Below is one of my essays from a course on Change, Interhuman Processes and Communication that I had forgotten about but recently came across again. I thought to share it as an analytical take on veganism through one possible theoretical lens, the Established-outsider dynamic. For anyone who has experienced veganism from the inside, and the consequences of this identification and worldview then clashing with reality, and wondered what made it so pathologically ideological that it would lead to disassociation and disconnection, as well as such hostile rejection from the community, this framework considers those dynamics. I am right, you are wrong. The chronic disease epidemic, environmental destruction and anthropogenic climate change, as well as the unethical treatment of animals in an industrial agricultural model, are all pressing, arguably urgent and potentially critical issues that present themselves in the 21st century. The conventional model of agro-industry, a consumerist and capitalist society and the commodification of food have all been put in the spotlight of blame. In counter-action against this destructive and greedy status quo lie several niches, one of which claims to offer a solution to the world’s problems in one fell swoop: veganism. Veganism, as a philosophy and way of life that I personally fully embraced for a solid 8 years of my life, as well as the dietary prescription that excludes all forms of animal products such as meat, fish, seafood, eggs and dairy, forms an identity category that uses a framing paradigm to uphold its position and bind its absolutist constructs. The number of vegans in the UK has risen 360% in the last decade and is essentially a mainstream-accepted lifestyle choice and is considered Britain’s “fastest growing lifestyle movement” (The Vegan Society, 2019). The social phenomenon I shall explore in this essay relates to the recent online commotion of a multitude of “celebrity” vegan Youtube influencers with large platforms publicly renouncing their vegan status during the last few months of 2019 for various reasons, and the consequent backlash of the vegan community. Although vegans are still a minority population, the popularity of vegan Youtube is demonstrated by many channels attracting hundreds of thousands of, and a few with multi-million, subscribers. The vegan narrative communicates and positions itself within a framing paradigm that selects fragmented perspectives to construct a social identity as a moral evaluation that ultimately does not match (the complexity of) reality and leads to unintended consequences - and when rubber meets the road and members leave the vegan path, they are consequently publicly shamed, stigmatised and excluded through the creation of a somewhat ironically non-compassionate and hostile insider-outsider dynamic. Implicit and explicit power relations are present on many levels, all the way up to the macro political level that is driving the plant-based agenda forward and into public and academic discourse, as can be seen with the new EAT Lancet report and their proposed (nutrient-deficient) plant-based “Planetary Health Diet”’ that has been heavily criticised based on this bias (Willett W. et al., 2019). My approach to analysing this phenomenon is a theoretical framework based on the established-outsider dynamic of Elias’ and Scotson’s power relations (Elias, N., & Scotson, J. L., 1994), as well as social identity construction together with elements of framing (Ortiz, M.G., 2019). Stephen Duncan stated that Elias’ theory on Established and Outsider Relations “could be applied to a whole range of changing patterns of human inequality”, referencing relations between classes, ethnic groups, men and women, parents and children. Although the focus of this inquiry is radically different than any examples of that 1994 scope, the application of Elias’ theory provides an insightful lens on a “universal human theme” (Elias, N., 1994): human inequality. Much like Elias’ study of a small community, the vegan community is also a minority with the core group of established members and a more recent group of “ex-vegans”, and provides a similar structure upon which to shed light. The difference here consists in the formation of the outsider group as a result of a shift of some members of the core group (of vegans) to ex-members (who are no longer vegan), and this changing pattern creates a power differential as well as a threat to the established group and collective “we-image”. Within the past few months of 2019, a series of “Why I Am No Longer Vegan” videos sequentially emerged from around 29+ well-known Youtube figures promoting a plant-based lifestyle with high profile social media platforms reaching of millions of people globally. This caused a controversial stir in the vegan community and even appeared in mainstream news. I shall narrow down and introduce two case studies to address within the ex-vegan Youtube video phenomenon, recognising that they represent a microcosm of the larger episode of stories. I chose these two based on the criteria that both were long term strict vegans of 6 years and advocated veganism for the triad of health, animal welfare and the environment; both made videos about their vegan to ex-vegan journey; both received severe criticism and hate from the vegan community; and both made response videos to the drama that ensued, enabling me to follow the development within the context of my theoretical framework. Tim Shieff, an elite Parkour athlete and world champion free runner was celebrated as “The Vegan Price” by the vegan community and used his high profile as a platform to spread the vegan message. His Youtube channel has a 176K following, and when he released his video titled “Am I Still Vegan?” (2019) where he explains the health issues he experienced and how and why he has incorporated animal products like wild salmon and pastured eggs, the social media backlash by fellow vegans and vegan leaders in the community escalated to death threats and over 5000 (as of April 2019) abusive comments. The video has 144K views. He was featured in a “VICE I Got Cancelled” interview, where he describes being called a fraud, a murderer, and accusations that he had never cared for animals and that his prime motive was money (Adenuga, J., 2019). He had to part ways with his own vegan clothing company, ETHICS, and is a prime example of being torn down by his own community once a “minor difference” was established through a change of diet (Blok, A., 2001). Yovana Mendoza, known as Rawvana on social media, had also been following a strict vegan diet for 6 years. Her Youtube channel had a following of over 2 million subscribers, which plummeted to half a million over night after her “ex-vegan” scandal. As she explained in her ex-vegan video, after struggling for years with health, such as amenorrhea (loss of menstrual cycle) and SIBO (gastrointestinal condition), and after trying various lifestyle changes like adding more plant protein and fats to remain vegan and alternative medicine treatments, she decided to add fish and eggs back to her diet out of desperation. Her health issues went away within a few weeks. She issued a video explaining her choices titled “This Is What Is Happening” that has nearly 1.2 million views (May 2019), and consequently got a backlash of death threats, character assassination comments as a con artist and abusive response videos by the same and other vegan leaders as Tim Shieff, describing her decision as fraudulent, murderous and shaming her choice to introduce animal products for her health - which goes against “the rules” and norms of the established group. This development was most intriguing for me to observe unfold because not only had I been a strict ethical vegan since I was 13 years old, but because I had also developed serious medical health issues as a direct consequence. Sharing many similarities with the stories above, I convinced myself that a vegan diet was the healthiest way to eat and that there had to be a vegan solution to everything, and so also tried many variations of the vegan diet hoping to find one where I could feel well. Finally, after diagnosis with an autoimmune disease, I started to