Cardiovascular Disease and Reducing Saturated Fat

[Cataceous]

All we have to do is try to mimic how our direct ancestors would of eaten for hundreds of thousands of years. Primarily animal meat, animal fat, animal organs, seasonal fruit (which would of been much less sweet than fruit today), and eaten plants only to avoid starvation....

The real story is more complex. For example:

The real Paleolithic diet, though, wasn’t all meat and marrow. It’s true that hunter-gatherers around the world crave meat more than any other food and usually get around 30 percent of their annual calories from animals. But most also endure lean times when they eat less than a handful of meat each week. New studies suggest that more than a reliance on meat in ancient human diets fueled the brain’s expansion.​

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Year-round observations confirm that hunter-gatherers often have dismal success as hunters. The Hadza and Kung bushmen of Africa, for example, fail to get meat more than half the time when they venture forth with bows and arrows. This suggests it was even harder for our ancestors who didn’t have these weapons. “Everybody thinks you wander out into the savanna and there are antelopes everywhere, just waiting for you to bonk them on the head,” says paleoanthropologist Alison Brooks of George Washington University, an expert on the Dobe Kung of Botswana. No one eats meat all that often, except in the Arctic, where Inuit and other groups traditionally got as much as 99 percent of their calories from seals, narwhals, and fish.​

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So how do hunter-gatherers get energy when there’s no meat? It turns out that “man the hunter” is backed up by “woman the forager,” who, with some help from children, provides more calories during difficult times. When meat, fruit, or honey is scarce, foragers depend on “fallback foods,” says Brooks. The Hadza get almost 70 percent of their calories from plants. The Kung traditionally rely on tubers and mongongo nuts, the Aka and Baka Pygmies of the Congo River Basin on yams, the Tsimane and Yanomami Indians of the Amazon on plantains and manioc, the Australian Aboriginals on nut grass and water chestnuts. ​

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“There’s been a consistent story about hunting defining us and that meat made us human,” says Amanda Henry, a paleobiologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. “Frankly, I think that misses half of the story. They want meat, sure. But what they actually live on is plant foods.” What’s more, she found starch granules from plants on fossil teeth and stone tools, which suggests humans may have been eating grains, as well as tubers, for at least 100,000 years—long enough to have evolved the ability to tolerate them.​

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[Gman86]

Well, healthy eating is the foundation. But genetics have a very strong influence. Did you watch the video I just posted?

Just finished watching it. Genetics obv play a huge component, as they do with all components of health. And healthy eating is an extremely ambiguous phrase. Most of us still consider eating vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes healthy, which could not be further from the truth. Incorporating these foods into your diet is actually the opposite of healthy eating. But truth always comes to light eventually, so it’s just going to take time for these things to become evident. The science and evidence is there though, it’s just going to take time for people to accept and understand how these food groups actually effect our bodies.

For instance, this doctor followed a plant based diet for a good portion of his life, which is literally one of the worst diets you can consume, especially in regards to inflammation, and he had plaque built up and the blood vessels of a 73 year old. And on the other hand, Dr Paul Saladino, who has been a vegan in the past, and now currently advocates for a more carnivore-ish style of eating, frequently reports testing his patients’ CAC scores, that eat mainly carnivore, and they are all showing very low CAC scores. He reports that most of them have a 0 CAC score. He’s posted videos showing individual’s lab work that have LDL levels ranging from 200, up to even 300, with a 0 CAC score. On carnivore, these individuals usually have high HDL, high LDL, and low triglycerides. Basically mimicking what I’ve seen while switching to mainly carnivore 3 months ago, with around 150g of carbs per day, coming from white rice, raw honey, and select fruits. Here’s my latest lipid panel, after eating mainly carnivore for 3 months. And current protocol is 200mg, deca and 63mg of test. Blood pressure yesterday was 106/54. I’m a nurse, and check it everyday at work. Been checking it everyday for months now. I average around 110/60. Before going mainly carnivore I had a physical and BP was around 120/80.

In regards to statins, they have their place. Imo, they are only for people that haven’t learned how to optimize cardiovascular health via diet, exercise and other life style modifications. They can also be helpful in people with very rare genetic disorders that sky rocket cholesterol levels. Again, very rare.

