tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61537680050475396192024-03-19T03:13:42.466+00:00Mostly Meat Is What I Eat"Sickness is the vengeance of nature for the violation of her laws."DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-18631451112091702712014-01-21T15:16:00.000+00:002014-01-21T15:16:27.843+00:00My NK ExperimentDuring February I will be undertaking a nutritional ketosis (NK) experiment, I will be chronicling my journey on a separate blog. Link: http://depawnk.blogspot.co.uk/DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-86502320110239782152014-01-12T22:50:00.001+00:002014-01-16T21:06:35.606+00:00Carnivore RDA Version 2<u><b>Menu:</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>7oz beef/lamb, 30% fat</li>
<li>2oz mackerel</li>
<li>110g beef/lamb tallow</li>
<li>2 eggs, whole</li>
<li>2oz pork kidneys</li>
<li>1/4oz pork liver</li>
<li>2tbsp gelatin powder</li>
<li>1/2tsp losalt</li>
<li>1/2tsp Himalayan pink salt</li>
<li>1tsp/1g kelp/kombu, dry</li>
<li>16floz tea</li>
<li>400mg magnesium citrate</li>
<li>2 egg shell calcium / month (1/2 per week)</li>
</ul>
<br /><u><b>Why?</b></u><br />
Over my continuing research I've found out a few things since the first carnivore RDA post:<br />
<ul>
<li>We need less retinol/vitamin A: 1200ug (~4000IU) is ideal, with >600ug (~2000IU) being minimum, but vitamin A is found in all animal fats so liver/yolks/dairy is less critical.</li>
<li>We need less calcium: 200mg a day is fine, and possibly even better than higher amounts; as long as there's plenty of vitamin D, K2, magnesium, and other co-factors, calcium intake is a non-issue. Still less than 100-150mg probably isn't very good, stick to around 200mg a day.</li>
<li>We need more magnesium per calcium: reading some books on holistic health care, it said that the ideal ratio of magnesium:calcium in the tissues is 3-4:1, so intake should be similar. I'm not increasing the recommendation for magnesium supplementation, but rather decreasing calcium as per last bullet point, and putting focus on using a salt like Himalyan pink salt which is naturally rich in magnesium.</li>
<li>We need more kidneys: selenium needs to be ~200ug a day ideally, and the decrease in the other foods decreased the selenium intake, so kidneys were boosted to 2oz per day to maintain selenium intake.</li>
<li>We don't need quite as much zinc: in the first carnivore RDA I used 12:1 as the zinc:copper ratio, but 10:1 is fine.</li>
<li>We need less protein: my first dietary recommendation, to match the USDA RDA was very high in protein, I decreased it in the first carnivore RDA, and I'm decreasing it again. Excessive protein simply isn't needed, there's no point to eating more protein than we need, it just inhibits ketosis and can stall you. 15% of calories is ample protein. I also decreased the gelatin slightly, but it's still >15% of the total protein, so fine.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<u><b><br /></b></u>
<u><b>Nutrition:</b></u></div>
<div>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td>Macro-nutrient</td><td>Grams</td><td>%kcal</td></tr>
<tr><td>Protein</td><td>74g</td><td>15.5%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Carbs</td><td>2g</td><td>0.4%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Fat</td><td>188g</td><td>84.1%</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td>Vitamin</td><td>Unit</td><td>cRDAv2</td><td>In Menu Above</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin A (retinol)</td><td>ug/IU</td><td>600-1,200ug<br />
(~2,000-4,000IU)</td><td>683ug<br />
(2,273IU)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B1 (thiamine)</td><td>mg</td><td>0.4</td><td>0.44</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)</td><td>mg</td><td>N/A</td><td>2.18</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B3 (niacin)</td><td>mg</td><td>N/A</td><td>17.60</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)</td><td>mg</td><td>N/A</td><td>5.13</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B6 (pyroxine)</td><td>mg</td><td>0.016mg/g protein<br />
<br /></td><td>1.24<br />
(0.0167mg/g protein)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B9 (folate)</td><td>ug</td><td>100-200</td><td>130</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)</td><td>ug</td><td>12+</td><td>16.54</td></tr>
<tr><td>Biotin</td><td>ug</td><td>50+</td><td>No data, sufficient</td></tr>
<tr><td>Choline</td><td>mg</td><td>500</td><td>516</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin C</td><td>mg</td><td>0</td><td>9.56</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin D</td><td>IU</td><td>Use blood levels</td><td>477</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin E</td><td>mg</td><td>0.65mg/g PUFA</td><td>5/87<br />
(0.66mg/g PUFA)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin K1</td><td>ug</td><td>0</td><td>15.05</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vitamin K2</td><td>ug</td><td>80</td><td>No data, sufficient</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td>Mineral</td><td>Unit</td><td>cRDAv2</td><td>In Menu Above</td></tr>
<tr><td>Calcium</td><td>mg</td><td>150-200</td><td>186</td></tr>
<tr><td>Phosphorus</td><td>mg</td><td>~700</td><td>726</td></tr>
<tr><td>Magnesium</td><td>mg</td><td>450-800<br />
(3-4x calcium)</td><td>583<br />
(3.1x calcium)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Potassium</td><td>mg</td><td>~2,000</td><td>2008</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sodium</td><td>mg</td><td>3,000-7,000</td><td>2878</td></tr>
<tr><td>Copper</td><td>mg</td><td>1-3</td><td>0.98</td></tr>
<tr><td>Zinc</td><td>mg</td><td>10-30<br />
(~10x copper)</td><td>10.74<br />
(11x copper)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Selenium</td><td>ug</td><td>~200</td><td>209</td></tr>
<tr><td>Manganese</td><td>mg</td><td>1</td><td>1.66</td></tr>
<tr><td>Iron</td><td>mg</td><td>8<br />
(16 for females)</td><td>10.81</td></tr>
<tr><td>Iodine</td><td>ug</td><td>1,500-3,500</td><td>3492</td></tr>
<tr><td>Molybdenum</td><td>ug</td><td>45+</td><td>No data, sufficient</td></tr>
<tr><td>Chromium</td><td>ug</td><td>25-35</td><td>No data, sufficient</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u><b>Tweaks:</b></u><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Supplement 100ug selenium instead of 2oz kidneys</li>
<li>Supplement ~2000IU retinol instead of 1/4oz liver</li>
<li>Supplement 1 drop 7% Lugol's solution instead of seaweed.</li>
<li>Use no losalt and only 3/8tsp sea salt to keep sodium to potassium ratio the same, this is probably fine after keto-adaptation.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-38597473441642707262014-01-04T21:42:00.000+00:002014-01-07T14:46:09.829+00:00Bachelor Chow (A Soylent Recipe)Soylent is all the rage these days, so I decided to make my own version, which follows these parameters:<br />
<ul>
<li>Nutritionally complete. I will be following my own RDAs not the USDA's though.</li>
<li>Low carb / ketogenic. As low in net carbs as possible.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's my recipe:<br />
<ul>
<li>70g whey protein powder</li>
<li>400g coconut milk (canned, not light)</li>
<li>180g cream</li>
<li>23g almonds</li>
<li>14g flax seeds</li>
<li>10g brazil nuts</li>
<li>3/4tsp pink salt</li>
<li>1 multivitamin</li>
<li>500mg choline</li>
<li>315mg magnesium citrate</li>
<li>1,500IU vit D3</li>
<li>150ug vit K2 (D3+K2=3 drops Thorne D3/K2 drops)</li>
<li>3.5mg iodine (1 drop lugol's 7%)</li>
<li>500mg vit C</li>
</ul>
<div>
A total of 14-15 ingredients. Total weight ~930g.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Why each ingredient?</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Whey protein: protein, duh.</li>
<li>Coconut milk: keto-power activate!</li>
<li>Cream: liquid gold.</li>
<li>Almond milk: flavour and some omega-6.</li>
<li>Flax seeds: omega-3s. You could omit and use cod liver oil (replacing retinol too) or fish oil, but this recipe uses flax seeds as default for taste reasons.</li>
<li>Brazil nuts: selenium.</li>
<li>Salt: sodium, chloride.</li>
<li>Multivitamin+specific nutrients: the MV provides most nutrients except the fat soluble ones in enough quantity, magnesium, iodine, choline, and vitamin C (vit C is included as this recipe as it has some carbs, just as a safe guard (though best to not cook it and take it separately)).</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nutrition:</div>
</div>
<div>
2050 calories, 65g protein, 31g carbs (26g net), 194g fat (omega ratio = 1.9).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Instructions:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Weigh out almonds/flax.</li>
<li>Soak them overnight in salty water, then drain.</li>
<li>Weigh out rest of ingredients.</li>
<li>Set the nuts grinding with water then strain to make nut milk. Discard solids.</li>
<li>Mix all ingredients together into paste.</li>
<li>Store in 3-6 small containers.</li>
<li>When ready to eat mix one container with water to desired thickness.</li>
<li>Drink water as desired also.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One example is 3 'meals', each made up with 750ml of water, for a total of 2ltrs of water consumed over the day. Weigh out 310g each meal for 3 meals, 233g each for 4 meals, 186g for 5 meals, 155g for 6 meals.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I did a basic cost check using mostly Tesco, Holland & Barret's, and a couple of items on Amazon.co.uk, the cost is about £3.15 per day, that's £22.05 per week, not too shabby.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
If you're eating other nutritious food and want to just make this for snacks/emergencies, then leave out all the supplements (use first 7 ingredients). It will come out to £2.75 per recipe.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How does it taste? Probably like coconutty whey protein shake (whatever flavour you bought). I may make up a batch soon and post pictures of the process and give you my reaction to the taste. [Edit: I originally made a solid version (using coconut oil and coconut meat instead of coconut milk and cream) but the texture was really weird, I didn't like it, so made a liquid version.]<br />
<br />
<br />
Name inspired by Futurama's Bachelor Chow (now with flavour!):<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://theinfosphere.org/images/e/e8/Bachelor_Chow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://theinfosphere.org/images/e/e8/Bachelor_Chow.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-85788655878649049682013-12-13T13:01:00.000+00:002013-12-23T11:58:56.484+00:00Home-made Mineral WaterMost water is pitiful, it's either contaminated with chlorine/fluorine, or is very poor in minerals after being cleaned/filtered. Here I purpose the ultimate solution (pun intended), for home-made mineral water.<br />
<br />
Recipe:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>~2L distilled or very pure water</li>
<li>~200mg silicia</li>
<li>~150mg magnesium citrate</li>
<li>1/2tsp sea salt, eg himalayan pink salt</li>
<li>1/2tsp low-sodium salt (66% KCl)</li>
<li>[or 1/3tsp no-sodium salt + 2/3tsp sea salt]</li>
<li>2tbsp lemon juice</li>
<li>2tbsp distilled/white vinegar</li>
<li>Optional:</li>
<li>200ug lithium orotate</li>
<li>1 drop Lugol's solution, 3-7% (1.5-3.5mg iodine)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
Rational:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Start with very pure or distilled water to minimise toxins/contaminants.</li>
<li>Silica, used to remove excess aluminium, set at similar levels to Fuji water which is shown in studies to be effective.</li>
<li>Magnesium, needed for over 300 enzymes, most people are very deficient in this mineral due to soil depletion, diluting it in water is a great way to increase intake.</li>
<li>Salts (sea and low-sodium), these provide the electrolytes sodium and potassium, the sea salt provides trace minerals including a bit of magnesium.</li>
<li>Lemon juice and vinegar, these improve the taste and absorption of water, blunt glycaemic responds (stops high blood sugar peaks), and also remove excess iron.</li>
<li>Lithium, for mood support. Populations with water low in lithium are more prone to violent crimes and suicides.</li>
<li>Iodine, needed for thyroid health and prevention of certain cancers, set a base therapeutic level; if you eat seaweed then this isn't needed though.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If anyone has anything else they think should be in the mineral water, then feel free to comment below or send me an email :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Update (20/12/13) - Version 2:</u></b><br />
<br />
Mineral water #0: Water Base<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2,000ml distilled or very pure water</li>
<li>2tbsp vinegar, white/distilled</li>
<li>2tbsp lemon juice</li>
<li>1-2tsp Himalayan pink salt or similar</li>
<li>200mg silica / silicic acid</li>
<li>200ug lithium oratate (optional)</li>
<li>1.5-3.5mg iodine (1 drop 3-7% Lugol's solution)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Mineral Water #1: Magnesium</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>315mg magnesium citrate (1/2tsp powder)</li>
<li>250-500ml mineral water #0</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<div>
<ul></ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
Mineral Water #2: Vitamin C</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>2.5g vitamin C / ascorbic acid</li>
<li>250-500ml mineral water #0</li>
<li><i>Update (21/12/13) - version 2.1: Due to acidity issues with my teeth last night, always add some bicarbonate of soda (bicarb) in equal amounts to the ascorbic acid.</i></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
All can be sweetened/flavoured if desired. Drinking one of #1/2 plus two plain #0s, results in exactly my original recipe, minus the low/no-sodium salt which I am removing because I feel the potassium isn't that critical really.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Why the split? For better timing of nutrients, for example drink #1 before bed. #2 is optional, drink #0 through the day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What to do if you can't filter crappy water (thanks for the reminder Raphi!):</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Chlorine: boil water and allow to cool to room temperature, the chlorine will off-gas, so best to place outside or by open window to cool.</li>
<li>Chloroamines: add 1/4tsp vitamin C / ascorbic acid to the water base to neutralise chloroamines.</li>
<li>Fluorine: Use 4-8 drops 3% or 2-4 drops 7% Lugol's solution depending on level of fluoridation, this won't remove it from the water but combat the effects of the fluorine in your body.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-29075886018311233352013-12-08T23:00:00.002+00:002014-01-01T17:38:11.478+00:00Boosting Glutathione<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We've talked previously about how
important good glutathione levels are, so here we'll talk about how
to boost them naturally and also with supplements. First a quick
review of how glutathione is made:</div>
<ol>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First methionine is converted to
homocysteine, via methyl acceptors (opposite of donors).</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Next homocysteine is converted to
cysteine via vitamin B6 with the addition of serine.</div>
</li>
<li>Cysteine combines with glycine and glutamate, using selenium
to make glutathione.<br />
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So the nutrients needed to make
glutathione are:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Methionine + vitamin B6 (to make
cysteine)</div>
</li>
<li>Then, cysteine + glycine + glutamate + selenium<br />
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
The best foods source of each 'ingredient' is:<br />
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Methionine: eggs.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Vitamin B6: red meat.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cysteine: red meat, eggs.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glycine: gelatin (heads,
hooves/feet, tails, ears, skin, cartilage, powder/sheets, etc)</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Serine (inter-converts with
glycine): any protein source.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glutamate: any protein source.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glutamine (inter-converts with
glutamate): any protein source.</div>
</li>
<li>Selenium: kidneys, brazil nuts.<br />
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Notice red meat and eggs come up
multiple times, this means they're very good foods to include in your
diet if you want to boost glutathione production. But the other
components are equally important, so brink your gelatin-rich broth
and eat your kidneys/brazil nuts.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Ok, now you're eating everything you need to make glutathione,
lets make sure you make as much as possible. Methods for doing this
include:<br />
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
N-acetyl-cysteine: this is a
special 'locked up' form of cysteine that really helps boost
glutathione production. Never supplement normal cysteine as bacteria
tend to get to it first and use it for their own reproduction.
