5 months on carnivore and need help

[srichards77]

I’ve been doing carnivore diet for 5 months. I have ulcerative colitis and have been able to get off my medications. The last month or two though I’ve developed a skin rash on my chest abdomen area seems to be getting worse. My bowel movements have become more loose lately as well. I mainly eat beef with a ribeye and ground beef daily. I will eat liver once or twice a week. I want to keep going with it, but am worried with the recent changes. I’m joining this community for some help. 

[Bob]

16 hours ago, srichards77 said:

I have ulcerative colitis and have been able to get off my medications.

That's awesome. I too have (or had) ulcerative colitis and am also medication free at the moment.

16 hours ago, srichards77 said:

The last month or two though I’ve developed a skin rash on my chest abdomen area seems to be getting worse. My bowel movements have become more loose lately as well.

Sounds like you have the "keto rash", For many people, they hang in there and it will go away. It could be happening for various reasons, and we just have to narrow down the cause.

1) Histamine intolerance -> You may have trouble breaking down histamines. This can be a problem with aged beef. Those with a histamine intolerance need to purchase the freshest meat possible. Like, get to know your local butcher/rancher and get your meat from something just slaughtered. Much of the meat we get from the store has already aged several weeks. 

You could also try a variety by adding eggs, chicken, pork, seafood, etc to your diet.

2) Nutrional deficiencies -> not very likely with ribeyes and livers, however, you could round it out with some other animals like mentioned above, or with eggs, etc.

3) Detox/Oxalate Dumping -> If you previously has an oxylate rich diet, you may be dumping oxylate crystals that you were previously hoarding.

 

I think if it was histamine intolerance, you would have had this issue early on. 

Regarding the loose stools, the general guideline is to back off the fat. If you eat too much fat and your gall bladder doesn't have enough bile on hand to help digest it, the excess will pass through you. But, from personal experience, when I added back cheese things thickened up for me, which actually runs counter to that advice. There seems to be a balance between too much and too little fat.

Let us know how it goes. Welcome aboard!

 

[srichards77]

Thanks Bob, appreciate the input. I also notice my heart rate is much higher. Do you notice that? I’m an avid exerciser. 

[Bob]

10 minutes ago, srichards77 said:

Thanks Bob, appreciate the input. I also notice my heart rate is much higher. Do you notice that? I’m an avid exerciser. 

I haven't in my case. I am not an avid exerciser and I still take blood pressure meds. What is your current resting heart rate? Is it still under 100? 

I've heard that a heart beats better when burning ketones vs glucose. A lot of people will lay down to go to sleep and hear their heart beat and get worried. My heartbeat is definitely more noticeable when lying down to go to sleep than it was previously, but it's nothing of any concern.

[srichards77]

Yes, resting heart rate is below 100, around 60-65. Just higher than it was before carnivore. I do feel my heartbeat more than before. 

[srichards77]

I’ll also see if I can get fresher meat. Wish I could do grass fed but I can’t afford it. 

[Bob]

2 minutes ago, srichards77 said:

I’ll also see if I can get fresher meat. Wish I could do grass fed but I can’t afford it. 

It's slightly more nutritious but since you eat some liver on the side it's a non-issue for you. Those multi-chamber ruminant stomachs prevent toxins from the grains from getting into their flesh.

I don't go out of my way to get grass fed, although Sam's Club sells 85/15 grass fed burger at a reasonable price so I do get those to eat a few days a week.

[Miranda]

Congratulations on getting off your meds! Sometimes when I get ibs-d I take extra calcium...I read it in a forum somewhere along the line and it does help. Sorry to hear about the rash, I wonder if drinking more water would help?

[srichards77]

Thanks Miranda, I feel like I drink enough water throughout the day. My calcium levels last time I did my bloodwork were good. I’m wondering if it’s histamine from the ground beef. 

[Geezy]

Welcome and congratulations on your success so far. I developed a few rashes that came and went on my wrists at about the six month mark.
A heartbeat of 65 is perfectly normal. As I’m typing this mine is 60.


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[Miranda]

10 hours ago, srichards77 said:

 I’m wondering if it’s histamine from the ground beef. 

The ground beef could be contributing to the overflowing of your histamine bucket. I think the calcium citrate can help bind the oxalates. It also seems to slow down the transit time, a side effect of citrical is constipation.

[srichards77]

From what I’ve been researching it’s sounding like I have a histamine problem. My joints have also been achey more after meals. I’m going to try and cut out the ground beef and take a DAO supplement. 

[Bob]

4 hours ago, srichards77 said:

I’m going to try and cut out the ground beef and take a DAO supplement

If it's histamine intolerance, that combination should bring notable improvements.

In the meantime, you can focus on...

• Fresh meat (cooled, frozen, or fresh)
• Chicken (cooled, frozen, or fresh)
• Bison
• Beef (only if unaged and not ground)
• Chicken breast, boneless
• Duck
• Eggs
• Goose
• Lamb
• Ostrich
• Pork (only if unaged and not ground)
• Alligator

[srichards77]

Ok thanks for the input. 

[Geezy]

My joints have also been achey more after meals.

I’m in the process of reading Toxic Superfoods by Sally K Norton.
In it I just read this morning the numerous different ways that oxalate overload can affect our bodies. One of those ways is in achey joints. Many of the symptoms you describe seem to fit in with oxalate overload. It can take years for the body to process them out of us and judging by how many of them that are in our bodies from the years of eating the SAD it’s no wonder we sometimes have issues even after we’ve been carni for awhile.


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[srichards77]

Thanks Geezy. I did experience oxalate dumping early on and thought I was past it. It sounds like it can come back again though. 

[srichards77]

I’m still having diarrhea every morning. I’m wondering if I’m eating too much fat. Been eating a 1.3 lb ribeye, and 1.5 New York steak daily. Been thinking to get sirloin instead. Any other tips?

[Geezy]

I’m still having diarrhea every morning. I’m wondering if I’m eating too much fat. Been eating a 1.3 lb ribeye, and 1.5 New York steak daily. Been thinking to get sirloin instead. Any other tips?

That’s generally the consensus. Loose bowels, lower the fat. Stopped up, increased the fat.


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[Bob]

There can be a balancing act here. Too much fat will produce looser stools because you don't have enough bile on hand in your gal bladder to help digest it, so it passes through you and out the back door.

ON THE OTHER HAND, a diet that is high protein with very little fat will also result in diarrhea. 

You may need to track your macros for a while to find your personal perfect balance.

So yes, give the sirloin a try. Or trim *some* of the fat from your striploins and ribeye's. If you grill them you can lose a bunch of fat through the grates. But remember, most people try to eat high fat, even adding butter to their steaks, especially if they lose a lot of fat from grilling.

I tried to cut the fat way down last autumn and I also started having chronic diarrhea (vs. occasional diarrhea). I stopped minimizing fat and added cheese back to my diet and things stiffened up. I've since heard that dairy, particularly cheese, can be a natural constipator.

[srichards77]

Thanks Bob, a lot of good information.