Carnivore Diet

[Hellspeed]

Insights? 

 

[bejapuskas]

I am not an expert, but I think that a good side of this is, that by eating only meat, you quit sugar, bread, dairy etc... 

[mandyjw]

So if you're going to choose your diet, wouldn't you want to choose one that had been followed by generations of people who lived long lives? The only people we have to look at who ate meat only are the Eskimos. There are many examples of mostly plant based with very little meat diets around the world that people have thrived on for hundreds of years. The Eskimos had shorter lifespans and were healthy in their youth but aged quickly and died earlier than other populations. Also within the past 50 years we have polluted the oceans and air and meat is much more full of toxins than ever. There's almost no way to get around this. If you have some horrible health issues that you believe some bizarre reaction your're having to plant based foods may be causing, maybe trying this as a last ditch effort makes sense. Otherwise it makes for great headlines and click bate. Not for a healthy diet. 

[katykat]

No dairy, sugar, processed food = good! Meat has been shown to have a negative impact on longevity and telomere length, as well as aide in development of diseases like dementia and heart disease. After years of research, blood tests, and experimentation I feel best on no meat, dairy, sugar, processed food diet, which is commonly referred to as Whole Food Plant Based. Of course everyone is different and we each have to find a diet that works best for us physically, psychologically, and ethically.

Here's one study.

Summary: We further hypothesized that whole grains, nuts or seeds, coffee, fruit, vegetables, nonfried fish, and dairy foods would each be independently associated with longer telomeres, and conversely, that refined grains, red meat, processed meat, fried foods, and nondiet soda would each be independently associated with shorter telomeres.

 

[bejapuskas]

This guy had to try freakin' everything  Whatever you do, don't jump from vegan onto keto onto carnivore onto 3 week fast ended with a raw egg, please  Meat is not the answer probably...

 

[SgtPepper]

just eat a mixed diet or gravitate towards food that make you feel good, but you're gonna have to experiment to get insight into what diet works for you. 

I strongly disagree with individuals here who think meat is unhealthy. There is no evidence that quality meat is unhealthy and you can find a bunch of evidence that a diet with no animal products is damaging in the long run.  Even if you point to eastern societies like India, people are vegetarian which still includes, animal products like eggs, cheese, and milk.

I think a sensible diet is one that mixes all foods, consider what you ancestors ate. I am Portuguese, so my country is filled with olive oil, berries, meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. So thats what I eat.

 

On 12/31/2018 at 4:15 PM, mandyjw said:

So if you're going to choose your diet, wouldn't you want to choose one that had been followed by generations of people who lived long lives? The only people we have to look at who ate meat only are the Eskimos. There are many examples of mostly plant based with very little meat diets around the world that people have thrived on for hundreds of years. The Eskimos had shorter lifespans and were healthy in their youth but aged quickly and died earlier than other populations. Also within the past 50 years we have polluted the oceans and air and meat is much more full of toxins than ever. There's almost no way to get around this. If you have some horrible health issues that you believe some bizarre reaction your're having to plant based foods may be causing, maybe trying this as a last ditch effort makes sense. Otherwise it makes for great headlines and click bate. Not for a healthy diet. 

Literally every single human civilization survived on meat. Hunting also played a significant factor in our evolution and brain development. 

An issue with studying the inuits is that in recent years their diet changed due to exposure of western culture. In recent years diseases when up but I believe it is correlated with the introduction of agricultural foods into their diet. Additionally, some people hypothesize that their shorter lifespan is due to lack of medical care.

On 12/31/2018 at 4:22 PM, katykat said:

No dairy, sugar, processed food = good! Meat has been shown to have a negative impact on longevity and telomere length, as well as aide in development of diseases like dementia and heart disease. After years of research, blood tests, and experimentation I feel best on no meat, dairy, sugar, processed food diet, which is commonly referred to as Whole Food Plant Based. Of course everyone is different and we each have to find a diet that works best for us physically, psychologically, and ethically.

Here's one study.

Summary: We further hypothesized that whole grains, nuts or seeds, coffee, fruit, vegetables, nonfried fish, and dairy foods would each be independently associated with longer telomeres, and conversely, that refined grains, red meat, processed meat, fried foods, and nondiet soda would each be independently associated with shorter telomeres.

 

they concluded that ONLY processed meat was associated with shorter telomere lengths.

[ChimpBrain]

I tried it but could only stick to it strictly for about a month. It's not an easy diet to follow. Well, in some sense it's extremely easy, in another it's very difficult. I did see great benefit from it in the short term though. Can't speak to its long-term effects obviously though. 

[AMS]

18 hours ago, Shiva said:

However, if I can be happy and healthy without harming another creature and at the same time do something positive for the environment, I do it.

That's why I prefer a plant based diet.

I really don't mean to target you and be a dick here but just wanted to comment to spread awareness (for you and others).  What is your plant-based diet like?  Because if you are like the majority of vegans/plant-eaters supporting industrial agriculture then you are contributing to the death of many animals (through pesticides, harvesting processes and land being cleared/wetlands drained for irrigation) along with the suffering and starvation that comes with downsizing animal's natural habitats to make room for crop production...