In regards to heart attacks and strokes, we do not need to fear cholesterol. Heart attacks and strokes are more due to inflammation, insulin resistance, and having elevated blood glucose lingering in the blood for too long, a.k.a. insulin resistance. High blood sugar levels lingering for too long causes hardening of the blood vessels. When blood vessels harden, and lose their elasticity, they can crack, which is a huge contributor to plaque formation. Plaque forms when cholesterol lodges in the wall of the artery. To fight back, the body sends white blood cells to trap the cholesterol, which then turn into foamy cells that ooze more fat and cause more inflammation. That triggers muscle cells in the artery wall to multiply and form a cap over the area. And from my understanding, this plaque buildup can cause narrowing of blood vessels, slowing down blood flow, leading to clots forming. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s these clots that can then cause blockages in the heart, lungs or brain, as well as the plaque itself coming dislodged and causing blockages in again, the heart, lungs or brain. Cholesterol is not what causes heart attacks and/ or strokes. It’s inflammation, insulin resistance and hardening of blood vessels. Well those are the main contributors, off the top of my head, at least.

 

[Gman86]

The real story is more complex. For example:

The real Paleolithic diet, though, wasn’t all meat and marrow. It’s true that hunter-gatherers around the world crave meat more than any other food and usually get around 30 percent of their annual calories from animals. But most also endure lean times when they eat less than a handful of meat each week. New studies suggest that more than a reliance on meat in ancient human diets fueled the brain’s expansion.​

​

Year-round observations confirm that hunter-gatherers often have dismal success as hunters. The Hadza and Kung bushmen of Africa, for example, fail to get meat more than half the time when they venture forth with bows and arrows. This suggests it was even harder for our ancestors who didn’t have these weapons. “Everybody thinks you wander out into the savanna and there are antelopes everywhere, just waiting for you to bonk them on the head,” says paleoanthropologist Alison Brooks of George Washington University, an expert on the Dobe Kung of Botswana. No one eats meat all that often, except in the Arctic, where Inuit and other groups traditionally got as much as 99 percent of their calories from seals, narwhals, and fish.​

​

So how do hunter-gatherers get energy when there’s no meat? It turns out that “man the hunter” is backed up by “woman the forager,” who, with some help from children, provides more calories during difficult times. When meat, fruit, or honey is scarce, foragers depend on “fallback foods,” says Brooks. The Hadza get almost 70 percent of their calories from plants. The Kung traditionally rely on tubers and mongongo nuts, the Aka and Baka Pygmies of the Congo River Basin on yams, the Tsimane and Yanomami Indians of the Amazon on plantains and manioc, the Australian Aboriginals on nut grass and water chestnuts. ​

​

“There’s been a consistent story about hunting defining us and that meat made us human,” says Amanda Henry, a paleobiologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. “Frankly, I think that misses half of the story. They want meat, sure. But what they actually live on is plant foods.” What’s more, she found starch granules from plants on fossil teeth and stone tools, which suggests humans may have been eating grains, as well as tubers, for at least 100,000 years—long enough to have evolved the ability to tolerate them.​

...​

The Evolution of Diet

Could eating like our ancestors make us healthier?

www.nationalgeographic.com

You nailed it! Plants and nuts and tubers are exactly what u said, fallback foods. Top carnivore advocates will not argue this point. That’s exactly what these foods were for us. They were foods to prevent starvation. They are far from optimal foods sources for the human body, but will obv prevent starvation.

I personally don’t care how people eat. I have no biases. I have zero ego. I have nothing to gain by advocating for a mostly carnivore based way of eating. All I care about is what’s optimal for humans to eat. My goal is to be as healthy as I can, for as long as I can. If tomorrow I found out that eating an all fruit diet is what’s the most optimal way for humans to eat, and is what’s going to give me the best chance of living a long healthy life, obv I would switch to eating all fruit. I only care about the science, the evidence, what makes sense, and what works anecdotally. It’s that simple. And right now, everything points to the most optimal diet being a mostly carnivore one, possibly with a low amount of carbs here and there to maintain metabolic flexibility. Once you learn about what plants, seeds, grains and legumes are, their functions, their goals, how they defend themselves, and how they reproduce, it becomes quickly evident why humans should not be eating most of them. But without doing the research for yourself, the normal reaction is to think this information is crazy, and that’s how I expect most people to feel. Again, people that haven’t looked into the research for themselves. I honestly don’t expect anyone to accept this information. As they shouldn’t, imo. But again the science of these foods and how they function will never change. So how these foods react in our bodies will not change, at least not anytime in the near future. Evolution takes a long long long time. At least in our lifetimes, these foods are not going to be optimal for humans, if health and longevity are ur goals.

