Bob

This begs the question; do you really have that much weight to lose? Carnivore is a weight optimization diet. You're aiming for 15% body fat. Your body might be telling you that you have already achieved optimization. If you are going to force it to lose more, you will really have to push for it. And your body has adjusted it's metabolism to this new established pattern. Change it up. I suggested some ways in my first response to you... https://carnivoretalk.com/topic/264-fat-loss-on-a-strict-carnivore-diet/?do=findComment&comment=1742 That does work, even if it means going hungry. A carnivore diet that's moderate protein and high fat should help satiate you for longer periods of time, making it easier to eat less calories or intermittent fast. When you are obese, just eating a proper diet melts the fat away. But as has been repeated here, and in that Dr. Berry video, that the last 10-15 pounds are the most stubborn. You do have to work it off. Again, it could be that your body is saying this is your optimal weight, and what's going on here is that you are having a disagreement with your personal physiology.

This is legit. I am currently listening to a book called Brain Energy that explains the links between metabolic health and mental health. It's interesting overall, although there are some boring parts, lol.

Welcome aboard Ruth @Lizalizard Awesome. Get back on board and stick with it. 🙂 This is always a difficult question to answer. I guess technically it is an animal product. But your next question kinda throws a wrench into things.... Yes it will. Honey is full of sugar and carbs, and even a small amount will kick you out of ketosis until you have used those carbs up. If being in ketosis is your goal, for the sake of losing weight or reversing/curing a health issue, then you will want to stay away from honey. If you are metabolically healthy and happy with your weight, a little honey isn't going to do you any harm. Yes, milk has 8g of sugar (lactose) per cup. Like honey, this will bump you out of ketosis for a while, depending on how much you drink. Those of us who are trying to do a ketogenic form of a carnivore/animal-based diet will avoid milk and honey.

I thought this article had interesting things to say regarding vegans having increased risk of hip fracture, and the reasoning behind it. Of course, they then try to drown out that fact with "but vegan diets are soooo good for you" lol.

Bone Health And Diet: Researchers Say Vegetarians At 50% Higher Risk Of Hip Fracture By Suneeta Sunny A recent study has found that vegetarians are at 50% increased risk of hip fracture. MICROSOFT A healthy diet and lifestyle habit is essential for bone strength. However, a new study has found that a vegetarian diet, even though considered beneficial for preventing several diseases such as cancer, blood pressure and diabetes, can lead to an increased risk of hip fracture in both men and women. Studies have shown that vegetarian women were at an increased risk of hip fracture, although the exact reasons were not known. Since the studies evaluating the impact of a vegetarian diet on men's bone strength were inconclusive and small-scale, a team from the University of Leeds, the U.K., decided to conduct a large-scale study. The researchers evaluated 413,914 participants from a UK Biobank project and collected details of their diet. The participants were classified as regular meat eaters (who ate meat five or more times a week), occasional meat eaters(who ate less than five times a week), pescatarians (who ate fish but not meat) and vegetarians (who consumed dairy products). There were 3,503 cases of hip fracture in them. The risk of hip fractures in vegetarians was 50% higher, while pescatarians had a slightly greater risk (8%) than regular meat eaters. "Hip fractures are a growing problem in an aging society, and can trigger debilitating health conditions and a loss of quality of life," study lead James Webster, a doctoral researcher in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, said in a news release. However, the study does not undermine the overall health benefit of a vegetarian diet. "The health benefits of a vegetarian diet, including a lower risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, may still outweigh any increases in hip fracture risk. This study shows that whilst vegetarians face a greater risk of hip fracture than meat eaters – at 50% – this translates to just 3 more hip fractures per 1000 people over 10 years," Webster said. Researchers believe that despite the benefits of a vegetarian diet, the chances of not getting adequate protein from food may be the reason for decreased bone strength. "Our analysis suggests that low BMI may be a key factor in why their risk is higher. Additionally, vegetarians were about 17% less likely to meet protein recommendations than meat eaters. So, important messages from our study are that vegetarians need to ensure they are getting a balanced diet with enough protein and maintain a healthy BMI. This will help vegetarians to maintain healthy bones and muscles," Webster added. Published by Medicaldaily.com ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.medicaldaily.com/bone-health-diet-researchers-say-vegetarians-50-higher-risk-hip-fracture-470604?utm_source=pocket_saves

Alright, that's it, I am pulling my lamb out of the freezer to thaw, lol

At the same time, I wouldn't get too concerned about the difference between 137 and 136.6. My weight can fluctuates 3 pounds or so with no differences in my day to day diet, between 174 and 177. Tomorrow you could step on the scale and that .4 pounds is back.