I have also heard child slave labor is a prominent thing in plant agriculture though I haven't researched this point yet.  Also there is the blood cashew industry which forces political prisoners in vietnam to work for $3 a month for years straight which then exports to the US and other countries.  Not sure where you live or what you eat but it's interesting to see there is more than meets the eye regardless.  Oh and on the topic of ethics you could argue a pastured animal has a safer and more comfy life than if it was in the wild, regardless if you think it's wrong to be "exploited" by humans.  In the wild, white-tailed deer fawn experience about a 50% death rate within the first 12 weeks of life.
https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research/projects/deer/news/2018/a-million-ways-to-die
They get torn apart by predators and eaten alive whereas I hear 96% of the live-born beef cattle make it past weaning (I see this stat from a meat advocate but not sure where he gets this official data from).  Humans also have the ability to kill humanely, unlike any other predator of course.  Factory-farming is of course an issue but that shouldn't strawman all meat-eating in with it, hunting is also a fantastic option!  Though even though factory farming is pretty appalling the animals at least have a constant supply of food which is more than you can say for some wild animals (or humans for that matter) due to our effect on the environment.  Some animal activists even want to ban hunting which would lead to some of these populations to become more overgrown which would worsen the issue and cause a lot of suffering.

In terms of the environment you most probably get plants transported to you from other regions as well (transport is [on par] the highest contributor to GHG emissions and synthetic fossil fuel fertilisers is also significant which are used for industrial crops).  Don't forget the other factors like electricity and water usage etc etc so you are by no means innocent either.

Meat production is not overly taxing on the environment believe it or not (at least definitely not what some make it out to be), not in first world countries like the US at least where all animal agriculture, factory farming included, only accounts to 4%GHG (according to official government EPA data).  Granted transport and some other factors along with the crops grown for them would bump up the number (plant agriculture is 4.7%, not sure if that includes fertilizers used but probs).  Cattle is even lower with only 2-3% (and they only get grain finished...and not all of them, which many don't realize).  Pastured cattle can actually be very good for the environment (not to mention ethical) by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and restoring the soil (whereas synthetic crop fertilizer kills the soil).  The methane emissions factor is also inconclusive and I have seen some data claiming that emissions from livestock has no detectable effect on the environment but there is a debate on that.  But yeah if you live in a country outside of the US then of course the data will be different, though other first world countries would have similar practices I would imagine, and they have been significantly getting better and better over the years.  Going vegan in the US has a very insignificant effect on global GHG emissions (0.36%, with US emissions @ 2.6%) but may lead to malnourishment (for some at least, my opinion most long term).  It won't have any effect on what they are doing in Brazil for example with clearing the rainforest.  I hear this is due to poor and corrupt systems set in place.

it's way too simplistically minded to make the claims that a lot of plant-based people make in terms of how innocent they are.  I don't have all the answers but damn sure know it's not the right move abolishing meat (especially considering a lot of agricultural land is only suitable for livestock grazing).  Not saying you are advocating for this btw just venting my thoughts.

Edited January 13, 2019 by AMS

[AMS]

SOURCE: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions           (U.S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY)

You probably have heard that livestock practices is one of the biggest contributors to GHG emissions.  This is straight up false.  In the past unfair measuring methods have been used and big (but very flawed) claims were made which got international attention.  They claimed that livestock production was doing more to harm the climate than all transportation modes combined!!!  The claims were officially retracted but in a sense the damage was already done.  Here you can read an article from 'greenhouse gas guru' Frank Mitloehner, one of the leading experts who originally pointed out this flaw to fellow scientists during a speech in 2010.

Yet still to today there is so much propaganda pushed dramatizing the effect livestock production has on the environment (and also stating that meat causes ill health and should potentially be taxed, which is far from the truth and now becoming more and more known...hence popularity of low carb and less diets, including the booming carnivore diet).  It really makes you wonder if it's in some's best interests to kick meat...hmmm and I don't mean for ethical or environmental reasons (rather further consolidation of world's food supply).

Read his 2018 article about cows and climate change here, it's groundbreaking info that needs to be spread:

https://theconversation.com/yes-eating-meat-affects-the-environment-but-cows-are-not-killing-the-climate-94968

EDIT: The article mentions that the official GLOBAL livestock GHG emissions percentage is 14.5%, so it's definitely something, but keep in mind some third world countries have poor practices and not eating meat in first world countries won't make much of a difference at all yet it is still pushed hard.

Another mindblowing statement taken from the article, if this is true, then just wow:
"According to the FAO, as much as 70 percent of all agricultural land globally is range land that can only be utilized as grazing land for ruminant livestock."

Edited January 13, 2019 by AMS

[BerangariaMartineau]

Thanks!

[Emanyalpsid]

@AMS I also don't see your point. Yes the statistics differ like Shiva said, some statistics mention 18% for CO2. Different measuring methods. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But it is not only CO2 which is polluting, methane is much worse. And there is Nitro...something I don't remember.

Yes there is a lot of land not utilizable for crops, but the cows don't walk on the grasslands of Canada, Africa, Russia, Mongoly and China. They walk on the soil of the US where crops could also grow.

Besides this, these lands are becoming dryer because we are cutting down the rain forest to find places to grow corn and soja beans to feed our livestock, and because our greenhouse gas emission is rising.

If you are going to try to convince people that keeping livestock is not polluting and slowly killing life on this planet, you are gonna have a hard time.

But again, I don't see the point. Unless you wan't to convince yourself and others that your carnivor diet is sustainable. It is still poluting in a big way. Maybe we are not able to measure exactly how much, but does it matter?

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by Emanyalpsid