challenge my own beliefs outside of the vegan framework. What followed was a complete identity crisis and what felt like an existential soul search! Eventually, I came to a radically different, more nuanced perspective that looked at the complexity of the human, ecological and socio-political systems that veganism deals with but does not actually address in a holistic nor grounded way. As I browse the Youtube video titles of the “Why I am No Longer Vegan” list, they pretty much sum up my experience: “My break-up with veganism”; “My vegan diet almost killed me”; “I used to be a militant vegan... now I am a guilty carnivore”; “I finally got healthy when I stopped being vegan”; “vegan activist turned meat eater”. Through my theoretical lens, this demonstrates not just how strong the social identity construction within veganism is, but how deep the internalisation goes. I essentially had to break down my whole belief system and start anew. Feeling disillusioned by the skewed vegan narrative that ignored the on-ground reality and consequences of veganism that didn’t match the proposed benefits, “lied to” by the vegan community, ostracised by my vegan friends for “abandoning my morals”, and frustrated by the vegan echo chamber that exists where you only encounter similar beliefs that perpetuate the reinforcement of existing views in a way that excludes alternative or more complete truths, it became very clear to me that veganism more resembled a dogmatic ideology based on flawed rock logic than a compassionate and thoughtful perspective on how to live in a way that suits the context to benefit the environment, health and promote a better world. It is fascinating to observe this now as an outsider, but when in the jar it is very hard to see the label. The famous and revolutionary psychologist Dr. Edward De Bono in his book I am right, you are wrong (De Bono., 1990) proposed the contrasting concepts of the rock logic of Western thinking based on absolutes and rigid categories and called for a shift to water logic, which is adaptive, integrative and inclusive. The rock logic in veganism is very real, and complexity gets thrown away for black-and-white thinking. I am right, they say, and you are wrong. A brief resume of the response videos provides clear examples of this rigid thinking and cognitive dissonance in the context of social identity and conflict. The arguments the vegan leaders use are circular and rigid in their scope; Mic the Vegan simply notes: "You can have problems on a vegan diet, but you can still solve those problems on a vegan diet". Freelee The Banana Girl, a vegan icon with 789K subscribers, posted a response video to Rawvana titled “Rawvana is a FAKE VEGAN (& no longer my friend)”. The circularity of these arguments is clear - one cannot win; either way, as an outsider, you either “did it wrong” or you were a “fake vegan”, and are thusly in the position to be condemned, and the vegan position justified and cleared of any possible deficiencies. Freelee accuses Rawvana of being filled with “me me excuses” as to why she has “gone back to grinding baby chicks alive and suffocating and dragging innocent fish from their home” (00:20:15 of video, 2019). The hyperbole and misrepresentation in these cases are pronounced and do not take into account the nuance of the context. For example, Rawvana states that she gets her eggs from ethical, organic sources and the devil is in the details in this regard because production methods of meat and eggs vary widely, with a significant spectrum in animal welfare considerations and ecological impact. However, the established vegan group take one extreme end of the spectrum - intensive industrial farming -, apply it as rock logic as the reality for all animal products, and use this frame to paint outsider members, even those who still act in integrity with values of ethical food sourcing, as amoral villains supporting corporate, mass food production. It is a perfect demonstration of the villain, victim and hero framing paradigm in action. No attempt to empathise with the very real and serious health issues experienced are undertaken; “you do not throw animals into the stir fry when you are hungry or gassy or get a pimply face (...), the animals don’t need your excuses” (00:02:10 of video Why I’m No Longer Vegan reponse, Freelee The BananaGirl, 2019). On the contrary, they are actively minimised to insignificant “me me excuses”, magnifying the power superiority of established vegans who do not give in to such “petty” rationalizations. This line of reasoning reveals a political undertone - who is to decide what reason to stop veganism is good enough? Partial truths are taken for the whole picture and alternative paths that rub up against a different reality spark a cognitive dissonance that has to be defended through rock logic and hostility as a reaction to an identity threat. After all, doctrine creates disconnect. How can we grasp the hostility of this response? We could explain the group relation here as a result of objective diet differences, but more accurately in this perspective it is the result of the change, the shift, from the Established diet to a different diet, symbolising a deviant role that harbours hostility by members of the majority group. Furthermore, the implicit message is that veganism is not just a diet, but a set of moral principles that under no circumstances do humans have the right to break, even in the face of deleterious health outcomes. The majority of comments are simply too offensive to quote, but one reads “I am so very disappointed that you turned away from veganism, (...) I simply cannot follow you anymore. You are disgusting for eating chicken periods. There are so many people thriving on a vegan diet. It’s clear you never cared about the animals” (one of thousands of similar comments under a Rawvana Instagram post). The fact that some people are doing well on a vegan diet does not exclude the possibility of others responding poorly, and also does not address the issue of long term versus short term effect, and what is called the “honeymoon” period of veganism. Being healthy as a long term vegan is the exception rather than the rule. Through the construct of absolutes in the vegan paradigm, eating animal products trigger outrage and cognitive dissonance for the established, and an identity crisis for the outsiders. Having been on the other side, the guilt and shame that comes with re-introducing animal foods are very real and stressful. What is interesting about this phenomenon is that it extends beyond physical differences. Due to the ideological nature of veganism, the differences between the inside and “outcast” ex-vegans are also the result of the development of established-outsider relations, and are consequently additionally social in origin. Perhaps in a eutopic Garden of Eden parallel universe not shaped by evolution that resulted in our human nutritional needs requiring nutrients only found in animal products and where native grassland ecosystems need herbivores as much as the ruminants need grass and livestock an important role to play in the carbon cycle and sequestering carbon when well managed on pasture, a vegan diet may indeed work and be part of the solution towards sustainability. This fantasy world seems to exist in the minds of the vegan community, without any grounding in reality but based on faulty rock logic that wears a mask of moral superiority to the parade of power struggles. This mask is used as smoke and mirrors to blur any alternative view and to conceal legitimate justification in order to stigmatise, exclude and frame outsiders as an “enemy”. Indeed, the discourse shares resemblance with the considerable hostility of some religious teachings that discourage any open-minded thinking that is perceived as a threat by challenging the dogma. Themes of power and status arise in the defense of the belief system, quite removed from the claim of compassion. In many way, this phenomenon evinces aspects that go beyond a diet identity but extends towards a moral identity with superiority complexes and distorted, non-inclusive ideas of compassion. Exploring the cases through this lens, I was genuinely shocked by just how much