From Carnivore to Mariner?


(Dawn O Miller) #1

I am curious and I want to hear from some fellow Carnivores…

Some context, I am 5’4" wt stable at 120lbs, waist 29", I actually went on Carnivore to regain weight after getting to my lowest at 117lbs.

I’ve been Carnivore for 3 months, I’ve had quite a bit of success on the diet, but at some stage I was feeling weak, I do not know why…I stop taking supplements, and couldn’t bring myself to eat enough liver, so maybe I was overloading on too much muscle meat. Until I introduced seafood on the diet…now I eat shellfish almost daily.

I’m getting to a point where I am eating more seafood and less meat (although I would never say no to a ribeye).

Has any other Carnivore had this experience or something similar?


#2

A lot of shellfish has significant carb content, so watch out. Also, it sounds like you might have had hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency. Ancient people’s used to make long treks to the ocean or other high iodine locations to get foods rich in iodine. Of course they didn’t know that they had iodine, just that these foods protected against cretinism and goiter.

Another possibility is Omega-3. If you were eating conventionally raised meat and eggs, you were getting g a less than ideal Omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.

Just a few ideas. As long as you’re still heading towards your goals, I see no reason to stop. Then again, I am not a doctor and I don’t give medical advice and all that. I’m just a peckerwood that lives in the hills with too many guns.


(Dawn O Miller) #3

You might be on to something about the iodine, it never occurred to me but now that I think about it my maternal side of the family has problems with hypothyroidism. I just realized too that the salt I switched too (Redmond’s Salt) is not a good source of iodine, and I was using Morton’s iodized salt before so maybe this could be why…TY


(Chris) #4

No, the iodide used in Morton’s is not bioavailable in humans and sugar is used as the agent to bind it to the salt molecules.


(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #5

I didn’t know that. Wow. I have switched over to using other salts but still occasionally use Morton’s for the iodine. Guess I’ll have to stop. Thanks


(Bunny) #6

I wonder if that could be iodine depletion or deficiency, could be the thyroid hormones were getting a little sluggish from lack of sister elements so it starts to swell[2]?

Almost as if you were compelled to eat marine life?

I personally take Icelandic organic sea kelp every now and then just to make sure levels are adequate!

[1]”…Iodine from the diet is absorbed throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Dietary iodine is converted into the iodide ion before it is absorbed. The iodide ion is bio-available and absorbed totally from food and water. This is not true for iodine within thyroid hormones ingested for therapeutic purposes. …” …More

[2] 9 Healthy Foods That Are Rich in Iodine “…Iodine deficiency can lead to swelling of the thyroid gland, known as goiter, and hypothyroidism, which can cause fatigue, muscle weakness and weight gain (1…”


(Herb Martin) #7

I eat a permissive carnivore – anything animal.

Lots of beef but some chicken, pork, eggs, cheese, shrimp, fish.

I didn’t take supplements for about six months and never felt the need.

My plan is to do a strict beef and water only 30 day carnivore as a test at some point but I just haven’t needed the extra restriction (as far as I can tell) since the results were so good.

Instead I am now fasting.

Also I have returned to my mega-vitamin routine but that is NOT due to carnivore but just to my belief that this is my best strategy for improved energy and health.

I take enough Vitamin C for a small city. :smiley: And pretty much everything else that seems likely to help with health or encourage fat loss.


(Dawn O Miller) #8

I just tried my Morton’s yesterday and was wondering why it tasted like cardboard, lol, and I saw the added dextrose in the ingredients. I feel like such a fool thinking it was only salt.


(Dawn O Miller) #9

TY for the info, it just occurred to me I gave up diary recently and didn’t realize that was a source of iodine! Maybe that is one of the reasons why I started feeling weak…I’m going to try adding back some seaweed to see if this will help as an alternative to diary.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

Seaweed counts as an animal? :confused:


(Windmill Tilter) #11

I also switched from regular salt to pink himalyan seas salt as well, so all this discussion about iodine made me wonder if I might be a bit low too since I don’t eat much dairy. Based on what I found, I’m still getting plenty of iodine without even trying.

The recommended daily amount for adults is 150 micrograms a day (mcg). Each large egg has ~25mcg of iodine, and each ounce of meat (pork/beef) has around 5-6mcg. So basically, 4 eggs and 10oz of meat has me covered. I also eat 6oz of herring each day at 100mcg, and that gets me to 250mcg/day.

Here is a link to a decent table of iodine rich foods:
https://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Factsheets/Food-Sources-of-Iodine.aspx


(Chris) #12

Bingo- and animal sources of this are highly bioavailable for humans. It’s perfect.


(Dawn O Miller) #13

I ate a lot of seaweed when I was Keto, I think it might have been helped me at the time. I’m actually transitioning from Carnivore to bring some plants back like fruit because I need to gain more fat, Carnivore was only meant to be temporary to help me regain muscle, however I’ve come to enjoy it so I think I’ll do it cyclically.


(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #14

Learned a lot on this thread thanks for all the info, which helps me make more informed choices.


(Stickin' with mammoth) #15

I would LOVE to have this experience, and as soon as I win the lottery or marry rich, I will.


(Windmill Tilter) #16

Try smoked herring, aka “sea bacon”. The tins I buy are $2.75 for 7oz. Herring are low on the food chain so have almost no heavy metal risk, are always wild caught, and are so fatty that they have little market value. For me, it’s cheaper way to balance out omega 3:omega 6 than buying organic grass fed beef. Sardines would work, but aren’t nearly as tasty.


(Stickin' with mammoth) #17

I agree but I’m still trying to find canned fish at reasonable prices NOT drenched in vegetable oils. I factor driving expenses into the cost, so locating them nearby is key. Haven’t given up hope.


#18

What country do you live in? Here in the USA, I can get wild caught fish canned in water at walmart for dirt cheap.