Salt necessary?

[Guest Robert]

I started carnivore 75 days ago. Been using Redman's salt, but I think salt causes me to have inflammation. When I stop salt, I feel more fatigued and enjoy the meat less. Anyone else find salt inflammatory? Any suggestions? Also, I'm only having bowel movements 1-2x weekly. Yet not feeling constipated or backed up at all. Is this normal?

[Bob]

23 minutes ago, Guest Robert said:

I think salt causes me to have inflammation. When I stop salt, I feel more fatigued and enjoy the meat less. Anyone else find salt inflammatory?

Inflammation in what manner? Where at on or in your body? Generally speaking, if you're eating a strict carnivore diet devoid of ultra-processed foods with high sodium content, you can salt to taste without repercussions. But some people say salt causes them to retain water and experience some edema, so they keep their salt to a minimum or don't have any at all. I think Steak & Butter Girl doesn't use salt, if I recall. 

If you're not super strict, you could try to swap out the salt with some spices or seasonings. And I believe the No Salt brand salt substitute is made with potassium, which many carnivores struggle to get enough of as well. 

30 minutes ago, Guest Robert said:

Also, I'm only having bowel movements 1-2x weekly. Yet not feeling constipated or backed up at all. Is this normal?

Yes, in the beginning I went once a week. Now I average 2, sometimes 3 a week at most. This is perfectly normal.

There is very little waste from eating meat, so there is less to excrete. Personally, I find this to be a blessing

[Geezy]

Define your inflammation.

Carnivore eliminated my inflammation and allowed me to move again. Not to sure how salt could create inflammation.


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[Carnivore Club]

If you eat too much salt your kidneys will filter it out. That is one of their most important jobs after all. Salt will never cause inflammation, if it did we wouldn't have survived as a species. 

Salt to your heart's content, my friend. Not eating fibre will cause you to have less waste ergo less number 2's. 

[Guest Robert]

Thank you so much for these responses. I am grateful! The inflammation is in my right hand and fingers. It's better on carnivore, but not gone. I assumed it was the salt only because of articles that say for some people salt is inflammatory. Maybe it's eggs, butter, raw cheese or goat cheese? The reason I'm doing carnivore is because I have food sensitivities, and never know what will trigger it. I get a feeling/sensation of fulness in my inner ears which is hard to describe, and have lived with this for 14 years. It's a major nuisance. I know people deal with far more serious issues. I've wondered if it's leaky gut/intestinal impermeability? Any wisdom is greatly appreciated!

[Geezy]

Guest, for food sensitivities and finding out what they are it is recommended that you remove everything from your diet except ruminant meat and water. Give that enough time to cleanse your system 60-90 days. Then you can introduce on thing at a time and see if it affects you. Do eat that one thing and then give it three days to see how your body reacts.
No reaction? Cool, that food is back in.
Reaction? Outta your life forever.


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[Guest Robert]

Thank you Geezy. I'm planning to do just that starting June 1st. So I'm clear, only ruminant meat and water? Should I avoid salt for those 60-90 days?

[Bob]

22 hours ago, Guest Robert said:

Should I avoid salt for those 60-90 days?

Normally salt is benign and we encourage it. Salt is an electrolyte, and many people, when they go strict carnivore or lion diet, struggle with electrolyte deficiencies. 

You should be able to salt your food to taste without issues. If your kidneys are in good shape, they will excrete excess salt if needed. They will also strive to retain salt as necessary. 

 

[Quinton]

On 5/14/2024 at 3:37 PM, Guest Robert said:

Thank you so much for these responses. I am grateful! The inflammation is in my right hand and fingers. It's better on carnivore, but not gone. I assumed it was the salt only because of articles that say for some people salt is inflammatory. Maybe it's eggs, butter, raw cheese or goat cheese? The reason I'm doing carnivore is because I have food sensitivities, and never know what will trigger it. I get a feeling/sensation of fulness in my inner ears which is hard to describe, and have lived with this for 14 years. It's a major nuisance. I know people deal with far more serious issues. I've wondered if it's leaky gut/intestinal impermeability? Any wisdom is greatly appreciated!

As others have stated, the inflammation is most likely not the salt, especially if you have good kidney function (may be worth checking). Also if the salt is causing some edema it will usually show up in the feet and ankles, more so than the hands. And moreover, it's generally not so much the salt behind the edema, as much as it is the hyperinsulinemia (elevated glucose) that's the main culprit. And that's a great sign if your hand and fingers are doing better on carnivore. I would definitely give it some more time and keep going.