the interactional socio-dynamics involved the creation of an established-outsider relationship, power differentials, abuse of power, social control and, perhaps in the biggest irony of all, complete apathetic disregard to the feelings and internal experience of “ex-members” that resulted in exclusion and stigmatisation with moral judgement by the leaders in a way that was accepted and supported by the existing members, thus reinforcing social cohesion. As Elias points out, strong monopolistic internal opinion is symptomatic of the high degree of control that a cohesive group is able to exert on its members as a regulating force of their conduct (page 30 of Elias, N., & Scotson, J. L., 1994). The microcosm of the phenomenon and individual cases, including my own, pose wider questions that challenge the increasingly popular plant-based and vegan rock-logic narrative that positions itself as a solution for the climate, health and environmental crisis. Furthermore, it elucidates the role diet can play in collective identity construction. Within this context of social identity, what becomes of a vegan YouTuber who is no longer vegan? Online abuse and bullying from their own community, with the worst abuse and moral outrage often coming from other vegan Youtube personalities (Shugerman, E., 2019). The cases further bear witness to the insufficiency of a strict vegan diet and possible detriment towards human health when followed long term, and as such, the breaking down of the whole line of vegan argument. Most claims are founded on the assumption that eating animals for health is unnecessary or even harmful for human health, and this argument is then used to justify framing further lines of reasoning. Vindication of the inherent fallacies and partial truths require rock logic by the vegan community because applying water logic makes apparent the nuances and shades of grey that illuminate a much bigger, more complex picture - one that includes plant-based options but also points to other paths to sustainability, health and ethical consumption-production practices. The vegan philosophy is well-intentioned, but as the saying goes “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” - when rooted in a philosophy of “do no harm”, perhaps the circle of compassion could include other human beings and finding non-violent ways to express one’s wish of a nonviolent world. A shift in perception from rock logic to water logic could facilitate closing the inequality gap caused by the illusion of ethical superiority and reinforce true humanitarian values that dissolve conflict. Wisdom in one of the rare insightful comments among the hostility to Tim Shieff sums it up pretty well: “the most toxic diet is when your diet becomes your identity...”. References Elias, N., Scotson, J. L. (1994). A Theoretical Essay on Established and Outsider Relations. In
The Established and the Outsiders (Vol. 32). London, Sage Publications. Blok, A. (2001). Chapter 7: The Narcissism of Minor Differences. In: Honour and Violence. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 115-136. De Bono., Edward. (1990). I am right. You are wrong. Penguin Books. Why I’m No Longer Vegan response, Freelee The BananaGirl, 2019. Accessed 06.05.2019. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z3zO6KC920&t=379s THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING, Rawvana, 2019. Accessed 06.05.2019. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHjaKB0A14A&t=1478s Shugerman, E. (2019), The Weird World of Vegan Youtube is Imploding, The Daily Beast. Accessed 08.05.2019. Available at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/vegan-youtube-is-imploding-as-stars-like-rawvana-bonny-rebecc a-and-stella-rae-change-diets Am I Still Vegan?, Tim Shieff, 2019. Accessed 06.05.2019. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt9Gcnicc6Y Willet., W. et al. (2019), Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems The Vegan Society. Statistics. Retrieved 02/05/2019: https://www.vegansociety.com/news/media/statistics The Vegan Society. Find Out How Many Vegans Are In Great Britain. Accessed 02/05/2019. Available at: https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/news/find-out-how-many-vegans-are-great-britain Ortiz, M.G. (2019, 2 April). Lecture: Social Identity and (resistance to) change. Adenuga, J., (2019). I Got Cancelled: Tim Shieff. VICE. Accessed 08.05.19. Available at: https://video.vice.com/en_uk/video/vice-i-got-cancelled-tim-shieff/5cadf5a7be40775e017928c5
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Anyone who's been following me for a while knows how much I love nose to tail nutrition, using the whole animal, and eating organ meat, offal and all the odd bits (the skin, the gristle, bone marrow, tendons and chewing the bone, etc) - especially the collagen-rich high connective tissue parts (those cuts of meat that are optimal for slow cooking!). Muscle meat still contains collagen in low amounts, but collagen is highest in the connective tissue, skin, cartilage and bones. I've also been using (bovine) collagen powder as an addition to my dietary collagen through nose to tail eating for quite some years, but stopped when I couldn't find a source I was happy with. Collagen powder has become big business, with a large global market for hydrolyzed collagen and gelatin powder being advertised as a health & beauty supplement and having a large keto/health audience for food & beverage. While it is fantastic that more and more people can get the benefits of collagen that is missing from our modern diets, the trend also means a dilution in quality and many supplements lack regulation or transparency of their raw materials. I stopped buying them when the ones I used to get appeared stale (probably due to sitting in warehouses for a while), and I want to trust what I am eating - and they are expensive! I've been on the hunt for collagen peptides with quality and integrity behind them for a while, particularly ones made this side of the pond (UK/Europe). So when Hunter & Gather, a UK-based company, approached me to sample their collagen and liver, I was happily blown away with their commitment and values to truly sourcing the best products free from any junk fillers or additives, and they are packaged in the most environmentally-respectful plastic-free, fully recyclable to boot. Hunter & Gather ReviewValues of the people behind a brand are super important to me, as they are like the guiding principles of common understanding of what "quality" really means. Instead of a generic white label product, it also means I get to support people really trying to make a difference. What stood out to me with Hunter & Gather is their mission is their ancestral approach to revolutionise the current landscape of the food industry and "provide superior choices free from sugars, grains and harmful fats" while remedying the modern day deficiency of nose to tail eating through real food supplements like liver and collagen. This is being part of the solution instead of part of the problem. We currently have a system that subsidises sickness. We need a market shift away from heavily-advertised processed sugar, grains and poor-quality fats that are omnipresent and contribute to the chronic disease epidemic we face as a society. And unlike the current pandemic we are facing, the chronic disease epidemic is completely preventable! We need real, honest food choices and alternative options that are more accessible and available. Changing the landscape of the industrial food industry is no small task, but what we support is one important way to shift the supply! We vote with every pound/dollar we do NOT spend on the processed food industry, and with every dollar we spend on real food. -Product Quality: Chemical-free Processing: all collagen peptides are broken down via a process called hydrolysis. This is what makes them easily dissoluble in liquids and so convenient to use! Hunter & Gather peptides use an alkaline, water-based process without the use of solvents. In terms of product quality, I've tested some collagen that tends to clump, but this one dissolves instantly and smoothly. Oh so satisfying ;) It is almost tasteless in anything but plain