And when they can’t spell health…
Lack of carb consumption has clearly affected brain power too.
3 Likes
Love it
About to throw some gas on the fire to see what people think about the Mountain Dog Diet as it relates to cholesterol control. It looks like something I’d be able to sustain pretty well on my own. Focus on grass fed beef, grass fed butter, and other meats that exist on a natural diet.
I gotta admit: how much butter and coconut oil advocated breaks my brain regarding heart health, but it also seems to check out pretty well. I’ve always believed that something you can find in nature should be good for you, and it seems I got led a bit astray by not factoring in the agricultural practices we’d develop as far as how we feed animals.
2 Likes
I’d specifically like to hear educated opinions on this. I need to clean my act up, and have paid no attention to the quality of the food - only the macros.
1 Like
A macro mix of 80/19/1 is best for calorie restriction, but once a non-obese weight is achieved a 75/24/1 works quite well. Most folks exchange carbs for protein, but that is wrong.
I believe animal welfare in the UK is a bit better than elsewhere, including the USA. However, less controversial is the prominent role of polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) in our own diet, which is contributing to inflammation and potential insulin resistance based on its unique ability to open up all human cells to its fatty cargo. Sort that out first then consider grass fed beef (where the cattle aren’t fed PUFA rich diets).
In terms of cholesterol, in other words risk of cardiovascular disease, after following the advice above, understand that the greatest risk of CVD is damage to LDL particles, which can ultimately result in these damned particles lining the arteries. Damage happens firstly through glycation, which occurs in the presence of glucose.
So far, we have PUFAs and sugar as major contributors to CVD. Therefore, any diet claiming to be cholesterol lowering should be built on this foundation. The irony, of course, is that mainstream medical advice perversely advocates the opposite: increase PUFAs, lower saturated fat, ensure around 60% of your energy intake is from carbohydrate, don’t skip meals… And we wonder why we are sicker than ever.
1 Like
When I went over the posted images of MD meal plans that pertained to me I noticed they routinely wrote tbsp instead of tsp for things like coconut oil. Might be less of a brain breaker if you consider that?
As a guy that has never weighed, measured or counted food, not even a factor in my calculus, haha. More curious about sources vs quantity.
1 Like
As I imagine you’ve already done the leg work what has this implied for you? Do you avoid nuts/seeds and such?
I should’ve figured as much.
I was reading about some plant defenses and can’t help but think this logic demands a couple of caveats here and there.
It’s why I threw in that second part of the sentence. It is something I always believed, and am now examining.
1 Like
After reading about the plants I mulled over maybe consciously focusing intake onto things that spread their presence through other organisms, meaning plants which spread through having their seeds deposited elsewhere after digestion.
This is somewhat mind-blowing to me, but I’m probably behind the curve. I’ve only recently started to pay attention (as you can probably guess by my incessant questions) beyond protein and calories.
This now says salmon and seeds aren’t good for you, which I really thought were bases in a healthy diet. In fact, I had salmon, sweet potatoes and broccoli for dinner last night, and was quite proud of myself.
My base understanding is fat + salt = bad (I’m concerned with blood pressure and kidney function). Going a high-fat route, to reduce available glucose, while eschewing PUFAs seems to imply I’m way off-
I understand I’ll have to add the UK qualifier, because you gents seem quite content to go against every human instinct and eat a tongue and stewed tomatoes, but do you have like a personal hierarchy of foods?
Well, without going down another rabbit hole regarding environmental pollution, heavy metals, etc, I think you are fine with salmon. Seeds are a different story. They are naturally high in PUFAs and also lectins (another rabbit hole).
Do some research on PUFAs. Folks often boil this down to an omega 6 versus omega 3 debate (both of which are PUFAs) but that’s missing the point somewhat. While we need PUFAs (it’s an essential fat), it is the quantity which is an issue for the majority of the population due to widespread use of seed oils.
Never tried tongue before! I’m probably missing out here!
1 Like
I will qualify everything I say with the fact I am not a paragon of nutritional virtue!