Of course, we hypothesize that modern drugs and diet contribute to this, of which the article makes no mention. Some people say the blame lies on the idea that people are living longer these days. But notice the age of Dr. Alzheimer's patient... Only 50? That is incredibly young. Much younger than any dementia sufferer I have ever known. But it does make me wonder what kind of drugs and diet were common in the late 1800's, or what this lady's diet and medical history was. Because 1901 is before the invention of vegetable seed oils.

Either one, but probably fat. You should eat your ideal body weight in grams of protein (140g) at a minimum, and then eat an equal or greater amount of fat or carbs (140g or MORE). 140 protein = 560 140 fat = 1260 Total minimum calories = 1820 If you add 20g of fat (160g) you are at 2000 even. You are eating either 2 meals (1000 calories) or 3 meals 1500 calories a day, for a max of 1500 calories a day according to your average of 500 per meal, and you are my height. AND you're active. It's no surprise you are losing weight.

I don't have much lamb experience either. I have had ground lamb and cooked it up like ground beef. It was very tasty. I bought 3 little lamb chops (I think that's what they are, they are very small) a couple months ago but they are still frozen. I keep forgetting to thaw them out and cook them up. I have no idea what that is, and a web search shows me results for actual thin sheets of gold. Ironic isn't it. There are several times where I am frustrated with a weight loss stall, and then I have a heavy day of eating thinking it's gonna work against me and somehow I break my stall, lol.

Alzheimer’s may stem from modern lifestyles, new study suggests Story by BY JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH © (photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK) Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – the most common type of dementia – was first discovered by clinical psychiatrist Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described a 50-year-old woman, Auguste Deter, in a Frankfurt psychiatric hospital in 1901. It affects one person in 14 people over the age of 65. one in every six people over the age of 80, and one in three in people aged 85 and older. But did AD always affect the population? The Bible – which doesn’t hide illnesses – has no mention of it; some of our forefathers and foremothers (but not Sarah) suffered from vision problems, weakness, and other physical problems at the end of their lives, but nothing about dementia. Medical texts from 2,500 years ago rarely mention severe memory loss, suggesting today’s widespread dementia stems from modern environments and lifestyles, according to a new study at the University of Southern California. A mosaic of the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana, hunting a doe. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)© Provided by The Jerusalem Post A mosaic of the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana, hunting a doe. (credit: Wikimedia Commons) A new analysis of classical Greek and Roman medical texts suggests that severe memory loss – occurring at epidemic levels today – was extremely rare 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, in the time of Aristotle, Galen, and Pliny the Elder. The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease under the title “Dementia in the Ancient Greco-Roman World Was Minimally Mentioned,” bolsters the idea that Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are diseases of modern environments and lifestyles, with sedentary behavior and exposure to air pollution largely to blame. “The ancient Greeks had very, very few – but we found them – mentions of something that would be like mild cognitive impairment,” said first author and gerontologist Prof. Caleb Finch. “When we got to the Romans, and we uncovered at least four statements that suggest rare cases of advanced dementia; we can’t tell if it’s Alzheimer’s. So, there was a progression going from the ancient Greeks to the Romans.” Historical mentions of memory loss Ancient Greeks recognized that aging commonly brought memory issues we would recognize as mild cognitive impairment) but nothing approaching a major loss of memory, speech, and reasoning as caused by Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, he continued. Finch and co-author Stanley Burstein, a historian at California State University in Los Angeles, pored over a major body of ancient medical writing by Hippocrates and his followers. The text catalogs ailments of the elderly, such as deafness, dizziness, and digestive disorders, but makes no mention of memory loss. Centuries later, in ancient Rome, a few mentions crop up. Galen remarks that at the age of 80, some elderly begin to have difficulty learning new things. Pliny the Elder notes that the senator and famous orator Valerius Messalla Corvinus forgot his own name. Cicero prudently observed that “elderly silliness … is characteristic of irresponsible old men, but not of all old men.” The Greeks and Romans were mainly concerned with the physical frailties of older ages. Finch speculates that as Roman cities grew denser, pollution increased, driving up cases of cognitive decline. In addition, Roman aristocrats used lead cooking vessels, lead water pipes and even added lead acetate into their wine to sweeten it – unwittingly poisoning themselves with the powerful neurotoxin. A few ancient writers recognized the toxicity of lead-containing material, but little progress was made in dealing with the problem until well into the 20th century. Some scholars blame lead poisoning for the fall of the Roman Empire. For this paper, Finch didn’t just think about the Roman Empire or the Greeks. In the absence of demographic data from these ancient cultures, Finch turned to a surprising model for ancient aging – today’s Tsimane Amerindians, an indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon. The Tsimane – like the ancient Greeks and Romans – have a preindustrial lifestyle that is very physically active, and they have extremely low rates of dementia. An international team of cognitive researchers led by psychology and gerontology Prof. Margaret Gatz found among older Tsimane people. “The Tsimane data, which is serious, is very valuable,” Finch said. “This is the best-documented large population of older people that have minimal dementia, all of which indicates that the environment is a huge determinant on dementia risk. They give us a template for asking these questions.” ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/alzheimer-s-may-stem-from-modern-lifestyles-new-study-suggests/ar-BB1hK7Dg

