I rather lean towards that belief too. However, I would also say that depending on where we evolved we would likely be better at digesting a more meat or more plant based diet. There are islands (more tropical I believe) where people eat almost no meat because there aren't many larger animals around to eat. I suspect they may very well include some bugs in that diet, however, as they would be plentiful. I haven't looked into that as it wasn't pertinent to this topic, though.
That's interesting that it was a B deficiency, because aren't the B vitamins usually the ones lacking or low in plants? I wonder what meats they were eating. I'd need to look into it more, but ruminant meat seems to be indicated as the meat that has the better nutrient content and larger animals would certainly have been harder for a couple of inexperienced men to hunt down. Rabbits are notorious for being deficient in a lot of the micronutrients we need, so that could go for other small animals as well. It would be interesting to delve into that more. In a harsh climate like the desert the native people would likely have been far better adapted and likely much more knowledgeable in the foods they would need to access to get the range of nutrition they needed. Which reminds me, the Masai men often get mentioned as mainly meat eaters. They also drink a lot of milk as they farm cattle. Again that's ruminants and I suspect that they would also eat some plant foods, because the women do.
It's probably also worth noting that while there are some people who've been strict carnivore for many years, most of them do add in some limited plant foods once they have recovered from their issues, or if their issues are minor they will occasionally eat other foods on special occasions at social events. Most approach it as an elimination diet then once they are feeling better they try other foods out and see what they can tolerate and what sets their issues off.
The desert dwellers had guns and shot wild antelope. It's vitamin B12 that's lacking in plants but some of the other Bs are not found in meat in sufficient quantities.
IBD is an interesting subject, I have been reading about it in relation to a cat that's suffering from it. In cats, its an autoimmune disease and the treatment is to feed novel proteins or protein molecules that have been hydrolyzed and changed sufficiently to bypass the immune system targeting mechanisms but that brings me to another point: the cat is a hypercarnivore, meaning that they didn't evolve to digest anything besides meat and small amounts of grains or seeds found in their prey's stomachs. It's notable that they have a very short gut and quick food transit times, to avoid bacterial infections by pathogens associated with raw meat. Their "fibre" that aids peristalsis is the fur, feathers and bug exoskeletons of their prey.
We, on the other hand, have long intestines and colons geared towards fermentation of plant fibres and thats where we get vitamin k and others nutrients from. Our bacterial microbiome is very important in our health but we are generalists, not specialists in our nutrition. Autoimmune issues are complex and sometimes exclusion diets do help but as a general prescription, human carnivory is a nope
Ah yes, of course! They were army deserters so it makes sense they'd be armed. At least until they ran out of ammunition. 😆
You raise another very good point with the cats in that even people used to eat a lot more of the animal than just some cuts of steak. The Inuit also used to eat some stomach contents of reindeer.
Yes, very true. I believe it's our microbiome that gets us that little bit more specialised where needed as the microbe colonies grow depending on the foods we're eating and what's available to us. I find it interesting that even identical twins will have different microbiome make ups which explains why they might end up with different health outcomes.
With regards fibre in the diet and meat, if this is correct there is a very small amount of fibre in meat (some or all?) and I've come across suggestions a few times that parts of meat (short chain fatty acids?) act the same way as fibre does for us. This video mentions a couple of studies on low fibre and short chain fatty acids with regards to people with IBS. Again it's not so much healthy people they're talking about here as people with inflammation. There hasn't been much study into this yet, but knowing that there are people who have been eating only carnivore for a long time (some for decades) and are perfectly healthy I have to think there is something to it. That said, I also don't think it's something applies to everyone.
I guess I have more of an interest in this than some because chronic constipation is something that is in my family. For me cutting down on wheat helped to a point, but it's only since moving more to keto (not carnivore for me) that I have finally become regular. My migraines also seem connected to sugars, so that's another reason for cutting back on carbs for me. My ancestry hails from northern climates, so I often wonder if that has anything to do with it.
Agreed. If the elimination diet works then my hope for them would be that at some point they could start adding back whatever else works for them into their diet and I know some have been able to do this. They still have foods they avoid due to not tolerating them very well and that can include some animal products too. It irks me when some of the carnivore cheerleaders demonise all plant foods, because it's obviously not just plants foods that are the issue here. I expect that there are those who've come at autoimmune issues with other approaches and had successes as well. It's not a one size fits all.
BTW, thank you for your input. I love having more food for thought on this and more angles to look at.
You're welcome! I also seem to have autoimmune issues that are currently being medically investigated - possibly set off by a spider bite when I was a kid 🤦♀ and some of the foods that cause me issues are very counterintuitive. Our bodies are much weirder than we think. You will get better if the inflammation causes are removed and the gut can heal but it's complex. Never overlook the role of the gall bladder in intestinal inflammation either
Thank you for another tip.
I think it's often underestimated how much external factors can play into chronic health issues. I have a friend who had a tic bite as a kid and likely has Lymes, but it's not really recognised in Australia. She's had a host of issues building up throughout her life, including autoimmune. She's in her late 50s now and has had a mastectomy for breast cancer, and part of her colon removed for bowel cancer. She's also led a high stress life, all of which has likely brought her to this point.
I hope you manage to figure some things out to help with your autoimmune issues. ❤️
Thank you, you too!
About the gall bladder, I was surprised to learn that alkaline reflux is also a thing