Suggested dose: ~600mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Milk thistle/Silymarin: this is a
herb (and its active ingredient) that helps the liver to work
properly, boosting its functions, including... you guessed it,
making glutathione. Suggested dose: 100-200mg silymarin. This
supplement is boosted when taken at the same time as choline, so eat
some egg yolks with it for maximum effect.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Turmeric/curcumin: this spice
boosts glutathione S-transferase which is hormone that
regulates glutathione production. Suggested dose: 1tsp
turmeric.</div>
</li>
<li>Whey protein: this boosts glutathione, due to its natural
cysteine and other nutrients.<br />
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Ultimate glutathione production method:<br />
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Diet based on red meat (for
cysteine, B6, zinc), with additional egg yolks (choline), poultry
liver (folate), kidneys/brazil nuts (selenium), and gelatin-rich
bone broth (glycine).</div>
</li>
<li>Supplements: 600mg N-acetyl-cysteine, 200mg silymarin as milk
thistle, 1tsp turmeric, 1 scoop whey protein powder.<br />
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Glutathione nutrients for the carnivore RDA example diet (link):<br />
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Methionine: 2,180mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cysteine: 1,130mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Vitamin B6: 1.66mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glycine+serine: 13,700mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glutamate+glutamine: 13,510mg.</div>
</li>
<li>Selenium: 194ug.<br />
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
2000 calories of rib-eye (877g raw) would have:<br />
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Methionine: 4,600mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cysteine: 1,700mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Vitamin B6: 3.6mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glycine+serine: 15,300mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glutamate+glutamine: 27,600mg.</div>
</li>
<li>Selenium: 212ug.<br />
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As we can see, both diets are strong
glutathione producers. But I don't recommend a diet of JUST red meat
steaks for many other reasons already stated in this blog, but
glutathione production is not one of my concerns with such a diet. Bare in mind the rib-eye diet has a lot more protein overall too (~170g versus ~100g), so has more of the critical amino acids just from bulk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Recommended intake:<br />
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Methionine: 2,000mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cysteine: 1,500mg. ???</div>
</li>
<li><div style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Vitamin
B6: >0.016mg/g protein.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glycine+serine: 13,500mg.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Glutamate+glutamine: 20,000mg. ???</div>
</li>
<li>Selenium: 200ug.</li>
</ul>
DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-17100901535787531662013-12-04T20:58:00.000+00:002013-12-06T13:05:36.428+00:00Inner Wolf UnchainedI'm currently writing a book on nutrition, with my good friend Danny Albers of Primal North assisting. It's called 'Inner Wolf Unchained', with a subtitle of 'Eat and Train like a Wolf to Get Healthy and Conquer Survival of the Fittest'.<br />
<br />
It will cover our evolution in Africa, and how it essentially makes us fur-less wolves; it examines from the base up what we need and don't need in our diet; it looks at the latest science to understand what amounts/ratios of macronutrients and micronutrients we need; it draws this all together into a simple and easy to follow diet framework; it looks at the science of exercise and what forms are best for us; it looks at what supplements one should take based on what they don't eat to ensure complete nutrition for optimal health. The book will include plenty of meal plans and recipes too.<br />
<br />
Here's an extract:<br />
"There are certain nutrients we must get from our diet, such as
essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, fat- and water-soluble
vitamins, macro, trace, and ultra-trace minerals, and energy itself.<br />
<br />
There are many nutrients the body requires but can make for
itself, but only partially so, such as glucose (with heavy exercise),
fat, choline, co-enzyme Q10, semi-essential amino acids, and many
others.<br />
<br />
Then there are substances in our food that negatively affect our
health, either by blocking nutrients or doing direct damage,
including fructose, gluten, excessive blood glucose, linoleic acid,
anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, tannins, and many other
phytochemicals.<br />
<br />
We must balance these three aspects together in order to achieve
maximum health and wellness."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-48584897483555489482013-08-17T13:48:00.001+01:002013-08-17T13:48:57.135+01:00Carnivore RDA Chart, The End of A Long Road<u><b>Amino Acids:
</b></u><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr><td><b>Nutrient</b></td><td><b>Unit</b></td><td><b>USDA RDA</b></td><td><b>cRDA</b></td><td><b>NPCD*</b></td><td><b>Recommended Foods</b></td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Total Protein</td><td>g/kg</td><td>0.8 (54.5g/150lbs)</td><td>1.2/lean<br />
(82g/150lbs@20%bf)</td><td>97g<br />
(1.78g/kg lean)</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Serine+Glycine</td><td>mg/kg</td><td>N/A</td><td>200<br />
(13,620mg/150lbs)</td><td>13,700mg</td><td>Glycine: gelatin<br />
Serine: muscle meat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Methionine </td><td>mg/kg</td><td>10.4 (708mg/150lbs)</td><td>30 (2,088mg/150lbs)</td><td>2,180mg</td><td>Egg yolks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Vitamins:
</b></u><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr><td><b>Nutrient</b></td><td><b>Unit</b></td><td><b>USDA RDA</b></td><td><b>cRDA</b></td><td><b>NPCD*</b></td><td><b>Recommended Foods</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit A</td><td>IU</td><td>3,000</td><td>10,000</td><td>10,927</td><td>Liver, egg yolks, dairy fats, cod liver oil</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit B1</td><td>mg</td><td>1.2</td><td>0.5</td><td>0.52</td><td>Pork meat, pork heart, lamb kidneys</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit B2</td><td>mg</td><td>1.3</td><td>N/A</td><td>3.10</td><td>Liver, kidneys, heart, egg yolks, meat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit B3</td><td>mg</td><td>16</td><td>N/A</td><td>25</td><td>Liver, fish, kidneys, heart, tongue, meat, egg yolks</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit B5</td><td>mg</td><td>5</td><td>N/A</td><td>7.47</td><td>Liver, kidneys, egg yolks, heart</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit B6</td><td>mg</td><td>1.3</td><td>0.016mg/g protein<br />
(1.6mg/100g protein)</td><td>1.66<br />
(0.0171mg/g protein)</td><td>Liver, kidneys, tongue, heart, meat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Folate</td><td>ug</td><td>400</td><td>~200</td><td>191</td><td>Liver especially poultry, egg yolks</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit B12</td><td>ug</td><td>2.4</td><td>12+</td><td>27</td><td>Liver, kidneys, meat, egg yolks</td></tr>
<tr><td>Biotin</td><td>ug</td><td>30</td><td>30+</td><td>50 (estimate)</td><td>Egg yolks, liver</td></tr>
<tr><td>Choline</td><td>mg</td><td>550</td><td>~550</td><td>534</td><td>Egg yolks, liver, meat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit C</td><td>mg</td><td>90</td><td>0</td><td>17 (when raw)</td><td>Raw organs, but none strictly needed</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit D</td><td>IU</td><td>200</td><td>Use blood levels</td><td>469</td><td>Oily fish, pastured lard; sunlight.<br />
Vit D should always be eaten/<br />
supplemented based on blood levels</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit E</td><td>mg</td><td>15</td><td>0.65mg/g PUFA</td><td>5.60<br />
(0.67mg/g PUFA)</td><td>Grass-fed fats/yolks/dairy has more,<br />
though plenty in grain-fed</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit K1</td><td>ug</td><td>120</td><td>0</td><td>53</td><td>None needed with sufficient K2</td></tr>
<tr><td>Vit K2</td><td>ug</td><td>N/A</td><td>80?</td><td>70.3-86.6+ (estimate)</td><td>Grass-fed fats/yolks/dairy has more,<br />
though plenty in grain-fed; supplement<br />
1mg every 2 weeks if paranoid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Minerals:
</b></u><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr><td><b>Nutrient</b></td><td><b>Unit</b></td><td><b>USDA RDA</b></td><td><b>cRDA</b></td><td><b>NPCD*</b></td><td><b>Recommended Foods</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>Calcium</td><td>mg</td><td>1,000<br />
(WAPF: 680)</td><td>544<br />
min: 200-300</td><td>558</td><td>Bone broth, egg shells,<br />
fish with bones</td></tr>
<tr><td>Phosphorus</td><td>mg</td><td>900<br />
(WAPF: 1,300)</td><td>878</td><td>1,149</td><td>Protein-rich foods, bones</td></tr>
<tr><td>Magnesium</td><td>mg</td><td>420</td><td>420 ideally,<br />
~170 minimally</td><td>418</td><td>Supplement 300mg citrate</td></tr>
<tr><td>Potassium</td><td>mg</td><td>4,700</td><td>2-3,000</td><td>2,567</td><td>Losalt, meat (juices<br />
from cooked meat very rich)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sodium</td><td>mg</td><td>1,500</td><td>3-5,000</td><td>3,946</td><td>Salt, meat (juices<br />
from cooked meat very rich)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Copper</td><td>ug</td><td>900</td><td>1-2.4</td><td>1.28</td><td>Liver, kidneys, heart</td></tr>
<tr><td>Zinc</td><td>mg</td><td>11</td><td>12-29</td><td>15.40</td><td>Muscle meat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Selenium</td><td>ug</td><td>55</td><td>~200</td><td>194</td><td>Pork, kidneys (pork best)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Manganese</td><td>mg</td><td>2.3</td><td>1</td><td>1.24</td><td>Spices, tea</td></tr>
<tr><td>Iron</td><td>mg</td><td>18</td><td>18</td><td>20</td><td>Liver, heart, muscle meat</td></tr>
<tr><td>Iodine</td><td>ug</td><td>150</td><td>1,000-3,000</td><td>Without seaweed: ~600<br />
With seaweed: ~3,115<br />
(estimates)</td><td>Shellfish, fish, sea weed</td></tr>
<tr><td>Molybdenum</td><td>ug</td><td>45</td><td>60?+</td><td>70.5+ (estimate)</td><td>Liver</td></tr>
<tr><td>Chromium</td><td>ug</td><td>25-35</td><td>50-200</td><td>260+ (estimate)</td><td>Liver</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<u><b>* Nutritionally Perfect cRDA Carnivore Diet:</b></u><br />
10oz 30% fat beef/lamb (~284g)<br />
80g beef/lamb tallow<br />
2oz mackerel (~57g) [or 75g salmon or 40g sardines or 5g/week DHA fish oil]<br />
1 2/3oz pork liver (~47g)<br />
1 1/4oz pork kidney (~43g)<br />
2 large eggs<br />
<br />
3tbsp gelatin powder (or equiv from feet/hooves, skin, heads, tails, ears, cartilage), and<br />
~1 cup bone broth (alt: egg shells)<br />
<br />
2g potassium salt<br />
9.5g sodium salt (unrefined sea salt recommended for ultra-trace minerals)<br />
<br />
<u style="font-family: inherit;">Technically plant foods:</u><br />
1/2tsp tea or other manganese-rich spices (or alternatively shellfish such as mussels)<br />
1g kelp/kombu flakes, for iodine (or shellfish)<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Supplements:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">300mg magnesium citrate</span><br />
<br />
<u><b>Nutrition:</b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~2100 calories, 97g protein (20% of calories), 2.3g carbohydrates (<1%), 184g fat (80%).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><u><b>Ratios, etc.:</b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Calcium:Phosphorus = 0.49 (WAPF ideal 0.52)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Zinc:Copper = 12.0 (ideal ~12)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Potassium:Sodium = </span>0.65<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (ideal ~0.6-0.66)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Omega-6:omega-3 = 2.6 </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">(ideal <2, good <4)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturated:Mono-unsaturated = 1 (ideal ~1)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Poly-unsaturated = 3.6% of calories (ideal ≤4%)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
- - - - - - - - - -<br />
<u><b>Tweaks:</b></u><br />
<br />
<u>Less salts:</u><br />
Using no potassium salt and only 3.5g salt maintains the potassium:sodium ratio at a lower total level of these minerals. This should be fine for those who've been on a ketogenic diet for a while rather than those just starting.<br />
<br />
<u>Cod liver oil:</u><br />
Substitute 4.5ml cod liver oil for the pork liver and use 3g beef liver or 4g lamb liver for the copper.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-4349094982909864782013-08-11T21:33:00.002+01:002013-08-11T21:33:44.034+01:00Trace Minerals<u><b>Selenium:</b></u><br />
<br />
The USDA RDA for selenium is 55ug, but studies show that 200ug daily is the best for a healthy immune system (<a href="http://iai.asm.org/content/41/1/185.short">link</a> and <a href="http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/content/10/9/1654.short">link</a>), and preventing heart disease (<a href="http://pen.sagepub.com/content/13/6/663.short">link</a>) due to it's co-factor role in glutathione peroxidase (do we really need reminding how important glutathione is?). This is easy to achieve 200ug if kidneys are included in a carnivore diet, the best plant source is brazil nuts (1-2 a day only, too much can cause toxicity).<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Iodine:</b></u><br />
<br />
Iodine is important for a healthy metabolism, as it's needed to make the thyroid hormones (and selenium is needed to turn inactive T4 into the active T3, another reason to get plenty of selenium). The USDA is 150ug, but this is the bare minimum determined needed to stop goitre (enlargening of the thyroid gland), the Japanese get 1-3mg a day (666-2,000% USDA RDA) (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21975053">link</a>) mostly from seaweed and so this amount seems perfectly safe. Also iodine deficiency seems to play a big role in breast cancer (<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/027530_iodine_breast_cancer.html">link</a> and <a href="http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/iodine.html">link</a>), the Japanese have very low breast cancer rates possibly due to their high iodine intakes. For these reasons I shall be recommending more iodine than the USDA, mostly from kelp/kombu flakes (these are the most iodine rich seaweeds: "Most Kelp or Kombu has about 2500 mcg/gm" (<a href="http://iodine4health.com/research/iodine_in_food_table.htm">source</a>)), shellfish are also another good source but just don't provide anywhere near as much iodine as kelp/kombu do. These will also provide many other trace minerals they we may not even realise are needed for health yet, so are a great addition to anyone's diet.<br />
<br />
Cattle fed plenty of seaweed or in iodine rich soil (coastal) will have much more iodine in their flesh and organs, same for eggs of chickens fed seaweeds, but still no where near eating the seaweed itself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Sulphur:</u></b><br />
<br />
There are two main sources of sulphur from foods: thiols in plants, and the sulphur containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine) in animal foods. Thiols are good for their antioxidant properties but aren't good sources of usable sulphur for bodily structures, for that we need cysteine and methionine. Cysteine and methionine (via cysteine) are the best for boosting glutathione levels. I'm happy that a diet rich in eggs and meat will have plenty of sulphur.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Chromium:</u></b><br />
<br />
The USDA was 50-200ug and has been lowered to 35ug for men and 25ug for women. Liver is a very rich source, and beef, eggs, chicken, oysters are also good sources. Chromium deficiency is rare and the only ones needing supplemental chromium are diabetics still eating lots of refined grains. I'm happy that a diet based on meat, eggs, with some liver will have more than enough chromium especially considering that less will be needed on a diet lacking dietary carbohydrates.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Biotin:</u></b><br />
<br />
This vitamin is needed for gluconeogenesis so is important for a carnivorous diet, the best sources are egg yolks and liver, cheese also has some; raw egg whites without yolks can cause deficiency though. First signs of deficiency are hair loss and skin problems, though deficiency is rare unless consuming lots of raw egg whites or your food intake is just shakes or an IV without biotin.<br />
<br />
From wiki: "Pregnant women tend to have a high risk of biotin deficiency. Nearly half of pregnant women have abnormal increases of 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid, which reflects reduced status of biotin.[25] Several studies have reported this possible biotin deficiency during the pregnancy may cause infants' congenital malformations, such as cleft palate." (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotin#Deficiency">link</a>)<br />
<br />
For this reason egg yolks and liver are even more vital for pregnant women. In China eggs are considered a fertility food and pregnant women will eat up to two dozen a day to ensure an intelligent child.<br />
<br />
The RDA for adults is 30ug, and 35ug for pregnant women; though this amount for pregnant women is likely too little. 30ug can be found in 4oz/114g liver or ~1.5 eggs (<a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/437532-a-list-of-biotin-rich-foods/">source</a>). For this reason I recommend plenty of eggs and liver in a carnivore diet, and lots during pregnancy/lactation.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Molybdenum:</u></b><br />
<br />
This mineral is needed for xanthine oxidase to work, which if you've read my previous posts you'll recognise as that all important enzyme that makes uric acid to help us ward off scurvy on an ascorbic acid-free diet. It's also used for metabolising the sulphur-containing amino acids, cysteine and methionine, so is important in glutathione production.<br />
<br />
Livers contain about 150ug per 100g, and very small amounts in eggs. The RDA is 45ug for adult, so a diet containing plenty of liver will have no issues. My new perfect carnivore diet contains ~70ug molybdenum.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Other Trace Minerals:</b></u><br />
<br />
These include boron, nickel, strontium, vanadium, lithium, and silica. Because I can't find much data on food sources (the latter two should come from our water though) and nutrient interacts, I won't be including them in the cRDA project. Once more is known about these minerals and their need though I will expand the cRDA to include them.<br />
<br />
<u>Lithium and Silica:</u><br />
<br />
These mineral should come from our water rather than food, but most water has them removed. When buying bottled water look for one listing silica on the label, most water has 5-25mg/L (<a href="http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education2/711-silica-water.htm">source</a>), Fiji brand is best for silica (920mg/L) though expensive, any that lists it on the label is likely a good source and also check with your water provider to the content in your tap water; other good sources of silica are edible clays. Low lithium in water levels is linked to suicides (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19407280">source</a>), very high levels are used to treat bipolar and schizophrenia, but tiny amounts prevent mental disorders such as criminal behaviours (<a href="http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/196/2/159.2.full">source</a>) in the general population, so much so that some scientists are calling for adding lithium to the water in areas where the content is low! Again ask your water provider, most bottle water is unlikely to list lithium.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.victorynutrition.com/hpages/ref_docs/orthosil.html">A link on silicon</a>.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-68567982557394374382013-08-01T15:45:00.000+01:002013-08-01T15:45:22.458+01:00What can we learn for breast milk? Part 2: Micronutrients<i>All these calculations use 84 grams of protein worth of breast milk, to normalise it to the minimum needed for an adult (see part 1).</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I'm also aware that the nutritional content of breast milk varies depending on the mother's diet but using the USDA data for it means we get a nice average of an American (which I'm aware may not be the best nutritionally).</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Here's my CRONometer print out for the breast milk at 84g of protein (ignore chromium, there's just no data for it):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PgPReWfM4pNuWVKQKZhSnxgwPN2nkdlUw5sqkVCVQeCDVhyP1EMf-nkOnkCiA5ya9tJtYQHC7odMtw-PrTKmOJHvlGySiei8RSLEPiaqgaI-E65QkfohO7qkVC8194V6_bYXUS2i_qgE/s1600/breast+milk+84g+protein+nutrients.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PgPReWfM4pNuWVKQKZhSnxgwPN2nkdlUw5sqkVCVQeCDVhyP1EMf-nkOnkCiA5ya9tJtYQHC7odMtw-PrTKmOJHvlGySiei8RSLEPiaqgaI-E65QkfohO7qkVC8194V6_bYXUS2i_qgE/s640/breast+milk+84g+protein+nutrients.png" width="284" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Vitamins</u></b></div>
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Let's start with vitamin A, this amount of breast milk provides ~16.5kIU vitamin A which is quite a bit and more than what I or the WAPF recommend (10kIU). Infants are growing rapidly and so need more vitamin A though, so this is fine.</div>