What was your diet like before carnivore?

When I was younger in my 20s I experienced a few months where I had Tinnitus in my ears. I never knew where it came from or what it was all about, but it was a bit scary when it happened. It eventually went away and I forgot about it. It wasn't until I came across Keto/Carnivore that I realized the Tinnitus was caused by the excessive carbs (noodles) I was eating at the time. It makes perfect sense now. Perhaps your ear thing is something similar.

It does seem with Carnivore you're giving your body the best shot at cleansing itself and finding a stable place to reset and build from. As others have mentioned, if you need to tighten it up and do all ruminant meat, water and salt, that will give you the best shot.

Good luck!

[Geezy]

Thank you Geezy. I'm planning to do just that starting June 1st. So I'm clear, only ruminant meat and water? Should I avoid salt for those 60-90 days?

I did not avoid salt. In fact I increased my salt intake but you have to be your own experiment or N=1.
Use it as you would normally would to salt your meat and see how you do. I personally have no issues with using salt and I think a do better with a higher amount of salt in my diet. In fact, my last blood test showed I was low in sodium so I’m trying to increase my intake.
But you must do what works for you and you find that out with trying something for awhile and see how it affects you and then adjust as needed.
Cautionary note though. Choose your salt carefully. Avoid table salt if at all possible because it contains sugar. Read the labels of everything you intend to eat.


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[Guest Robert]

Thank you very much!

[Orweller]

You cannot live without salt. Maybe too much? It's a game of investigation. Good luck. 

[Guest Robert]

Does anyone know whether re-introducing something that's ultimately bad, if that can make the symptoms worse than they were before going on carnivore? I had a minor surgery 3 weeks ago and reintroduced the vegan protein shake I previously consumed multiple times daily for many years. Other than increased inflammation in my hand, it seemed ok, but now the inner ear symptoms are worse than I can ever remember. Today is day one of Lion diet (I've only had ruminant meat the last few weeks, but had the protein shake multiple times a day. I'd love to hear and thoughts, insights or suggestions.

[Geezy]

Does anyone know whether re-introducing something that's ultimately bad, if that can make the symptoms worse than they were before going on carnivore? .

Absolutely it can. That’s actually how you tell if something is bad for you.
Carnivore is an elimination diet so you eliminate everything but fatty meat, salt and water. Then after a time, when everything clears up, let’s say 90 days to six months, you can try reintroducing one item back into your diet. If after a week if you don’t have any issues then it’s not a food that hurts you but if it does bother your system then it’s gone out of your life forever.
As an example, about six months into my carnivore lifestyle my wife wanted some venison chili and I make a pretty good chili if I do say so myself . Well I decided to try some to see if I could handle it. Well I don’t know if it was the tomato sauce or the heavy chili powder but I was miserable for three days. Chili is out of my life forever.
So my theory on all this is that when you eat something all the time, even though it doesn’t seem to bother you, you build up a tolerance to it and after staying away from it for awhile your body becomes more sensitive to it.
For example, I used to drink so much that I could drink a case of beer in one day easy and pass a field sobriety test with no problem but today? Heck, probably three beers would put me under the table.
So really the best thing you can do is just eat clean foods that provide nutrition for your body and cut out all of the ones that don’t and vegetables fall into that category.


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[Orweller]

So you are on the lion/carnivore diet, but drink vegan protein shakes? 

[Scott F.]

I dove right into the diet without reading the directions. I read about electrolytes and drank a few of the electrolyte type drinks. Within a few minutes I felt bloated and could taste salt in my mouth for several hours. the bloating did make me feel bogged down. I ditched the LMNT drink. I made my own based on the ingredients on the LMNT package. Again, the same. 

I now use the ingredients I made for a drinking solution as my "table salt". It is basically sea salt and potassium. Since then, I have felt great. I am not experienced enough to say what is what but between the carnivore diet and losing 30lbs I came off a prescription for inflammation. 

Scott

[Orweller]

2 hours ago, Scott F. said:

I dove right into the diet without reading the directions. I read about electrolytes and drank a few of the electrolyte type drinks. Within a few minutes I felt bloated and could taste salt in my mouth for several hours. the bloating did make me feel bogged down. I ditched the LMNT drink. I made my own based on the ingredients on the LMNT package. Again, the same. 

