Bob

Good read.
It is one of those articles like, "I already knew that before I really knew that".
Scott

I've heard that over there they chuckle at the term "mediterranean diet" that we use over here, and that it's not even close. One short/reel if someone from the mediterranean said that a mediterranean diet is essentially "If it moves, eat it" lol

Oh man, you just gave me a great idea.
When I worked in Athens Greece I did my best to try and eat my weight in gyros. They were so good with Tzatziki.
So now you’ve given me the idea of smoking a roast and making a chaffel sandwich with that roast and putting Tzatziki on it. I bet it would be delicious. I’ll have to see if I can find some Tzatziki seasonings on line because I’m out of what I brought back from Greece.

The opposition is still strong, lol. Despite all the success stories, big food and big pharma are there peddling their propaganda because it could affect their $$$$.

Yes! I like this. Great comparison.

I'm mostly carnivore, about 95% of the time. Once every week or so we go out, and depending on the restaurant I might deviate, but try to keep it keto.
At home, if I make a roast in the crock pot I will likely have it with a little sauerkraut. I also like Tzatziki sauce, which is greek yogurt with a little cucumber mixed in.

Better advice. Think of ultra processed foods as if they are cigarettes. Because that's exactly how healthy they are

Yes, the ferments are more a nutritional a gut biome thing rather than for enjoyment, although I buy tasty stuff,
I have been convinced that getting right gut health is critical for visceral fat loss, mental health, auto-immune disease and so on. Since committing fully in the last two weeks, although I have had several aborted attempts earlier this year, I have already achieved so many benefits. Bloating, skin, weight loss, energy levels, sleep, general aches and pains and more all vastly better. Cardio improved without taking any more exercise.
So many thanks for the welcome!! Approx 100lbs to lose. Intuitively experimenting to see how I feel and respond

Cheers

"no cake, just steak" I love that!

Welcome aboard. And welcome back. We're here to help and encourage you in every way we can.
We're pretty relaxed and reasonable around here. We support keto, ketovore, and animal-based lifestyles as well. If you tolerate the fermented foods (and most people do), then enjoy!

The gradual transition potentially eases or eliminates the keto-flu and withdrawal symptoms. But at the same time, if you're easing in, you can easily ease back out too because you're still potentially feeding the addiction. That's why some prefer cold turkey. Just muscle through it and get it over with.

Wanna split a hotdog @Geezy ? Ironically the hot dog is probably one of the least of one's processed food concerns.
The first bullet point is the only one that's good advice.
The second bullet point should be "eliminate sugary drinks altogether. You're not a child"
The 3rd bullet point should read "bring along an orange, and never ever open a bag of chips" lol

Wanna split a hotdog @Geezy ? Ironically the hot dog is probably one of the least of one's processed food concerns.
The first bullet point is the only one that's good advice.
The second bullet point should be "eliminate sugary drinks altogether. You're not a child"
The 3rd bullet point should read "bring along an orange, and never ever open a bag of chips" lol

Welcome aboard. And welcome back. We're here to help and encourage you in every way we can.
We're pretty relaxed and reasonable around here. We support keto, ketovore, and animal-based lifestyles as well. If you tolerate the fermented foods (and most people do), then enjoy!

Thank you for sharing this important truth!🙏

Of all the foods I would ever split, I don't think the hotdog would rank anywhere near the top, or even be considered at all.
The 2nd and 3rd bullet points would almost make sense if it were like "week 1-follow bullet points #2 and #3" and then week 2-phase them out".
I went cold turkey when I switched to carnivore. I have read that it is easier with a gradual change.
I would like to think that is part of the plan but the pessimist in me says if they get you to cut it in half you will go back to 'full service' within a few weeks. This will keep the poison flowing in one direction and the profits flowing in another.
Scott

Yeah wouldn’t want to actually tell them to stop eating the poison that’s killing them. Let’s just reduce the dose.

Same here. A hot dog is just fine. The nitrites and nitrates scare is way overblown.

Eye-opening study into ultra-processed foods and your risk of heart problems
Michelle Basch | *****@*****.tld
March 28, 2026, 5:39 AM
A report from the American College of Cardiology found people who eat more than nine servings of ultra-processed food a day are an average of 67% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, or die from heart disease than people who eat one serving a day.
The study also found that with each daily serving, the risk of such an event goes up by more than 5%. Among Black Americans, each additional serving leads to an increase in risk of more than 6%.
Dr. Michele Arthurs, a lifestyle medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente, told WTOP that if you’re not sure what you’re eating is ultra-processed, just look at the label.
“You can see a long list of ingredients, many of which you may not be able to pronounce because they are additives or chemicals that are used for food preservation to increase shelf life,” she said.
These kinds of foods also tend to be loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fat.
“Our body, essentially, has to fight with them in order to kind of process them and get them through our system. And this leads to inflammation in the body,” Arthurs said.
She recognized that many people may find it tough to stop eating ultra-processed foods altogether. Instead, she recommends limiting how much you eat.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t have that ballpark hot dog,” Arthurs said, adding that cutting it in half and sharing it with someone was also an option.
Other strategies Arthurs recommends to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods include:
Eat a healthy meal before you head to an event, like a baseball game, where you know you’ll be exposed to a lot of ultra-processed foods.
If you like sugary drinks, try alternating with ones that have little or no sugar.
If you love snacking on chips, bring along an orange too, and eat the fruit before diving into the bag of chips.
The findings, based on data from more than 6,800 U.S. adults, is being presented at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session on March 28-30 in New Orleans. They’re also published in the journal JACC Advances.
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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

ARTICLE SOURCE: https://wtop.com/health-fitness/2026/03/eye-opening-study-into-ultra-processed-foods-and-your-risk-of-heart-problems/

This is definitely spot on for many people. Food is sacred. Nobody wants to believe that you might need to give up your beloved [fill-in-the-blank ultra processed food] or that it might be bad for you even "in moderation".

great post.
Scott

Finding and connecting the parallels between my faith as a Christian and my journey as a carnivore.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been inspired to write one of these but when I came across this during my devotion this morning it was just too good to pass up. I hope you can benefit from it.
I came across this quote from Blaise Pascal who was a brilliant 17th-century French mathematician and physicist who had a dramatic Christian conversion experience and thereafter devoted much of his thought to Christianity and philosophy.
“Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is.”
WOW! Does that not resonate with carnivore or what? Very profound on the Christian side of things but speaks volumes to the carnivore community as well.
People don’t downplay what we do because they believe it’s wrong so much as because it might be true and requires a change in themselves that they are afraid to commit to. So when confronted with the unbelievers try to be patient and kind to them and give them a reason to wish it were true. You are the best example of that truth.
Keep Calm and Carnivore On.

For those who are new or struggling with this WOE this is a great message from Dr. Tony Hampton.

Yeah…gotta disagree with this part but everything else is spot on.

This is complicated. Is your pancreas struggling to produce amylase (for starch), lipase (for fats), protease (for protein), or all three? It's very likely that you will need to supplement one or more of those enzymes with every meal as part of your pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT).
Removing carbs may indirectly support pancreatic health by reducing overall digestive burden and improving metabolic factors like blood sugar and insulin. You may also help manage your symptoms by simplifying your diet and reducing inflammation, as well as removing possible plant-triggers. However, it is very unlikely to restore pancreatic enzyme production.
You can likely make a carnivore diet work with supplementation that makes up for the deficiency.