water - which makes it easy to add to both sweet and savoury foods & drinks. I found it barely noticeable (but see which coffee I choose to use in the recipe section 'collagen coffee') when I mix it with coffee yet adds a pleasant smoothness to my black brew. Some stale-looking powders I've gotten in the past have a slight dimness to them, but these collagen peptides are fresh looking and have no aftertaste. Knowing each batch is tested for purity and quality also means that I know what I'm getting. -Transparency & honesty: There is no "grass fed" claim or label to be found on the product, because although the cows certainly graze on grass, they explain that: "There is no source that could prove to be 100% grassfed where supplementary feed is not given during winter. This is the fact worldwide and as such, any collagen that states 100% Grass Fed is very likely not accurate." What they can ensure is that they source from cattle that "adhere to EU regulations, are not fed GMO feed or given antibiotics." So the truth is that any bovine collagen peptides using the terms "grassfed" and "pasture-raised" on their packaging are really just using them as a marketing strategy and to play into what they know people want to hear. Unfortunately, there is as of yet no certified organically-sourced collagen on the market worldwide. Hopefully this will change in the near future! Rooting for the day we can get organic collagen powder from British cattle made in the UK (or another country local to where you are reading this ;) the point is having a localized system)! -Testing: THIS is what to look for in any quality supplement with high integrity! Hunter & Gather lab test every batch to ensure they are free from heavy metals, toxins and microbes. All batches are pesticide free. Oh, the things we have to look out for in our modern food supply! -Price: At £19.95 for a 400g bag, which is very reasonable compared to others I have used in the past. For comparison, Great Lakes (USA based) is £29.95 for a 454g can, and Planet Paleo (UK based) priced at £24.94 for 225g. One 400g bag of collagen peptides supplies enough for 1 month at the recommended standard serving of 2 tablespoons / 13g per day. -Sustainability & holistic integrity: I am super supportive of their 100% plastic-free fully recyclable packaging! It did take me a few near oops moments to adjust (paper bag and my ability to spill water do not mix!), and to remember not to place the bag on a wet kitchen counter. However, that is quickly overcome by either transferring it to another sealed container, or simply rolling the top of the bag and sealing with a clip - and storing up in a cupboard away from spilling glasses and wet counter tops! The larger commitment to environmentally-responsible practices and changing the industrial foodscape means integrity to being a health-conscious provider of products that really are health-promoting from the processing all the way to the packaging vs a company that is just hopping on a trend and looking for the cheapest raw materials to make the largest profit.
100% Pure & Unflavoured Collagen PeptidesI'll be honest - I rarely use collagen powder plain (like hardcore supplemental style chugged back in water), and instead prefer to use it in food & drinks - the pleasant way! However, I prefer unflavoured peptides because I like to regulate what else is added - many blends add sweeteners, gums and fibers, "natural" flavours and things like coconut milk powder. Many things I (and others doing carnivore for autoimmune/GI reasons) do not do well with. That way I can deliberately select ingredients I am confident with. In terms of supplements, collagen peptides, collagen powder, collagen protein and hydrolyzed collagen are all different terms to describe the same thing. Collagen powder is hydrolyzed, which breaks it down and makes it more bio-available. This is is NOT the same as gelatin powder that gels. Hydrolyzed collagen dissolves in hot and cold liquid. Collagen peptides can have several different animal origins. These are bovine peptides, derived from cow. You can also find collagen products that come from various sources, or be a mix of marine (fish collagen peptides), porcine (derived from pig), and egg shell membrane (self explanatory!). I would argue that by cutting out nose to tail eating we have cut out valuable nutrients and made our diets incomplete and imbalanced. The modern diet is abysmally poor in dietary collagen intake yet favours muscle meat (steak, pork chops, chicken breast, etc), and from an evolutionary standpoint collagen is one nutrient that we would have gotten in relative balance and abundance when eating the whole animal. What is collagen?As a protein, it is made up of amino acids, some essential (cannot be synthesized by the human body and so dietary intake is essential), some non-essential. But what makes collagen unique is its relative abundance of glycine, proline and hydroxyproline compared to other proteins. Take a look at the amino acid profile of Hunter & Gather bovine collagen peptides below: On a molecular level, collagen is made up of 3 individual protein chains wound together in a helix to make a rope-like fiber (McGee, 2004). The higher the collagen level in a piece of meat, the tougher it is. Collagen is what contributes mechanical strength to muscles, tendons, skin and bones. It is also the major connective-filament that makes up around a third of all the protein in an animals body (including our own!), and as such is concentrated in the skin, tendons and bones. The origin of the name indicates its nature: collagen comes from the Greek for "glue producing", because when it is heated in water, solid tough collagen partly dissolves into sticky gelatin (McGee, 2004). This is what gives slow cooked collagenous meat (cuts rich in connective tissue) that glorious mouth feel! Raw connective tissue is tough and what makes collagen-rich meat cuts need a long cooking time to become tender. Unlike muscle fibers that become tougher with cooking (think of an over-cooked lean steak!), connective tissue becomes softer with cooking. I consider it the "glue" of our own bodies too: collagen helps glue the body together to provide strength and structure! Something important to realise is that collagen is not a "complete protein" as it does not contain all essential amino acids in sufficient amounts (particularly leucine and tryptophan). So while it plays an important role in balancing out amino acid ratios in our whole diet and filling gaps of the modern diet or a muscle meat-centric diet, it is still super important and beneficial to consume enough complete protein from other sources (any muscle meat, seafood, fish, eggs, etc). But this is why muscle meat and collagen are such a fantastic pairing! Collagen vs gelatinIf you are confused about what the relationship and the differences between gelatin and collagen are, you are right to wonder! Gelatin is basically broken down collagen fibers. Like aforementioned, collagen molecules are made up of 3 individual protein chains. When heated in water, the individual protein chains come apart and dissolve into water. The unwound, separate chains are what is called gelatin (McGee, 2004). Collagen peptides, unlike gelatin, do not gel. So in terms of culinary use, gelatin powder turns a liquid into a solid as the solution cools, into a jelly-like texture. Collagen peptides is collagen that has been broken down through a process called hydrolysis and so easily dissolve in hot or cold liquid. Remember, although in terms of amino acid profile they are the same, in the kitchen collagen and gelatin cannot be interchanged! Collagen in a carnivore/meat-based diet contextMethionine has gotten a bad rap in the longevity space, which is partially responsible for why the advice of limiting meat intake as a blanket statement has penetrated into the keto and whole foods communities. Different cuts of meat and animal foods have different amino acid profiles, so not all meat is high in methionine - and when we look more closely, neither is it a reason to avoid meat as it's more a question of glycine adequacy (one of the main amino acids in collagen). However, IMO nutrition has to be looked at in a dynamic