Sounds absolutely delicious. I've been on a beef only kick the last 2 days. For breakfast I have had a pound of ground beef and I made my own gyro seasoning and used some of that tzatziki sauce. For dinner I have had a NY Strip seasoned to my liking and ghee for dipping sauce. And I seem to have broke my stall. I have been oscillating between 175.5 and 177.5 for the last 2 months. Yesterday morning I was 174.7 and this morning I was 174.1 and I hope this trend continues, lol.

3 weeks is nothing. Did you watch Dr. Berry's video? He says he wouldn't even call it a "weight loss stall" or "weight loss plateau" unless you've been idle for 3 months. The last 10 pounds or so are hard to get off. They don't want to give up the ghost, lol. I was 225 a year ago. I started low-carb/dirty-keto in late February or early March, and then switched to clean keto in April, and then started carnivore on May 12th, 2023. When I started carnivore, I was 205. By the end of July I was 193. In mid-August, after 90 days, I started deviating a little here and there. My apple tree was ripe, and I would have an occasional salad or side veggie here and there. On September 1st I was 189. On October 1st I was 184.5. On November 1st I was 178.2. And on November 12th I hit my initial goal of 175. I have had several 3 week stalls along my journey, and right now I have been on a stall since mid-November, which has been 2.5 months. Only yesterday and today have I finally seen some movement again, as I weighed in at 174 both yesterday and today. I'm not religious and dogmatic about carnivore either. A proper human diet is meat and animal-based, but not necessarily strict carnivore. Some fruits and vegetables are benign, while others contain toxins that you may or may not be able to handle. Refined grains, sugars, seed oils, and processed foods which typically contain all three are best to be avoided. If you can hunt it, milk it, or pluck it from a branch or vine, you'll prosper vs eating out of a box or a wrapper.

Keep us posted. 🙂

That's beautiful. The creatinine is being cleared by your kidneys and not accumulating in your blood. This is what we want to see... in general. A carnivore diet or lifting weights will increase creatinine production, so you may see a little accumulation on your next labs. This is also expected. You will produce more urea nitrogen from a high protein diet. The ratio is a simple math formula -> 25 BUN divided by .73 creatinine = 34 Good plan. Your creatinine and BUN may go up due to protein consumption and exercise, but there are other ways to check kidney function should your anxiety get the best of you. And then remember that scientific research in the low carb and keto space has a differing opinion (backed by research) on cholesterol and LDL than the mainstream.

