Worst cold and cough since carnivore


(Vivin Mathew) #5

Hmm yes i suppose so. I was really expecting to be invulnerable to diseases with the hype behind vitamin D. My levels exceed 100ng/ml since I got too paranoid of being low on it. I guess somethings just happen


(Vivin Mathew) #6

Indeed. I guess it could be a limit on the immune system or stress maybe


(Vivin Mathew) #7

Sorry to hear about your accident. Indeed stress could be a factor too. Another thing on my mind is bowel movement on the diet. Until the last month o had consistent bowel movements almost everyday. But since last month. A bowel movement comes about once a weak. It’s a bit strange


(Edith) #8

I hear that is common on carnivore since our bodies utilize so much or what we eat there is not as much waste.

I have the opposite trouble on carnivore. :smirk: Anyway, you could try taking magnesium supplements if you are uncomfortable. Magnesium helps loosen things up.

Also, how is carnivore going? You haven’t posted for a while.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #9

Reduced bowel frequency is normal, because the food you are eating now is mostly digestible, therefore there is less waste to dispose of. I notice a difference simply from eating low-carb, so I imagine there’d be an even greater difference with carnivore.

I am just old enough to remember when the concept of “regularity” was invented by the makers of laxatives, who needed to create a market for their product. My mother was a nurse who had received her training a decade or two earlier, and her advice was always to let the body just do its thing, unless something felt really wrong. She said the body feel into patterns, but that a variation from that pattern didn’t usually indicate a problem.

If you have to strain to move your bowel, the first thing is to try adding a bit more salt to your diet, as this sometimes helps. Magnesium would be the next thing, and if you absolutely had to, a spoonful of MCT oil or some maltitol would probably do the trick! But if you are not having to strain at all, then you are just fine.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #11

For many years I thought the same about vitC. To no avail.

Other than whatever benefits derive simply from being healthier overall - and I think that’s very good in itself, but varies greatly individually - I think what you eat has only a small effect on avoiding respiratory disease. Other diseases, yes. Examples: epilepsy, diabetes, brain deterioration, some cancers apparently. But respiratory disease, not so much. I said here:

First, a bit of background. My entire adult life until about a decade ago consisted of getting the flu or a ‘cold’ twice a year, once in the early fall and once again in mid-late spring. That is, when the weather turned. That pattern changed a bit when I passed 60 years old. Instead of getting sick only once in the fall, I’d get sick, then well, then after a while sick again. Maybe two or three times. Which gradually became getting sick off and on all winter until the following spring. Generally nothing serious, but a nuisance. This past October, the routine started again, however, about mid-late Feb my cough moved from my throat to my lungs. I could feel a bit of pain in my lungs when I coughed. To me that’s a sure sign of pneumonia, which I’ve had several times before and didn’t want to get it again. Plus, with the COVID scare starting I doubly did not want to get pneumonia. I had a used Vick’s Inhaler with camphor laying around, so I thought maybe the camphor would help prevent getting pneumonia. So I started breathing through the inhaler through my mouth, filling my lungs with the vapor. It worked! Within about 3 days the pain in my chest was gone and my cough went away. I got well!

This happened more than a year and a half ago and I remain cold/flu/covid - free. Other than another 3-day period when I felt like I was ‘under attack’ by pneumonia again during Nov 2020 I have not been sick at all! For me, at this stage of my life and after my issues with upper respiratory diseases all my life prior this has been a wonderful experience to say the least! I am thoroughly convinced of the efficacy of using an inhaler - with camphor! - to help keep the lungs virus/bacteria clean.

Keep in mind that I have worked at Walmart full-time during the entire covid period. In fact, I suspect that my close encounter with pneumonia in Nov 2020 was due primarily to exhaustion from too much work. Other than a couple of days then to stay home to rest and recover, I have not missed a single work shift in more than 2 years. There has been much staff attrition during those two years and all of us remaining must take up the slack. I work directly with fellow staff and customers, so it’s impossible I have not been exposed to covid as well every other respiratory disease organism on earth. Multiple times, I’m sure.

I’ve told all my coworkers about this and recommended to them to do the same.


(Robin) #12

Carnivore can certainly limit your bowel movements. But if you’re like me, I really want a daily cleansing, so I take my magnesium powder at night with a large glass of water. And I add my salt to it. It does the job. And you can figure out the right amount… too much and you’ll be very loose with gurgling and churning tummy. So you cut it back a bit. I take Natural Calm Magnesium. Just a thought.


