Carnivore diet blood work

[Matan1262]

Started carnivore in 22.10.23 - 43 days ago.

Before starting I did blood work in 16.10.23 and now i did again.

 

Negative changes:

- Urea(B) mg/dl normal range: 19-49

Before starting: 28

Now: 51

 

- Na- Sodium(B) mmol/l normal range: 136-146

Before starting: 139

Now: 135

 

- ALT(GPT) U/I normal range: 0-37

Before starting: 29

Now: 52

 

Positive:

- lymphocytes % normal range 22-43

Before: 44.5 - was high for years

Now: 38

 

 

All the rest is normal range

Im scared from liver damage as you can see from the results, or damage to health in general, I feel good but some metrics changed drastically and im not sure if its ok.

Please do you have more info what does it means and why it changed during carnivore

[Orweller]

  On 12/5/2023 at 8:49 PM, Matan1262 said:

Started carnivore in 22.10.23 - 43 days ago.

Before starting I did blood work in 16.10.23 and now i did again.

 

Negative changes:

- Urea(B) mg/dl normal range: 19-49

Before starting: 28

Now: 51

 

- Na- Sodium(B) mmol/l normal range: 136-146

Before starting: 139

Now: 135

 

- ALT(GPT) U/I normal range: 0-37

Before starting: 29

Now: 52

 

Positive:

- lymphocytes % normal range 22-43

Before: 44.5 - was high for years

Now: 38

 

 

All the rest is normal range

Im scared from liver damage as you can see from the results, or damage to health in general, I feel good but some metrics changed drastically and im not sure if its ok.

Please do you have more info what does it means and why it changed during carnivore

Expand  

This is also one of my concerns eventually. I started out a few days ago, but the blood work and how we are taught on what causes us damage, that is a little scary. Right now I'll treat carnivore as an elimination diet, will consider "keto-vore" even, but I'll continue my research. 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Orweller

[Bob]

  On 12/5/2023 at 8:49 PM, Matan1262 said:

Im scared from liver damage as you can see from the results, or damage to health in general, I feel good but some metrics changed drastically and im not sure if its ok.

Expand  

There is absolutely nothing about a clean keto or carnivore diet that can harm you if you are healthy to begin with. You tested 50 days apart, and have been on the carnivore diet for 43 days. At this point, some blood work is still going to look wonky as you are adapting to this new way of eating, especially if you are actively losing weight OR actively working out, lifting weights, etc.

Your BUN (B Urea), or Blood Urea Nitrogen, increased due to the high rate of protein metabolism. This is an expected change.

Your sodium levels are still normal by most standards. Google it and you will see what I mean. If you have lost weight, you probably lost a lot of water weight as well and your electrolytes could be slightly off. Do you salt your food to taste?

Your elevated liver enzymes (ALT) is also something commonly seen in people who workout hard on a regular basis. ALT tends to remain elevated for 7+ days post workout.

If this were me, I would keep doing what you are doing and test again in another 45 days so that you have 90 days total behind you.

[Matan1262]

  On 12/5/2023 at 10:08 PM, Bob said:

There is absolutely nothing about a clean keto or carnivore diet that can harm you if you are healthy to begin with. You tested 50 days apart, and have been on the carnivore diet for 43 days. At this point, some blood work is still going to look wonky as you are adapting to this new way of eating, especially if you are actively losing weight OR actively working out, lifting weights, etc.

Your BUN (B Urea), or Blood Urea Nitrogen, increased due to the high rate of protein metabolism. This is an expected change.

Your sodium levels are still normal by most standards. Google it and you will see what I mean. If you have lost weight, you probably lost a lot of water weight as well and your electrolytes could be slightly off. Do you salt your food to taste?

Your elevated liver enzymes (ALT) is also something commonly seen in people who workout hard on a regular basis. ALT tends to remain elevated for 7+ days post workout.

If this were me, I would keep doing what you are doing and test again in another 45 days so that you have 90 days total behind you.

Expand  

Thanks for the reply.

Im lean so I didnt need to loose weight- I lost abiut 2 kg when I started and I almost returned all of this wheight.

I do salt to taste - I have redmond real salt and pink Himalayas.

I do work out regularly, but I also worked out before and the alt was normal, I was working out 2-3 times and now im working out each day.

But still, is it normal to be that high?

In terms of feeling I feel great and the high level of lymphocytes that I had for years is now normal which is amazing to me.

just want to make sure Im not missing something that will mess up my health

[Bob]

  On 12/6/2023 at 5:51 PM, Matan1262 said:

But still, is it normal to be that high?.. just want to make sure Im not missing something that will mess up my health

Expand  

Any eating pattern on the keto-carnivore spectrum should be just fine for your health, and elevated ALT due to metabolic syndrome or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease usually improves in the long term. I would test it again once you hit the 90-day mark and if it remains elevated then it's time to find out why. 

There's a lot of anecdotal stories of ALT increasing during the initial three months on starting a low-carb diet, coinciding with weight loss. When weight loss subsides, ALT usually normalizes. You are still in your adjustment phase.