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With the B vitamins everything is in normal meaty amounts, except the B2 is slightly higher and B5 is a lot higher. B5 is needed for forming acteyl-coA so may be high due to the infant's high energy requirement, it's also used in the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol so again good reasons for it to be high. B6 is also fairly low, but the milk provides huge amounts of folate and choline instead so homocysteine levels will be fine. The WAPF comments that most mothers are also deficiency in B6 due to low meat consumption The amount of choline is so incredibly high due (9 large eggs worth) to its other use for helping the developing brain. As previously discussed the amount of choline/folate/B6 needed are all interrelated.</div>
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Vitamin C is higher than would be gotten eating a carnivorous diet, but the protein needs for infants is very high and so little is left over to make uric acid, so breast milk supplies ascorbic acid instead.</div>
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Vitamin D is fairly low but almost all mothers are deficient in this vitamin. It's one of two supplements I recommend to everyone (the other being magnesium as soils are depleted), and should be supplemented based on your blood levels rather than a set IU amount.</div>
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The vitamin K is K1, as the USDA doesn't measure K2. It's quite low compared to the RDA and about twice the amount in 2000 calories worth of grain-fed rib-eye (grass-fed meat would have more K1 though), but as previously discussed K2 can do clotting like K1 so this is no problem.</div>
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<b><u>Minerals</u></b></div>
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As previously discussed in my post about calcium, breast milk in the amount an infant drinks (rather than 84g of protein worth) only provides ~320mg calcium a day and this should be fine for an adult too.</div>
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Magnesium is lower than the RDA but still about double provided by just meat. Again I'll note that most mothers are deficient in magnesium due to the soil being depleted and that's why I recommend supplementing it.</div>
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Phosphorus is at about half the level of calcium which is why I originally recommended a 2:1 calcium:phosphorus ratio but further research shows our calcium needs are lower. The total amount is similar to that found in 2000 calories of rib-eye so I'm happy that this amount is ideal for an adult.</div>
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The level of potassium is almost at the USDA RDA which is interesting and may warrant the use of more potassium in a carnivore diet. But the ideal potassium:sodium depends on whether you're in ketosis or not, with ketosis meaning more sodium is needed per potassium. Infants, as far as I'm aware are not in ketosis due to the lactose in breast milk and so have more potassium and less sodium (or at least only mild ketosis). Additionally the level of sodium in breast milk is quite low as infant's kidneys struggle somewhat with sodium initially and slowly improve as the infant grows. This means that an adult in ketosis needs much more sodium and less potassium.</div>
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With selenium, the level is almost three times the RDA, but similar to the amount recommended by most for proper thyroid health (200ug), again American mothers are likely to be slightly deficient in this so 150-200ug is properly the best amount.</div>
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The manganese is quite high in breast milk, and is needed for mitochondrial functioning so may be high due to an infant's high energy requirements.</div>
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The iron in breast milk is very low, as it is in all mammal milks, as iron interes with zinc absorption and zinc is needed for the developing brain. Infants have large iron stores when born (or at least they should do if the placenta is allowed to return the infant's blood back to its body after birth and not clamped early like is usually done in the developed world; as much as half an infant's total blood can be lost to the placenta with early cord clamping, which is a huge amount!) so little is needed in the diet until at least 6 months old (older if delayed clamping) and the first weaning foods should be high in iron such as meat or liver.</div>
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The copper in breast milk is actually pretty low, only ~0.6mg total a day (rather than per 84g protein) and an infant will slowly run down the coper stored developed before birth similar to what it does for iron, again meaning the best weaning food would be liver (from beef or lamb, not pork) as it's rich in copper too. This means that our copper requirement is more than ~0.6mg per day, and as discussed in the phytic acid nutrients post I recommend 1-2.4mg of copper a day.</div>
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<b><u>Conclusion</u></b></div>
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We can see that looking at the vitamins and minerals of breast milk, again in the context of the body it's designed to nourish, gives is good insight into the nutrition of an adult. I points to us needing more retinol, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, selenium, and copper than is normally achieved just eating fatty meat. This points to the need include a few other choice animal foods in our diets for optimal health.</div>
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DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-21082816549699203662013-06-06T13:10:00.001+01:002013-06-06T13:19:37.404+01:00What can we learn from breast milk? Part 1: Macronutrients<br />
<i>Warning: post contains maths!</i><br />
<u><br /></u>
<span style="line-height: 100%;">Breast
milk is 1% protein, 6.9% carbohydrate and 4.4% fat by weight, or 5.6%
protein, 38.8% carbohydrate and 55.6% fat by calories. It is low in
protein and high in both fat and carbohydrates... Or is it?</span><br />
<div lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><u><b>Protein</b></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">Due to babies huge energy requirements*, they actually get ~0.89 grams
of protein per pound body weight**, but this is more than an adult
needs as the infant is growing rapidly so this amount can be seen as the maximum we would need (especially considering formulas made with higher protein levels are toxic to infants). This translates as 150lb adult needing a maximum of ~134 grams of protein a day, and at 2000 calories a day, this is 27%
of calories.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
* An infant weighing 5kg/11lbs needs 700 calories; this is ~64 calories per pound. A 150lb adult may need 2000 calories, or ~13 calories per pound. The infant’s energy requirements are almost five times that of an adult’s on a per weight basis.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
**700 calories @ 5.6% protein = 39.2 calories from protein = 9.8g protein / 11lbs = 0.89 protein/lbs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
How little protein do we need though if that's the maximum? Well many keto dieters eat as little as 60g of protein a day fine (~12% @ 2000 calories), but this is usually done in fear of slightly higher fasting blood glucose levels on a ketogenic/low-carb diet even though such a thing is perfectly natural and safe. They're eating the absolute minimum they can get away with, which I think is a poor strategy. The body has an efficient system for getting rid of excess protein, via urea and uric acid. As previously discussed uric acid is a potent antioxidant and why I think we don't get scurvy on all meat diets, so protein in excess of our pure tissue requirement can be seen as a <u><b>good</b></u> thing!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Phinney/Volek in The Art And Science of Low Carb Living/Performance generally recommend 1.5g/kg protein (~0.68g/lb), this is ~102g at150lbs (~20% @ 2000 calories). Other recommendations include 0.7+g/lb of lean mass (84g/150lbs@20%bf, 17% @ 2000 calories), this seems much more reasonable minimum. Basing your protein needs off lean mass rather than whole mass is much smarter, as fat tissue doesn't increase protein requirements but muscle mass does. 102g of protein is almost exactly half way between 84g and 134g, so is a good middle ground target of protein intake.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="en-GB"><u><b>Carbohydrates</b></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">The brain is the biggest user of carbohydrates in the body; in
infants, it uses 50% of the body’s total energy requirements, but
by adulthood only uses up 20%. This means the adult brain uses 40% of
the energy required by an infant brain: this works out to ~15% of
calories from carbohydrates (38.8% x 40% = 15.5%).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">BUT... the carbohydrate source is lactose, made of glucose and galactose. Now galactose is very special, it's not used as an energy fuel like glucose, it's used for myelin synthesis (that is making nerve insulation), this is why human breast milk is so high in lactose, for the galactose! So that ~15% becomes ~7% of calories coming from carbs for an adult (~38g @ 2000 calories).</span></div>
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<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
BUT... we can make glucose from protein (via gluconeogenesis) and glycerol from fats. Gluconeogenesis is constant regardless of diet, as we've discussed before, but as far as I'm aware there is no cap on glycerol->glucose synthesis. Estimates are at about 10% of whole fat can be converted to glucose from the glycerol.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The actual dietary requirement for carbohydrates is zero, and even infants do very well on ketogenic diets; we can synthesis all the glucose we need (which is less while in ketosis) from GNG and glycerol. The main reason for muscle wastage in starvation is it's being used for GNG (which is constant even in starvation), this supplies the glucose requirement easily and blood glucose levels remain steady right up until you die.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><u><b>Fat</b></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">The rest of the body’s calories come from fat, which in an adult
eating ~27% protein and ~7% carbohydrates is ~66%, or ~147 grams of fat
on a 2000-calorie diet. This would be the minimum fat, as this is the maximum protein and carbohydrates we need. Taking in our minimum 84g protein and no carbs would mean we need to eat 83% of our calories as fat or ~184 grams of fat on a 2000-calorie diet.</span></div>
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<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<u><b>Summary</b></u></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%;">So
understanding the macronutrient ratios of breast milk </span><span lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%;"><u>in
context of the body it is designed for</u></span><span lang="en-GB"><span style="line-height: 100%;">
gives up a good idea of what ratios are healthy for an adult human.
This works out to ~17-27% protein, ~0-7% carbohydrates, ~66-83% fat, or 84-137g protein, 0-38g carbs, and 147-184g fat on a 2000-calorie diet. Such a diet would almost always be ketogenic (very metabolically damaged people may not handle even 38g carbs).</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><span style="line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB"><span style="line-height: 100%;">As calorie </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">expenditure</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> increases, say due to increased exercise, the extra calorie should come from fat, little extra protein or carbs are needed. During <i>very </i>heavy exercise some non-insulin-stimulating carb source may be used to aid recovery such as super starch, palatinose, or possibly pure fructose in order to refill glycogen stores (as discussed </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">previously our ability to refill glycogen is limited by GNG and is less than that of other carnivores).</span></div>
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DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-21327925472648619022013-05-23T11:31:00.001+01:002013-05-23T11:31:15.940+01:00Phytic Acid Nutrients<u><b>Absorption:</b></u><br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr><td>Mineral</td><td>Absorption factor by removing / lowering phytic acid</td><td>Average</td><td>RDA</td></tr>
<tr><td>Calcium</td><td>x<a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/53/3/745.short">1.3</a>, x<a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/2918393/reload=0;jsessionid=TEHLiTkYUx8BCsGptwBl.14">1.2</a> </td><td>1.25</td><td>1,000 --> 800mg<br />
(WAPF: 680 --> 544mg)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Magnesium</td><td>x<a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/3/418.short">2.5</a></td><td>2.5</td><td>420 --> 168mg</td></tr>
<tr><td>Zinc</td><td>high/no: x<a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/2918393/reload=0;jsessionid=TEHLiTkYUx8BCsGptwBl.14">6.2</a>, x<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN34_02%2FS0007114575000293a.pdf&code=faec914a186a2579be3d4e84592ebdd3">4.8</a>; high/low: x<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2824731">3.2</a>, x<a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/3/490.short">1.6/1.5</a>,<br />
x<a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/42/1/18.short">1.5</a>, x<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7077425">1.4</a>, <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN34_02%2FS0007114575000293a.pdf&code=faec914a186a2579be3d4e84592ebdd3">2.1</a> </td><td>3.54</td><td>11 --> 3.1mg</td></tr>
<tr><td>Iron</td><td>x<a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/68/5/1123.short">1.5</a>, x<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN34_02%2FS0007114575000293a.pdf&code=faec914a186a2579be3d4e84592ebdd3">2.1/1.7</a> </td><td>1.77</td><td>18 --> 10.2mg</td></tr>
<tr><td>Manganese</td><td>x<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7572746">2.3</a></td><td>2.3</td><td>2.3 --> 1.0mg</td></tr>
<tr><td>Copper</td><td>x<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN34_02%2FS0007114575000293a.pdf&code=faec914a186a2579be3d4e84592ebdd3">2.1/2.4</a>V, x<a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/42/1/18.short">1.1</a>^</td><td>1.15</td><td>0.9 --> 0.78mg</td></tr>
<tr><td>Phosphorus</td><td>x<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1258396/?page=2">1.46</a>, x<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1258318/?page=2">1.5</a> (estimates)</td><td>1.48</td><td>700 --> 473mg<br />
(WAPF: 1300 --> 878mg)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<u><b>Calcium:</b></u><br />
<br />
Actual requirements studied here: <a href="http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/calcium.html">http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/calcium.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Magnesium:</b></u><br />
<br />
Although the need predicted by phytic acid removal is only ~168mg of magnesium, most people are deficient because our soils are depleted due to industrial farming and artificial fertilisers, and our water is no longer a good source as it's removal at source because it damages pipes. For this reason I will not be lowering the RDA of magnesium and recommend supplementation to ensure sufficient intake.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Manganese:</b></u><br />
<br />
Although only ~1mg of manganese is needed due to lack of phytic acid, a meat and liver based diet only provides ~0.5mg, as manganese is needed for carbohydrate metabolism it's likely this is sufficient. Shellfish, such as mussels, are rich in manganese though so for those concerned are a great addition, as are bass, trout, and pike. Spices too such as cloves, ginger, cinnamon, spearmint, and turmeric are also fairly rich in manganese. Tea is very rich in manganese but <i>may </i>be poorly absorbed due to the tannins it contains.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Copper & Zinc:</b></u><br />
<br />
The USDA RDA for copper and zinc are 0.9mg and 11mg respectively. My original menu provided 1.9mg and 22.9mg respectively. Both give a zinc/copper ratio ~12 so it's likely that this ratio is the ideal.<br />
<br />
Although copper need based on absorption factors above predicts that less copper is needed than zinc, more important is the ratio, with ideal being ~12, at 0.78mg copper this means you need ~9.4mg zinc, easily achievable on a carnivore diet with plenty of meat.<br />
<br />
Meat needs to be balanced with liver, especially lamb/beef liver which are very rich in copper to keep this ratio optimum. Pork liver in less rich in copper, instead being richer in iron.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<u><b>Copper & Iron:</b></u><br />
<br />
Copper and iron deficiencies can cause hypothyroidism, most plants have plenty of copper and grains are fortified with iron. Some cases of lower thyroid function in low/zero-carb may be due to lowered intakes of copper and iron due to relying only on muscle meat, these minerals are needed to convert the inactive T4 to the active T3 and may be a reason why we see lowered T3 in low/zero-carb diets (though lowered T3 in of itself is not hypothyroidism). Muscle meats have lots of zinc, very little copper, and are ok for iron; organs though, like liver, are very rich in copper and iron. Adding liver to a low/zero-carb diet will likely help thyroid function if it's caused by these deficiencies (<a href="http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/12/micronutrient-deficiencies-an-underappreciated-cause-of-hypothyroidism/">link </a>and <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20573724?dopt=AbstractPlus">link</a>). Too high copper will also decrease iron absorption though, so all these minerals need to be balanced properly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Copper:</b></u><br />
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr><td>Dose range</td><td>Approximate daily intakes</td><td>Health outcomes</td></tr>
<tr><td>>5.0 mg/kg bw</td><td>(350mg/70kg)</td><td>Gastrointestinal metallothionein induced (possible<br />
differing effects of acute and chronic exposure)</td></tr>
<tr><td>100 µg/kg bw</td><td>(7mg/70kg)</td><td>Plateau of absorption maintained; homeostatic<br />
mechanisms regulate absorption of copper</td></tr>
<tr><td>34 µg/kg bw</td><td>(2.38mg/70kg)</td><td>Hepatic uptake, sequestration and excretion effect homeostasis;<br />
glutathione-dependent uptake of copper; binding to<br />
metallothionein; and lysosomal excretion of copper</td></tr>
<tr><td>11 µg/kg bw</td><td>(0.77mg/70kg)</td><td>Biliary excretion and gastrointestinal uptake normal</td></tr>
<tr><td>9 µg/kg bw</td><td>(0.63mg/70kg)</td><td>Hepatic deposit(s) reduced; conservation of<br />
endogenous copper; gastrointestinal absorption increased</td></tr>
<tr><td>8.5 µg/kg bw</td><td>(0.595mg/70kg)</td><td>Negative copper balance</td></tr>
<tr><td>5.2 µg/kg bw</td><td>(0.364mg/70kg)</td><td>Functional defects, such as lysyl oxidase and superoxide<br />
dismutase activities reduced; impaired substrate metabolism</td></tr>
<tr><td>2 µg/kg bw</td><td>(0.14mg/70kg)</td><td>Peripheral pools disrupted; gross dysfunction and disturbance<br />
of metabolism of other nutrients; death</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_in_health#Excretion">source</a>)</span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;">My final recommendation for copper will be </span><span class="Apple-tab-span">1-2.4mg</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;">, </span>and zinc to be in the x12 ratio still.<br />
<br />
Many already have too much copper though due to toxic build up from too much plant foods and so my diet will have slightly on the lower side of the copper range in order to help regain balance. Therefore. my diet will use mainly pork liver as it is low in copper (instead being richer in iron), this also allows for more liver and therefore vitamin A in the diet (see fat soluble vitamins recommendations), but still provides plenty of copper. As you will see in the final post this choice of liver is perfect for balanced nutrition when other copper-rich foods such as kidneys are also included.</div>
DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-68726853214101171702013-05-14T21:04:00.000+01:002013-05-14T21:04:54.977+01:00Protein Propaganda Pisses Me OffThere are a lot of pictures going round on various social media sites and elsewhere showing examples of 'protein-rich foods', and quite simply this pictures are outright lies! They are misleading, and real numbers provided are also wrong (sometimes by a lot), and people just assume they're true and think they can get enough protein just eating spinach. You'd have to eat ~1.75kg of spinach to get 50g of protein, I don't think anyone would actually be able to manage this but it would sure as hell be funny to watch.<br />
<br />
Just as a note, these pictures are almost always associated with raw vegan diets, so all data is of raw, not cooked food.<br />
<br />
Ok, lets take a look a a couple of pictures:<br />
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</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bm8D-bnk0BFH36SOaxZMRT9ib4ZroReDd7aKmofD4SfnU_wkWj6-S1bQhLc30YDd5-AU1C4EMYLzNf3Utx5ZlQvale2VzDTdWPvKDs5xK1KCwyrMdr5hC77Rn6xy0EK284SuXt4nWKTu/s1600/310467_395100227225462_1561145513_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bm8D-bnk0BFH36SOaxZMRT9ib4ZroReDd7aKmofD4SfnU_wkWj6-S1bQhLc30YDd5-AU1C4EMYLzNf3Utx5ZlQvale2VzDTdWPvKDs5xK1KCwyrMdr5hC77Rn6xy0EK284SuXt4nWKTu/s320/310467_395100227225462_1561145513_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="text-align: left;">Some versions of this picture has a line of text at the bottom mentioning that the numbers of percentage by calorie (rather than weight), but most have this line cut off.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Lets go to the USDA food nutrition database (http://nutritiondata.self.com) and double check these:<br />