I wouldn't worry about this especially if you are eating a proper human diet and all your other markers are normal. My total cholesterol was as high as 588 at one point. If I recall, Dr. Berry's is in the high 200's and Dr. Kiltz was in the 300's. Have you watched any of Dave Feldman or Nick Norwitz videos on cholesterol and lean mass hyper-responders? By comparison, my BUN has been in the 50's 60's and 70's for the last 4 years. But I do have CKD, and it did go up on carnivore. But there are other markers I have had tested to confirm that I am not doing any damage. What was your creatinine on these same results?

Are these the before carnivore results or the after-some-time on carnivore results? I wouldn't worry yet. Most of what I see is common. Urea nitrogen in the blood (BUN) is a is a waste product that's created in the liver when the body breaks down proteins. On carnivore, you eat more protein, and this create more waste. You will see BUN and creatinine rise as a result, but this does not translate to kidney damage (remember, I have CKD). If you were to stop eating meat and swap it out for lettuce, you would consume less protein, produce less urea nitrogen, and less creatinine, and these numbers would go down. These marker can potentially say something about kidney function, but our diet will skew the results and raise false flags. Those on keto/carnivore don't subscribe to the "diet-heart hypothesis" and therefore don't believe LDL to be a concern anymore. You do however want low Triglycerides (under 150) and higher HDL (over 50). A 2:1 trig:hdl ratio or lower is desired. Yours is at a 1:1 ratio which is absolutely beautiful!

There's an Aldi at the end of my street but I almost never go in there. I will have to go check it out. Those prices are great. I usually get NY Strips at Sam's Club for $9.99/lb which is better than Meijer's usual price of $13.99/lb. But on certain holidays here in the USA, Meijer will have sales that slash the price to $6.99 or $7.99 a pound and I usually stock my freezer when they do 😉

It's a composite chart that some individual published on Good Ranchers, and not the official Data and Research charts published by Food Compass. But the composite chart does use the actual Food Compass scores so the implication that Lucky Charms is better than a whole egg is definitely there in their scoring system. Various health classes and topics about fruits and vegetables were part of my curriculum when I was in school (I'm 48). It seems so fundamental I just assumed it was. I can remember studying about fruits and vegetables in class and then going down for a school cafeteria pizza at lunch, lol.

Better than an egg cooked in butter according to this, lol...

I don't know anything about the Liver King nor about Bear Grylls outside of this article. James Blunt claims to have gotten scurvy after 2 months on the carnivore diet, but since there are those of us who have gone months, years, and decades and still haven't got scurvy then something else must be going on there, whether he's lying or came down with something and his doctor spooked him by calling it scurvy.

