How carnivore diet relates to treatment

[cigana]

I tied the carnivore diet (only eating animal) for 8 weeks. It didn't affect my fatigue much, but there was one surprising benefit that relates to treatment. Supplements/medication that would normally make me feel tired no longer did. So it might enable some of you to tolerate supplements you usually can't.

I have previously tried low carb (30-50g per day) and didn't have this effect, so it seems zero carb is important.

 

[hapl808]

Interesting. I found the reverse when I did Carnivore - I was much more sensitive to any supplements and had to stop taking pretty much everything.

 

[serg1942]

Thank you for sharing! A 100% carnivore diet is actually healing my terrible IBS, and one thing that has been key is to be able to tolerate more supplements so that the process of healing can get accelerated.

So, if not for fatigue, for those suffering from SIBO or IBS, I highly recommend to consider this highly anti-inflammatory diet!

 

[Nielk]

I have been suffering from severe headaches for years now. I tried basically everything I could to treat them with little positive results. Lately, I noticed that after eating meat, my headache lifts for a short period of time. I started the Carnivore diet a few weeks ago. I am only eating meat, fish, and eggs (I can't have dairy) and I'm feeling much better as far as my headaches go. I do notice though that on days when I only eat fish and no meat, I feel worse. It seems that it is the meat itself that seems to be therapeutic for me. I don't know why. My doctors are stumped. What is in meat that it makes such a difference with my headaches?

 

[cigana]

I have been suffering from severe headaches for years now. I tried basically everything I could to treat them with little positive results. Lately, I noticed that after eating meat, my headache lifts for a short period of time. I started the Carnivore diet a few weeks ago. I am only eating meat, fish, and eggs (I can't have dairy) and I'm feeling much better as far as my headaches go. I do notice though that on days when I only eat fish and no meat, I feel worse. It seems that it is the meat itself that seems to be therapeutic for me. I don't know why. My doctors are stumped. What is in meat that it makes such a difference with my headaches?

Fish is high in histamines, unless it's fresh (it has to be very very fresh). Histamines often cause headaches..

 

[Jadzhia]

What is in meat that it makes such a difference with my headaches?

It may be what's NOT in it. As cigana above says, could be histamine-related. I suppose you could do an experiment where you cook some meat and leave it in the fridge for a day, then eat it (as by then it would have developed some histamine). It's a pity there's no simple way to test how much histamine is in a food before we eat it!

 

[Nielk]

Thanks, @cigana and @Jadzhia for your replies. I hear you you about histamine. In my case though, it seems to act as a therapeutic. I could be in the midst of a severe headache, eat some meat and a few minutes later - my headache is gone for a couple of hours.. Nothing else, except strong painkillers do that for me.

 

[Eastman]

... It seems that it is the meat itself that seems to be therapeutic for me. I don't know why...

Maybe it's the carnitine?

Carnitine Responsive Migraine Headache Syndrome: Case Report and Review of the Literature

The effects of concurrent Coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine supplementation in migraine prophylaxis: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial

In case you are considering supplementing carnitine, do be aware though that some people think carnitine leads to increased TMAO production and cardiovascular disease risk.

 

[Nielk]

Very interesting, @Eastman. I’m going to look into it. Thank you.

 

[Seadragon]

I need to eat red meat (preferably beef) at least once or twice a week and I need protein (meat, cheese, eggs, fish) once or twice a day every day otherwise I feel worse. I don't tolerate white fish very well though, not sure why but I find it hard to digest.

Conversely at the start of my illness, I couldn't get enough carbs and needed less protein then. I also had an insatiable hunger yet now I have no appetite at all.