Troubleshooting the Carnivore Diet
You must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. – Richard Feynman
Gout
Under Eating
Not Losing Weight
Fibre
Salt
Initially I just cut out salt completely. I got increasingly bad cramps (and I almost never got cramps) to the point where it was actually interfering with life (wake up 2-3 times a night with foot or calf cramps, cramps multiple times a day during work). There was also some mood disturbance and lower engery but nothing major.
So I reintroduced salt until the cramps went away (only took a day) and then very slowly reduced salt over 2-3 weeks. That worked fine, no problems that I remember.
It was the nighttime cramps that bothered me the most, what I Found worked really well was to take a little bit of salt before bed. What I'd do is taste a few grains of salt, if it tasted "sweet" I'd take a few more. Once it tasted "bad" I'd stop (most of the time this was only a few grains of salt). That seemed to completely stop the night time cramps.
Blood, sweat, and tears: How much salt do we really need? (AHS22)
Amber O'Hearn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_xz8QH5UgQ
- herbivores use salt licks, carnivores use salt licks to catch herbivores
- plant secondary metabolites require sodium for detoxification (Iason and Villalba, "Behavioral Strategies of Mammal Herbivores against Plant Secondary Metabolites: The Avoideance-Tolerance Continuum
- meat has more sodium than plants
- can make metabolic/endogeneous water from fat and thus drink less water
Salt can help with nighttime urination. https://www.facebook.com/groups/516861462679501/?multi_permalinks=897608067938170¬if_id=1673669054231837¬if_t=group_highlights
Water
Electrolytes
Dairy
Lots of people have trouble with dairy, but would like to include it in their carnivore diet. The way I think about this is that there are four main things you might be reacting to.
1. Histamine. Anything aged or fermented has higher levels of histamine. Some people can handle lots of histamine, some can’t (Google the histamine bucket for some good general info). Common side effects from too much histamine are sneezing, sniffles and itchiness.
2. Lactose/Galactose. The sugars in dairy. Common symptoms are upset tummy and diarrhoea.
3. Whey/ Casein. The proteins in dairy. Common symptoms are constipation and (at least for me) joint pain.
4. Milk fat. Most people tolerate milk fats.
You might be reacting to only one of those or to all of them. You’re going to have to experiment and see.
Ghee is pure milk fat.
Butter is almost pure milk fat (trace amounts of sugars and proteins).
Cream is mostly fat with some proteins and a trace sugars.
The harder the cheese the more milk proteins it has (and the less lactose).
The older the cheese (or yogurt, kefir) the more histamine it has.
Fasting
Heartburn, Nausea, and Diarrhoea
Constipation
Digestive Enzymes
Exercise
Headaches & Migraines
How Much Fat?
Dental Calculus (Tartar)
Histamine
Blood Tests
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If you are metabolically healthy and have no chronic illnesses, you don't need this guide (though I hope it provides a useful starting point).
If you are extremely sick, this guide may not be enough.
‼️ Autoimmune, mental health, and digestive conditions are where carnivore really shines.
That's all you need to get started. :-)
My Own Special Version
It also makes it much easier for fellow carnivores to help troubleshoot any problems you encounter during the adaptation process.
Carnivore is a ketogenic diet which is high in fat, moderate in protein, and very low carb diet.