Do you know how one tests or gets a picture of one's microbiome? Maybe it'll be up to some in the carnivore community, or those considering starting out even better, to find out if there is a way to test before and then see how things look after a few months or more of eating sans fibre in the diet.I don’t believe enough is yet known to draw any meaningful conclusions, and probably never will be in my lifetime. The microbiome is a relatively new area of research, and considering that, thus far, biochemistry science has been unable to collectively agree that sugar is bad for us, I doubt there will be a unanimous decision on gut flora in the next hundred years. Or ever.
That aside, a couple of things; the carnivore diet, in and of its self is not exclusively meat-based. It’s animal based. By name, the diet really just means little or no cellulose (plant matter). It can include organs, fish, eggs, and dairy. The notion of carnivores eating nothing but steak all day is erroneous. I guess the whole thing hinges on whether or not one believes fibre is important. Personally I don’t believe it is, or certainly not as a one-size-fits-all dietary rule. Secondly, if it is true that the microbiome play a key role in determining our sense of mental and physical wellbeing, then I think most ‘carnivores’ will agree that they are doing ok or better without plants. Generally speaking, a diet that makes you feel amazing is unlikely to be doing any harm.
Speaking only for myself, I’m happy that my microbiome is happy. I may be proven wrong in the future, but in the meantime I am thriving without plants and see no cause for concern. Also I long ago decided that when it comes to nutrition, the exact polar opposite of everything we are told, is probably optimal for human health. So far, that approach has reversed my diabetes, resulted in a 0.3 insulin resistance index, and an inflammation level of less than one.
Liver and bacon for breakfast for me today then. My gut microbiome can look after themselves
but trust me, things are MUCH more comfortable.
My understanding of the gut biome is that strains of bugs thrive if fed, and die off if they are not fed.
So by switching to carnivore, the strains that will flourish will be the ones that thrive on the foods I carnivorous foods.
Sure, the others will die off, but do I need the ones that eat fibre and veg and carbs and sugars, and so on? If I'm not eating those, then I don't need the bugs to break them down, and they were redundant anyway and will have simply starved.
The only strains that I want and need are the ones that benefit me - but that in itself is a vast subject, and one I am not able to discuss it with any knowledge.
This wiki article just skims the surface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora
They (the bugs) serve a lot of different purposes, and I simply don't have any evidence that eating carnivore long term will be good or bad except for a few key pointers:
- the PaleoMedicina people report that strict keto carnivore improves/reduces gut permeability (and therefore autoimmune conditions), although it may take up to 3 years to do so.
- my own guts are happier on carnivore than on any other way of eating I have tried. I feel no need to inflict the details on you
- I take the view that a healthyish gut can cope with fibre, and fibre was part of a prehistoric man's evolutionary diet, but that would have been in the form of seasonal foods (which are self limiting), and often labour intensive to gather (which also limits their intake).
- an unhealthy gut often struggles with fibre, and does better without. Certainly this is the case for me.
I have now been carnivore for over 18 months (due to the repercussions of a particularly severe case of gut rot).
Attempts to reintroduce veg and fibre have been unpleasant. No, they have been VERY unpleasant.
I am happy continuing as I am, with (presumably) a less varied gut biome, because I feel well on it.
Thanks for this. I had somehow completely missed that it includes all these things, and was thinking of cavemen and red meat.
Don't worry, I know men can generally eat larger portions than women. And I wasn't about to start eating 8 duck eggs a day... :***:We used to have ducks and I found their eggs too rich for my palate.