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #333333;"></span><br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr><td>Food</td><td>% calories</td><td>grams/100g</td><td>grams for 50g protein</td></tr>
<tr><td>Spinach</td><td>30.1%</td><td>2.86g</td><td>1,750g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Kale</td><td>16.1%</td><td>3.3g</td><td>1,515g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Broccoli</td><td>20.2%</td><td>2.82g</td><td>1,775g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cauliflower</td><td>18.7%</td><td>1.92g</td><td>2,605g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mushroom (white)</td><td>36.3%</td><td>3.09g</td><td>1,620g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Parsley</td><td>19.9%</td><td>2.97g</td><td>1,685g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cucumber</td><td>10.3%</td><td>0.65g</td><td>7,690g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Peppers</td><td>10.5%</td><td>0.86g</td><td>5,815g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cabbage (red)</td><td>11.2%</td><td>1.43g</td><td>3,495g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tomato</td><td>11.9%</td><td>0.88g</td><td>5,680g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Beef (composite of<br />
trimmed retail cuts,<br />
separable lean and<br />
fat, trimmed to 1/8"<br />
fat, all grades)</td><td>34%</td><td>18.68g</td><td>270g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Chicken (skinless breast)</td><td>79.5%</td><td>21.23g</td><td>235g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Eggs (chicken)</td><td>34.6%</td><td>12.56g</td><td>400g (8 medium)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Number of plants falsely given higher high percentage of calories as protein = 9.5/10 (Only giving half a point from mushroom because the difference was small.<br />
<br />
But percentage of calories from protein matter little, we just want to make sure we get enough protein per day. 50 grams of protein is roughly the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for a 150lbs adult (46g for female, 56g for male), it's also a nice round number which we can use to compare how much of a food we need to get the small amount of protein. As I said in my introductory paragraph, you'll need ~1.75kg (~1750g) of spinach for 50g protein. You'll also need about 5.7kg of tomato to get 50g of protein. But you only need ~270g of beef, or 235g of chicken breast. The chicken breast really pisses me off, because they claim it's low in protein (23%) when in fact of all the foods mentioned it is the highest in protein both as percentage of calories and by weight! Maybe they were using another cut of chicken but the picture shows skinless boneless breasts so that's what I data I pulled out.<br />
<br />
<br />
- - - - -<br />
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I want to start with my absolute scream at the computer how can anyone be this stupid point: Figs. They are 3% protein by calories, and you'd need to eat 6.7kg of them to get 50g protein. If figs are a high protein food then coconut oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids (hint it's really low!).<br />
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Ditto the avocados, only 4.2% by calories, but you'd only need to eat 2.5kg for 50g protein which'll give you 4000 calories just from avocados! Similarly goji berries are 3.6% protein by calories and you'd need to eat 7kg of them to get 50g of protein, that's more than the figs!!<br />
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Some of these foods aren't that bad really though. Hemp seeds are ~25% by calories, 135-150g for 50g protein (several data entries on CRONometer for hemp seeds (CRONometer draws from the USDA database and also has lots of brand names of health-foods)). This is likely the best protein source in the picture.<br />
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Now for a few funny ones: Brazil nuts are 8% protein by calories and you need 350g for 50g of protein, but you'll also get ~7000ug of selenium which will kill you. Chia is 12% by calories, 300g for 50g protein. But you'll have massive diarrhoea with that, as even a few tablespoons will clear you out.<br />
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Spinach, kale, and broccoli I've already covered in the last picture.<br />
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Maca: 26.7% by calories, and you need 250g for 50g protein. Not bad, but as it's a 'superfood' good luck affording it and enjoy eating a whole bag of powder in one go :P That'll also come with 150g of carb which may be high for some people.<br />
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With sprouts, it appears to be legume sprouts in the picture. Many sprouts are rich in protein because the legumes are protein-rich, but be careful as many sprouts lose protein during the sprouting process depending in species. Don't eat kidney bean sprouts raw either, they're poisonous. Mung bean sprouts, aka the bean sprouts in chinese food, are 24.6% protein by calories, but you'd need to eat ~1.6kg to get 50g of protein because they're so full of water.<br />
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I don't have data for barley grass juice, but I do for wheat grass juice: 78.7% by calories, and you need to drink ~405ml pure juice for 50g protein, have fun trying to drink all that!!<br />
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Spirulina: 54.8% protein by calories, and you need to eat 845g to get 50g of protein, which is really hard as you're eating pond-scummy bacteria.<br />
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><td>Food</td><td>% calories</td><td>grams/100g</td><td>grams for 50g protein</td></tr>
<tr><td>Almonds</td><td>12.8%</td><td>21.2g</td><td>236g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Pumpkin seeds</td><td>18.8%</td><td>30.2g</td><td>166g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Asparagus</td><td>26.5%</td><td>2.2g</td><td>2,273g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Quinoa (raw)</td><td>15.3%</td><td>14.1g</td><td>355g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Peas</td><td>23.2%</td><td>5.4g</td><td>926g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sweet potatoes</td><td>5.1%</td><td>1.6g</td><td>3,125g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sesame seeds</td><td>10.7%</td><td>17.7g</td><td>282g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sunflower seeds</td><td>12.3%</td><td>20.8g</td><td>240g</td></tr>
<tr><td>Watercress</td><td>50.8%</td><td>2.3g</td><td>2,174g</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Pumpkin seeds aren't that bad actually, but 166g will give you ~34g of omega-6 fatty acids too, same story with the other seeds.<br />
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<u><b>Legumes:</b></u><br />
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Now not mentioned in these pictures as a good protein source is legumes as they must be cooked or sprouted (we already talked about sprouting), and as we know cooked food is bad for us (not!). Cooked lentils are 26.9% protein by calories, and you need 2.8 cups (~555g) for 50g of protein (raw measure ~1cup dry, ~195g), which will also give 112g carbohydrates. Not bad for a vegan protein source.<br />
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<u><b>Summary:</b></u><br />
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If you want protein, <u>eat meat not greens</u>. For plant based protein go for hemp seeds and cooked legumes like lentils and kidney beans.<br />
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<u><b>Musings:</b></u><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>When a vegan points out that a cow can grow big on a vegan diet, point out the high protein content of wheat grass, but they also eat all day every day to digest it and need four stomach and multiple chewings to digest it. Gorillas also eat high-protein leaves too and also spend a lot of time eating a lot of food, have huge caecums, and eat their poop for vitamin B12 (go search youtube, there are thousands of videos capturing different apes doing this). Also these animals are actually eating a ketogenic diet as the huge amounts of fibre eaten are fermented into short chain fatty acids such as butyric acid (named for being in butter) which they get ~65% or more of their calories from (more for cows as fermentation is earlier)! (<a href="http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/should-all-animals-eat-a-high-fat-low-carb-diet.html">link</a>) If you really want to eat like a herbivore, grow/buy ~3kg of watercress daily and ferment it until it's nice and rich in butyric acid then drink/eat the resulting concoction. Mmm, gross, that's why real herbivores ferment in their guts... which we're not able to do. Now grow a pair and eat your damn steak!<br />
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<b><u>References:</u></b><br />
1<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=395100227225462">http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=395100227225462</a>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=524174750943005">http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=524174750943005</a>
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2<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=534121186613769">http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=534121186613769</a>
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3<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=363770357056467&set=a.163956000371238.24803.131369396963232&type=1&ref=nf">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=363770357056467</a><br />
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<u><b>Note:</b></u><br />
If my numbers are wrong at all, please let me know and I will correct this article. I'd rather say I was wrong then continue to spread lies, unlike some people.<br />
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<br />DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-22601997985526731052013-05-03T14:42:00.005+01:002013-12-19T16:30:05.151+00:00Calcium<b><u>Sources other than dairy:</u></b><br />
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Small bones: fish (sardines, etc), eaten with the fish or as broth.<br />
Big bones: beef/lamb/pork/chicken/etc, as broth.<br />
Eggshells, as broth.<br />
Green leafy vegetables: darker the better, cook well and eat with fat. Avoid greens high in oxalic acid though, such as spinach, beets, celery, pecans, tea, and cocoa. (Although these aren't eaten on a carnivorous diet)<br />
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<b><u>Maximising calcium:</u></b><br />
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2">Absorption</td><td colspan="2">Excretion</td></tr>
<tr><td>Increases</td><td>Decreases</td><td>Increases</td><td>Decreases</td></tr>
<tr><td>Viamin D</td><td>Phytic & oxalic acids</td><td>Fibre</td><td>Potassium</td></tr>
<tr><td>Animal Protein</td><td>Caffeine</td><td></td><td>Boron (-44%!)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Phosphatase**</td><td>High cortisol<br />
(metabolic stress)</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td>Magnesium*</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td>Phosphorus*</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4">Vitamin K2 to get it into bones and not into arteries.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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* Although magnesium and phosphorus help calcium balance it should not be eaten/taken at the same time as calcium as they can compete for absorption.<br />
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** Phosphatase is an enzyme in raw milk, it is destroyed when milk is pasteurised (in fact they test that this enzyme is dead to confirm it’s pasteurised). This is why most studies show milk doesn’t help bone health: they used pasteurised milk! If you want to drink milk, drink it unpasteurised.<br />
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Some other nutrients that help are copper (found in liver), iodine (seaweed, seafood), vitamin A (liver, egg yolks, dairy fats), silicon (bones, dark green leafy veg, certain spring waters), strontium (dairy, shellfish), sodium (salt), CoQ10 (heart), vitamin B5 (liver, egg yolks, dairy), boron (I can't find any good animal food sources of this), zinc (red meat), and manganese (tea/spices).<br />
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Nutrients that hinder include sugar (refined and natural), lead, cadmium, fluoride and excess phosphorus (see note above).<br />
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<b><u>Weston A Price on how much calcium/phosphorus we need:</u></b><br />
<ul>
<li>680mg Calcium</li>
<li>1,300mg Phosphorus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Factoring in our absorption increases from lack of phytic acid this actually comes out as needing ~544mg calcium (just over half an egg shell's worth). Regarding phosphorus, at lot of that phosphorus on a WAPF diet is locked up in phytic acid so much less is needed on a phytic acid free diet.<br />
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<u><b>Bones:</b></u><br />
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Bones have lots of phosphorus, as bones are made from hydroxylapatite [Ca5(PO4)3(OH)] and some calcium carbonate. Together these make up 65% of bones, water 25%, and the remaining 10% is formed by magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulphate, and other trace minerals. This means that bones are ~10% calcium and 6% phosphorus by weight (~1.7 Ca:P ratio). As a diet of pure muscle meat has little to no calcium (unless using ground meat due to trace amounts of bone in it), adding ~600mg calcium worth of broth will actually add about ~360mg of phosphorus too, and my upcoming second version of the perfect carnivore diet menu has about ~940mg of phosphorus (and ~160mg calcium), so adding broth rather than egg shells (as used in version 1) will ~1300mg phosphorus and ~760mg calcium which is in line with the WAPF recommendations.<br />
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<b><u>Breast Milk:</u></b><br />
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Breast milk contains ~320mg calcium per litre, and this is about how much an infant drinks. Not very much at all considering how fast they're growing and calcifying their bones. We can probably safely assume that an adult is unlikely to need more calcium than a growing infant, even though some calcium will be needed for bone turnover, replaces trace loss in urine, etc.<br />
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It's interesting the RDA for calcium under a year old is only 200-260mg, and jumps to 700mg at one year then 1,300mg after 4 years. Although I can't find the source at the moment, I remember reading a study looking at primitive cultures, their calcium intake and their fracture rates, many got only 200-300mg of calcium and had very little fractures, no culture ate under 200mg. This all points to us not actually needing very much calcium at all really, and rather needing more of calcium's co-factors for healthy bones.<br />
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<b><u>Update (19/12/13):</u></b><br />
I found the source I was originally referring to:<br />
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<b><u>The importance of vitamin K2:</u></b><br />
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Many people know of vitamin K1, found in dark green leafy vegetables. Vitamin K2 can be made from K1 but only in small amounts (similar to our poor beta-carotene to retinol conversion). Vitamin K1 helps blood clotting (recent studies show K2 mk-4 can do this too), but vitamin K2 has many other jobs: Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium, but vitamin K2 gets it into the bones. Without vitamin K2, absorbed calcium tends to end up in your arteries causing heart disease! Never take a calcium supplement unless you take plenty of vitamin K2 with it.<br />
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Vitamin K2 found in fermented plant foods, like natto and sauerkraut, is a different form than found in animal foods (‘Mk-4’ in animal foods, ‘mk-7’ in fermented plants). When a plant rich in vitamin K1 is fermented, bacteria turn some of it into K2 mk-7. Mk-7 doesn’t get absorbed into body tissues well so can build up in the blood. This mk-7 is actually slowly broken down into the animal form mk-4, think of it like a slow release form.<br />
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The reason K2 mk-4 is found in animal foods is because that’s the form animal made from K1. Grass-fed animal fats are rich in K2 mk-4 because their food has loads of vitamin K1 and their digestive systems are great at converting K1 to K2 (unlike ours). Any food that concentrates healthy animal fats is rich in K2 mk-4. Examples include cheese (awesome calcium + K2 combo), liver (that’s where the body stores it; foie gras (fatty goose liver) has huge amounts), and egg yolks have lots for the growing chick.<br />
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Links on k2:<br />
<a href="http://blog.trackyourplaque.com/2007/12/food-sources-of-vitamin-k2.html">http://blog.trackyourplaque.com/2007/12/food-sources-of-vitamin-k2.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/v_k2.html">http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/v_k2.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.drpasswater.com/nutrition_library/Schurgers2.html">http://www.drpasswater.com/nutrition_library/Schurgers2.html</a> (research with graphs)<br />
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<b><u>My recommendations:</u></b><br />
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Get at least 200-300mg calcium every day, which is about a quarter of an egg shell's worth. Make sure you eat plenty of animal protein and fats, avoid anti-nutrients, eat some liver (for the copper!), egg yolks, seafood/weed, and salt (sodium and potassium) too for the co-factors (as listed above), and drink unfluoridated water preferably one high in silicon.<br />
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At a very minimal zero carb diet, I would say to make sure you're getting more calcium than steak provides (0mg), at least eat ground meat which has traces of bone in it (1lb 30% fat ground beef has ~108mg calcium) and drink some broth or make egg shell calcium (2 shells a week provides ~285mg calcium a day).<br />
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<br />DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-31957688718172409482013-03-04T20:30:00.001+00:002013-05-06T11:21:49.085+01:00How little vitamin A is enough?There have been many discussions between me and the zero carb community as to how much vitamin A is needed to avoid deficiency, they maintain that fatty muscle meat has enough to prevent deficiency and that extra source such as egg yolks, dairy fat, or the dreaded liver aren't needed. I could not find data showing the amount of vitamin A in beef, most nutritional databases have is zero. But as promised I continued my search into why many do not seem to be becoming deficient in this nutrient...<br />
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In human tissue, there is some retinol (vitamin A) present in the fatty tissue, muscle, and heart: fatty tissue contains on average 1.46ug/gm, muscle 0.35ug/gm, and heart 1.08ug/gm [<a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=69D7TyxwO5wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA251&dq=retinol+requirement&ots=H3eBBj3qRD&sig=nfksYLUO5rbqNhaaKbDBPHX00Es#v=onepage&q=retinol%20requirement&f=true">source</a>, table 1 page 253]. Assuming beef is about the same (not condoning cannibalism here :P ), a diet of 500g lean muscle meat and 200g fat (for 100g protein and 200g fat, ~2000 calories ~80% from fat) would give us ~467ug of retinol (~1556.5IU).<br />
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The USDA RDA for vitamin A is 900ug or 3000IU, which is about double our calculations; assuming increased absorption from plenty of fat and lack of anti-nutrients, this may well be enough to prevent deficiency. The paper also investigates blood plasma retinol levels and concludes that 1,200ug retinol is needed to maintain a healthy blood level, and under 600ug a day is when eye changes start to occur [page 273-274]. Again assuming increased absorption on a carnivore diet, fatty muscle meat way well be enough to prevent deficiency, but may not be enough to maintain a more desirable blood level.<br />
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For comparison, the amount of vitamin A in our calculations above can be found in 55g of cheese or 20g of butter or two eggs. So adding any of these to your diet would mean you reach the USDA RDA. To get the 1,200ug retinol that the article recommends you need to eat ~5,100 calories of meat, or just 2,000 calories of meat plus 15g of beef liver a day (or 10g lamb liver).<br />
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A whole cow will generally give 442lbs of bonless meat, 27lbs shanks/oxtail, 6lbs liver, 2lbs heart, and 2lbs tongue. This means that eating the whole animal you'd eat a pound of liver every 40 days if eating 2lbs. This is roughly similar to the Bear eating liver once a month. The cheese in his diet would have also provided some vitamin A/retinol. As I don't have the exact make up of his diet (other than him mentioning eating liver about once a month) I can't work out exactly how much vitamin A he was getting over the years but he was roughly eating liver in proportion to meat as found in a whole cow which is a very good strategy. A pound of beef liver every 40 days (~11g per day) gives us on average ~561ug retinol (~1876IU) a day, making the total in addition to the meat above 1,028ug (3,432.5IU) a day, above the USDA RDA and almost to the article's recommended 1,200ug retinol; so with some cheese we can easily reach this target.<br />
