Our populations need high levels of vitamins . . . because we're consuming so many carbs we can't handle the amount of sugar in our body. And as soon as you eat more meat and less processed food . . . vitamin deficiencies recover.

Ruminant meat is the only food that people can actually survive on as a single food without supplementing with anything else which is the perfect elemental diet for a sick person.

We need more advocates like her! https://t.co/81NUZPTrN8

— A Paradise for Parents (@HalCranmer) November 21, 2023

If you use meat as the first food for a baby, their head circumference is actually larger than babies fed without meat.  The ketogenic diet, which is the type of diet I'm on minus the plant food, has been shown to treat epilepsy since the 1920s and was kind of put out of fashion by anti-epileptics.  In the first study on the carnivore diet, released by Harvard this November, adults consuming a carnivore diet experienced few adverse effects and instead reported health benefits and high satisfaction.  The surprise came because an average of 90% of people saw improvements across all diseases on the diet.  One in four people over 64 have type 2 diabetes in America.   All respondents with diabetes discontinued non-insulin injection agents;  84% discontinued oral medication, and 92% of participants on the carnivore diet with type 2 diabetes discontinued insulin altogether.  Over 2,000 people were studied who were on the diet for over 6 months, and there was a 90% reduction in all diseases.  The demonization of red meat was based off of a few hypotheses based on observational studies that have been proven to be false.  Saturated fat has slowly been disappearing as the cause [for] heart disease in scientific literature because it's not the cause [for] heart disease.  The studies on colorectal cancer were done on people who also ate more sugar and processed foods, [like] McDonald's.  The need for fiber is a myth when you don't consume plants.  Our populations need high levels of vitamins, and it turns out that's only necessary because we're consuming so many carbs we can't handle the amount of sugar in our body.  And as soon as you eat more meat and less processed food, that need goes away and vitamin deficiencies recover. 

Obesity correlates with a reduction in dietary fat

Check this article out! I added BHB to my daily regimen a couple weeks ago to treat a genetic condition; been reading a LOT about it since its completely changed my life.. I believe these two will drastically help anyone with long covid!!  https://t.co/9Jo0oXdRv7

— Heebs (@Heberhall1) November 25, 2021

Very interesting dietary points to be had here.  One, fat is important for the brain--for brain energy needs and for the building blocks to support the brain's development.  Hello!

Dietary fat is said to have played a critical role in the evolution of the human brain since the brain needs a dense calorie load to sustain it energetically but also needs the fat building blocks to support its development [6]. This dogma certainly continues today based on research that shows that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and other fats play a crucial role in neural tissue growth and function. Anomalies in fat metabolism or shortfalls in dietary fats can interfere with brain development and function [7]. In fact, experts assert that a move away from the higher fat diet might be more the cause of the North American metabolic syndrome epidemic.

This point was interesting--that obesity correlates with a reduction in dietary fat.  Therefore, if someone is fat, they should eat fats to reduce their weight load.  Since this article is about butyrate, one should begin including more butter into their diet.  

Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption today reveals an increase in the incidence of obesity correlating with the reduction in dietary fat; which results consequently in increased intake of carbohydrate foods [8]. Somewhere in the middle closer to the low carbohydrate end of the diet is a happy healthy medium where processed carbohydrate sources are limited and healthy fat is loaded but a good supply of fresh vegetables (low glycemic index carbohydrate sources) still comprises a significant component of the diet [9]. In particular, it is speculated that a lower overall intake of carbohydrate sources is the healthier way to go with these choices making up, for the major part, those of a lower glycemic load and higher fiber constitution. 

And a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, also known as the Ketogenic Diet, has profound effects on your health.  This was fascinating, 

The low-carbohydrate high-fat diet (LCHFD) has cycled in and out of popularity . . . as a therapeutic program to treat metabolic syndrome," such as epilepsy, cognitive deficit, neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease where it's shown to downregulate deleterious amyloid protein . . . and weight loss.  Incredible. 

It is well understood that dietary restriction in the form of calorie or carbohydrate deprivation is conducive to ketogenesis and serum ketone elevation [10]. The low-carbohydrate high-fat diet (LCHFD) has cycled in and out of popularity for decades as a therapeutic program to treat metabolic syndrome [11]; epilepsy [12]; cognitive deficit [13]; neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease where its shown to downregulate deleterious amyloid protein [14]; as an activator of uncoupling protein activity for thermogenesis [15]; and weight loss [16]. The ketogenic diet is far from a novel concept. The understanding that this dietary protocol can effectively reduce seizure frequency [17] and help treat even drug-resistant epilepsy [18] was established as far back as the 1920's [19, 20].  CJ pointed out the better fats to have in one's diets.  For years, I consumed olive oil, but difficult to find consistently good EVOO.

This really is a must-read article.  Continue reading . . . .