 

[Cataceous]

... Plants and nuts and tubers are exactly what u said, fallback foods. Top carnivore advocates will not argue this point. That’s exactly what these foods were for us. They were foods to prevent starvation. They are far from optimal foods sources for the human body, but will obv prevent starvation.
...

Seventy percent of the diet is not what I'd call "fallback foods." And calling them "far from optimal" is a stretch. As a practical matter, how many carnivores these days are eating only lean wild game comparable to what our ancestors hunted? It's not as though beef cows, even grass-fed ones, are nutritionally similar.

 

[Gman86]

Seventy percent of the diet is not what I'd call "fallback foods." And calling them "far from optimal" is a stretch. As a practical matter, how many carnivores these days are eating only lean wild game comparable to what our ancestors hunted? It's not as though beef cows, even grass-fed ones, are nutritionally similar.

I suggest that everyone eat a diet that makes them happy. I’m not trying to sway anyone one way or the other. But if u have questions about carnivore, or are skeptical, or just want to look into it further, I would highly suggest listening to Dr Paul Saladino. Wealth of knowledge on the subject, and just overall a great human. If ur happy with ur current diet, I would just keep eating the way u are.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The carnivore diet is not practical for most people. It is more expensive and it lacks the micronutrients not provided by meat products. It will be a fad that will eventually pass in the rich developed world. It’s also boring as hell. No way to live. Sorry, my two cents.

 

[Gman86]

The carnivore diet is not practical for most people. It is more expensive and it lacks the micronutrients not provided by meat products. It will be a fad that will eventually pass in the rich developed world. Sorry, my two cents.

I agree, it definitely can get expensive. It has definitely taught me how to bargain shop. I’m like an expert level sale shopper now. I’m actually spending less on food now than before going mostly carnivore. I’ve always eaten a protein rich diet though since working out has been a part of my life since I was 13, so I’ve always spent a good amount of money each week on meat.

But couldn’t disagree more in regards to micronutrients. There’s no beneficial micronutrients that we can get from plants, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc., that we can’t get from animal products, small amounts of seasonal fruit, and also honey. U can get all ur micronutrient needs from animal products, some seasonal fruits, and honey, without the anti nutrients and plant defense chemicals wreaking havoc in the body. Animal products, some seasonal fruit, and honey, give everything u need, without the things u don’t need, that’s why it’s such a successful diet for people with health issues. Giving ur body what it needs to function properly is obv extremely important, which red meat does in spades, but the real magic is avoiding inflammatory foods, that people have no clue are inflammatory. I only see it becoming more popular, due to its high success rate at treating most chronic diseases, in a world where chronic disease is on the rise. The truth always comes to light. All carnivore is doing is exposing all the issues with eating so many so called “healthy foods”. Knowledge always comes forth eventually. So it’s impossible for carnivore to go away. It can only become more popular. Simple math. People that learn about the harm most foods do will never unlearn this info, and new people are learning this info all the time. So simple math says that only more people will learn about why carnivore is so beneficial to overall health, and anyone that knows this information, I would assume would have a hard time putting things into their body that they now know are harmful to them. But of course there’s going to be outliers that have this knowledge, and choose to still eat in a way that makes them happy, not necessarily in a way that promotes health and longevity.

It’s actually been extremely fascinating learning about this way of eating, and why all these different foods, especially plants/ veggies cause so many problems for humans when ingested on a regular basis. I know u’d actually really enjoy the process of learning about all these things about food that most people have no idea about. As a man that loves to constantly learn, I know u’ll eventually take the time to deep dive into all the reasons why carnivore is so beneficial, in regards to healing chronic diseases/ issues, but now is obv not that time. Which I respect obv. But I predict that once more people adopt this way of eating, and more people are curing long term chronic issues, and it becomes impossible to ignore anymore, u’ll get sucked in lol. Mostly because ur clearly someone that is into health/ longevity, and there’s nothing I’ve ever seen that promotes this more than eating mainly meat, and other animal products, and avoiding all the foods that are causing issues behind the scenes that people have no clue about. But at this current time, obv we have to agree to disagree. But I guarantee that in ur lifetime, u’ll eventually take on a more carnivore style of eating, especially as u get older and are at higher risk for getting inflammatory chronic conditions, or worse, end up getting those conditions instead of preventing them. But again, I just want people to eat whichever way makes them the happiest. But ur a man that loves knowledge and learning, and loves health and longevity, so it’s a no brainer that u will eventually dig into the research on why carnivore is so beneficial, and will get sucked in, mark my words lol.