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A diet of meat, daily cheese, and liver every 40 days would quite likely be enough to even maintain optimal blood retinol levels, while a diet of just fatty muscle may be enough to just avoid deficiency.<br />
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So while fatty muscle meat may be enough to prevent deficiency, I still maintain that there is a difference between outright deficiency and optimum nutrition and will be sticking with the WAPF's recommendation for vitamin A in my carnivore RDA project, which is 10,000IU. This means including egg yolks, dairy fats, and of course occasionally the dreaded liver.<br />
<br />DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-20253926179412195322013-01-23T17:17:00.000+00:002013-03-06T10:53:13.501+00:00Fat Soluble Nutrients<u><b>Vitamin A:</b></u><br />
The best source of knowledge on vitamin A seems to be the Weston A Price Foundation, which recommends at least 10,000IU for all adults (double that for pregnant/lactating women, half that for children <12 years old). This is much more than the USDA's upper limit, but so is the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in this diet :P But if one is only getting the USDA RDA then it's likely to be enough to avoid strict deficiency, but not optimum.<br /><br /><a href="http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/how-little-vitamin-is-enough.html">Update on how little vitamin A is enough</a>.<br />
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<u><b>Vitamin D:</b></u><br />
Actually a hormone and not really a nutrient. We get most of our need for this of from the sun, but some people can be deficient. It's best to get a blood test and supplement based on your levels. The Vitamin D Council recommends everyone take 1,000IU per 25lbs body weight (6kIU per 150lbs) and that the ideal level is ~50ng/ml or 145nmol/l. I took 5,000IU at more than 150lbs, and after a year had levels tested and result simply said '>200nmol/l' so clearly this to too much for me. Always go off your blood levels, not a specific IU recommendation!<br />
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<u><b>Vitamin E:</b></u><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dr Udo says in his book "Fats that Heal Fats that Kill" that we need 0.65mg(?IU?) of vitamin E per gram of PUFA. This is a much better start for establishing a proper RDA for vitamin E compared to a flat 15mg RDA.<br />
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My diet version 2 gives 70% of that. As Udo is dealing with refined seed oils then the need of vitamin E is quite likely to be higher than with animal fats as saturated fats protect PUFAs from being oxidised. Udo's oil is 12.8/20.4/66.8% sat/mono/pufa with a omega-6:3 ratio of 0.44, while my diet is 47.3/47.6/5.1% and has a ratio of 2.3; as my diet has 3.7 times the saturated fat so the amount of vitamin E needed per PUFA may be as little as ~0.18mg/g. Using PUFA as a basis, my diet has ~7.6% the PUFA as his oil so this would mean vitamin E need is ~0.05mg/g PUFA.<br />
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Additionally the increased levels of glutathione (the most potent antioxidant in our body) on a carnivore diet due to increased intakes of cysteine, methinoine, and glycine (from meat, eggs, and gelatin respectively), means that the PUFA will be less prone to oxidation once in our blood. Some vitamin E or saturated will still be needed to prevent oxidation during storage and cooking though, but I'm perfectly happy that the vitamin E <u>requirement is so low it's not worth worrying about</u> as there are so many other protective systems in place.<br />
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<u><b>Vitamin K1:</b></u><br />
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One major issue with a carnivore diet is lack of plants containing vitamin K1, animals foods contain no K1. Vitamin K1 is needed for coagulation, or is it? <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1492156">This study</a> suggests that K2 can provide this function of K1, making K1 requirement nil in a carnivore diet providing plenty of K2.<br />
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<u><b>Vitamin K2:</b></u><br />
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Vitamin K2 can be synthesised by healthy gut bacterai but they need K1 as a starting point sadly. OTher sources include fats, especially dairy fats, grass-fed fats and feremented fats. I'm having a lot of toruble finding the specific amount of K2 needed but that may be because it's a very new vitamin and so little is known about it. Assuming the K1 requirement should be replaced wholely by K2, then this means ~80ug for adult, 150ug for eldery people.<br />
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<u>Where can be find that much?</u><br />
105g hard cheese a day will give you 80ug, 533g butter (grass-fed is better) or a similar amount of egg yolks, pastured egg yolks are better needing only ~249g. (<a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-is-vitamin-k2#fig4">source</a>) The WAPF recommends taking high-vitamin butter oil which is a natural concentration of vitamin K2, but that it's not needed if one if eating a lot of grass-fed fats.<br />
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<u>Supplementing:</u><br />
Taking 1mg every 2 weeks gives an average of ~71ug per day, which in addition to the fats and egg yolks in the diet will provide ample amounts. But this is very unlikely to be needed because of the increased absorption from a high-fat anti-nutrient-free diet.<br />
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I would say not to worry about vitamin K2 though due to increased absorption but our knowledge on this vitamin is severely lacking. Watch this space, as they say.<br />
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If you have osteoporosis or arterial calcification then supplementing is advised up to 5mg a day may be needed in extreme cases if a VLC/ZC ketogenic diet doesn't help.<br />
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<u><b>Caveat:</b></u><br />
The WAPF warns not to take vitamin A without vitamin D, and not to take vitamin D without K2. So if you're deficient in vitamin D, don't eat liver just yet, and make sure to always eat plenty of animal fats, preferably grass-fed or cheese.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-64275761693413349392013-01-03T23:57:00.000+00:002013-05-06T11:21:04.627+01:00Further Implications of Lowered Gluconeogenesis: Vitamin C SynthesisThis is a follow up post to "<a href="http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/evolutionary-trade-offs-fast-versus.html" target="_blank">Evolutionary Trade-Offs: Fast Versus Famine</a>" and "<a href="http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/detox-antioxidants-and-scurvy-protein.html" target="_blank">Detox, Antioxidants, and Scurvy: Protein Beats Plants</a>".<br />
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We already looked at how we manage without the ability to synthesise ascorbic acid aka vitamin C, by using uric acid derived from protein instead, but why do we do this? Why not just make vitamin C like other carnivores do? Indeed all carnivores make ascorbic acid, so why are we different?<br />
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I believe that our lower level of gluconeogenesis (GNG) is to blame. Ascorbic acid is synthesised from glucose, and with a diminished capacity to make glucose then we don't really have any spare, the muscles need all they can get. So to converse the precious small glucose pool we switched from using ascorbic acid (derived from glucose) to uric acid (derived from protein), and one big difference is the amount of the substance needed for the same anti-oxidant potential.<br />
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Most animals synthesise tens to hundreds of grams (not milligrams of ascorbic acid daily, where-as in humans if we supplement 10 or more grams we can experience diarrhoea from too much vitamin C (less on a ketogenic diet). It's almost as if the body doesn't want extra vitamin C, and high levels can only be achieved through IVs. Amounts over 1.5mg/dL (or 1.3mgdL in females) is rapidly excreted through the urine (this is about 75mg (or 65mg in females) in the whole blood) with a half life of about 15 minutes, this is less than the USDA RDA at 90mg (75mg for females)! The body is actually very good at maintaining tight levels of ascorbic acid in the blood, and the daily turn-over on a vitamin C free diet (but grain-rich) can be as little as 2.5mg, so perhaps even less on a ketogenic diet.<br />
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Where-as the amount of uric acid in the blood ranges from 3mg/dL to 7mg/dL in males and 3mg/dL to 6mg/dL in females (150-350mg or 150-300mg in the whole blood). Also although 'hyperuricaemia' (high uric acid levels) is set at 6 or 7 mg/dL, some people can have as high as 9.6mg/dL and not develop gout. Vegetarians can have as little as 2.7mg/dL uric acid.<br />
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So a normal uric acid level is two to ~4.5 times as much as the <b>saturation </b>level of ascorbic acid!<br />
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Not only do we not make ascorbic acid (because of lowered GNG) but the blood has very low saturation levels compared to uric acid and excess is rapidly excreted, excess uric acid is less easily excreted suggesting a preference for higher levels. This further supports by theory that uric acid replaced ascorbic acid in humans.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-50789269141828225282012-12-22T00:10:00.000+00:002013-05-06T11:20:01.144+01:00Evolutionary Trade-Offs: Fast Versus Famine<i>This is a sister post to Primal North's "<a href="http://primalnorth.blogspot.ca/p/keto-adaptation-vs-low-carb-limbo.html" target="_blank">Keto Adaptation vs Low Carb Limbo</a>".</i><br />
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Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a big topic in ketogenic dieting, and most people think it means eating too much protein knocks you out of ketosis as they think excess protein increases GNG which then increases blood glucose and thus insulin. This is completely wrong. GNG changes little between a high-carb and low-carb diet (<a href="http://www.ketotic.org/2012/08/if-you-eat-excess-protein-does-it-turn.html" target="_blank">link</a>), which of course means Jaminet's idea of eating 'safe starches' to "less the burden on the liver" is nonsense, but it actually has many implications that no-one seems to be addressing: glycogen depletion from exercise in keto-adapted individuals. To many the mere idea of glycogen being using when keto-adapted, let alone it being depleted, is seer heresy but it can and does happen, and a lot more often than people think it does.<br />
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We have three major fuel tanks, as it were, in our body: glycogen, fatty acids, and ketones. We burn a mix of these at all times. There are three basic 'modes' that our body uses:<br />
<ul>
<li>Carb mode: most energy is being derived from glycogen, and a small amount from fatty acids.</li>
<li>Fat mode: most of the energy comes from fatty acids, and of the rest most comes from glycogen, and a small amount from ketones.</li>
<li>Ketone mode: about half of the energy comes from fatty acids still, but of the rest most comes from ketones and a small amount from glycogen.</li>
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<b><u>We burn glycogen all the time, whether we eat high-carb, low-carb, ketogenic, zero carb, nutritional ketosis; it doesn't matter what diet you eat, we always burn some glycogen. While exercising energy requirement increases and so too does need for glycogen.</u></b><br />
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The reason I describe them as 'modes' is because the body doesn't slowly change what fuel mix it uses, it's like a switch, the body will suddenly change from say fat mode to ketone mode. This study (<a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sled-dog-science" target="_blank">link</a>) on sled dogs revealed that "[d]uring the first few days of racing, sled dogs draw energy from glycogen stored inside muscle cells. But instead of depleting glycogen stores and tiring the muscles, the animals <b>suddenly </b>switch to a glycogen-sparing metabolism." (Emphasis mine)<br />
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But what's interesting is that after racing 100 miles for 5 days, their muscle glycogen was slightly higher than when they started (<a href="http://www.meandmydiabetes.com/2011/04/14/steve-phinney-low-carb-preserves-glycogen-better-than-high-carb/" target="_blank">link</a>). Even if they're burning a smaller amount of glycogen something has to be refilling it for it to end up higher. Most people think GNG means turning protein into glucose that then raises your blood sugar, this is wrong, GNG is the turning of protein into <b>glycogen</b>. All carnivorous animals have high levels of GNG in their liver, and they need it to be high, as they need glucose to simply live (all animals die if blood glucose levels drop to 0) but also to fuel their high intensity exercise aka chasing down prey.</div>
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Dogs and cats, which are domestic versions of wild wolves and big cats, have much higher levels of GNG in their liver, and only can tolerate higher levels of protein intake than us before toxicity aka rabbit starvation. The sled dogs in this study ate a lot of protein: "[e]ach 50-pound canine consumes about 12,000 calories daily (typically 60 percent fat and 40 percent carbohydrate and protein)", this works out to 800g of fat, and up to 1200g of protein and this is for an animal a third our size!<br />
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The reason these animals can tolerate a much larger amount of protein then we can (anything over ~200g of protein for a human starts to become toxic), is because they have a higher level of GNG. Dietary protein has three major metabolic pathways it can take: muscle/protein synthesis, GNG, and breakdown to urea. Only so much goes into muscle/protein synthesis, as much is needed but only so much proteins are needed and even rapid muscle growth works out to only a handful of grams a day; the rest either gets turned into glycogen via GNG, or is broken down in urea and then excreted in our urine. So when certain leaders of certain zero carb groups say that excess protein isn't a problem at all and won't raise blood sugars and drive up GNG, they're partly correct. GNG is limited by the size of our liver, and doesn't change much depending on diet, the excess protein is indeed broken down in urea and excreted as they say. But we also have a limited capacity to excrete urea and excess protein leads to a build up of urea in the blood which is the mechanism by which we get protein toxicity aka rabbit starvation.</div>
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Why is the level of GNG important? Because it limits our ability to refuel glycogen when we don't eat carbs (or not enough). If our glycogen fuel tank becomes empty, doesn't matter what 'mode' we're in, then we will 'bonk out', 'hit the wall',<span style="color: red;"> </span>call it what you want but it means you're not going to finish that race, if keto-adapted you may be able to struggle through it. Once the glycogen tank is empty, it can take a long time to refill it and during this time many of the common effects of low carb limbo are seen such as hypoglycaemia and increased risk of infection. Our ability to refill glycogen limits our exercise capacity, in animals such as dogs they can eat huge amounts of protein which undergoes GNG and refills that glycogen such that they can have more glycogen after 500 miles than before they started. In tests on humans running while consuming low-carb diets, we see that glycogen is depleted during exercise, and while it is depleted much slower than someone eating a high-carb diet, it needs to be refuelled between exercises. But because GNG is governed by our livers, and eating more protein doesn't increase it, this means that we can only refill so much of our glycogen tank before we have to exercise again. So while a sled dog can refill that glycogen tank completely say overnight, we need longer than that to get our glycogen back up.</div>
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So if one is only eating no/little carbs, they need to ensure that there is adequate time between heavy exercises such that our glycogen can be refilled sufficiently. Repeated heavy exercise too close together results not only in 'bonking out' but even illness. My good friend Danny Albers of Primal North has experienced this first hand, if he doesn't 'carb back-load (to refill glycogen), consume 'superstarch' (more on that later), or wait long enough between exercising, he gets a cold or infection, sometimes very bad.<br />
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So then how do people like Jimmy Moore avoid this? Because Jimmy Moore measures his blood ketones, and Danny doesn't. Jimmy Moore reports that if his blood ketones are over 1.5mmol/L then he can exercise fine, if it's lower then he will bonk out (<a href="http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/jimmy-moores-n1-experiments-nutritional-ketosis-day-121-150/16095" target="_blank">link</a>) and instead chooses not to exercise that day. Your blood ketones need to reach a certain level for you to be in ketone mode, aka keto-adapted, below this level you are only in fat mode and will still be burning quite a lot of glycogen.Jimmy's diet is 85% fat, 30g carbs, the rest protein, but even he isn't in ketone mode all the time and must measure his blood ketones before exercising. If you aren't measuring your blood ketones before you exercise then you have no way of telling if you're keto-adapted or not, blood ketones mean nothing. Take the time to read Danny's brilliant post on what true keto-adaptation is (<a href="http://primalnorth.blogspot.ca/p/keto-adaptation-vs-low-carb-limbo.html" target="_blank">link</a>). Everyone will have a different level of blood ketones at which they will switch to ketone mode though, so you will need to test each time and not at which level you don't bonk. Those who have never been obese, and have been on VLC/ZC diets for a very long time, will have a lower threshold for keto-adaptation, this applies to us and animals (in the zero carb community they actually stress not exercising for 6 months, likely in part to attain this ideal before you do). The wolf who has eaten a carnivorous diet his whole life will be able to access that ketone mode much easier than a previously morbidly obese person with metabolic syndrome, as evidenced that the sled dogs switched to ketone mode only after a couple days of running, while it can take somebody months and months to keto-adapt.</div>
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But even those who have been eating a zero carb diet for a very long time, and have never been obese will find there is a limit to how much they can exercise because of this lower GNG level compared to other carnivorous animals; a certain leader of a certain zero carb group only runs half marathons and finds he bonks out if he attempts to run a full marathon. <i>But wait</i>, I hear you cry, <i>what about that guy who set a new world record in the Western States 100, wasn't he low carb?</i> (<a href="http://www.meandmydiabetes.com/2012/08/11/western-states-100-low-carber-wins-ultramarathon-steve-phinney-and-jeff-volek-study/" target="_blank">link</a>) Yes he was, but he consumed about 2,000 calories worth of glucose over the course of the race, AND he was taking a bee pollen supplement that enhances fatty acid oxidation. 2,000 calories of glucose may sound a lot, but compared to the roughly 10,000 calories needed to run the race it's actually quite small (the high-carb runners have to consume 10,000 calories of glucose over the race minus what they can carbo-load the night before), the rest of coming from fatty acids and ketones. So even he had to refill that glycogen or risk bonking, but he needed much much less as he was burning it at a slower rate and using mostly his own body fat for fuel (as a mix of fatty acids and ketones).<br />
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So why do we have a lower level of GNG, especially if we're meant to be pure carnivores as some claim? Well let's take a look at cats, cats have the highest level of GNG in the animal kingdom and thus the highest dietary protein requirements. What's really interesting is if you fast a house cat for more than a day or so, it can develop fatal fatty liver as it starts to burn it's own muscle tissue for GNG. So if you're an animal with a very high level of GNG, you can't fast even for a few days, but you can refill the glycogen that's used up in heavy exercise hunting down prey to ensure you're not fasting. But instead if you're a carnivore with a low level of GNG then you may not be able to run marathons every day such as to hunt prey, but you can happily survive those periods in between hunts, even if they're weeks apart, such as if they're not much prey.<br />
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<b><u>Our lower level of GNG compared to other carnivorous animals is an adaptation to famine!</u></b></div>
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So we have an evolutionary trade-off, while other animals such as cats are adapted for hunting more frequently and faster (just look at a cheetah!), we humans selected for famine over fast.</div>
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So what do we do if you want/need to do heavy exercise more frequently than can be supplied by GNG? Here are the options:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Backload carbs: refill the glycogen after exercising.</li>