CJ pointed out the better fats to have in one's diet.  For years, I consumed olive oil, but difficult to find consistently good EVOO. He recommends XV Olive Oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, avocado oil. I should have asked him which brands are preferable. Per Mark Sisson's recommendation, always select an olive oil brand nearest you. For example, if you live in Los Angeles, CA, not the best decision to get Greek olive oil, even though the country is known for its olive oil. Ditto for Italy. Instead, pick up a locally manufactured olive oil in and around Los Angeles, like Santa Barbara, Temecula Valley, so forth. This California brand blends several different kinds of olive oils. I think my favorite, or at least one that was consistent, was Dr. Barry Sears' olive oil that had a nice peppery aftertaste. His oil is sourced from Umbria, Italy, which contradicts the recommendation of sourcing it locally. But I liked it.

ANTIOXIDANT CAPSULES IMPROVE HEALTH PARAMETERS AMONG ATHLETES IN TRAINING

A review of Bill Sardi's book The New Truth About Vitamins & Minerals is in order.  It is an excellent primer for newbies and regular supplement consumers to understand the complexities of the vitamin supplements.  It's not as easy as you think.  Some vitamin pills produce a better nutrient profile in the blood and tissue than certain foods.  We like to think that foods alone, the beautiful things grown in the verdue fields of Northern California are Nature's secret to good health.  Turns out that beta carotene alone in pill form is better absorbed than that the beta carotene in carrots.   

I want to start off with a statement I found at the close of Sardi's Chapter 3, "The Recommended Daily Allowance Is Obsolete."  The statement is found in a chart that I feel all parents and adults need to see.  Here's the chart:

SPECIAL NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION THAT CANNOT BE MET BY THE BEST DIET OR MOST MULTIVITAMINS

Total US Population: ~280 Million

Athletes, exercisers: Untold millions. Exercise produces more oxidation within the body; countered by antioxidants.  [Cell Biochem Function 16: 269-75, 1998]  Antioxidant pills improve health parameters among athletes in training.  [Int J Sports Med 21: 146-50, 2000]

Heart Disease Patients: 50+ Million.  Vitamin E may be beneficial. [Archives Family Medicine 8: 537-42, 1999]

Hypertensive patients: 43 Million. 500 mgs Vitamin C daily reduces blood pressure similar to drugs. [The Lancet 354: Dec 1999]

Diabetics: 15.7 Million (798,000 new cases annually)  Vitamin E has protective effects.  [Am J. Clinical Nutrition 63: 753-59, 1996]

Hospitalized: 33 million annually. Hospitalized folks have increased need for antioxidant nutrients.  [Int Journal Vitamin Nutrition Research 54: 65-74, 1984]

Pregnant & Lactating Females: 4 Million US women give birth annually; offspring must obtain nutrients from mother.  Fertile women require folic acid before conception to prevent birth defects.

Tobacco Smokers: 66 Million. Smokers require 25 mgs of Vitamin C for each cigarette they smoke.  [Ann NY Academy Sciences 258: 156-67, 1975]

Elderly: 34 Million Older adults have increased nutritional needs. [Geriatric Nutrition, Raven Press 1998]

Retirees at Risk for Cataracts: 34 Million 10-year users of 250 mgs of Vitamin C have 45-83 percent reduction in risk.  [British Med J 305: 335-39, 1992]

I would have liked to have seen this chart when I was a young man playing baseball or running or basketball.  This is must-viewing for all athletes from elementary through to college level.  

The other thing about vitamins is that we're often misled from the beginning.  During the 1980s we were told that the cholesterol in eggs is bad for you.  We were told that a low-fat, high-carb diet is the healthy diet, so people were eating more pastas and more breads.  Cakes and cookies, too, by that logic must have had some benefit despite the sugars.  Then the '90s came and we got a correction.  Suddenly meat and cheese and butter, even eggs, were healthy again.  Almost overnight.  Alarms about sugar then began to surface.  And as common sense began to reclaim the dietary landscape, instances of some claims going too far emerged, like all-meat diets that produced ketones.  A ketogenic diet was touted as the key to weight loss and a top-tiered approached to curing cancer since its low-carbohydrate efforts positioned itself as the antidote to the '80's high-carbohydrate diet with its high sugar content as the previous avenue to health.  Pictures of carrots, broccoli, and eggs aside, the ketogenic diet may, in fact, help you to lose some weight.  The goal, however, in any diet regimen is health with weight management a beneficial and beautiful side effect of health.  Problem with a ketogenic diet is that people will eat more meat and fewer vegetables.  The antioxidants are in the leafy green and multi-colored vegetables, not in the tissue of the cow.  Animal protein is a superior form of protein, no doubt.  But the iron content of red meat is something to watch out for.  When we're young, iron, which is a growth mineral, is excellent for growing bodies.  At age 40 and beyond, we've accumulated enough iron and probably don't need supplementation of that mineral.  For young folks there is no better protein source than red meat.  But for us older folks, we need to manage mineral accumulation better for iron and iron accumulation is implicated in disease.  