context and systems perspective, because it is not just about absolute amounts but relative amounts. This is where the methionine:glycine ratio comes into play. We also know that being in either a predominantly carbohydrate vs fat metabolism changes our need for certain nutrients, as well as how we respond to food. So RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances) are not always the definite answer for nutrient requirements (on the contrary, there is much debate around them!), especially as they are set for a high carbohydrate, grain-eating reference population, and so actual requirements of nutrients in a carnivore, grain-free, low-carb context may be different. That being said, a meat-based diet tends to be high in... well, meat! And if that is predominantly muscle meat, that means a high methionine intake. Which is great and fine... with adequate glycine. The importance of glycine in a high methionine context has been covered extensively by Dr. Paul Saladino, so I recommend anyone interested to know more about it to check out his Youtube, book or podcast. Muscle meat and collagen are like complementary opposites - they can be unbalanced without each other, but complete each other together! On the flip side, there are people on a carnivore diet without added collagen or organ meats who claim to be doing great and I am all for different strategies working for different people. I also think it is important to distinguish short term vs long term effects, as well as what makes sense from an evolutionary and ancestral perspective. I personally feel that full-spectrum nutrition using an animal-based diet comes when we consume whole animal nutrition. Who collagen may NOT be great for (conditionally)I feel like this is an important caveat due to the audience of my blog & content - many come to carnivore with pre-existing health issues, perhaps an active autoimmune or GI condition and nutritional care and considerations for someone with active gastrointestinal issues may differ. Additionally, because carnivore tends to be embedded in the whole paleo community where collagen and bone broth are all the rage and pushed hard for gut health, it makes it seem like it is a miracle for everyone with no downsides. However, the "dark side" of bone broth in the context of increased gut impermeability (aka "leaky gut") is that is can trigger symptoms. For most people, it is not an issue. But for some people under certain physiological states (especially an overactive immune system) dietary glutamate can trigger symptoms (like headaches, bloating, immune reactions or inflammation). I know we hear alllllllllllll the time about the miracles of bone broth (and I love it too!), so before I get slayed, just hear me out. Context is important! While bone broth can be great for gut health *when the gut is healthy*, it can also be problematic for those with severe active gut issues and histamine sensitivities. There are a few reasons proposed to why some people do not react well to bone broth; one is the glutamate content of long-cooked broth, and in my experience if I do not stain home-made broth, the rendered fats have also been problematic. This is anecdote from my experience healing from autoimmune conditions naturally, but the GAPS nutritional protocol for gut healing also recommends meat stock over bone broth in the early and initial stages because you get the glycine and nutrient intake beneficial for healing without the potentially problematic glutamate that comes with bone broth. Anyone who reacts negatively to bone broth may also experience the same with collagen peptides if taken in a large enough dose to get high glutamate. Most do fine, but trust your experience and listen to your body. I will add that on the other side and in remission, I seem to tolerate many things I couldn't perfectly fine: bone broth, collagen powder, egg whites. It is not the food that is the issue, but the response of an overactive immune system. So keep in mind that our bodies are dynamic, our needs are dynamic and also are the phases of healing and how we respond to different foods in various healing phases. Icelandic Wild Lamb Liver CapsulesTravel and easy availability of quality organ meat often do not go hand in hand. That's when I've found having the liver capsules on hand when I'm out of my regular environment and routine is a lost useful way to fill the gaps. These magical gelatin capsules are filled with freeze-dried raw liver from wild roaming, 100% grassfed Icelandic lambs. Seriously! No fillers, no additives. I want some of that!! Aside from exceptional travel, in times of increased stress load (like the current situation) I feel like extra nutritional support is also a powerful way to counterbalance. I have been taking these magical wild lamb liver capsules as an easy and convenient way to provide nutritional support at a quality I trust! It's also the only time I've been able to get my mum to take liver on a regular and consistent basis! ;) So for those who just can't stomach organ meat as a whole food, an encapsulated form of the real thing can be great way to still get the nutrient density in. Hunter & Gather have a nice little range of different organ combs, all from Wild Icelandic Lamb: pure heart, pure liver, and a heart + liver with wild handpicked herbs mix: https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/collections/grassfed_lamb_organ_supplement_gelatin My view on supplements in generalUse them to supplement your diet... Not to compensate for poor diet and lifestyle choices. However, sometimes things are not perfect, and either our physical state demands higher intake of nutrients (conditional needs like during injury, global crisis, health recovery process, chronic disease, re-balancing after deficiency, and pregnancy) or our environment is lacking what we need, such as if we don't have easy access to quality organ meat, collagen-rich tissue or bone broth - or the sun for vitamin D! REAL FOOD SUPPLEMENT VS ISOLATED SUPPLEMENT The liver supplements are slightly different, because they are truly real whole food in a capsule and not an isolated compound. It is practically whole liver in a pill form. How I use themCollagen powder. The 2 main reasons I use collagen powder:
Liver supplements. I am known for my loveeeeeeee of chicken liver. However, when traveling and during this lockdown, these liver supplements have been a lifesaver. I simply pop 2 with meals (1-2x a day). I personally feel a real difference with/without liver, and so having a food-sourced supplement that I know is the highest quality with no added fillers is an essential for me. Collagen Coffee: my fav pre-workoutI also often use collagen daily in my morning cup of organic coffee. It is almost imperceptible and adds a nice froth to boot! For my collagen coffee, I pick a low note organic blend (medium dark roast). Because while collagen itself is pretty flavourless, I would say that it slightly neutralises the notes of coffee, so I use a regular blend for the collagen, and I leave my exquisite, single origin coffees to be savoured purely as they are! What I really appreciate about the Hunter & Gather collagen is that it dissolves perfectly - no clumps, just a smooth blend. Caffeine + collagen peptides I have found to be my perfect pre-workout while otherwise staying fasted. It's a pretty simple process: I simply add a few teaspoons/1 teaspoon of collagen to my coffee cup, and then add the coffee. I'm not precise with measuring, nor use a fixed amount... someday I feel like more, some less depending on the type of coffee I'm using or making. I would also encourage you to experiment with how much is "just right" in terms of keeping it pretty tasteless + adding that frothy touch texture. How I DON'T use collagen powder: sprinkled on my steak! Just like how I keep my special single origin coffees black, I keep my steaks... pure! There has been this circulating trend of dumping collagen powder onto steaks. In my eyes, unless you seriously really dig that combo, it is either a) being hypochondriac (having health anxiety) about methionine:glycine ratios, or b) following a "trend" for no reason ;) Methionine:glycine ratio need not be balanced with every