I know, I know – I’m always saying there is no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss or healing. I still mean that. Your nutritional needs will always depend specifically on your past health, present health, and future goals. Your genetics, your relationship with food, your activity level need to be taken into account. The amount of damage your body has sustained from eating processed foods, chronic dieting, and many other factors go into what exactly you should be eating and how much. But there is a diet for everybody…and that diet can reverse and prevent chronic disease.
Why I’m a Carnivore and You Should Be Too
It’s easy for me to explain to friends and family that I eat only meat and eggs because of my autoimmune disorder, or because of my history with dieting and eating disorders, or due to my food addiction. Those are simple terms they can understand without feeling like I’m trying to induct them into some sort of cult. If they express interest, well then they are in for a full sermon on the gospel of meat – can I get an Amen??
Allow me to explain why this carnivore way of eating, this carnivore diet, is beneficial for everyone. See the foods we have been eating since the inception of processed/manufactured foods were not meant for us. I could go on about the evils of the processed food industry creating hyper-palatable foods in order to create an addiction to their products using the same addiction model used by the tobacco industry. I could go on and on about how the pharmaceutical industry cheers for the food industry because they are the vultures who feast on the carcass of people addicted to processed foods that create disease as a by-product, ensuring the pharmaceutical industry has customers for life.
But I digress.
Reverse or Prevent Chronic Disease
There is one, plain, simple truth: What you eat is either making you sick or is making you healthy, it’s either helping you or harming you, it’s either building you or tearing you down. If you have excess fat, if you are on medications for anything other than a congenital condition or accident, you are eating the wrong things.
Species Appropriate Diet
We also need to take a look at the word diet. There are two different meanings – first we have the word as it has come to be defined in the last few decades. That definition of diet being a temporary means to achieve a specific goal. Then we have the conventional definition that describes a specific way of eating for any living creature. This is the definition to which I am referring. For example, a rabbit is an herbivore, meaning that animal eats a species-appropriate diet of plant material on a daily basis in order for it to function optimally. Wolves are carnivores, meaning they derive all of the nutrition their bodies require from meat.
So are humans more like rabbits or wolves? Judy Cho, who is a certified nutritional therapy practitioner, creates a lot of really great infographics that show the nutrition profiles of various foods. (check out her book, the Carnivore Cure, here) So there are varied nutrient density values in different foods, but we must also consider the ability of our human bodies to extract those nutrients from the source.
Sure, kale may have a high level of vitamin A, but the bioavailability of vitamin A from this source for our human digestion is just not there. We cannot physiologically extract that nutrition. Liver provides a higher level of bioavailability for our human cells. Add to that the fact that many plants have naturally occurring toxins that actually harm us, negating any nutritional value they may hold, and making them inappropriate for human consumption. See, the species matters. A rabbit’s digestion was created in a way that allows it to extract the nutrients it needs from the food it prefers. As does a wolf, as do humans.
Aren’t Humans Omnivores?
The general consensus is yes. But I, along with many other carnivores including medical experts disagree. While humans are physically able to eat fruits and vegetables and not die immediately, the damage that is being done even by these whole, natural foods, along with processed foods proves we probably should not. People who have eaten only animal foods for 10, 15, 30+ years are thriving effortlessly. Not to mention there are people like the Inuit who historically did not have easy access to plants.
Down to the Basics
I can’t stress enough that we should ALL be eating this way, at least for the purpose of finding out what may be causing issues in our health. This truly is a diet for everybody.
I can say with certainty that cutting out processed foods and all forms of sugar will greatly improve your health. Whether you chose paleo, low carb, keto, carnivore, or just eliminate the bad stuff, your health will improve. People have found it keeps insulin low, resolves chronic disease, eliminates sugar cravings and addiction, reduces inflammation, allows the body to heal and rids it of toxins. It works beautifully for EVERYONE as an elimination diet. Strip it down to the bare minimum – meat. See what resolves, then add back other items like eggs, cheese, etc. to see what happens. It is absolutely sustainable long term, but at the very least you’ll find out exactly what other foods you can and cannot tolerate.
Get Support
So, in short, a meat-based diet is for all humans. However, the various ways to go about it all depend on the very unique parameters that make you, you. There is a ton of information out there. That is both something wonderful and something a bit overwhelming. Find the voices in the carnivore/keto/meat-based space that feel right for you. And if it’s still too noisy, get yourself a carnivore coach! I help people all over the world to narrow it all down to create a plan focused on that one unique human. Are you ready to reverse and prevent chronic disease? Book a session today to start your mission for better health!
