Hydration

[Lou]

Hi, new to the forum and on the 3rd week of my carnivore diet.

I am struggling with hydration issues as a long tome coffee and tea drinker with plenty of sugar(60 years+).

I also have a problem drinking enough bottled water without some sort of flavouring.

So the question: Is it acceptable on the CD to drink flavoured water as it contains sweeteners?

Thank you ..........

[Bob]

Welcome aboard @Lou !

 

9 hours ago, Lou said:

Is it acceptable on the CD to drink flavoured water as it contains sweeteners?

Obviously you would want zero-carb sugar-free sweetener so there is no calories and minimal impact on insulin response. You will get answers in both directions here. A carnivore purist/zealot will be quick to remind you that such drinks aren't carnivore and humans didn't drink such things before the last century, and for a certainty straight up water is probably better for you. Some will also say you will experience better and faster healing if you can cut them out.

But this is something you can experiment with on yourself. I have yet to be able to give up certain drinks completely. I still have a cup of tea in the morning with Splenda. I had a huge box of Splenda from Sam's Club and when it is gone, I will switch to Stevia (in light of the recent University of North Carolina study that Splenda may alter your DNA). I still drink some diet soda, and maybe a Propel or sugar free lemonade. But I have been making a conscious effort to cut back on those and drink more water. I'm still down almost 40 lbs and have reversed a few health issues.

The weight loss has slowed down considerably though (but not stopped), and I have heard that one of the many things that can cause a weight-loss plateau is artificial sweeteners. I guess many people, as soon as something sweet tasting hits the tongue, has what they call a cephalic phase insulin response, meaning that their pancreas spurts out some insulin into the bloodstream in anticipation of sugars/carbs coming down the pipe. Clearly, one of the reasons why Keto and Carnivore works is because we minimize our carb intake and keep our insulin levels low. Certain artificial sweeteners trigger this response, while others don't.

Try challenging yourself to have one cup of regular water for every flavored water you consume. I also find that I prefer water with a ton of ice in it, so that it's crisp and very cold.

[Lou]

Thank you for your reply Bob, much appreciated.

I will take your advice and try to limit the flavoured water intake.

I have tried to be strict with the diet but most of the information out there is from th US, and very little here in the UK, with quite a few things not available or different here. No such thing as New York steak or strip steak so I stick with Rib Eye and T-Bone which are quite expensive.

I'll do some research on the sweeteners included in the particular water I've been drinking and try and ascertain if OK or not.

Thanks again.

 

[John]

I know what you mean Lou, I’m also in the UK. A lot of carnivore devotees in US recommend ‘chuck steak’ as a cheaper alternative to Ribeye. But I’m not familiar with that and cannot find it in supermarkets over here. Maybe it goes by a different name. My research so far not much help!

[Qapla]

You might try watching some videos on YT like The Bearded Butchers where they show the various cuts, where they come from and some of the alternate names for some of the cuts.

 

[Lou]

Thanks guys, I'll take a look at those YT videos.

[Bob]

11 hours ago, Lou said:

in the UK,,, No such thing as New York steak or strip steak

A NY Strip is also known as striploin, club steak, ambassador steak, and Porterhouse, I believe.

The Strip's price point is just below Ribeye. And then another step down in price but still delicious is the Sirloin. I do struggle with properly cooking the cheaper cuts though. Around here, steaks go for almost 50% off around certain nationalistic holidays where cooking out is the way people celebrate it. I stock up then, lol.

[Qapla]

In the US, the NY Strip Steak is the large side of the T-bone or Porterhouse while the small side is called a filet.

The difference in a Porterhouse and a T-bone is usually defined by the size of the filet. Both the T-Bone steak and the Porterhouse are cut from the short loin. The Porterhouse steaks are cut from the rear area of the short loin, T-Bones are cut closer to the front. This gives the Porterhouse a little bit more of the tenderloin than the T-Bone.

[PaleoBird]

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.

[Debashis]

Yes, you can drink flavored water on the carnivore diet, as long as the sweeteners used are allowed on the diet. However, it is recommended to prioritize plain water for optimal hydration.