Not every person suffering from chronic illness responds well to medical treatment.
The good news is that diets have proven to be effective for many diseases.
Meat-only diets are gaining attention for lessening the symptoms of several medical conditions. This includes autoimmune diseases and in some cases, cures others. This diet, as its name implies involves eating only meat but, from only ruminant animals. Processed meat, non-ruminant animals like chicken and pork, carbs, vegetables, or fruits are all excluded.
Mikhaila Peterson, daughter of renowned clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson, has struggled with an autoimmune disorder throughout her life. She was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in multiple joints at a young age and found that traditional medical treatment was not effective in managing her condition.
Her health kept going downhill, from having to get a hip replacement surgery and then an ankle replacement surgery soon after at just 17. She was allergic to everything. It didn't take much to trigger an autoimmune reaction. Life was hell to live.
After years of living in excruciating pain, she started researching and trying out different diets that could help. And then, she stumbled upon meat-only diets. It was a game-changer. The results were unbelievable. She talks about her journey here (sh-link.me/BjIhg)
Her father, Jordan also went on meat-only diets and was able to lose 70 pounds of weight as well as recover from antidepressant withdrawal. Her mother, Tammy went on the same diet and recovered from osteoporosis.
Making clear common misconceptions about meat-only diets
• What about a balanced diet?
1. You drink water on meat-only diets.
2. Meat and bone are one of the most mineral-dense food sources.
3. Protein can be converted to calories in a process known as ketogenesis so you have your energy source.
4. Meat contains most of the essential vitamins. You can easily get the absent ones from supplements. The average carbs-filled unhealthy meal does not contain as much vitamin as you will get from a meat-only diet. Vitamin deficiency is linked to taking excess carbs and not meat.
• Doesn't red meat increase cholesterol and chances of heart failure?
Not entirely true, new studies have shown that although red meat intake increases cholesterol that doesn't translate to heart disease. I'll talk more about this in a bit.
• Eating just meat can cause diarrhea
Yes, it can. only at first because meat increases gut absorption. Carbohydrate-feeding bacteria present in the intestinal lining become overly active when you eat excess carbs. Reverting to a meat-only diet causes them to die off and the process of clearing them out is what presents as diarrhea. The body ultimately adjusts to the diet.
• But everyone says plant-based diets are the way to go
There is no one solution to the millions of diseases that exist. Reaction to different food types also differs from person to person. That is why Mr. A is lactose intolerant and Mr. B isn't. Some people swear by a plant-based diet as the cure for their illnesses, others will find themselves in a hospital bed if they consume one peanut or even a fruit!
But for a fact, it is well known that meat gives the highest nutritional value among all food. This includes essential amino acids, vitamin B12, zinc, phosphorus, and iron. Most often than not you can not go wrong with meat.
Evolutionary evidence that backs up meat-only diets
Despite concerns for the risk of nutrient deficiency given that meat-only diets seem absurd, evolutionary evidence from craniodental features proves that man has transitioned from a plant-based to a more meat-inclusive diet. This happened to adapt to the development of our brains. Anthropological proof for the potency of meat-only diets is mentioned here(sh-link. me/dcDQR)
The Eskimos, well known to survive almost exclusively on meat for generations have excellent health with few incidences of chronic diseases. Green land Eskimos show no blood pressure issues linked to taking red meat. They show no renal disorders, rickets, or scurvy (that should be present if they are vitamin deficient).
In comparison, their counterparts, the Labrador Eskimos that live on preserved food including dried potatoes, flour, canned food, and cereal have a larger incidence of these diseases.
Epilepsy was initially treated with ketogenic diets, similar to meat-only diets. It has been replaced with anti-epileptic drugs which are easier to administer but are not as effective.
How meat-only diets can improve autoimmune disorders
The body fighting against and killing its tissues is what autoimmune disorders are all about. The use of immunosuppressants which reduces inflammation is the basis of treatment. The downside is that viruses and diseases that the body should normally be able to fight off can easily attack it.