BITE of food! It is in the context of the whole diet over days/weeks, even with month food rotations. In my opinion, unless collagen-covered steak is your favourite thing in the world and you dig it more than steak alone (in which case, go for it!), if you are doing it to balance methionine:glycine ratios, know you can add collagen in another meal or recipe and still get those benefits. The other way I use collagen powder is purely for recipe sake! I make these as a treat for things like Christmas, family or social events, or personal cravings for something a bit different than just meat. Recipes: Carnivore + KetoAll of these eggs are pretty much just variations of eggs, collagen powder and cocoa! Egg yolk cream/whippI literally just eat this with a spoon, or spread on a egg white crèpe (see below; doesn't have to be just whites, of course, but it is a way to use the whites left from the yolk cream). Collagen yolk custard crèpeUsing the above recipe, I make these pancakes that just perfectly hit the spot for a Sunday brunch! I make the egg white pancake/crepe as I would an omelette. I take egg whites, add a pinch of unrefined salt, and simply cook in a pan until cooked on each side. If you have an iron-cast or a non non-stick pan, use some fat so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Duck fat would be great for these! Simply spread on as much of the yolk cream as your heart wishes! Roll or fold over, and dig in! The sprinkle of edible wild flowers optional but do add a nice touch ;) The naughty chocolate version...Moving away from carnivore purism ;), you can optionally choose to melt 100% chocolate in the middle of the pancake and add the cream on top. Or the reverse! Either way, it's purely delicious! 3 Ingredient Collagen Cocoa CakeCarnivore with cacoa benefits cake! This is just whole eggs, cocoa powder and collagen powder, with a sweetener of choice. If you can do raw honey, that would be a great choice. I use pure stevia (no added alcohol sugars or glycerine), either drops or powder. I blend the ingredients in a blender, but it also works by hand. Pour into an oven-proof baking dish and bake until cooked through! Cooking time completely depends on the width of the pan, thickness of the mixture and exactly how moist or fluffier you want it... but I generally count around 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, checking on how they are doing half way. Muffin styleSame recipe, just in cute and convenient little muffin shapes. They cook MUCH faster this way, so keep an eye on the oven! The melted chocolate middle (left photo) is the step up fancier version, simply created by poking through half a square of 100% chocolate into the muffin when still hot/warm so that it melts on the inside. Little tweaks for maximum pleasure! ;) The climax cakeOkay okay, I will stop with the collagen-chocolate-egg recipes, I promise... Just one more! But really, this is a culmination of a combination of the above. Here I made a super dense version (more collagen peptides and plenty of cocoa powder makes it dense) of the cake, and spread it with yolk-collagen cream. And broken up 100% chocolate pieces to top. Warning - high in oxalates (from the cocoa and chocolate paste), but if your gut can handle it, they are amazing! Get your collagen at a discount!Hunter & Gather have kindly given a discount code specially for Conscious Carnivores! :=) Just type in CARNIVORE15 to get 15% off your order across their entire product range on their website. It can be used once per person: www.hunterandgatherfoods.com Organ supplements: https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/collections/grassfed_lamb_organ_supplement_gelatin Collagen: https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/products/bovine-collagen-powder-protein I highly recommend them to anyone looking for high quality clean collagen with lab-tested purity, or to add wild-sourced lamb liver to your life! If you are more "carnivore-ish" and looking for "paleo-friendly" condiments that are free from refined sugar, flours or vegetable oils, then check out their mayonnaise range that uses avocado oil and real eggs! Enjoy & let me know what goodies you make with collagen and what benefits your feel! References
Aim + ApproachThis will just be a series of extracts as a reference to my recent post on Instagram regarding building phases to build a solid muscle mass base, as well as approaches to leaning down that preserve metabolic and hormonal health. If you are interested in the comprehensive step-by-step walk through as broken down through chronological experience of my 6 month cut in 2017 using a nose to tail ketogenic nutritional approach (with sweet potato refeeds and lots of vegetable fiber at this point; if I had known about the carnivore perspective it would have saved me a lot of GI distress**!!!!!), complete with day to day details, travel tips, physique updates, insights, educational resources and more, you can see the whole compilation of the Primal Prep series at my old blog :) http://juicyliving.weebly.com/blog; You can start with the intro here, And read the final resume here! **What my nutrition consisted of at that time point: organ meat, pasture-raised whole eggs and raw egg yolk, grass-fed beef and lamb, greens, bone broth, seaweed, seafood, spirulina, wild fish, a rainbow of vegetables, starchy vegetables like sweet potato and parsnips, and some high quality cacao (powder). So still all super nutrient dense foods! But what I have learnt in the time space between then and now is that most plants, ESPECIALLY the vegetables, simply do not agree with me and I do better without them - I see plants NOT as evil, but as OPTIONAL nutritionally. This means that it is not worth the distress when they do not love me back! Since intentionally removing plant foods - completely for a period of time, and now re-introducing specific things, mostly plant extracts like cacao powder, medicinal mushrooms and coffee - I have become more in control of my health and body, whereas before I was still reacting and having relapse episodes of symptoms thinking that I *have* to eat plants to survive. Carnivore is a tool that has helped me immensely, but the principles I used in the Primal Prep Series can be applied to any dietary and food pattern that works for YOU because they are more physiology based than diet based. Stay tuned for a new Primal Prep Series carnivore-style 2.0! ;) This is WHY I thought it essential to re-frame and programme the cut the way I did: Does lean = healthy? Lean and healthy do not necessarily go hand in hand. The female fitness models that we see on magazines covers may look like the epitome of health, but often being so lean, and the measures taken to get there, can come at a cost - hormonally, mentally, physiologically. SO, healthy and lean for a female - is it possible!? I would say it is more the approach and WAY you get lean (the measures taken to get there), than the actual leanness itself (up to a point). There are different ways to get lean, some damaging, and some not, that will determine health status while both arriving at the goal of "lean". When I say lean, I mean 15% body fat, which is very low for a woman. 