‘You feel better than you’ve ever felt’: the rise of the carnivore diet The controversial diet has a growing following thanks to ‘meatfluencers’, who claim it has left them thinner, healthier and happier Claudia Rowan22 June 2023 • 8:00am ‘The secret to my heart is bacon,’ wrote Jennifer Geissert beneath a recent Instagram video of sizzling rose-shaped bacon bites. This is no exaggeration: for Geissert, a full-time meat-eater, part-time physical therapist and ‘carnivore coach’, meat is everything. Animal products form the entirety of her diet; a typical day might feature a breakfast of ground beef, ‘crispy fat’ and eggs, a lunch of rib-eye steak, and two cold burger patties for dinner. To drink, it’s water or homemade bone broth. And when she’s not eating meat, Geissert is proselytizing via @delightedtomeatyou, through which she’s built up a sizeable following of fledgling carnivores – and sceptics, too, who question the diet’s proclaimed health benefits (more on which later). Though Geissert’s regime is extreme, eschewing all the fiber and carbs found in plants and grains, she says it has transformed her life. Speaking from her home in Kansas, the 39-year-old – who joined the carnivore club in February 2022, after first trying it as an elimination diet on the advice of a nutritionist, and having previously experimented with vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free diets – can’t sing its praises enough. ‘It’s truly the best change I’ve ever made for myself,’ she says, listing the differences offal living has made. Her psoriasis, which she’d struggled with since childhood, and vasculitis have disappeared; she no longer binge eats; her libido has increased; her mood is better; recurrent bouts of strep throat are a thing of the past. 'You feel better than you've ever felt,' says Jennifer Geissert CREDIT: Jennifer Geissert She credits these changes to the ‘nutrient density’ of her diet, and has even placed her dog, Lucy, on a raw carnivore programme. The Doberman is ‘loving her life’, Geissert said in a recent social-media post. She is determined to have an equally carnivorous family, too: her future children will be brought up ‘as meat-based as possible’, she says. ‘Eating this way almost makes me want to have a family more… I feel so good about it that I’m like, I want to have a baby so I can raise them like this, because I sure wish I had been.’ Geissert says the only major side effects she’s had were some initial digestive issues. ‘I had crazy diarrhea for like three weeks… and you just have terrible, terrible cravings, especially if you’re a former binge-eater like me. But after about a month that’s all over and you feel better than you’ve ever felt. The only issue that I have now, a year and a half in, is the constant need to floss because of all the meat.’ Socializing as a radical carnivore can be tricky, though. When on holiday, Geissert will sip sparkling water – alcohol is a no-go – and pick out the meat from all-inclusive buffets. At the risk of raised eyebrows from restaurant staff, by now used to accommodating plant-based guests, when out to eat with friends she chooses carefully from the menu (think a burger and chips – minus the burger bun and chips). What about dating? ‘I usually warn them ahead of time so that they have an idea, and that helps. I’ve probably been on dates with 10 different guys since I’ve been a carnivore and they’ve all been really accepting of it – or they’re on their very best behavior.’ Geissert’s restrictive lifestyle is not as anomalous as one might assume. Though the extreme diet can be traced back to the late 19th century, it was popularised as a more mainstream fad around 2018, with psychologist Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila leading the charge. Mikhaila Peterson named her eating plan 'The Lion Diet' CREDIT: Piaras Madheach The fringe carnivore movement has grown in recent years, attracting huge audiences on TikTok, where the hashtag #carnivorediet has over 980 million views and advocates share tips and daily meal plans. Some are more radical in their approach than others: one ex-vegan turned ‘high-fat carnivore’ going by the username @steakandbuttergal films herself snacking on lumps of butter and chewing raw steak, while Bali-based American Pauly Long rose to online fame consuming raw organ meat – testicles are his ‘favourite bedtime snack’. Raw-meat consumers form the most extreme, often hyper-masculine subset of the wider movement (and, needless to say, health experts strongly advise against consuming such produce raw). Some, like the self-professed Liver King – 46-year-old Brian Johnson – have built social-media empires upon their love of meat and the ‘ancestral lifestyle’. Meanwhile, for other so-called ‘meatfluencers’, the way of life is ideologically motivated: some see themselves and their carnivorism as a necessary antidote to veganism. In the opposing vegan camp, many express visceral disgust at the meat-based lifestyle. The self-professed Liver King, 46-year-old Brian Johnson, has built a social-media empire around his love of meat CREDIT: MEGA/GC Images The broader carnivore arena encompasses various