micronutrient needs. While plant-only meals required more planning to compose ideal nutrition for a sitting.
Dave’s research brought him to an interesting finding about fasting duration and lipid measurements. My memory fails me on the exact numbers, but 12+ hours of fasting provided better lipid levels than testing after 8–11 hours of fasting.
Siobhan’s Talk
N=1 Field Guide: The Why of Citizen Science
Siobhan told a personal story of how recording data led her to good health. Eventually bringing her to a carnivorous way of eating.
I’ve been following a ketogenic diet since August of 2016, and a carnivorous diet since October of 2017.
From Siobhan’s blog: https://dendritica.home.blog/
Siobhan lost a total of 78 lbs on her journey. Adding to this, her hypertension is gone, her skin has cleared up, joint pain is gone, improved mood, and her appetite is regulated better.
She made an appeal for others to collect and report data. And shared the methods that have worked for her. Find more of her and Dave’s work here:
https://cholesterolcode.com/
COMMENCE ONSLAUGHT OF CLOSING REMARKS
Evolving fitness to an environment of scarcity, but living in an environment of abundance.
What does it mean live in an environment we are not fit to?
Species appropriate dieting!
And you may find yourself eating only meat,
And you may find yourself eschewing all plant-based products,And you may ask yourself, “Well… how did I get here?”
Once in a Lifetime, by THE TALKING BREADS
How did I get here?
Well, mostly by Questioning. Questioning our STANDARD DIET. Questioning our AGRICULTURAL DIET. Questioning our ANCESTRAL DIET. You are invited to follow my line of questioning. Also, if we’re so smart, why is everyone getting in worse shape physically?
Is an animal that manages to dominate its environment to the extent of inventing electricity, advanced construction techniques, the internet, etc., an animal that would have difficulty hunting animals for nutrient dense food?
Evolution: Try as we may, we cannot escape biology. To achieve good health, we must receive inputs that match the environment we evolved fitness for. Below are the three major phases of human food collection and consumption:
Hunter — Gatherer
- 90% of human history [ least experimental ]
- Collect food directly from Nature. [ whole food ]
- Seasonally dependent food.
Agricultural
- c. 10,000–8,000 BC = 10% of human history [ moderately experimental ]
- Collect food from human-mediated sources: planted seed and livestock. [ manually-processed food ]
- Seasonally dependent food.
Industrial Food Products
- c. 1700 AD = 1% of human history [ most experimental ]
- Collect food from human-mediated sources: planted seed and livestock. [ machine-processed “food” ]
- Seasonally independent “food.”
Reflecting on these points… can you say that animal products are the culprit of the health crisis?
Nutrient Density: What is a calorie?
Well, a calorie is a measure of energy. Not a measure of nutrition. Nutrition repairs and builds cells, not calories. Proper inputs allow for proper hormonal function. Failure to provide proper nutrition degrades your health.
Let’s play a game called ESSENTIAL / NONESSENTIAL !!!
Before we start, let me provide the definition of essential in this context. By essential, we mean: nutrients that our bodies alone cannot synthesize
Of the three macronutrients which two are essential?
- Protein
- Fat
- Carbohydrate
I don’t recall learning this in high school biology.
Endogenous vs. Exogenous
Endogenous means: having an internal cause or origin. Think from your own body.
Endogenous sources of energy for a Human are:
Exogenous means: relating to or developing from external factors. Think from outside your own body
The analogy of a hybrid car illustrate these two systems well. When we eat carbohydrates and/or sugar we are running on Glucose — think gasoline and combustion engines. [ exogenous fuel source ]
When we abstain from eating carbohydrates and/or sugar. We escape sugar-burning mode and enter our natural state: fat-burning mode. This is akin to using a battery-powered electric motor — a more efficient process, think less waste.
Putting it all together?
Were any hunter-gatherers concerned with getting a particular variety of foods? Was this true in the winter? And summer?
When we combine all these perspectives, where do we arrive?
Is it a world where grazing on twelve (meticulously prepared ) vegetables are the only convoluted path to health? Did any of our ancestors count vegetables? Let alone Calories?
Maybe the world simpler than that. Perhaps we are apex predators. And perhaps our optimal diet is composed of meat.
We don’t need to continue relying to authorities that have made our country morbidly obese and sick. Here is my humble call to action:
- stay curious
- ask questions
- eating experiments for 15–30 day trials
- listen to your body
Want to try carnivory?
Start here:
Care to learn more?
Start here:
