Lion Diet

Hip

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The headline suggests that Morocco study is an exception to the norm:

If you look at the Amazonian Indians today, who are still practising hunter-gatherers (although they do some small scale farming too), they have an omnivore diet. The hunt animals, but also eat fruit and vegetables which grow in the Amazon. In hot and humid regions like the Amazon, fruit is in abundance.
 
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If you look at the Amazonian Indians today, who are still practising hunter-gatherers (although they do some small scale farming too), they have an omnivore diet. The hunt animals, but also eat fruit and vegetables which grow in the Amazon. In hot and humid regions like the Amazon, fruit is in abundance.

Humans didn't reach the Americas until about 15-20,000 years ago, so I don't think they're very representative. I don't know if any humans from the other continents have relied on such a high proportion of plants before agriculture.

Miki Ben-Dor, an author on the following paper and many other works related to paleolithic human diet, seems like he knows what he's talking about from a couple talks I've seen, though I haven't dug deep into his work. Note the potential COI that at least two authors on this paper, including Ben-Dor, eat a carnivore diet, I think.

Humans were apex predators for two million years, study finds (10.1002/ajpa.24247)
 
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Hip

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Humans didn't reach the Americas until about 15-20,000 years ago, so I don't think they're very representative. I don't know if any humans from the other continents have relied on such a high proportion of plants before agriculture.

If the plant food is readily available, like fruit hanging from trees or root vegetables, I imagine humans are going to eat that. The benefit of being an omnivore is that you have a wider selection of possible food sources, and hunter-gatherers I don't think would have ignored plant food sources that are easy to find.

I would think that in pre-neolithic Africa, there would have been plant foods available. It's only when you go to ice covered areas like Inuit territory that you have no plant foods, so people then only eat meat.
 
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If the plant food is readily available, like fruit hanging from trees or root vegetables, I imagine humans are going to eat that. The benefit of being an omnivore is that you have a wider selection of possible food sources, and hunter-gatherers I don't think would have ignored plant food sources that are easy to find.

I would think that in pre-neolithic Africa, there would have been plant foods available. It's only when you go to ice covered areas like Inuit territory that you have no plant foods, so people then only eat meat.

I don't disagree, though I imagine it's possible that if large prey was in very high abundance, they could kill a large animal and then have food for a while and not need to spend all day foraging, though they might have still eaten some plants if they were easy to get. I think I've read that hunting a large animal is a much more efficient source of calories than gathering.
 

Arius

Senior Member
I've been eating a paleo diet (modified to suit my specific dietary needs - no nightshades, no casein [meaning I can't have any dairy at all], low-FODMAPs [off and on], etc) for almost 10 years. In the first six weeks, I saw extraordinary gains. I sincerely believe this diet saved me from being bedbound and possibly saved my life. Then the gains stopped coming. I continue to eat this way merely to maintain them.

In 2020, I experiment with eating only meat - I believe it was mostly or possibly exclusively beef and pork, but there may have been chicken as well, I don't recall - from a local farmer. His meat is grass-finished, free range, rotationally grazed, hormone free, etc. Unfortunately this was economically unsustainable for me and I saw no improvement at all in my symptoms, so I went back to eating crappy grocery store meat and vegetables.

Is there any reason why a Lion Diet would be different?
 

GreenEdge

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I sincerely believe this diet saved me from being bedbound and possibly saved my life. Then the gains stopped coming.
Same here. Recently I've experienced gains again from taking Citrulline Malate before exercise.

Is there any reason why a Lion Diet would be different?
Yes, ruminant animals with their 4 chamber stomach are much better at removing plant toxins so their meat is very clean. I do notice a difference when I eat only ruminant meat (eg. beef, lamb). When I include pork or eggs the effect is noticed within 4 days.

Excluding plant toxins takes away a source of constant stress put on my body.
 
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GreenEdge

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New essential nutrient identified
Research in the past few years suggests that pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) is likely to be an essential nutrient for human beings, being deeply implicated in longevity, prevention of diabetes and fatty liver syndrome etc. It also has recently been implicated in a new form of cell death resulting from fragile cell membranes interacting with iron homeostasis, both featuring in such diseases as metabolic syndrome.

Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Essential Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Relevant Cell-Based Activities with Leading Longevity-Enhancing Compounds
Pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) is an essential odd-chain saturated fatty acid with broad activities relevant to protecting cardiometabolic, immune, and liver health. C15:0 activates AMPK and inhibits mTOR, both of which are core components of the human longevity ...

Long story short, low levels of C15 can lead to cellular instability and may be a causal factor in a range of modern syndromes and disease. Ruminant fat as the main contributor of C15 in a typical Western diet. So it is essential we eat ruminant meat.

See also thread: Anybody tried C15:0 / fatty 15 / pentadecanoic acid ?
 

Florida Guy

Senior Member
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I was a vegetarian for many years though I ate dairy and occasional fish. When I started to feel the onset of mecfs, I thought I might be low on minerals or something and tried a lot of things. Then I thought that the pain in my leg muscles, which is where I usually get pem, might be from a lack of protein. So I started eating chicken and protein bars. It seemed to make me feel a little better, it didn't cure anything but I'm staying with the increased protein
 

GreenEdge

Senior Member
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Location
Brisbane, Australia
The higher level view I get from lion diet has enabled me to see:

Stress I create for myself:
  • stress caused by not correcting autistic traits
  • putting the needs of others before my own
  • procrastinating and a long list of things I need to do
  • not started or not finished jobs around the home
  • planing ahead more than current phase of life
  • running late for events and being in a rush
  • competitive driving
Stress -> anxiety -> poor sleep -> fatigue
Stress -> anxiety -> muscle tension -> increased exercise stress -> post exertion malaise​
 
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91
The higher level view I get from lion diet has enabled me to see:
That is so cool! Could you please share more details on your lion diet experience? When did you start it? Do you supplement (and what)?

Today is my third attempt to start it :) I figured that my two previous attempts failed right after I tried decaf coffee which led to unbearable cravings for milk and cookies.
 

GreenEdge

Senior Member
Messages
679
Location
Brisbane, Australia
That is so cool! Could you please share more details on your lion diet experience? When did you start it?
I started carnivore in March '22. Having been keto for about 5 years prior made my transition to carnivore easy. However starting keto was very difficult, taking me almost a year to get my carbohydrate intake below 50g and another 4 months to become ketogenic. I later found I needed to keep carbs below 20g/day to stay in ketosis. Carnivore is a restricted ketogenic diet and relatively easy but there's still one hurdle (besides cravings).

Getting into ketosis
I always get unusually hungry before entering ketosis, and before I knew better, I would always eat something and that would stop me becoming ketogenic. Eventually, I learnt to eat a zero carb meal (eg. salmon) to satisfy my hunger. But later I found I only need to distract myself for an hour or two, then hunger disappears as the body gains access to its fat stores (because insulin is low).
 
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