I used to gorge myself on nuts, mainly peanut butter and cashew nuts (together)! While it didn’t appear to cause any autoimmune issues, arguably I was getting away with it - although I’m sure it contributed to stubborn belly fat despite lower overall calories, fasting and a high energy output.
I am now pretty strict carnivore most of the time with the odd deviation here and there.
If I was to create some sort of hierarchy:
- lower carbohydrates from all sources; the less the better. Obviously some foods are better than other, e.g. strawberries over bread;
- lower PUFA intake by avoiding seeds, seed oils and derivatives.
This leaves you with an animal based diet, which can be further refined based on needs.
1 Like
If you ever do decide to post one of your weekly meal plans or shopping plans I’d appreciate an @ out of curiosity. I understand things a lot from when it’s applied.
That’s pretty straightforward for me to do now. I have been OMAD for a long time now, which simplifies things. And I tend to consume more or less the same thing each evening. Below is a typical example:
- anything from 600-1000g of ground beef mince (usually 10-20% fat);
- 3-4 eggs
- circa 50-100g liver (usually organic chicken, or normal lamb, or beef (when I can get it)).
The meat is fresh and I try to source bargains from supermarkets, e.g. short dated products, offers, etc. Given the fat content of the mince, I can fry this without oil. Otherwise I use dripping (beef fat/tallow) for cooking, or ghee.
I add variety by throwing in venison, veal and lamb, usually mince, if I can get it. I find mince more filling than others cuts. Hence, I eat far fewer steaks these days. I like burger patties too but only if they have minimal fillers. I may throw in some chopped bacon now and again with the frying mince but it’s beef all the way. I have no major issues with pork and chicken but would tend to opt for these if eating out.
I love cheese but, like many folks, have a tendency to overeat it, so I try to cut it out completely if I’m trying to stay lean.
I supplement with collagen powder. I do sometimes take hydrolysed whey or casein post-workout but have generally cut back on most powders/supplements. I am trying to run down a lot of things I have lying around, e.g. taurine, carnitine, as I don’t want to chuck them out. I will probably continue with krill oil, calcium and iodine longer term.
1 Like
I know this is only one part of the equation here, but I want to make the case for eating MORE red meat rather than less of it. For people interested in the sourcing of their meats and the nutrition, morality, and environmental impact behind it, I highly recommend checking out Robb Wolf’s and Diana Rodgers’s new book called Sacred Cow.
I’ve been big on eating 100% grass-fed beef for several years now. While it’s true that its nutritional profile when compared to conventional beef is marginally superior, there is a much bigger case for eating this way for ethical reasons rather than health ones. For a long time I would tell people to buy only grass-fed beef, but in reality even feedlot cows spend the majority of their lives on grass. So, if you can’t afford grass-fed, don’t fret. To discuss the omega 3:omega 6 ratio between grass-finished and grain-finished pork is silly. The difference is so small… It’s passing over a hundred dollar bill to pick up pennies – in that respect, you’re much better off eating a tiny portion of wild-caught salmon and avoiding canola/seed oils. The authors touch on the cholesterol issue in the book a bit as well.
Over the past several decades Americans have not only been eating less meat but also, when they do eat it, they resort to chicken and pork. Chicken and pork are fed a much more “unnatural” diet than any type of cattle in the US. The former also aren’t environmentally regenerative like cattle are, on top of being nutritionally inferior.
I won’t spoil any more of the book, but (clearly) I’m super passionate about this topic. In a perfect world we would all get pasture-raised meat from a local farmer, but if that’s not possible, deciding to abstain from red meat can be a bad move.
2 Likes
Thank you for that. I’ll add this to my notes for future reference. At the moment I really want to get back into baking so CVD is taking a backseat to mental health. Personally I’m happy cooking things with bones still attached and given that my latest broth batch can be cut with a knife I don’t think collagen supps are of any importance. What do you do for Vit C? Just take it as a powder?
@Bagsy I appreciate you writing that out. I’ll add the book to my list. Feel free to at me if you write more on this topic anywhere really. Even if I won’t apply it immediately I appreciate knowing about it and having material to refer to later when I do some experimentation of my own. Any thoughts on pH-balance?