But what about the cancer-prevention theory of ketogenic diets?  Sardi answers that question.  

Dave Bolton, age 35, diagnosed with stage 4 advanced brain cancer ditched carbohydrates and replaced them with protein and vegetables and experienced a shrinkage of his terminal brain tumor to the point where it is barely detectable.  Chemotherapy was also employed.  The scans of his brain are quite remarkable. [Daily Mail UK Aug 24, 2016]

Sadly, the ketogenic diet is often sold as a low-carbohydrate diet, which if not spelled out can be confusing and actually legitimize the consumption of some (and how much is "some"?) carbohydrates.  The carbohydrates you eat on a ketogenic diet are vegetables and some fruit.  Period.  Dot.  End of story.  That is if you want it to work.  Eating meat pinched between two slices of bread on sandwich ain't it.  That's an American diet.  But the point I wanted to make was that the absence of vegetables from your diet is what causes the production of unhealthy blood proteins called homocysteines.  And these are not good for your heart.  I like Bill Sardi's way of phrasing biological processes. 

Homocysteine is an undesirable blood protein whose levels are particularly high among individuals who do not eat fresh vegetables .  When homocysteine levels are intentionally elevated in small animals their memory is impaired whereas if the animals are pre-treated with very high doses of vitamins E and C, memory loss is prevented.  [Metab Brain Disease 17:211-17, 2002] 

And as he himself says, taking vitamins in isolation, like exclusively C without E or A or D, you won't be getting their true benefit, explaining that  

A significant percentage of adults only supplement their diet with Vitamin C or Vitamin E.  They are likely missing the many health benefits provided by a well-designed multivitamin.

So be careful with the ketogenic diet.  Eat your vegetables.  And what is of equal interest is the fact that some vitamins and antioxidants are better absorbed through pill form than through food.  This is important for anyone who believes, as this author once did, that nutrients are better absorbed through food.  

Get out of here!  

No, really.  It's true.

Sardi explains that "While Americans are frequently advised to ovtain essential nutrients from foods, a study conducted among women in an undeveloped country showed that a beta carotene pill improved Vitamin A status better than foods."  

Beta carotene pills may be superior to beta carotene in foods.  While Americans are frequently advised to obtain essential nutrients from foods, a study conducted among women in an undeveloped coutnry showed that a beta carotene pill improved Vitamin A status better than foods.  [The Lancet 346: 75, 1995]  This study reveals that beta carotene in pill form can often improve Vitamin A status better than dark-green leafy vegetables.  Furthermore, a recent report issued from the National Academies of Sciences shows it takes twice as much plant foods such as carrots, broccoli and sweet potatoes, as previously believed to produce a given amount of Vitamin A.  [Natl Acad Sci, Jan, 2001]  A carrot provides plenty of fiber which impedes beta carotene absorption whereas a beta carotene pill contains no fiber to interfere with absorption.  

 Beta carotene is not only beneficial because it produces Vitamin A.  Studies indicate beta carotene helps to keep cholesterol particles from oxidizing (hardening).  [Free Radical Biology Med 17: 537-44, 1994]  

So it's not over.  Sardi concludes his section on vitamin A by bottomlining it for us:

Multivitamins should provide vitamin A for well-nourished population solely in the beta carotene form.  Since there is no toxicity from beta carotene, no limit is suggested though there may be some competition for absorption between carotenoids (beta carotene and lutein/zeaxanthin), so balanced carotenoids are recommended.  Persons with chronic infections or other special circumstances such as night blindness should obtain vitamin A in its fatty form (retinyl acetate or palmitate). 

An important footnote is provided on the different brands that he lists.  That footnote reads like this, "Beta carotene is convereted to vitamin A in the liver and excesses are stored in the skin, which means beta carotene exhibits no liver toxicity [or] (liver buildup)."  How's that for reassurance?  Part of that same chart, he footnotes that the "Amount of vitamin A provided by the typical American diet: 5000 IU."  Which all that a healthy person needs in terms of a maintenance dosage.  He did say that only those who are sick or chronically sick should supplement with the fat soluble forms of vitamin A, "In conditions where dietary intake of the fatty form of vitamin A is insufficient and in states of chronic or prolonged infection, supplementation with less than 5000 IU is suggested."  So there.  He tells you when to supplement and how much to supplement with.  If the situation does not apply to you, then no need to supplement.  Then this, "Amount of vitamin A needed in food supplements: 0."  And finally, "Amount of vitamin A required to produce long-term side effects: 25,000 IU."  

So there you have it.  Just take heed on what he said about the other carotenoids,

Since there is no toxicity from beta carotene, no limit is suggested though there may be some competition for absorption between carotenoids (beta carotene and lutein/zeaxanthin), so balanced carotenoids are recommended.