The carnivore diet. Have you come across this? Do you wonder ‘what is the carnivore diet?’. Well now, let me tell you a little of my story….
It’s funny how you can look back on moments in life that, without realising it at the time, one can see had a profound influence on your life.
Watching the sunrise above Burnley, Lancashire, UK, many moons ago made me realise before you know it the sun has gone down on your life. Two weeks later I set in place the first steps towards some dramatic and sometimes challenging moments which ended up creating a more fulfilled life.
A chance meeting at a university friend’s wedding where I sat next to the husband of a girl who had lived in the same student house as me was another one.
I asked him what he did for a living. Yes, I was younger then and couldn’t think of a better opening gambit.
He replied he was an osteopath.
Now this was a mystery to me. What on earth is an osteopath?
He told me that he got people better without using drugs.
Hmmmm, now that is interesting.
It set in place a series of moments and connected a series of dots from my childhood I had not even contemplated that led to me becoming an osteopath and as I write, a (mainly) carnivore.
But not just the kind of osteopath that people now consider as a back specialist. No that wasn’t enough for me. I had read lots about the early osteopaths treating all kinds of diseases. I even read that they would prescribe food to help heal people.
I was not taught any of that at osteopathy school. However, I and a few others who felt we were not being taught ‘real’ osteopathy discovered a course in Classical osteopathy run by a 96 year old osteopath, the ferocious, legendary and inspirational Mr John Wernham.
I figured that if anyone knew what an osteopath would be it was a man who had been practising it for the best part of 70 years.
During a year of study under ‘The old man’ and his very capable tutors I learnt how to become the kind of osteopath I wanted to be.
This learning touched upon on our diet being able to bring vitality and health or disease but I was still not clear in my mind how I could prescribe food as medicine.
Another chance happening led to me discovering Metabolic Typing. An interesting way to analyse one’s physiology to then prescribe foods that would support you.
I learnt about optimising the ratios of macronutrients. Fat, proteins and carbohydrates would be consumed in different amounts according to one’s metabolic type.
This all helped me to begin forming my own ideas. What was really interesting was that it turned out my metabolic type appeared to require more protein and fat than carbs.
This brought back a childhood memory of attending my first ever barbecue whilst on holiday in Kent. Some Germans (shout out to Marco and Bianca Becker from Remscheid – where are they now?) who became our friends invited us to the barbecue. It was an absolute meat feast!
I remember just devouring as much of the meat as I could and it tased so good. It remained a memorable moment in my life which is strange isn’t it? A meal of meat sticking in my mind.
A meat feast barbecue stood out in my memory because it tasted so delicious and I didn’t have to faff about with all those vegetables and carbs which, to me, just got in the way.
Meanwhile back at Metabolic Typing school my tutor asked me to test out the fact I should eat more protein and fat and she gave me full guidance.
I began to have liver pate for breakfast and I can still recall the moment I thought to myself, “Bloody hell, I feel like I’m on rocket fuel!” almost instantly.
I started to notice that if I ate starchy carbs I needed a nap. And this then led to the realisation that, when I had been a teacher and had got brain fog and fatigue by the afternoon of my working day, it was nothing to do with the stress of my job (which is what I’d thought) and everything to do with the potatoes and pasties and sandwiches that I’d had for my lunch!
After a month or two of following my new diet my tutor told me to go back to eating everything I used to eat. It was over Christmas time so I figured that was great.
Toast and marmalade for breakfast, cakes, pies, biscuits, bread, interrupted by occasional amounts of meat and fats.
Holy smoke! All of a sudden a whole host of problems reappeared that I had forgotten about. I began to feel anxious and worried where I hadn’t for two months.
I had always considered myself a worrier and I now realised it was the chemical chaos to my physiology from my lifetime of poor food habits and complete lack of understanding of what is healthy, that was causing my overthinking and anxiety, as well as my fatigue.
My energy plummeted and I felt pretty crappy. I realised what a clever move this was by my tutor to help me understand how powerful food can be.
Therefore, henceforward I have eaten a larger proportion of protein and healthy fats. I now understand that what we eat has a profound effect on us that can be almost immediate.
My message to any of you intrigued by this is simple. One hour after eating, assess how you feel. If you are tired, yawning, craving something, feeling anxious or hungry then the chances are that what you ate was the wrong balance of macronutrients and probably micronutrients too.
This was back in 2005/6 and I began to become interested in grass fed meats and raw milk way before it became trendy to do so.
By chance, an ex pupil of mine from my teaching days had setup an award winning butchers shop that sold grass fed and naturally reared animals and I found another amazing farm, Gazegill organics, nearby that did this and sold raw milk.
From there on in I stopped buying meats from supermarkets unless there was no other choice and have eaten a higher protein and fat diet ever since.
However, I was still eating veg and breads and pasta. What was really interesting was that when I was presented with a plate of food I would race through the carbs to get them out of the way.
I just felt they were getting between me and my protein and fat. This was not a conscious thing, more just an instinctive sense that I needed the animal stuff more than the plant stuff.
Intriguingly I prided myself on trying out all manner of weird and wonderful animal products. From the run of the mill but delicious and famous Bury Black Pudding to Sheep’s head in Morrocco to, quite bizarrely, duck bills in Thailand.
I even got pigs ears and tails, breaded them, fried them and ate them with my older girls, Anna and Katja. When I asked my butcher for these he looked at me as if I was mad!
I’d try all these carnivore diet type foods and enjoy it. But more importantly I would feel good having eaten it.
Since I moved to a higher fat and protein diet I have had abundant energy, generally had peace of mind and maintained a reasonable weight.
Then I met my first carnivore. A patient of mine who only ate meat. I was intrigued by his choices and the fact he was incredibly lean and vibrant. I listened to him and gave extra weight to his words because he was a pharmacist and GP surgery practice manager.
Then a couple more of my patients moved to the carnivore diet and they suddenly became amazingly slim and trim!
However, I still felt it was a quirky diet that couldn’t possibly be balanced.
Yet several years later the patients I see who follow this diet are in good health and maintain their lean appearance effortlessly. I remained intrigued but noncommittal until I heard an interview with Dr Anthony Chaffee by Doc Malik.
Chaffee is a botanist by background and I would put him in the camp of extreme carnivore. He does not even have plant based drinks such as tea or coffee and his only seasoning is salt.
I found his explanations to be fascinating, especially since he could talk about plants so knowledgeably.
This led to my first test of the carnivore diet. A test I began three months ago and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I am now as slim as I was in my mid teens. My energy levels feel good and steady across the day and I have found myself gradually eating less food because I do not feel as hungry as I used to.
Almost by accident I am fasting for the best part of 16-22 hours every day.
My muscle definition seems to have improved too. I can see my lats and my inguinal line and goodness me, is that the threat of a six pack appearing?
This all fascinates me and I shall continue experimenting upon myself! I am bolstered by my pharmacist patient who told me there are essential fats, there are essential proteins but there are no essential carbohydrates.
Am I on the road to heart disease and cancer? Many would say I am but I am not so sure. I suspect science has been skewed by vested interests in this area.
More on that another time.
Right now I still hang onto one precious plant based addition to my day. I am not ready to let this one go.
And that my friends is the daily pleasure that is….a damn good coffee! Not instant, that gives me a headache and is, in my opinion, a toxic mess.
But freshly ground coffee brewed with care. Ahhhhh.