<li>Cycle carbs: eat high-carb on workout days and low-carb on rest days, or carb-up once a week.</li>
</ul>
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But what if you don't want to or can't eat carbs for whatever reason? There may be a couple ways to 'cheat'...<br />
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Talking to many zero-carbers it seems that animal based carbs (such as from dairy or shellfish) don't raise their blood sugar as the same amount of carbs from plants would. Are animal carbs somehow different from plant carbs? They may well be, in chapter 9 of "How To Prevent Heart Attacks" by Ben Sandler (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/105005229541718/455982297777341/" target="_blank">link</a>) he talks about something called 'gamma-glucose'. The basic idea is that there is a third kind of glucose (normal glucose comes in two kinds, alpha and beta) which is different, it's unstable and made by the liver. When we eat carbs or otherwise increase insulin then we make less 'gamma-glucose', and increase our production of 'gamma-glucose' after a meal with only protein and/or fat. So carbs from animal sources may be in the form of this 'gamma-glucose' and so animal carbs may be good for refilling glycogen without triggering insulin production.</div>
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Another 'cheat' is super starch (said I'd get to it). Super starch is a special kind of carbohydrate that is designed to refill glycogen without increasing blood glucose or insulin. Many athletes use it because it's doesn't upset the stomach like other carbs (the main reason ultra-marathoners are turning to low-carb is because the frequent carb-ups over the course of the race upset the stomach to the point where it won't except any more and they simply throw everything up, then run out of glycogen and bonk). Volek, of The Art And Science Of Low-Carb Living/Performance has written several articles/papers on super starch (<a href="http://www.generationucan.com/download.html" target="_blank">link</a>). Peter Attia uses super starch to help him exercise efficiently (<a href="http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-interplay-of-exercise-and-ketosis-part-i">link </a>and <a href="http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-interplay-of-exercise-and-ketosis-part-ii">link</a>). My good friend Danny Albers has personally tried out a similar product to super starch (again designed to refill glycogen without increasing glucose/insulin, just cheaper) with great results in his exercise (<a href="http://primalnorth.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=super+starch" target="_blank">link</a>).</div>
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DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-26632646737179056782012-12-07T16:33:00.001+00:002013-01-23T17:18:28.120+00:00Homocysteine and Glutathione Nutrients<u><b>Folate, choline, B6, and B12</b></u><br />
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All these nutrients are part of the homocysteine cycle. High blood levels of homocysteine are dangerous and greatly increase your risk of heart disease. Homocysteine can be recycled to methionine by several routes: by choline; or folate. It can also be excreted as uria after being converted to cysteine by vitamin B6.<br />
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Here are a couple of pictures of the homocysteine cycle, showing how the nutrients interact (choline is listed as it's active form 'betaine'):<br />
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<a href="http://heart.bmj.com/content/83/2/127/F1.large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://heart.bmj.com/content/83/2/127/F1.large.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v59/n1/images/4492024f1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v59/n1/images/4492024f1.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
Elevated homocysteine is usually treated with a low-methionine diet with limited results, just like a low cholesterol diet doesn't reduce cholesterol levels. Also as methionine is found in many nutritious foods, such as eggs and other animal foods, restricting it can lead to an unbalanced diet. Increasing choline, folate, vitamins B6 and B12 is much more effective at reducing homocysteine levels, though some are more effective than others, as we will see...<br />
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<u><b>Folate versus choline: Spina Bifida</b></u><br />
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Many women eating carnivorous diets, low in folate as little to no chicken liver was eaten, have produced healthy babies free of Spina Bifida. Normally women are given folic acid supplements in early pregnancy to prevent this disease, ignoring the folate versus folic acid issue for now, if folate/folic acid is so important for preventing Spina bifida, how can healthy babies be born to a mother eating a diet very low in folate? My thoery is that choline replaces most if not all of folate's duties, as it's not folate itself but high homocysteine and low glutathione that is the real cause behind folate deficiency problems such as spina bifida.<br />
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Seems others agree: "Anomalies in homocysteine metabolism have been implicated in disorders ranging from vascular disease to neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida." (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betaine%E2%80%94homocysteine_S-methyltransferase#Clinical_significance" target="_blank">link</a>)<br />
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Homocysteine is an amino acid derivative in the blood, high levels are associated with heart disease. The usual method for reducing it is restricting methionine as it's made from that, but this doesn't really work just like restricting cholesterol intake doesn't help blood cholesterol levels. Folate can be used to reduce homocysteine blood levels by recycling it back into methionine, and so can choline.<br />
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Folate needs B12 in order to recycle homocysteine, a normal mixed diet has very little B12 compared to a carnivore one which is why such large amounts of folate are used in supplements to prevent Spina Bifida, as much as 5mg (5,000ug) or more. The increased B12 on a carnivore diet means less folate is needed to effectively recycle homocysteine.<br />
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Similarly choline needs zinc. My menu provides ~23mg zinc, while the USDA RDA is 11mg, so it's likely less choline is needed also. Choline has many other functions though, making phospholipids and other things vital for brain development, and helps in metabolising fats so it's unlikely a lot less is needed on a carnivore diet.<br />
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<u><b>Another Way Out</b></u><br />
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Apart from recycling homocysteine back into methionine, we can exit this cycle using B6, and it turns into cysteine. Add some glycine (gelatin), and glutamate (any protein) along with selenium, and they make glutathione, the body's most potent antioxidant.<br />
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In trials with homocysteinuria, a genetic disease which presents with very high levels of homocysteine and heart disease, homocysteine is successfully lowered with folate but the heart disease rate stays the same, but giving vitamin B6 instead does help the heart disease! This shows that recycling homocysteine back to methionine is of little value, to proper thing to do is turn it to cysteine, then glutathione.<br />
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I think it's not the high homocysteine itself causing the problems but the low glutathione levels. Low glutathione levels are the reason why the low protein rats in Colin T Campbell's studies just all died instead of getting cancer (<a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/cmasterjohn/2011/09/27/taking-a-trip-down-memory-lane-fishing-for-our-good-friend-glutathione-in-the-waters-of-the-memory-hole-how-t-colin-campbell-helped-prove-that-protein-protects-us/" target="_blank">link</a>).<br />
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The WAPF reports that 3.4mg of B6 daily is needed to fully saturate B6 levels in breast milk (<a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b6-the-under-appreciated-vitamin" target="_blank">link</a>), so for pregnancy I will assume a similar level is needed, and less while not pregnant. Using the ol' 'eating for two' would mean 1.7mg B6 is needed; the USDA RDA is 1.3mg normally, 1.9mg for pregnant, and 2mg for breastfeeding, proportionally if breastfeeding really needs 3.4 then normal means ~2.2mg is needed. Vitamin B6 recommendations used to be based of protein, to the tune of 0.016mg per gram of protein intake, so 1.6mg per 100g of protein. I would err on the side of caution and say that more B6 is likely better, but if there is sufficient cysteine, glycine, glutamate, and selenium in one's diet to make glutathione without needing B6/homocysteine then glutathione levels will still be high, and B6 is not as critical.<br />
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Thus I will no longer be recommending chicken liver specifically for it's folate content, and am happy that the amount of folate provided by the other liver and egg yolks is plenty (1 egg has as much folate as 2000 calories of rib eye), these foods also provide choline for alternative recycling of homocysteine.<br />
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The carnivore RDA will have a lower recommendation for folate than the USDA RDA, choline will be same or greater than USDA RDA, zinc will remain at 12x copper but likely more copper will be recommended than the USDA RDA, and B6 will be based on protein intake. There will also be emphasise on getting plenty of vitamin B12, selenium, methionine, cysteine, and glycine.<br />
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<u><b>Side Note: Folic acid versus Folate</b></u></div>
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Folic acid is the artificial form of folate, found only in supplements and added to foods such as flour. Folate is the natural form found in food. An enzyme called dihydrofolate reductase is needed to convert folic acid to folate, this enzyme is also needed to convert folate to it's active form tetrahydrofolate (THF); too much folic acid slows the synthesis of THF and can actually cause deficiency.<br />
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Conversion of folic acid to folate is low but variable (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2730961/" target="_blank">link</a>), and excess unconverted folic acid is dangerous (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20573790" target="_blank">link</a>). Two genes that effect dihydrofolate reductase are: C677T and A1298C. Having these mutations decreases your ability to convert folic acid to folate.<br />
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Too much folic acid is also associated with caner, high serum levels are associated with epigenetic changes linked to bowel cancer (<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206122232.htm?%20%20utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:%20%20+sciencedaily/plants_animals+(ScienceDaily:+Plants+%26+Animals+News)" target="_blank">link</a>), and cell grown in cultures with high levels of folic acid induces these changes. Selenium and vitamin D3 levels decreased these changes, all the more reason to eat your kidney or pork and soak up the sun. But it seems natural folate is anti-cancer: "daily supplementation of 1 mg of folic acid increased the risk of prostate cancer, while dietary and plasma folate levels among vitamin nonusers actually decreased the risk of prostate cancer" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folic_acid#Cancer" target="_blank">link</a>). Anti-folate drugs are used as a treatment for cancer (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifolate" target="_blank">link</a>). <a href="http://chriskresser.com/folate-vs-folic-acid" target="_blank">More info</a>.<br />
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For these reasons I recommend getting natural folate from food rather than supplements as folic acid.</div>
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If you must take supplements, seek out one of the following, as these are true folate rather than folic acid: 5-MTHF, 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid, l-methylfolate, levomefolic acid, folinic acid, 'Metafolin', 'Deplin', 'Quatrafolic'.</div>
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<u><b>Side Note: Alternatives</b></u><br />
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The folate cycle also turns a serine into a glycine, serine is an amino acid found in egg yolks, pork liver, turkey, and to a lesser degree other livers and muscle meat, so if a large amount of folate is eaten then less glycine from gelatin is needed; so the choice is between eating gelatin or poultry liver. One or the other is needed, as glycine is a critical component of glutathione.<br />
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I don't know if high amounts of choline mean that folate isn't used to recycle homocysteine, and thus less glycine is made, so I do feel it's much less risky to eat gelatin for the glycine directly.</div>
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DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-63315894782795704682012-11-29T23:54:00.003+00:002013-05-06T11:16:55.266+01:00ZC community Versus Evidence: Who Can We Trust More?My biggest disagreement with the zero carb community, or rather specifically with it's leader, who say that we are somehow different from all other carnivorousness animals that get very ill if not fed the whole animal (including organs such as liver, and the bones, skin, etc) and are just fed fatty muscle meat instead, and somehow different from our ancestors who went as far as to call organs sacred and sometimes went to extreme lengths to ensure a proper supply of organs, shellfish, and other foods rich in the fat-soluble vitamins, especially for pregnant/lactating women and growing children. Although we are not strictly true carnivores and can survive on an omnivorous diet, we can also survive on a carnivorous one too, but not a herbivore/vegan diet; our ability to adapt in regards to diet is a big reason why we've managed to become the dominant species on planet. But for the sake of this post we will be taking about humans as though we were true carnivores, as this is what zero carb states.<br />
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The zero carb philosophy is based on the words of Vilhjalmur Stefansson during his time staying with the Inuit people, his subsequent year-long all meat diet study at Bellevue Hospital, and the words of Owsley Stanley aka 'theBear'; and states that a diet of just fatty muscle meat is not only healthy but optimal, and that organs meats and other animal foods are completely unnecessary. In this post I will show that this is utter fantasy.<br />
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The main issue of eating just fatty muscle meat and no other animal foods is the deficiency this will cause. While muscle meat is rich in many vital nutrients it is completely lacking in retinol (vitamin A) which is the biggest concern; but muscle meat is also very low in copper, calcium, magnesium, and sodium, and low in potassium, selenium, vitamins B1 and B5, and the amino acids glycine and proline. These nutrients are easily found in other animal food: Egg yolks, dairy, and liver are rich in vitamin A; liver (except pork liver), kidneys, heart for copper; bone broth for calcium and magnesium (though supplementing magnesium is also advisable due to water filtration); unrefined salt for sodium; potassium salt for potassium; kidneys for selenium; liver, and pork for vitamin B1; liver, kidneys, and eggs for vitamin B5; and gelatin for glycine and proline. In essence, you need to eat the whole animal (or at least liver, and gelatin-rich bone broths in addition to fatty muscle meat, and to a lesser extent kidneys and the other organs) for complete balanced nutrition.<br />
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If you read the Bellevue Study, you'll quickly see that Stefansson ate many different organs: "<i>The meat used included beef, lamb, veal, pork, and chicken. The parts used were muscle, liver, kidney, brain, bone marrow, bacon, and fat. While on lecture trips V. S. occasionally ate a few eggs and a little butter when meat was not readily obtainable</i>". When he was recovering from the high-protein experiment, which only lasted two days (where the scientists conducting the experiment wanted to see what would happen if lean instead of fatty meat was eaten (protein was eaten at 45% of total calories, rather than the usual 20%), his food of choice for the recovery was brains fried in bacon grease! You can read the study for yourself <a href="http://www.jbc.org/content/87/3/651.full.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. As Stefansson ate organs and bone marrow and therefore he can't be used as proof that just fatty muscle meat is enough.<br />
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When Stefansson lived with the Inuit he did rightly point out that the Inuit did not eat the liver of the animals they killed. Weston Price also stayed with the Inuit, and as he actually tested the foods they ate to see what nutrients they were getting and from where: he remarks that blubber, of which the Inuit eat a great deal, was extremely rich in vitamin, so they didn't need liver as well! Further-more the liver of their prey would be toxic, as it is too rich in vitamin A, many people know that polar bear and dog liver's are toxic too us, all carnivorous animal's live are. Seals, the main food of the Inuit, eat a lot of fish, including the fish's liver, so have a large amount of retinol in their diet; cod liver oil is very rich in vitamin A but not at a toxic levels, the Inuit eat fish livers. The Inuit did NOT avoid eating liver because it is 'too carby' as theBear claims, which is insane as an ounce of liver adds a measly __g of carbs. This means the Inuit have to use other sources for vitamin A than their prey's liver to avoid toxicity, so they go for blubber instead.<br />
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Here's a couple of videos showing Inuit people eating every part of the animal they can: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2WjblJnpUs">here</a> ("I can't wait to eat the brain", ) and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Escn0kv-jlA">here</a>. So Stefansson's claims that the Inuit do not eat any organs and instead feed them to their dogs is clearly not representative.<br />
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theBear was the main creator of the modern day ZC idea by posting on the Active Low-Carber forums, about his experience on the zero carb diet. He reports that his diet for the last nearly half century was made up of fatty muscle meat, eggs, butter, cheese, coffee, with occasional protein powders and other animal foods. So even theBear can't be used as an example of the modern day claimes by the zero carb community that all you need is fatty muscle meat and water, as he regularly ate eggs and dairy. My 'beef', as it were, is with pure fatty muscle meat diets.<br />
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theBear repeatedly shows that he has limitied<span style="color: red;"> </span>knowledge of nutrition and frequently gets things wrong:<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td>Quote</td><td>Analysis</td></tr>
<tr><td>"Vitamins. that is easy, there are virtually no sources of any vitamins to be in vegetation (which is why all vitamin supplements are synthetic), but all are found in abundance in meat. For example no source of A other than animal liver exists."</td><td>Vegetables do contain vitamins, you can get supplements made from plants instead of synthetically, but he's right that vitamins are more concentrated in animal foods, they're also more bio-available due to lack of anti-nutrients such as fibre or phytic acid. There are other sources of vitamin A, even restricting to just sources of retinol, which is preformed vitamin A rather than beta-carotene, liver is not the only source: egg yolks and dairy (butter, cream, cheese, etc) are two such examples. But when looking at meat as in a dead animal rather than all animal foods, yes liver is the best source; grass-fed animal fats though will have beta-carotene in them which is what makes grass-fed animal fats yellow, but conversion of beta-carotene to retinol is non-exist in 45% of the population and extremely poor in the rest of the population even when highly deficient in retinol.</td></tr>
<tr><td>"The one meat that needs to be eaten sparingly is liver, which contains a lot of starch (glycogen) and vit. A which is toxic in excess. Excess may be as little as one ounce of the liver of an animal feeding on fish."</td><td>100g of beef liver contains 3.9g of carbohydrates, 100g lamb liver 1.8g, this is hardly a lot when all you need for vitamin A requirement is one or two ounces a day. Vitamin A is only toxic if you're deficient in vitamin D. Animals feeding on fish will be getting lots of vitamin A in their diets (fish livers are very rich sources of vitamin A, cod liver oil is one of the most concentrated sources per gram) so their livers will be extremely rich in it, we know that the livers of polar bears and dogs have too much vitamin A for us to eat, but the livers of herbivores are perfectly safe to eat.</td></tr>