13% body fat is considered "essential" in women (i.e the minimum amount of body fat required for basic physiological and physical health), although there are many female fitness competitors and athletes that go below that (usually temporarily). Here is good article with visuals of body fat for men and women is the following. I could be aiming for the same goal of 15% body fat, but instead of doing it within a 6 month period, push my body to its limits and strive to go from 21% to 15% in 3 months or 6 weeks, or whatever the popular contest prep time is. In that timeframe, you HAVE to go to unhealthy measures to get that lean that fast! Woman's bodies are particularly sensitive to energy deficits, and generally have a harder time getting lean than men do. I've experienced it myself many times in the past where my body responds negatively very fast to things like restricting calories in conjunction with large amounts of cardio, and completely rebels by storing ONTO fat, loosing muscle, and worse. I also think the micronutrient intake matters even more with energy restriction, to ensure metabolic health. I consider BOTH energy AND metabolism; I will be lowering my calories during a cut, but **only from a STABLE base of health** and the key is to do so gradually and not excessively. The calories I DO eat will be far from the typical rice, broccoli and chicken diet! They will come from super nutrient-dense foods that I love to eat. General approach: GRADUAL & periodisedPeriodised: I am not going to be in a straight deficit for 6 months, but split it up into stages. Of 3 stages, each will be 6-8 weeks in deficit, with refeed days where I increase my calories to maintenance, or a bit above (for me this will be around 2500 calories). Then between each stage, I'll do a full week of maintenance calories to mitigate my metabolism adapting to the deficit and decreasing. Sustainable - no short-cuts or deprivation or too crazy stuff! Enjoying and embracing the process - seeing it as an opportunity to build good habits, self-trust and efficacy by following through day by day, and character through resisting impulse responses. Patience and consistency, baby! Aiming for progress, not perfection - as much as I set it up to be as smooth a process as possible, there will inevitably be days where something doesn't go to plan. That used to be a cue for negative self talk and letting the whole day screw up, but NOW it's not about perfection, it's about how quickly can I bounce back and just do the next best thing Focusing on creating "masterpiece days" (term I got from Brian Johnson of PhilosophersNotes, one of my most favourite inspirations ever!), and on the HABITS that create the success, not being constantly obsessed by the outcome. Nutrition approach (2017)My general guidelines:
Training approachI feel the best I have with my training at the moment. After this summer of being exposed to Yin Yoga, and now being over the hardest times of recovering from the second episode of autoimmune hyperthyroidism, I feel I have a new relationship to my body. One where it talks, and I listen (mostly :P) - instead of approaching my training from an external perspective of following a specific and rigid approach, I am now implementing all the tools I have practiced over the years into a holistic, dynamic and needs-based approach. What I mean by that is that I am designing my own training around the unique-ness of MY OWN body, taking into consideration:
Recovery & RestSLEEP! SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP! It's one of my weakest links (or used to be), but also one of my greatest priorities when it comes to feeling good - and for body composition! Not only does lack of sleep screw up hormones and increase fat storage around the mid-section, it makes me bloody ravenous! And totally unmotivated to train. So sleep prioritising is a MUST! My current way of doing this is focusing just on the time I want to be in bed. Last month was 10-10:30pm (as before that I was getting to sleep at midnight), and this month I am striving for consistently jumping into bed at 9-9:30pm. Focusing on JUST THIS, instead of hours of sleep and what time to wake up, etc, takes care of all the rest naturally! When I'm in bed at 9pm, I naturally wake up early. And when I do it consistently, it becomes the natural biorhythm for my body again, and so my sleep quality improves. Win-win! As for recovery built into my training, I think outside of a 7-day training split, and when I get adequate sleep, I do best with a full day off any scheduled training every 10th day or so. Then within each week, one day will be fully dedicated to yoga and mobility. Mindset approachHEALTH first. For me, this process will be from the INSIDE OUT, meaning I am focusing on creating optimal cellular health that will then optimise metabolism, fat burning and all that good stuff - and with consistency, and a structured & holistic approach, the physique goal will be a by-product - and a sustainable one at that ;) Patience, patience, patience! 3 PhasesStructure Recap: Nutritional Approach (Energy + Quality consideration) Part 1 deficit + maintenance break
*These are numbers I calculated at the beginning to work for ME! So please keep in mind that this is not a cookie-cutter plan. Every body's body is different, and depending on your current body composition, metabolism, nutritional status and goals, the appropriate intake for you may differ :) When things go wrong... You can read about my relapse with sauerkraut hell here! Case against sauerkraut and also a point for carnivore! ;P Final Outcome: much more than physical....From external to internalFor me, the transformation came from the inside out. This is how I put it: "So, I may now have a 6-pack, but it really, really has been a BY-PRODUCT of living consistently with my higher values and habits that create a strong, solid foundation of health. This has been so transformational from the inside-out that the external is merely a reflection of the bigger changes on the inside, the relationship to myself and how I relate to reality and the world on the broader perspective. People post before/after pictures all the time. We see 3 month transformation photos everywhere on the internet, and programmes and training and supplements promising to get you similar results. But when we go into it with the sole motivation to change our external, the underlying internal insecurities will stay, and whether we are lean or not, the relationship we have with ourself, with food, with training will most likely still come from a place of hate, of force, of dissatisfaction. Instead of being a process of "grinding", or deprivation or extreme dieting and training, this for me has been a process of self-love, self-compassion, self-care and connection to something bigger. As cliché as that may sound, on many levels, this whole process of "getting lean" has really been a process of character development and getting healthy. It's been a process that has happened from the inside-out, and driven from intentions of creating a positive relationship to myself, and positive state on the inside - as much on the mindset, physiological level as on the physical, cellular level. The perspective and intention we take into a journey like this CAN be empowering, nourishing, loving. Our internal world is just as important as our external, and I believe that one can reflect the other, and addressing both - nourishing ourselves physically and mentally, can result in a harmony of sorts where we shine and radiate from the inside out - and then being lean and having an incredible physique is a byproduct of a healthy and positive internal world (on a cellular and mindset level). I've gone both way to get lean - balls to the wall intensity, and then this approach, and what this has taught me about the metabolism and hormonal health and overall health in the context of getting lean is super insightful for me. We often hear about the detrimental effects of being "too lean" for females, especially on the menstrual cycle and downstream consequences, etc. AND that some women just are NOT able to get lean, and under a certain body fat percentage, their bodies freak out and go out of homeostasis. And from my previous experience and YEARS of attempting to achieve a certain body composition, I concluded that it just wasn't in my cards. Whenever my body approached 20% body fat and under, my menstruation would stop, my hormones would go haywire, and my cravings would be all over the place. Well, sitting now at 12% body fat and with the healthiest cycle I've ever had, I am beginning to think it is much more about the approach we take, and context and the consequential nutritional and stress state of the body. Of major consideration is INFLAMMATION - being in a chronic state of inflammation, and extreme exercise and caloric deficit on top perpetuating that by adding stress, I think is a major component. In fact, I can attribute the number one reason for feeling so much better PHYSICALLY is that my inflammation is in check. N =1, of course :=) " Final take-awaysWork diligently. Diligently. Work patiently and persistently. Patiently and persistently. And you're bound to be successful. Bound to be successful.