subcultures and approaches (some people follow the purist meat-and-salt Lion Diet, for example, while others are less strict, sticking with a more relaxed animal-product-based version or incorporating fish as well as meat). But the underlying health beliefs that underpin the extreme carnivore regime remain relatively consistent. In May, the adventurer Bear Grylls announced that he was ‘embarrassed’ by his previous endorsement of veganism and that he had made a U-turn in favour of an ‘ancestral’ diet; though based on grass-fed red meat, it also includes fruit, honey, dairy and ‘a little potato or white rice’. ‘For a long time, I’d been eating so many vegetables thinking it was doing me good, but just never felt like it had given me any good nutrients compared to the nutrient density I get from basically blood or bone marrow – red meat,’ he said. ‘I’ve tried to listen to my body more, tried to listen to nature, and I don’t miss vegetables at all. I don’t go near them and I’ve never felt stronger, my skin’s never been better, and my gut’s never been better.’ Grylls added that red meat and organs had been the ‘biggest game-changer’ for his health. ‘I’ve found a counterculture way of living, of embracing red meat and organs – natural food just like our millennia of ancestors would have eaten for hundreds of thousands of years.’ Bear Grylls has turned his back on veganism in favour of an ‘ancestral’ diet starring grass-fed red meat CREDIT: Paul Grover Medical meatfluencers such as American orthopaedic surgeon Dr Shawn Baker, author of the 2019 manual The Carnivore Diet, claim it can treat conditions ranging from arthritis to diabetes. It has also been anecdotally linked to weight loss, although there has been limited clinical research into the long-term impact. Recent research has indeed suggested that meat is important for our health: in response to an article published earlier this year in the journal Animal Frontiers, one scientist warned that ‘removing fresh meat and dairy from diets would harm human health’. The article noted that meat delivers vitamin B12, retinol, minerals such as iron and zinc, and key compounds for metabolism. A 2021 Harvard survey, which looked at a group of adults self-reporting the results of their own carnivore diet, found that many reported improvements in chronic health conditions and energy levels. Nevertheless, the restrictive carnivore diet flies in the face of much of the evidence, built over decades, that suggests the benefits of a varied diet that includes vegetables and seeds. Unlike the low-carb ketogenic and Atkins diets, the strictest form of the carnivore diet eliminates all plant foods, with some followers claiming that plants are toxic. The carnivore diet lacks fibre and often sufficient vitamin C, and while the NHS advises that red meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, it warns that eating too much red and processed meat – more than 90g per day – can raise the risk of bowel cancer. The restrictive carnivore diet flies in the face of evidence that suggests the benefits of a varied diet that includes vegetables and seeds Nutritionist Jo Foster says she would never recommend the diet to her clients because it is ‘missing many of the key foods that we need for a healthy microbiome’. Foster is concerned that it encourages disordered eating and creates unnecessary fear around foods we need ‘to provide antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and feed our gut bacteria’. Medical doctor Aishah Iqbal is equally concerned. ‘Diets that call for the removal of large food groups run the risk of losing beneficial nutrients and are ultimately unsustainable and unhealthy in the long term,’ she says. ‘There is also no research to back up many of the claims that are made about the diet.’ Iqbal is not convinced that a meat-based diet itself is a quick fix for our bodily ills: ‘By default, the carnivore diet removes a lot of the ultra-processed, low-nutritional and high-calorific foods that have a negative impact on health in their own right – so I would question whether the reported transformations are from the carnivore diet, or simply the removal of other unhealthy foods. ‘There are nutritional elements we receive from plant-based foods that we simply cannot get from meat or animal-based products,’ she adds. ‘Each nutritional element has a part to play in our bodies and removing them completely can be harmful – that harm may not be seen in the short term, which can often lead people to feel the choice they are making today is the right one.’ Doesn’t it seem counterintuitive, I ask Geissert, to relinquish the parts of our diet we’ve been raised to prioritise? ‘Of course it seems so strange at the beginning, and because I work in healthcare – I have a biology degree and a doctorate degree in physical therapy,’ she says. Geissert says the only major side effects she’s had were some initial digestive issues, but socialising as a carnivore can be tricky CREDIT: Jennifer Geissert ‘So everything I learned was all the mainstream, “Eat your fibre, eat your fruits and veggies, get a little bit of meat, but make sure it’s lean”… But that’s what I was doing and it wasn’t helping me. So when I was presented with an alternate option, while it seemed crazy, it seemed like, hey, this is something I haven’t tried yet, and so I dove right in.’ Some intrepid carnivores have reported more serious concerns about the diet. The singer James Blunt said on a podcast in 2020 that he tried an all-meat diet for about two months while at university – only to develop symptoms of scurvy, resulting from a lack of vitamin C. There are also the obvious environmental issues, with a quarter of global greenhouse-gas emissions from food production said to result from beef alone. For Geissert, this isn’t a concern. ‘I don’t worry about the environmental implications because I believe that regenerative farming is actually the way to preserve our climate,’ she says. Loyal members of the carnivore club remain keen to discuss the myriad ways in which they say it has transformed their lives. Michael Mason, 59, has been a practising carnivore for more than 20 years, having previously experimented with other diets, including veganism, which he tried in the 1980s. It was only when he landed upon carnivorism that Mason felt he’d cracked the dietary code: ‘I just knew that I felt better… I had so much more energy.’ Nowadays, Mason describes his diet as ‘90 to 95 per cent meat-based’. It is less strict than Geissert’s – he seasons his food with herbs, breaking the plant-free clause, and will occasionally make a side salad to add ‘texture’ – but he is teetotal and only eats twice a day, most often meat or eggs. Sometimes it’ll be deer testicles, of which he’s a fan. When I meet him over Zoom, he is planning his meals for the day: ‘Some venison loin, which I’ll have for lunch, and this evening I’ll either have more of that or some eggs.’ He says he enjoys sourcing his meat from local farmers. ‘I walk past the cows, I know where it’s come from.’ Mason looks half his age, muscular with taut, glowing skin. Perhaps he knows it. ‘Without sounding up my arse, I’m 59… I don’t understand anything about age and what you’re meant to feel like, but all I know is that I feel really good physically and mentally,’ he says. He adds that he sometimes looks at other people his age – ‘they’re all on statins, they’ve all got diabetes, they’re all overweight’ – and feels like he’s from ‘a different universe’. Meat-eater Michael Mason, 59, has been a practising carnivore for more than 20 years CREDIT: Michael Mason This he credits to his diet. ‘I don’t mean this in any big sense, but you can only go on your own evidence,’ he says. Like Geissert, Mason has built up a career as a carnivore coach, advising clients on the meat-based lifestyle as well as strength training and breathwork. A former ski instructor, since 2021 he has run a ‘carnivore retreat’ in Scotland where guests follow a ‘high-animal protein/low-carb’ diet, learn meat-cooking techniques, go on hikes and practise resistance training. The next one, in October, is sold out, with guests paying £2,750 each for a meat-centric week. It is the only one of its kind in the UK, though others have taken place in Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Costa Rica plays host to an annual ‘animal-based gathering’. Mason has been pleasantly surprised by the eclectic mix of guests who sign up. Expecting 20-year-old rugby players, he has instead found himself teaching attendees including a 70-year-old American woman, a Californian lawyer and a British tech investor. And, from his own experience, he believes the carnivore diet is on the rise. ‘Especially among people who are getting into their 40s and 50s… they’re starting to think, “I’ve done all these diets, and none of it is working,” and I think people want to do something that seems sort of radical,’ he reflects. One such example is Rachel*, 41, a Hampshire-based office worker. After a heart scare last year, Rachel decided she needed ‘to do something extreme’ to improve her health. Having experimented with the keto diet in the past, she began looking into the carnivore diet. ‘I’ve done hundreds of hours of research, listening to podcasts, reading articles and books… and I started the carnivore [diet] at the end of January.’ In the months since she began the diet – which for her involves solely eating animal products, once a day – she says her health has improved ‘massively’, and she has lost two and a half stone. She believes eating carbohydrates affected her mental health, whereas now her mind is ‘completely clear’; recent heart tests showed no problems, and inflammation in her hands has gone. Still, she says, ‘If you’re planning to do it, do your research, listen to proper medical doctors, read the books… what I do is not for everyone.’ None of Rachel’s colleagues know about her diet, as she’s a ‘private person, so I wouldn’t disclose that’ – hence the anonymity here. Does a meat-based diet not become repetitive, though? Rachel says not: ‘I get so excited about mince and steak, it’s silly.’ Geissert agrees. ‘Every time I have a rib-eye, it’s my favourite thing, so I don’t get bored of it at all.’ ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/diet/weight-loss/the-rise-of-the-carnivore-diet/