<tr><td>"'Excess' dietary protein is broken down and discarded, never converted to glucose except in an emergency- such as under heavy and extensive fasting- and then only after all the stored glycogen in liver and muscle has been converted first. The liver under these circumstances only produces from protein the exact amount necessary to maintain the normal level. Only dietary intake can drive the blood glucose level above your baseline."</td><td>Protein is converted to glucose (via gluconeogenesis) all the time, even on a high carb diet and there's plenty of glycogen. The liver can and sometimes does make too much glucose from protein and raises your blood glucose level, many people low/zero carb experience elevated blood glucose levels after eating too much protein. Diabetics have it even worse, as their liver is less sensitive to insulin (or insulin is lacking) and so makes a huge amount of glucose via gluconeogenesis, sometimes such that it uses up all dietary protein and thus leads to muscle wasting. Phinney and Volek's research shows that plenty of glucose can be made from gluconeogenesis, which along with using glycerol from triglycerides (fats) to make glucose, can provide up to 200 grams per day.<b> Those with diabetes can't turn down this production of glucose down, which is why they can experience severe hyperglycaemia even while fasting.</b><br />
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For more on gluconeogenesis: <a href="http://www.ketotic.org/2012/08/if-you-eat-excess-protein-does-it-turn.html">http://www.ketotic.org/2012/08/if-you-eat-excess-protein-does-it-turn.html</a>, <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/2/276.full">http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/2/276.full</a>, and <a href="http://omega3galil.com/web/8888/nsf/web/5922/148534imagefile3.pdf">http://omega3galil.com/web/8888/nsf/web/5922/148534imagefile3.pdf</a><br />
Gluconeogenesis in diabetes: "<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><i>The rate of gluconeogenesis was three times higher in the diabetic subjects than in the control subjects</i>" </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995498/">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995498/</a></td></tr>
<tr><td>"So long as your body has retained any level of glycogen (the liver usually is about 40% glycogen, plus some is stored in muscles) you will not tear apart proteins for glucose"</td><td>So how is the body keeping glycogen level from being completely depleted after years and years? Gluconeogenesis, aka making glucose from proteins, see above point.<br />
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We never stop using glucose completely even when fully keto-adapted, parts of the body always need glucose, this is why blood sugar levels are maintained at a stable level even when no carbohydrates are eaten, and why we have a way of making glucose from protein. If you give a drug to reduce blood sugar down too low, we would soon faint and then die. Glucose is vital for life, the question is whether it's better to eat it or make it ourselves (this is of course a topic for another day but the above links discussing the rate of gluconeogenesis on a high/low carb diet points very heavily to it being making it ourselves).</td></tr>
<tr><td>"If the body was able to create glucose on demand from ripping the core out of protein, then why is 100% protein so deadly it can kill you in about a week to ten days? Adding dietary fat or carbs prevents this poisoning. The fact is gluconeogenesis is rare except under two conditions, severe fasting and recovery from starvation-induced bodyfat depletion on a zero carb diet. Then the adipose tissues are re-built by diverting a small amount of blood sugar which stimulates mild gluconeogenesis."</td><td>Protein toxicity, or rabbit starvation, is when too much protein is eaten. The toxicity is not from the protein itself but the breakdown products of the protein which accumulate faster than they can be removed from the body. Stefansson experienced this after only too days on a high-protein low-fat carnivore diet.<br />
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The last bits makes no sense at all. Adipose (fat cells) would be rebuilt from dietary fat. After every meal the fat you eat is stored in your fat cells (but they can freely leave to supply fuel/energy between meals and overnight as insulin is kept low all the time), too much fat in the blood is also harmful to the body just like too high blood sugar. Blood sugar doesn't stimulate gluconeogenesis, a lack of it does (as in low blood sugar stimulates gluconeogenesis in order to raise blood sugar to a safe level).<br />
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The idea that fat tissue, an active regulatory tissue in the body, is simply destroyed and rebuilt on demand is fallacy. This is easily verified in any medical text book since the invention of the microscope.<br />
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Also this point is a void anyway<b>,</b> any diet made of 100% of just one nutrient would be fatal, not just protein.</td></tr>
<tr><td>"Glycogen is not depleted by exercise, period. The muscles ONLY use free fatty acids complexed with n-acetylcarnitine to provide the energy to reverse ADP to ATP, no carbs are consumed in this process, either as glucose or as glycogen.<br />
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The famous 'wall' hit by runners etc., indicates a problem in mobilising bodyfat in a carb-loading individual once dietary circulating fat is consumed. It does not occur in a keto-adapted meat eater."</td><td>Glycogen is depleted in exercise, though when keto-adapted it is used up at a much slower speed and can be refilled by gluconeogenesis easily such that it never appears to decrease. Glucose is used to generate ATP, it enters the Krebs cycle via pyruvate.<br />
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The 'wall' is caused by depleted glycogen and has been studied extensively, but he's quite right that that you also need an ability to access your fat stores too. The winner of the last Western States 100, a 100 mile ultra-marathon, was described as low-carb but when actually questioned as to what he ate while running it was revealed that he was some carbs to refill glycogen albeit a fraction compared to the high-carb runners.<br />
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Exercise when keto-adapted meaning being able to burn both glycogen/glucose and fats/ketones for fuel at the same time.<br />
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Anaerobic exercise always uses glycose/glycogen for fuel, as without oxygen fat/ketones can't be oxidised, the glucose/glycogen is metabolised to lactate aka lactic acid, which will build up in the muscle until the exercise is reduced enough or stopped such that oxygen can being used to metabolise the lactate back into glucose.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And so on...<br />
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In a way the whole animal versus just fatty muscle meat argument could be boiled down to a these comparisons:<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td width="45%">ZC community</td><td>Weston A Price</td></tr>
<tr><td>Based on one group, the Inuit; and the experience of a few people, mostly theBear</td><td>Travelled the globe looking at many different cultures and what that had in common</td></tr>
<tr><td>Based on conjecture, no real scientific basis for only fatty muscle meat</td><td>All cultures went to great lengths to ensure supply of foods which contained the fat soluble vitamins A, D, and K2, animal protein, and the long chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA</td></tr>
<tr><td>Says no harm with come to you eating nothing but fatty meat</td><td>Photographed results of fat soluble vitamins deficiencies, such as lack of eyes in pigs born to vitamin A deficient mothers</td></tr>
<tr><td>"If it's not in fatty meat, then you don't need it"</td><td>Actually tested the foods different people ate to see what nutrients they were getting and from where they got them</td></tr>
<tr><td>Based on the experience of a few decades at most, by a handful of people</td><td>Based on the accumulated knowledge of many thousands of years of knowledge by people from all over the world</td></tr>
<tr><td>theBear: no scientific background, frequently gets things wrong</td><td>Accomplished scientist who was knowledgeable far beyond his time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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If organs (or other animal foods like egg/dairy) aren't needed and just fatty muscle meat is not only sufficient but actually optimal, then why do other carnivorous animals get very sick on just fatty muscle meat, why did primitive cultures put so much importance on organs and other sacred foods even sometimes going to extreme lengths to obtain them.<br />
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In nature, the predators who eat first (the alpha wolves, the lion) will go for the abdominal cavity, and organs at once and even fight to defend their choice cuts. Betas will eat the peripheral organs and muscle meat, both will eat fat. Bones will be broken and contents eaten by all. As well scavengers quite often will work the smaller bones the top level predators missed, as well as eat things like the eyes (carnivorous birds especially). The whole animal in nature is essentially picked clean of anything edible by a series of carnivores.<br />
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The simple truth is there has never been any carnivorous animal of meat-eating human population who didn't eat the whole animal until very recently. Practically everyone even included a serving of liver a week until the last few decades or so.<br />
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Is there some magical difference between modern day zero carbers and every single other carnivorous animal and every single primitive culture? Because unless there is some magical difference then eating a diet of purely fatty muscle meat is highly dangerous? Are zero carbers that arrogant in the status or '<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.primalnorth.blogspot.ca%2F2012%2F10%2Fthe-triumph-of-thyroid-truthiness-over.html" target="_blank">tru<span id="goog_2041989881"></span><span id="goog_2041989882"></span>thiness</a>'<span style="color: red;"> </span>of their leaders' a priori proclamations that they are willing to risk serious deficiencies will possibly permanent damage? How arrogant do you have to be to do that?!<br />
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In my mind these people are no better than fruitarians who also claim their diet is perfect, that any nutrient not found in fruit/veg is not needed (replace fruit/veg with steak), etc. In fact just go to the table above and replace every instance of 'fatty muscle meat' with 'fruit/veg' and you'll have 90% of what comes out of a fruitarian's ass.<br />
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At least the fruitarians have admitted that you need vitamin B12 injections on their diet after people have gotten permanent nerve damage or had their babies die from B12 deficiencies. How long do we have to wait for ZCers or their unfortunate children to go blind from retinol deficiency or even die, before they realise the stupidity of ignoring that fact that certain substances are vital for health, or even just life itself?!<br />
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Do you really want to be part of an experiment of which the results are at best unknown and at worst extremely dangerous? No... Then eat your liver and drink your gelatin-rich bone broth, or eat eggs, dairy, or other animal foods.<br />
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<i>If you follow a zero carb diet which includes eggs or dairy, but think I'm wrong, don't complain to me, this is about people eating only fatty muscle and no other food, your diet includes nutrients not found in muscle meat so your lack of deficiency doesn't prove just muscle meat is healthy.</i><br />
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<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td>Main nutrients low in a<br />
muscle meat only diet</td><td>Foods</td></tr>
<tr><td>Retinol</td><td>Cod liver oil, liver, egg yolks, dairy</td></tr>
<tr><td>B1</td><td>Liver, pork</td></tr>
<tr><td>Folate</td><td>Poultry Liver, less so mammal liver</td></tr>
<tr><td>Choline</td><td>Egg yolks, liver</td></tr>
<tr><td>Calcium</td><td>Bone broth, bones in fish, egg shells</td></tr>
<tr><td>Magnesium</td><td>Soils are depleted so supplements advised</td></tr>
<tr><td>Potassium</td><td>Potassium salt</td></tr>
<tr><td>Copper</td><td>Beef/lamb liver</td></tr>
<tr><td>Selenium</td><td>Kidneys, pork</td></tr>
<tr><td>Manganese</td><td>Spices, tea</td></tr>
<tr><td>Glycine & proline</td><td>Gelatin (skin, feet/hooves, cartilage, heads,<br />
tails, ears, powder/sheets)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I am still looking at how much of each nutrient is needed on a ketogenic carnivore/near-carnivore diet, but the result is highly likely to still include liver, gelatin, bone broth (or other calcium sources), and possibly other organs, eggs, and other animal foods; NOT just muscle meat.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-1021941469490379852012-11-29T17:50:00.006+00:002013-05-06T11:22:29.781+01:00Blocking People With Whom You Disagree Is More Than PatheticToday on facebook a member of the zero carb community posted to their wall a video (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd-kM8-2kqk" target="_blank">link</a>), saying that the wolves didn't eat the organs, just the meat and fat. When my good friend <a href="http://primalnorth.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Danny Albers</a> and I commented to say that the organs clearly had been eaten, even the guts, and that even the filmer mentions that the carcass is "mostly eaten empty", what should happen but our comments removed and both of us banned from his facebook.<br />
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<u style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">This is more than pathetic, it is pure cowardice!</u><br />
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Seriously, this isn't even about what the wolf did or did not eat, this is about freedom of speech and freedom of opinion.<br />
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In this day and age of modern communications, we are always going to find people with whom we disagree, but that's no reason to block them. Sure if they're being a menace or trolling you, then fine, but a couple of comments saying you don't agree is nothing!<br />
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Do you know who else deletes comments and blocks peoples for posting differing views? DurianRider, fruitarian and leader of the heavily censored site 30bananasaday.com (check out 30bananasadaysucks.com for more on that). This is why I place in my mind many zero carbers and fruitarians in the same category, they both are deluded and can't take criticism, well not even criticism, a couple of comments!<br />
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Is it any wonder I have no respect for the zero carb community when they pull stunts like this?DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-38687597367248741802012-11-28T21:13:00.002+00:002013-01-23T17:18:48.812+00:00Nutrient Needs On A Carnivorous DietTo create my last carnivorous diet, I used the USDA RDA as targets for the nutrients. The USDA RDA is based on the nutrient requirements on a high-carb, grain-based diet, and the nutrient requirements on a carnivorous diet are almost certainly different:<br />
<ul>
<li>Several nutrients are used directly in carbohydrate metabolism, and so these nutrients will have a lower requirement on a carnivorous diet</li>
<li>Some are used in protein and fat metabolism, and more will be needed on a carnivorous diet</li>
<li>Most nutrients interact with each other such that the altered levels for proper carb/fat/protein metabolism means less or more is needed of other nutrients</li>
<li>Phytochemicals such as phytic acid effect the abosrption/ultilisation of nutrients</li>
</ul>
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I will be discussing each nutrient in the context of a carnivorous diet, what they are needed for, what other nutrients effect their absorption and excretion, how much is needed on a carnivorous diet (as best I can calculate), their best sources, and anything else note-worthy.<br />
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Some nutrients even without specifically eating foods for that nutrient will have an intake well over the USDA RDA and thus I see little point in examining them as closely as the likelyhood that you will become deficient in these nutrirents is unlikely. I'm more interested in looking at what nutrients we need less of than the USDA RDA, but there are several nutrients which through my research I have discovered good evidence that the USDA RDA is too low and of which we actually need a lot more. Some nutrients I will not give a cRDA (carnivore RDA), as the amount needed is happily supplied from all the other foods in the diet in order to fulfil the other cRDA, such that no real attention/worry is needed for that specific nutrient.<br />
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Stay turned for some fun science.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-77789570749311198152012-11-17T00:32:00.001+00:002013-05-06T11:18:44.937+01:00Detox, Antioxidants, and Scurvy: Protein Beats Plants<br />
<i>This blog post is an updated and slightly edited version of on of my 'facebook essays', which were comments written as normal comments in facebook but ended up being really long and more like essays. I saved the links to their original posting and plan to go through them all and update and neaten up, etc, them then post them here. This one has been done first as a friend requested a copy to sent to someone else.</i><br />
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I'm stick and tired of people telling me the body can't detox without 'fruit and vegetables'. So I guess that's why water fasting doesn't work? <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:P</span><br />
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The body has many systems for detoxing and even makes it's own anti-oxidants which are many many fold more efficient that any from food. One thing the body does need though, for detoxing, is quality protein. The liver is the main detoxifier of the body and requires protein to do so. A good example is Campbell's rat studies, the high-protein rats got PRE-cancerous lesions, but the low-protein rats ALL DIED!<br />
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The body's biggest anti-oxidant is glutathione.<br />
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Some foods have it but dietary absorption is very poor, we have to make our own. Glutathione is made from cysteine, glutamate, and glycine, and needs the mineral selenium. Cysteine is best found in animal foods, especially organs, and is practically always deficient on a vegetarian/vegan diet. Glycine is the major amino-acid of gelatin (along with proline), and most other proteins are low in glycine. Gelatin's best sources are feet/hooves, skin, heads of animals, made into broth. Glutamate is non-essential and readily available as long as you're eating enough protein, additionally most protein sources are rich in glutamate. Selenium's best animal food source is kidneys, and best plant food source is brazil nuts. Most people don't get enough selenium, additionally the USDA RDA is 55ug, but studies show that 200ug is a much more appropriate intake. Studies on vegetarians/vegans show very low glutathione levels, as the two out of the three amino-acids required to make it are found in animal foods.<br />
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Cysteine is a double-edged sword, it's very good for us, but bacteria also use it. Glutathione locks cysteine up so bacteria can't get it it, but our cells can easily unlock it. This is why supplementing cysteine can be dangerous, unless it's as N-acetyl-cysteine which is another 'locked up' form that greatly increases glutathione levels. Other things that boost glutathione levels are raw whey (not powdered), alpha lipoic acid, and milk thistle. Vitamin D also increases brain glutathione levels.<br />
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Glutathione is needed to excrete many toxins through bile, to form leukotrienes (which are fatty based signalling molecules formed from arachidonic acid (also only found in animal foods)), it prevents oxidative damage by being a co-factor for glutathione peroxidase AND detoxing methylglyoxal, a by-product of glycolysis (burning glucose for fuel) and lipid peroxidation (from excess PUFAs). Methylglyoxal is linked to arterial atherogenesis and it oxidises LDL.<br />
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Low glutathione levels are also strongly implicated in muscle wasting, as seen in cancer, AIDS, sepsis, trauma, burns and even athletic over-training. Supplementing glutathione in AIDS increases survival rates. Disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar also feature low glutathione levels and data suggests oxidative damage (from lack of glutathione to protect against oxidation) can be the cause of these.<br />
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The second biggest anti-oxidant is uric acid.<br />
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Yes, too much causes gout, but the slightly increased levels on a meat heavy diet are good for us. It seems that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and uric acid have the same functions and are possibly opposed to each other. Those on an all meat diet don't get scurvy and uric acid is likely why, as it has huge anti-oxidant capacity and is increased when you eat a lot of meat. It seems you need a lack of both uric acid and ascorbic acid to get scurvy.<br />