I now use the ingredients I made for a drinking solution as my "table salt". It is basically sea salt and potassium. Since then, I have felt great. I am not experienced enough to say what is what but between the carnivore diet and losing 30lbs I came off a prescription for inflammation. 

Scott

This is really what it's all about. Diet is an individual experience, and a diet such as carnivore, there's a lot of learning. Use what works, and discard what doesn't. The LMNT pouches are over-priced anyways. I use them, but only when needed, when working outside in the sun or another activity. I use regular supplements, but even those with caution. Good on you, for not giving up, but rather finding a solution that resulted in your fat-loss and riddance of your prescription drugs. Now that, is a victory. 

[Bob]

On 6/11/2024 at 1:14 PM, Guest Robert said:

Does anyone know whether re-introducing something that's ultimately bad, if that can make the symptoms worse than they were before going on carnivore? I had a minor surgery 3 weeks ago and reintroduced the vegan protein shake I previously consumed multiple times daily for many years. Other than increased inflammation in my hand, it seemed ok, but now the inner ear symptoms are worse than I can ever remember. Today is day one of Lion diet (I've only had ruminant meat the last few weeks, but had the protein shake multiple times a day. I'd love to hear and thoughts, insights or suggestions.

If you re-introduced a food and "it went right through you", this could be simply because the cells in your digestive tract that were previously tolerant to that food are now gone and replaced by new cells that haven't been exposed to that food.  But since you mentioned increased inflammation and inner ear symptoms, that's probably a good sign that this vegan drink isn't all that good for you after all. 

[Guest Robert]

Thank you everyone, I greatly apprreciate your responses and wisdom! I only compromised carnivore and consumed that protein shake because the surgery I had required me to eat light, small meals before and after. This probably also served as an excuse to drink these shakes again, since they would satisfy cravings for something sweet (stevia, sucralose, maltodextrin and "natural flavors are some of the ingredients)....I had previously been "hooked" on that shake for many years (one reason I started carnivore was to break away from it). While I felt increased inflammation in my hand within days after re-introducing it, the increased, more severe inner ear-dizziness symptoms didn't happen until 3 weeks after I re-introduced it, and at a level of intensity I don't remember ever experiencing. Even though I stopped drinking this shake again (now on day 4 of Lion (without salt, at least for now), I'm still curious to know whether it was this shake (which I had 5-6x daily), that was still the cause of the inner ear severe flare-up? Could it have taken 3 weeks to get to point where it was an obvious big problem? Yes, I recognize everyone is different and we're dealing with probabilities, not absolutes!

[Guest computerwiz]

6 hours ago, Guest Robert said:

Thank you everyone, I greatly apprreciate your responses and wisdom! I only compromised carnivore and consumed that protein shake because the surgery I had required me to eat light, small meals before and after. This probably also served as an excuse to drink these shakes again, since they would satisfy cravings for something sweet (stevia, sucralose, maltodextrin and "natural flavors are some of the ingredients)....I had previously been "hooked" on that shake for many years (one reason I started carnivore was to break away from it). While I felt increased inflammation in my hand within days after re-introducing it, the increased, more severe inner ear-dizziness symptoms didn't happen until 3 weeks after I re-introduced it, and at a level of intensity I don't remember ever experiencing. Even though I stopped drinking this shake again (now on day 4 of Lion (without salt, at least for now), I'm still curious to know whether it was this shake (which I had 5-6x daily), that was still the cause of the inner ear severe flare-up? Could it have taken 3 weeks to get to point where it was an obvious big problem? Yes, I recognize everyone is different and we're dealing with probabilities, not absolutes!

 

Hey Robert!

Just reading up on all your posts here.  How's your blood pressure?  I've never heard of salt causing any reactions other than increasing your blood pressure if you have too much or not enough water or poor kidney function.

Do you live in the US?  If so, yeah you are almost guaranteed to have leaky gut.  Its the reason we have so many allergies & auto-immune disorders all over the place now.  Round Up is in all our foods, and tears up the gut lining.  My wife's ulcerative colitis and sensitivity to gluten & dairy have been cured thanks to 6 months of ION Gut supplements.  And she (and well all of us really) have to take it for the rest of our lives in this system...or until Round Up is banned.  Even my allergies are much better (though not 100% better) since I started taking it last year.

Gut health is SUPER important!