Ultra-processed foods ‘hijacking children’s tastebuds’ Chefs and campaigners say youngsters are being ‘robbed of the experience’ of good meals by diets high in sugar, salt and additives. Kat Lay, Health Editor Children’s health is being damaged by a poor diet from a young age, campaigners say Ultra-processed foods are hijacking children’s taste buds and leaving them “robbed” of the experience of learning to eat, according to campaigners and TV chefs. Celebrity cooks and authors including Thomasina Miers, Bee Wilson, Yotam Ottolenghi, Kimberley Wilson and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have written to Rishi Sunak to say that exposure to ultra-processed foods is “blindfolding” children to flavour and texture, posing long-term risks to their health. Ultra-processed foods, which include breakfast cereals, mass-produced bread, potato-based snacks such as Pringles and many types of cakes and biscuits. They are often high in salt and sugar, contain additives, emulsifiers and preservatives, and are typically high in calories but lacking in fiber and nutrients. Rob Percival, head of food policy at the Soil Association, said: “Ultra-processed foods are hijacking children’s taste buds. These products are often soft and sweet, and children growing up on an ultra-processed diet are left blindfolded to the joys and complexity of real food … Too few know the taste of bitter greens or the nutty flavour of beans and lentils, or have felt the crunch of a tomato bursting on their tongue.” In a campaign with the food charity, the chefs are urging the prime minister to ensure a million extra children in education get five portions of fruit and vegetables a day , using a “whole school approach” to good food with sensory education and better school meals. They say: “Learning to eat should be an adventure — joyful and challenging — but our children are increasingly being robbed of the experience. Many are growing up not knowing the tastes, textures, and smells of real food. Many will rarely feel fresh produce between their fingers. Many will enter adulthood only knowing the simplified and sweet flavours of ultra-processed products, leading to unhealthy choices and poorer health outcomes later in life.” In an accompanying report the charity calls on the government to revive previous commitments to ensure school pupils cook and grow food, visit farms and eat freshly prepared meals, as envisaged in Henry Dimbleby’s national food strategy. He resigned as government food tsar this year in protest at a lack of action to tackle rising obesity, particularly among children. Henry Dimbleby, the co-founder of the Leon chain of restaurants, has resigned as the government’s food tsar TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL Independent evaluation suggests that if all schools in England followed this approach, a million more children would be eating their five-a-day. The report also calls for procurement standards for school caterers that require them to use more organic and seasonal produce. It adds that the government should introduce a target to reduce ultra-processed food in children’s diets by boosting consumption of minimally processed fruits, vegetables and pulses. Dr Chris van Tulleken, one of the letter’s signatories, is author of Ultra Processed People, a book released earlier this year. He said: “Growing up on an ultra-processed diet is a bit like growing up blindfolded — cut off from the colours and complexity of real food. It’s fantastic to see that pioneering schools are beginning to address this disconnect, employing practical food education and serving freshly prepared meals. Political action is now needed to ensure all schools can do so.” A recent report from First Steps Nutrition Trust said that high levels of ultra-processed food consumption in infancy “undermines taste development”. The standard diet of very young children normalized snacking, sweet tastes and soft textures, it said, and was at risk of displacing other less processed options necessary for growth, health and development. ADD A government spokesperson said: “We are taking strong action to tackle childhood obesity by cutting the salt and sugar content in foods and encouraging healthier food choices. We’ve already delivered dramatic sugar reductions in children’s foods like breakfast cereals, yogurts and fromage frais, whilst our calorie labelling legislation empowers informed food choices. “Food is already a compulsory topic within the national curriculum for 5–14-year-olds in state-maintained schools, with children receiving high quality teaching on the importance of healthy eating and nutrition. “We are also committed to ensuring children leave school knowing how to cook at least six healthy meals through using curriculum materials that the Oak National Academy are developing. Oak has appointed a subject expert and will start their work on producing these materials in the coming months.” ADD ENDS Article Source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ultra-processed-foods-hijacking-childrens-tastebuds-jv7wf32g7

Welcome aboard @Kellie Sounds good. I've never heard of "mushroom chips" and am always on the hunt for a keto-friendly crunch, lol. If I recall, there are only about 100 toxic mushrooms, but the majority of them are safe. We're keto-friendly here, and not die-hard carnivore zealots, so go ahead and dig in, lol 🙂 I really want to invest in a dehydrator or air-fryer capable of dehydrating. I want to make my own jerky and other animal-based snacks.