Recommended watching!I really would like to emphasis the importance of being in good metabolic health BEFORE thinking about cutting. Get healthy FIRST, get to a stable base FIRST, and THEN think about a strategic cut if your aim is for specific body composition goals outside of natural/normal healthy. This is to get from lean/stable to very lean. If you are just looking to get to a healthy, happy natural set point, I would say this is totally unnecessary!!!!!! The components of high quality nutrition and weight training are AMAZING tools and foundational lifestyle practices for anyone for health, but thinking you have to get to 12% bodyfat (as a female) is not. You will look your best at your healthiest <3 IMO a healthy approach is about understanding your body and metabolism, your starting point and being honest with if you first need to focus on healing your metabolism - if going into a cut in a depleted state, already at a high cardio output on low calories, not only will attempting fat loss be a major stress to your body and mind, but you will not have many tools in your tool box to elicit changes in your body. Where can you go from 900 calories and 2h of cardio a day? You will need to reverse out and build back up before any real change can occur. But when done in the right way, that change can be lasting, and you can also enjoy the process. With that caveat, if you still have elite level body composition goals, I recommend the below video for an idea of the criteria to pass BEFORE any sort of fat loss prep. Be kind to your body and work WITH it - it will reward you! I recently did an interview article with Keto Endurance. You can find the full article here.
It details my own health journey, advice and insights I've gathered along the way. I hope you enjoy and find it helpful in your own path! Here is an excerpt on my views on the future of a carnivore diet; Do you think Carnivore will ever be accepted as a mainstream diet? More and more people are getting sick, with chronic disease the number one cause of mortality worldwide. I see more people let down by the conventional allopathic medical system and looking for alternatives to heal themselves. This is where I think the carnivore approach will thrive. Our culture has taken such a deep dive off the cliff of disconnect from what is real, whole and natural that fundamental truths like the importance of animal fats and protein for human health, and the importance of well-managed ruminant animals for soil health has been vilified instead of celebrated. The culmination of decades of mindless consumption and industrial development going in a direction that works against nature has led us to ecological and human health degradation. We have reached this tipping point where we need massive, radical change in order to restore balance. I see things going in 2 ways evolving from the standard, destructive conventional status quo regime: there is the plant-based narrative that is being pushed as a way to save the planet, animals and human health, but is based on partial truths that actually lead us down this very synthetic road – think lab grown meat, supplements, and a world where plastic is chosen over leather and to have a “balanced” vegan diet means dependence of a fossil-fueled globalized food system of imported foods – or this Utopian “Garden of Eden” ideals of living off the land but eating mostly fruit and greens (health tends to degrade much quicker in this case). Both take us further away from our ancestral heritage and what is truly natural and needed. Long term, I would foresee this resulting in more nutritional deficiencies and metabolic dysregulation. Then we have the other narrative of the real food movement, based on traditional nutrient dense foods, Weston A. Price and ancestral health principles, and informed by disciplines like medical anthropology and evolutionary biology. Along with this, regenerative agriculture, holistic grazing and agroecology come alongside to support the production of a nutrient-dense and sustainable food system. I am rooting for this path! In my opinion, sustainability is not enough, we need regeneration – of the land and our bodies. An animal-food based diet provides the body with the most bio-available complete nutrition without the potential harmful substances in plants in a way that can replenish, nourish and create the conditions for healing. While I don’t think everybody should or has to go 100% carnivore to benefit from the life-enhancing nourishment of healthy animal foods, I do hope it will become widespread and mainstream as a tool for those who need it. I would like this blog and website to be dedicated to more specific information, practical and research-based, relating to a carnivore way of eating and regenerative lifestyle. However, I would like to provide a link to my more personal and historical blog posts concerning my own health journey, for those interested and perhaps in the same shoes I was veganism and autoimmune.
For all things detailing my past health journey, my previous blog Juicy Living, has all the personal posts going way back to when I was raw vegan and struggling - it's pretty interesting to look back and see the development unfold. This post details my initial transition to carnivore. Here is the link to the whole blog and archive: http://juicyliving.weebly.com/blog Check out the blog for all the photos and additional details, but what I mention here holds pretty much true today (month 13 on a carnivore WOE): 30 days Beef & Water My last month in Copenhagen before moving was the perfect set-up to do 30 days on mostly beef and water. I included the occasional hot drink of 100% cacao powder with water and stevia for the colder days (I was in the depth of a Danish winter!!!!), but otherwise my food nutrition was all animal-based, no plants, no fiber, zero carb. I ate mostly ground organic beef, and supplemented with organ meat like liver, heart and tongue. I also treated myself a few times to the best pastured roast pork ever at my favourite organic butchers in the world! Current Carnivore + occasional 100% cacoa = my main template. This way I get the best of both worlds - the most nutrient dense foods on the Planet with none of the issues of eating a high-plant diet! Highest nutrient density foods with highest bioavailability where the nutrients are in a form our body can most readily absorb: organ meats from healthy animals; meat and game; pastured pork; pastured poultry; wild, oily fish; 100% cacao, especially heirloom varieties in the form of cacao powder for drinks &/or 100% cacao paste (aka chocolateee, yeah!). I do my own thing. I don't eat only bacon - I feel sick doing that (I also react to cured or smoked meat in large amounts, probably due to the histamines). I don't add extra fat like lard, butter, ghee. I don't even cook in extra fat, usually (sometimes, yes ;). As you can maybe tell, I don't like going by rules. I go by guidelines, and modeify what doesn't work for me and add what is purely my own that optimises how I feel & function. Motto for any self-experiment & examined living: TAKE WHAT IS USEFUL DISCARD WHAT IS NOT ADD WHAT IS UNIQUELY YOUR OWN :=) I eat:
What I eat daily is very simple. I buy the best-quality meat & eggs at my Farmers market 1x a week, freeze meat I'll be eating later in the week. I've gotten into a rhythm with this system where I rarely have to buy anything else during the week - it is SO LIBERATING! Saving time and mental energy for prepping, planning, shopping has opened up more time to do what I love. The 1% / occasional plant sources:
I think we can get the best of BOTH worlds - meat + medicinal plants. I was making fresh cucumber lemon juice, but stopped as I felt better without it. No fiber, and no vegetables that been the biggest beneficial change for me. Meat + nourishing animal fats + eggs + DHA -rich wild seafood. I do like the idea of using the beef + H20 template as a protocol to cycle in for periods of time, as a reset and in times where I need maximum simplicity. |
Conscious Carnivore Adventures in Being Human and Being Alive.Seeking nutrient-density in LIFE! Archives
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Each today, well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness and each tomorrow a vision of hope. Look, therefore, to this one day, for it and it alone is life. |