PaleoBird

Yes he is right that, in general, fruit has the lowest amount of anti-nutrients and irritants in it compared to other plant parts that are more heavily defended. I don't exclude green veg or roots from my diet because I think they are trying to kill me as Chaffee would say. I just don't like them. Fruit is the only plant food I ever missed. I've gone though various degrees of strictness over the 10 (almost 11) years I have been carnivore. I've been at a stable healthy weight without even trying for years now. And my epilepsy went away. I don't have any auto immune issues with things like spices and tea but I realize that some people do. The things that really bother me are all of the plant babies (grains, nuts, seeds, legumes) all of the nightshades, bulbs like onions and garlic and anything that involves too much fiber. You said you occasionally eat a salad in social situations. To me that feels like eating hay. I could eat it but why would I? I think I've been doing this long enough that I really don't give flying fig about what anyone thinks if I say, "Hold the bread, salad, and mac'n'cheese, Bring me two slabs of ribs."

Yes, I don't think any self respecting cave person would turn down some ripe fruit in season. My friend has berry bushes that produce like crazy for a few weeks in August each year and she gives them away to anyone who will take them. Too many for her to eat (she's also Wolf Diet carnivore). She also keeps goats though so the humans get the berries the goats can't reach. I think it would have been like that in Paleolithic times too. Fruit would have been there but seasonally, depending on geography, and just luck competing with other animals as to who gets there first. So, I don't think Dr. Saladino is wrong to say that fruit isn't harmful if you are otherwise fit and healthy. Where I think he has lost the plot a bit is on the quantities. Big bowls of tropical fruits with honey is not the same thing as once a year having a bit of local fruit.

To Lou's original question about hydration. I really like Gerolsteiner water. It has a higher mineral content than other bubbly waters such as Pelegrino, Perrier, etc. and zero sweeteners. It's good for keeping your electrolytes in balance as you hydrate. There are also a lot of flavored waters like LeCroix, Bubble that are flavored with what they call "essence of...." orange, lemon or whatever. This essence thing is not a fake flavor but more like an essential oil. It is not sweet at all to the tastebuds so it avoids the insulin response Bob was warning about, but it does have just a little aroma and taste to make it more entertaining than plain water. I think the flavored ones are a good transitional thing but eventually you will lose your taste for them.

Yep. Better for you and taste better too. After using real animal fats for a while, canola oil, margarine and such start to taste like the partially hydrogenated furniture polish that they are.

The only problem is, there really is no "adequate replacement". You can only live on B-12 shots and "fortified" products for so long.

Dr. Georgia Ede did a great presentation about the WHO study that came out a few years ago saying that meat was deadly, blah, blah, and particularly trashing processed meats. It's on her site somewhere. I think the title was "WHO say meat causes cancer?" He site is diagnosisdiet.com

I call my way of eating The Wolf Diet. It's almost exclusively carnivore but I don't stress out over spices, tea, and a seriously occasional avocado or handful of berries. I call it the Wolf Diet because wolves eat berries now and then but I don't think anybody is going to revoke their carnivore cards or tell them that they are doing carnivore wrong.