What if there is a better way to go about it?
Osteoarthritis is an extremely painful autoimmune condition that can leave one immobile due to the destruction of tissues and cartilage of the joints in the body.
Inflammatory reactions from it are further worsened by the intake of excess carbs, and seed vegetable oils containing linoleic acids.
Solution? Simple, replacement with meat-only diets can greatly improve osteoarthritis. It gives room for body tissues to heal with immunosuppressants by preventing avoidable inflammation from taking carbs and processed vegetable oils.
How meat-only diets can improve Obesity and Diabetes
Consumption of high carbs and vegetable oils are the leading causes of obesity and diabetes, the most popular diseases of the 21st century. Since they are major components of modern meals, it is no surprise that these diseases are so common. Once more, meat-only diets proffer an effective solution.
Before I explain how it is important to understand how obesity and diabetes are linked. Taking excess of high-calorie foods like processed carbohydrates, sugars and fat can cause obesity.
This excess gets converted to fat. Accumulation of fat over time causes resistance against insulin receptors. Insulin, a hormone that transfers excess glucose from the blood to the tissues, is not able to function the right way.
So diabetes develops.
Meat-only diets solve this problem by increasing the pH of the body. Digestion of protein in meat produces ammonia which increases the body's pH.
A higher body pH notably increases the rate at which excess glucose clears out from the blood. Not only that, it reduces body weight (great for getting rid of obesity).
(sh-link.me/TEeND)shows that dietary pH enhancement improved metabolic outcomes in diet-induced obese male and female mice.
How meat-only diets can prevent and improve heart disease
As opposed to the popular belief that "saturated fats cause heart disease", recent studies prove the opposite.
This myth began with a study, The Seven Countries Study, conducted by Dr. Ancel Keys in 1958. His study claimed that saturated animal fats caused heart attacks and better alternatives are seed vegetable oils.
Later on, the research proved to be false as it was because of several reasons:
It was based on observational evidence from people who were asked questions that required remembering feeding patterns for a long period. This method of research does not give accurate results.
He excluded data from 16 countries that did not support his theory!. High-fat diet of traditional cultures with a low incidence of heart disease was omitted from his study.
There is more, the research was interfered with by Crisco, a branch of Proctor and Gamble that specializes in the manufacture of seed vegetable oils. Renowned journalist Nina Tiecholz sheds more light on this here(sh-link.me/WmLHZ).
Keys used trans-fat-rich margarine in his experiments and implied that he used butter. Trans fat is already known to be bad fat.
But to clear things up evidence from recent studies far outweighs those absurd claims that might single-handedly have been the cause for the rapid increase in heart attacks in the 21st century.
One of them, funny enough set out to find out how replacing saturated fats like butter and fatty meat could lower cholesterol and as a consequence heart disease ended with an opposite conclusion.
Although there was lower cholesterol among subjects that were on meals with seed vegetable oils, there was a higher incidence of heart attacks in those subjects compared to those on meals with saturated animal fats.
To be even more clear, seed vegetable oils contain a partially unsaturated fatty acid known as linoleic acid which gives an inflammatory reaction to the body when taken.
Continuous consumption of these oils leads to more inflammatory reactions in the body. This causes the heart to enlarge which finally leads to heart failure.
Saturated fats were proven to be yes, high in cholesterol but that fact did not directly translate to heart disease in subjects on meat-only diets.
Hence cholesterol is not the problem but rather the seed vegetable oils we consume so often. Who would have thought?
Find out more about this 2016 Minnesota Coronary experiment here
Conclusion
Although widely criticized, meat-only diets have repeatedly been proven in recent studies to be effective in dealing with autoimmune disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
To reduce the present spread of these most often diet-induced conditions, more awareness should be made about
misconceptions surrounding this diet and its benefits.
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