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I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

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11–20 of 41 posts

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#11

> The zero-carb community believes that we evolved to mainly eat meat, and that ancient humans turned to plants only in times of near-starvation. Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't most scientific studies of our evolutionary process revealed the opposite of this? For example, actual carnivores that have evolved over time don't require dietary supplements of vitamin c. Or if you look at the structure and prominence o…

Chimps and Bonobos are our nearest relatives, so presumably we might look at their diets for pointers[1] - 50% figs, 3% meat, the remainder from other plants. I do like figs, but I don't think I can quite manage that... still, it's more sensible than eating nothing but meat (which is as you say nutrient deficient, has long-term risks for cancer, and clearly is not a viable option for a global population of 7.6B)

1: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/how-to-eat-l...

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. The keto diet includes plants. Just not starchy or sweet ones, e.g. cauliflower, lettuce, broccoli, etc.

A diet which is a subset of another diet can still be classified as a diet of that type, at least that’s how I think of it.

Diets are important in what they exclude.

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#13
post #7

I usually read most of the article, until I get the main point and some details, but this time i went through the whole thing because right now I am in the middle of a diy diet myself (nothing fancy, just cutting on carbs, paying a bit more attention to what I eat and cooking at home instead of eating outside). First thing first, eating only meat is not as bonkers as it might seem. In fact, it's a huge an distinctive…

> eating meat only can be sustainable. Not sure how long, though.

I've heard of several people who have eaten nothing but meat for decades and swear by it. It's fascinating.

There's a 2 hour podcast with a seemingly smart guy who has eaten meat for a few years now and has also become a proponent of the idea. I can recommend checking this out for anyone who wants to get a better idea how this carnivore diet works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj_Bc9hdHa0

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#14
post #8

The diet she's describing is more commonly known as the ketogenic (keto) diet, rather than the "Bitcoin carnivore" diet.

Yes, definitely! The difference here is that you are supposed to do a ketogenic diet for a relatively short amount of time whereas this "Bitcoin-carnivore" thing is supposed to be more of a "lifestyle" as in "you're doing keto for the rest of your life".

I'm not sure I understand your comment, but a ketogenic diet is sustainable indefinitely although it becomes challenging. The majority of calories are taken as fats, rather than carbohydrates/starches/simple sugars as is the typical western diet. The liver quickly adapts to burning fats rather than converting sugars and avoids the associated insulin conversion response.

Nevertheless, after being inundated with the food groups adn "healthy" food pyramid favoring carborhydrates ('healthy grains'), it does feel very odd to put four tablespoons of butter in cup of coffee, then follow that with a breakfast of 1/2 pound of bacon with eggs and cheese, and convince oneself you're eating a healthy diet. My results speak for themselves though -- lower serum cholesterol, weight loss, and lower blood pressure.

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#15
post #7

I usually read most of the article, until I get the main point and some details, but this time i went through the whole thing because right now I am in the middle of a diy diet myself (nothing fancy, just cutting on carbs, paying a bit more attention to what I eat and cooking at home instead of eating outside). First thing first, eating only meat is not as bonkers as it might seem. In fact, it's a huge an distinctive…

>>the meat you buy nowadays at grocery store is filled with hormones and antibiotics

the administration of hormones in chicken and pigs is prohibited in the USA since the 1950s.

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#17
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A diet which is a subset of another diet can still be classified as a diet of that type, at least that’s how I think of it.

Diets are important in what they exclude.

In fact, that’s generally the entire motivation behind distinguishing a diet in the first place.

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#18

> The zero-carb community believes that we evolved to mainly eat meat, and that ancient humans turned to plants only in times of near-starvation. Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't most scientific studies of our evolutionary process revealed the opposite of this? For example, actual carnivores that have evolved over time don't require dietary supplements of vitamin c. Or if you look at the structure and prominence o…

One I've heard is that when you move to an all meat diet is that you actually require less vitamin c. I've got no source but it's what I'd heard

Re: I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks

#19

> The zero-carb community believes that we evolved to mainly eat meat, and that ancient humans turned to plants only in times of near-starvation. Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't most scientific studies of our evolutionary process revealed the opposite of this? For example, actual carnivores that have evolved over time don't require dietary supplements of vitamin c. Or if you look at the structure and prominence o…

> Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't most scientific studies of our evolutionary process revealed the opposite of this?

"Human beings evolved to eat X" sounds wrong to me from the get go, because people all across the planet eat so many different diets and do that while being healthy.

The only assumption I can make is that we have evolved to eat cooked food (based on our jaw size), but beyond that human beings evolved to eat pretty much anything and live on.

The most significant difference I notice about living in the first world is the absence of hunger.

Going hungry is probably a big part of our common evolutionary adaptations, more than the actual food that fills us back up (not malnutrition, just hunger, get food while hungry and eat well when you have it).

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