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Natural plant food sources of vitamin C have phytochemicals called 'xanthine oxidase inhibitors' that lower uric acid production (as xanthine oxidase produces uric acid from protein), and it seems that the body prefers to use either ascorbic acid or uric acid. This may be why refined fructose is so dangerous, as fructose itself greatly increases uric acid to gout-causing levels. Natural fructose as found in fruit though, has lots of vitamin C and xanthine oxidase inhibitors which will counter-act the uric acid increasing properties of the fructose, but excessive consumption of even natural fructose, not just refined sucrose and HFCS, can lead to gout as the uric acid raising properties of fructose is slightly higher than the uric acid lowering properties from the xanthine oxidise inhibitors in the fruit. The uric acid increase from meat though is not enough on it's own to cause gout though.<br />
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[Update: In fact the genetic mutation that means we can't synthesise ascorbic acid makes fructose more fattening and dangerous to us, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2917125/" target="_blank">some scientists</a> theorise that this is done so that we could use fruit to fatten ourselves for cold winters more efficiently; this is bollocks, it's much more likely caused by a lack of dietary fructose rather than abundance. Why on earth (or any other planet with life :P ) would evolution favour a mutation that makes an animal's food dangerous to it? Indeed getting fat before winter can be seen as an advantage for survival but the mutation also means that fructose is more efficient at causing insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, cancer, gout, etc, none of which would give a survival advantage. A diet high in fruit/fructose for the purpose of getting fat for the winter, when you have this mutation, gives a very high risk of gout, which can be crippling! As our diet changed from a frugivore to a near-carnivore one we lost our ability to handle fructose as well, while finding another substance with which to replace the ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is made from glucose, uric acid is made from protein; you can clearly see why we changed out antioxidant as we changed our diet.]<br />
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Taking isolated or synthetic ascorbic acid, which lacks the inhibitors, will result in high uric acid and high ascorbic acid levels. The uric acid will not be lowered (as it's not the ascorbic acid that does that), and so gout will still occur. Some vitamin c supplements have added 'bioflavonoids' or 'quercetin', both of which are xanthine oxidase inhibitors and with thus lower uric acid levels. I'm not aware of any problems caused by having high uric and ascorbic acid levels at the same time though, just that plain vitamin c will not help lower uric acid levels in of itself.<br />
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This really emphasises why foods sweetened with HFCS (or even sugar) are so dangerous. It seems nature supplies to antidote with the poison in regard to fruit. But then that begs the question of why eat the poison in the first place? It seems uric acid is a safer option over ascorbic acid as it doesn't come with so much 'baggage'.<br />
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Uric acid is a HUGE reason why Arctic explorers eating just meat did not get scurvy but those sneaking biscuits got it (and recovered when the biscuits where thrown away), also sailors (whose diet was mostly biscuits, rum, and salt beef)... Phytic acid is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor! Thus they got scurvy due to the lack of uric and ascorbic acid. With sailors the scurvy was remedied through fresh fruit (or sauerkraut in the case of the Germans), supplying vitamin C. But they would've got equally good results by removing the biscuits from their diet (and possibly also the rum as alcohol and fructose are metabolised the same way by the liver, but the sailors would never allow that!).<br />
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Thus scurvy is not a disease of lack of vitamin c but a combined lack of ascorbic acid and insufficient uric acid. Supply either will cure scurvy, thus gout suffers are highly unlikely to suffer from scurvy as well. Removing xanthine oxidase inhibitors from a diet rich in fresh protein will cure and prevent scurvy. Adding fresh fruit or vegetables to a sailors diet did not always cure scurvy though, it's quite likely there needs to be a combined effort between uric and ascorbic acid. The fruits and vegetables would supply some ascorbic acid but also xanthine oxidase inhibitors, in addition to those from their biscuit rations, such that the addition ascorbic acid is not sufficient to counter-act the simultaneous decrease in uric acid.<br />
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Because natural plant sources of vitamin C often have xanthine oxidase inhibitors, this means that they are poor at preventing scurvy, as they lower uric acid more than they increase ascorbic acid in terms of anti-scorbic potential. Animal sources of vitamin c, including raw liver, spleen, adrenal glands, and blubber, do not have xanthine oxidase inhibitors and so will not reduce uric acid levels; this means they are safe to include when eating a carnivore or meat-heavy diet. Additionally pure synthetic ascorbic acid, without 'bioflavonoids' or 'quercetin' is also safe to take.<br />
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It must be noted that there seems to be a difference between fresh and dry meat/protein, as diets of only fresh meat/protein will never produce scurvy, but there have been two cases of scurvy associated with calorie-restricted pemmican-only diets. Pemmican is made of ground dried lean meat mixed with equal amounts of rendered fat. Both these pemmican-only diets that resulted in scurvy though were highly restricted in calories/amount. One case had someone eating only very small amounts of pemmican as their sole diet, while also dry fasting daily (not drinking during the day); the other features chronic diarrhoea from before a carnivore diet was started that continued no matter what the person ate (that is, it wasn't dietary related), although the person was eating plenty of pemmican the diarrhoea meant very little was absorbed and thus yielded again a restricted diet. The presentation of these cases of scurvy were unusual as they did not experience many of the usual symptoms such as loose teeth, the most prominent symptom in both cases were extensive bruising of the legs from damaged/burst capillaries under the skin. Pemmican itself is not the problem though as there is evidence from one family, consisting of a man, woman, and two young boys, who have eaten nothing but pemmican for many years without problems; the two boys were weaned from breast milk straight onto pemmican and ate no other foods. This family though ate large amounts of pemmican, equivalent to 3-4 pounds of fresh meat daily. The difference is amount or calories, the drying process may damage some of the anti-scorbic properties compared to fresh meat, such that larger than expected amounts of pemmican are needed on a dry:fresh weight or calorie basis. Pemmican was traditionally used as a travel food and thus only for short periods of up to a couple of months, and those doing heavy physical work, such as building railways, thus they would have consumed large amounts which would have been sufficient to prevent scurvy. If one is going to eat a pemmican-only diet for a longer period than a couple of months, make sure you eat plenty and drink enough water; under two months doesn't pose a risk, as does eating a mixed pemmican and fresh meat diet.<br />
<br />DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-12039692155040278012012-10-14T18:42:00.003+01:002013-05-06T11:19:22.806+01:00Mucous not glucose deficiencyI mentioned briefly in my first post on <a href="http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/how-to-do-zero-carb-carnivorous-diet.html">principles of a healthy carnivore diet</a> that mucin is important and which amino acids are needed to ensure proper production, but I didn't go into a lot of detail at the time as to why mucin is important and the full implications of a imbalanced amino acid profile.<br />
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I haven't posted on this blog in a long time for various reasons, one of which is that I have been helping my good friend Danny Albers with his facebook page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/primalnorth" target="_blank">Primal North</a>. Primal North and Mostly Meat Is What I Eat have a very similar view on nutrition, and the two of us have improved each others diets and dietary views through the many conversations I've had with Danny over the last several months. One change I've made is cutting out starches and vegetables, making 'Meat Is Almost All I Eat' as it were, and Danny has started putting gelatin in his <a href="http://primalnorth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/saltwater-keto-coffee.html" target="_blank">coffee</a>.<br />
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One topic we discussed was my theory about the truth behind Paul Jaminet's 'glucose deficiency'. Jaminet says that when we was eating a zero carb diet (except he wasn't as he doesn't consider vegetables as calories sources and thus counts what everyone else would call a low-carb diet a zero-carb one), that he experienced several problems including dry eyes, constipation, and a dry cough. Jaminet even claims that people die of starvation because of the dry cough they develop: "A clue is the fact that starving people develop a hacking cough in their final weeks of life. Despite blood glucose levels in the normal range, they cease producing mucus and their airways become dry and irritated." This is contrary to the well known general cause of death in starvation, which is heart failure. Everyone knows during prolonged starvation your muscle start to waste away, but it's not just your biceps that get eaten, eventually your body starts using the heart (which is a muscle) as well, ultimately the heart becomes so weakened it can't pump blood and you die of heart failure.<br />
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Danny rightly points out that a dry cough may be a cause of death in starving people due to a lack of mucous, but that that is in starving people, nutritional ketosis and starvation are vastly different. Yes, both have increased blood ketones and a lack of dietary carbohydrates but that is where the similarities end. A low/zero-carb diet producing nutritional ketosis includes protein, plenty of fat for fuel, vitamins, and minerals. We don't know if this 'dry cough = death' thing is from lack of carbohydrates, protein in general or specific amino acid(s), calories, a vitamin, or mineral. Unless properly tested we may never know, but it's unlikely such studies will ever occur in humans due the the 'death' factor, and animal testing may not be applicable.<br />
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Jaminet's answer, which is has stuck heavily too even to the point of declaring ketogenic diets outright dangerous, is lack of carbohydrates. But he even posts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxO5FCUpAOVK5khSt7OCiZKuWQ-l7UaatYnVb1T2qqVeobK8rJeOdSqlgeIR3NNrGZ-CyYLwmwBbBUwFibIEPfnL2Ilsl30BDTvZAOIZanfuf3pxG_S_8R4nIv9vjOK8haGLKvkVqw0Dk_/s1600/Wilmore_etal_2007_F14_8.png" target="_blank"> this picture</a> showing the glycogen is fully depleted after just 3 days of fasting/starvation. If a lack of carbohydrates where the cause, then one would expect the problems to occur much much sooner, not the final few days of life.<br />
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My theory, which I'm fully stating that I do not know to be true but from talking with other people and seeing the difference after they add gelatin to their diet (which is the exact same level of evidence Jaminet has for his 'glucose deficiency' theory, except he states it as outright truth not as a theory, which it is), is that is it not a glucose deficiency but a mucous (or more specifically mucin) deficiency caused by an imbalanced amino acid profile.<br />
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Mucin is a glycoprotein, this means it's part carbohydrate ('glyco' as in glucose), and part protein. Jaminet has focused in on the 'glyco' part, I have explored the 'protein' side of things. In my research I discovered that mucin production is highly sensitive the the availability of certain amino acids: cysteine, proline, serine, and threonine. Cysteine is an essential sulphur-containing amino acid, which meat and eggs are very rich in. Proline is a conditionally essential amino acid, which along with glycine makes up most of gelatin. Serine is a non-essential amino acid which is made from glycine. Glycine and proline are very low in meat, fish, organs, dairy, eggs, and vegetarian protein sources; the only decent source is gelatin. Threonine is an essential amino acid, and meat, fish, eggs, and dairy are good sources. On a diet where the protein only comes from meat, fish, eggs, or dairy, there is plenty of cysteine and threonine, but very little glycine and proline.<br />
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Gelatin can be found in many foods, not just powdered gelatine like for making jelly/jell-o, in fact about <strike>half</strike> <i>(update: 25-35%)</i> of the protein in an animal is made of gelatin. But if this is the case, why is meat low in gelatin? Muscle meat certainly is, the gelatin is found in the 'odd bits' as Danny calls them: skin, feet/hooves, cartilage, heads, hair, and nails/claws. Traditionally the whole animal was eaten, not just the meat and even organs, but the 'odd bits' where simmered for days covered with water with some acid such as vinegar or lemon juice added. The acid would breakdown the 'odd bits' and a delicious gelatin-rich broth/stock was created which would turn into a solid jelly/jell-o if put in a fridge. This broth would then be used as the base for soups, stews, sauces, and even drunk straight in times of illness when no other food would stay down. Gelatin is a truly wonderful food, and incredibly healing to the gut as enterocytes (intestine cells that do the absorbing) can feed off glycine directly. Gelatin is also very good for joints, as cartilage is made from gelatin, and in the same way it helps keep the skin smooth and wrinkle-free (could abandoning gelatin-rich broth be the reason for all these 'anti-ageing' creams?), and help your hair grow thick and shiny and your nails strong.<br />
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The paleo community has made many improvements over the years, from lean meat to fatty, and more decently the addition of organs such as liver, but is still lacking in the encouragement of making and using home-made gelatinous broth. This is one thing Ray Peat gets right (<a href="http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/gelatin.shtml" target="_blank">see here</a>), but both Danny and I very much disagree with his promotion of eating large amounts of refined white sugar.<br />
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Please note: all store-bought 'broth', 'stock', and bouillon cubes are nothing like real home-made broth, they are made from flours, salt, MSG, and many other chemicals. There is no substitute for the real home-made stuff.<br />
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I also encouragement the inclusion of egg shells along with bones and gelatin sources in broth, as egg shells help boost the calcium content and the membrane includes chondroitin which is also very good for joints.<br />
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Lastly, I will point out that there are many factors other than a proper amino acid profile in maintaining moist mucous membranes, such as vitamin A (retinol), saturated fats, choline, cholesterol, and many others. Retinol (true vitamin A) deficiency results in mucous-secreting cells mutating into keratin-secreting cells which results in lesions being formed, in the eye this leads to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerophthalmia" target="_blank">xerophthalmia</a> and eventually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratomalacia">keratomalacia</a> and blindness. Saturated fats are need to form surfactants in the lungs which reduce surface tension so gas exchange can happen, the most common surfactant is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine">dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine</a>, made from choline and two palmitic acids (a saturated fat); cholesterol also makes up part of the surfactants.<br />
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You'll notice that all the nutrients listed for maintaining mucous membranes are only found in animal foods (there is some palmitic acid in palm oil though) so it is <b>highly unlikely</b> that a problem involving mucous membranes results from a lack of plant foods in your diet. Much more likely is that it results from an imbalanced intake of certain animal foods over others, that is too much meat and not enough gelatin.DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-62929229350545511422012-04-10T15:43:00.000+01:002012-04-10T15:43:41.735+01:00Posts I'm PlanningI haven't posted in a while due to both my PC and laptop breaking. My laptop now works and some of the posts I was writing have been retrieved from my portable hard-drive, but most are stuck on my PC hard-drive which I can't remove from the case (stupid screws). Anyways here are some posts I'm planning:<br />
<ul><li><u style="text-decoration: underline;">The Abnormal Ape</u>: How we're different from other apes and what that means for our dietary and nutritional needs, looking at everything from our heads to our toes, from genes to the gut.</li>
<li><u>Nutrient series</u>: I based my nutritionally complete carnivorous menu on the USDA RDA, but do we really need the RDA when not eating anti-nutrients from grains, legumes, and other plants and instead eating a rich meat-based diet? I'll be looking at how nutrients interact with each other, how the foods you eat determine how much you need, and their best sources based on these.</li>
<li><u>Diets: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly</u>: The pro's and con's and in's and out's of various diets, why they work, where they fail, and what we can learn for their results.</li>
</ul>DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153768005047539619.post-57925330969247558362012-01-07T13:43:00.000+00:002013-01-23T17:19:12.109+00:00Nutritionally Perfect Carnivorous Diet<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Average Daily Amounts:</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">15oz lamb/beef, ~17% fat</span><br />
+ 3tbsp tallow (or 465g 24% fat beef/lamb)<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3oz mackerel (or 4oz salmon)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">55g lean pork</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3 large eggs</span> (save the shells for broth)<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2oz chicken liver</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2oz pork kidney</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">15g pork liver</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/7 of home-made broth (link at bottom of post)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">6g potassium chloride salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7g sea salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 litre water</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Technically plant foods:</u><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />2tsp tea </span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Supplements:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">300mg magnesium citrate</span><br />
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<u><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nutrition:</span></b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2021 calories, 162g protein (34% of calories), 3g carbohydrates (1%), 144g fat (65%).</span><br />
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<u><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vitamins & Minerals:</span></b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">>15x RDA: B12!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">>4x RDA: Vitamin A, B2, selenium.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">>3x RDA: B3/niacin, vitamin D, calcium.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">>2x RDA: B5, B6, copper, phosphorus, zinc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">>1x RDA: Fotate, B1, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Below RDA: Vitamin C 41.3mg 55%, vitamin E 4.5mg 30%, vitamin K1 23.2ug 26%.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Vitamin C:</u> Very little is needed on a carnivore diet, just don't overcooked your meat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Vitamin E:</u> Little is needed as you're not eating putrid vegetable oils, grass-fed meat has plenty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Vitamin K1:</u> Only found in plants, but K2 which isn't measured, found in grass-fed meat and liver does everything K1 does as well as helping bones.</span><br />
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<u><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ratios, etc.:</span></b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Calcium:Phosphorus = 1.95 (ideal ~2)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Zinc:Copper = 10.9 (ideal >10)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Potassium:Sodium = 2.4 (ideal >2)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Omega-6:omega-3 = 1.6 (ideal <2)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturated:Mono-unsaturated = 1.1 (ideal ~1)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Poly-unsaturated = 4% of calories (ideal ≤4%)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://mostlymeatiswhatieat.blogspot.com/p/nutritionally-perfect-carnivore-diet.html">Link to weekly shopping list and how to make broth.</a></b></span>DePawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777649466538768788noreply@blogger.com10