(Vivin Mathew) #13

Actually i m doing ok with carnivore. im forcing myself to have more meat inorder gain weight. but since last week, ive been the gutter of judgement from wife and family. They mentioned the reason i got sick this bad was cause of the carnivore. and that dropped the immune system. That kinda hit me hard cause i couldnt say anything back. Cause i was hit genuinely by a pretty hard cold and cough.

As for the mangesium supplements im still wondering which kind of magensium is good. some recommend magnesium citrate and others say citrate is terrible. so i just try bone broths from time to time instead.

The constipation thing that is occuring more recently is turning out to be a nasty stool by the 6th or 7th day. Previously for 8 months on carnivore, it was regular, neutral, solid, smooth, odor less. but now the stools are the opposite (you can guess :slight_smile: ) im not sure if it could be the side effects of the cold and cough though.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

Probably improved your immune system, rather than the reverse. But it’s impossible to say how much better or worse you would have been on any other diet. There’s no way we can go back and re-run the experience on a different diet.

BTW, while your cold was most likely viral, cholesterol is now known to play an important role in helping the immune system to fight off bacterial infections. Just thought you’d like to have that as a counter-argument.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #15

It could very well be. Somehow, sometimes respiratory infections get to your intestinal flora/fauna and they get ‘sick’ too.


(Robin) #16

My best friend is not a fan of me eating keto. She’s pretty quick to say, “when you get back to normal, you’ll be able to enjoy (fill in the blank) again.” I think she misses our adventures with trying new foods at new places. I miss the experience too, but I don’t miss the food, the weight, and feelings that went along with it. She thinks I am denying myself some pleasurable food. I always tell her that I can eat whatever I want as long as I keep my carbs under 20, so I don’t choose to spend all 20 on three bites of something that will trigger cravings.
Also…Some people will never be fans of keto and look for reasons to criticize it. I don’t use the word keto now. If someone asks about what’s on my plate (or what’s missing), I just say I do better without sugar and processed food, and move on. For some reason most people “get” that.


(Bob M) #17

This is a tough one. Typically, magnesium oxide is considered to be the worst, the least absorbable and also the worst from causing you to go to the bathroom. I’ve seen others say it’s no so bad. I’ve used a ton of different magnesium, including oils (which I like). Right now, I’m using Magnesium Glycinate, which I think is pretty good.

Here’s the one I’m using:

Normal disclaimers: Not sure anything the seller says is true.

Taken at bed, this often – but not always – causes more restful sleep.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #18

One comeback might be something along the lines of: “Does this mean that if I had a nut or shellfish allergy you’d be encouraging me to eat something that could kill me?” It kind of puts it in perspective.

What strikes me about your friend’s line is that it sounds remarkably like the sort of thing an active alcoholic tends to say to someone trying to get sober.


(Vivin Mathew) #19

Thats what i am thinking to. And there is no way i have low cholestrol too. I eat about 10 egg yolks a day. 5 in the morning and 5 at night. and then there is butter and rib-eyes. Im not afraid of cholestrol as what people always tell me.

But yes, this looks more viral. i think on paper, i have maxed zinc, vitamin D3, cholestrol, proteins, fats. im thinking ill recover in about a day or two at max.


(Vivin Mathew) #20

Thats right. ill still look into the magnesium though.


(Vivin Mathew) #21

Yup thats right. thank you for sharing. i kinda feel the same. i dont generally have cravings unless im super hungry. but once my tummy is full, i just dont even think about any other food really


(Vivin Mathew) #22

ill look into it. Would you know what is the mangesium combination from the bones of beef?. i suppose if the formula is close to that. then thats what is most absorbable right


(Vivin Mathew) #23

yes, i get that. the thing is im only a new carnivore. like around 9 months. so before that i used to eat alot of rice and stuff. thats why they know i can consume them. until my arthritis issues became severe and carnivore kinda made be able to walk again. so thats still my best reason to eat carnivore. To be able to walk again.


(Vivin Mathew) #24

the doctor prescribed some medication. but since the last 5 years of my health research. im trusting less and less on medications. so i avoided them.yesterday night i took 1g of paracetamol after like ages. i know some may be good or ok. but my trust in big pharma is broken


(Vivin Mathew) #25

:smiley: i used to be showing off that i would never get ill since starting carnivore. I admit i was too cocky cause i did genuinely feel much better than i have for a long time. thank you for sharing your experience. its remarkable.

i am determined to take this long term despite all the resistance.