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NOTE: None of the following was written or edited by AI. All of this
material was copy and pasted by me from diverse articles and studies,
search engine results, Facebook or YouTube posts and comments, and then
summarized, combined, and edited by me together with a few comments and
thoughts of my own. At the time it was not practical to record every
citation for every phrase or sentence or paragraph. I did not plan on
or realize early on that this would be so wide-ranging as it has turned out
to be. A fair amount of original source materials is in the
Documentations on or videos listed throughout the Carnivore section of this
website. Thank-you.
ANTI-NUTRIENTS Many of the nutrients in plants are blocked from being absorbed by humans because of numerous compounds also in plants which are labeled as anti-nutrients. Some of these have been/are used by humans for their anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and other medical properties for millennia, as well as for culinary and industrial (i.e., tanning) purposes. Anti-nutrients are self-protective chemicals or defensive compounds in plants, and also some of the resulting metabolites created in animals when the plants are ingested. Many plants contain more than one of these and they may serve to regulate processes in plants in addition to being protective. "Anti-nutrients" include such things as alkaloids [at least seven broad categories for hundreds of thousands of these nitrogen-containing compounds: human reactions include drug and mushroom toxicities, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, acute tetanus], amylase inhibitors [block up to half of carb-digesting enzymes leading to GI discomforts], coumarins [over 1,000 naturally-occurring compounds: increase bleeding and bruising, respiratory and GI discomforts and skin reactions], cyanogenic glycosides [90% of known cyanogens: acute cyanide intoxication], FODMAPS [fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols: can cause GI discomforts], furanocoumarins [at least two dozen types of photosensitizers: pigment-stimulating and GI issues; mostly from the Apiaceae, Rutaceae, Moraceae, Polygonaceae, and Hypericaceae families, and to a lesser extent the Amaranthaceae, Anacardiaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, and Asteraceae families among others: primarily celery, carrots, dill, fennel, parsley, parsnip, anise seed, citrus (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, kumquat, mandarin, bergamot, etc.), rue, fig, mulberry, breadfruit, buckwheat, St. John's Wort, spinach, aloe, chickpea, soybean, pea, clove, coffee, chili pepper, turmeric. (Seed oils have also been implicated as well.)], glucosinolates [about 132 types that cause GI discomforts and are degraded by gut microflora to form nitriles, isothiocyanates, and sulforaphane, which are then metabolized to goitrin and thiocyanate which interfere with the uptake of iodine by the thyroid gland and block the synthesis of the thyroid hormones T3 (thyroxine) and T4 (triiodothyronine) increasing the risk of thyroid diseases, such as goiter and hypothyroidism], goitrogens [mainly goitrins, thiocyanates and flavonoids which affect the thyroid gland and block cellular uptake of iodine], hemaglutinins and lectins [over 500 identified and isolated types: interfere with mineral absorption, bind to intestinal cells causing autoimmune issues, GI discomforts], lipase inhibitors [interfere with absorption of fat and fat-soluble vitamins], oxalates [mineral binders producing crystals and about 75% of all kidney stones], phytates and phytic acid [in the bran of grains and outer layer of legumes and some vegetables, these chelate minerals (P, Zn, Mg, Cu, Fe) into insoluble complexes which then starve our cells no matter how much we consume], phytoestrogens [endocrine disruptors], polyphenols [8K compounds including flavonoids (60%), phenolic acids (30%), isoflavones, and lignans, some are recommended for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that may lower blood sugar, blood pressure, heart disease and certain cancers' risk: they also inhibit iron absorption and digestive enzymes], protease inhibitors [read halfway down this page, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24937-protease-inhibitors], resins [allergic reactions, GI discomforts, bruising or bleeding], salicylates [respiratory and intestinal tract and skin reactions], saponins [over 500 known types: block nutrient absorption, damage fat metabolism, and disrupt endocrine function], tannins [interfere with iron absorption and cause GI discomforts], terpenoids [bruising or bleeding, anemia, GI discomforts, peripheral neuropathy, headaches, mouth sores and ulcers], toxalbumins [GI discomforts and skin reactions], trypsin inhibitors [impede protein and nutrient absorption, GI discomforts, impair thyroid function, damage the pancreas, skin reactions] and indigestible fiber [GI discomforts]. Therefore the amounts of nutrients technically noted in plants are not very bioavailable to us -- even if the plants are soaked or cooked. Plus the Omega-3 fatty acid we can get from plants is not in a form we can use, and there is all that gas-producing indigestible fiber they have. And many commercially-grown food plants have pesticide and herbicide residues these days which are not only on the surfaces but are often taken up and incorporated into the plant itself and thus cannot simply be washed off. Drinking plant juices and smoothies, specifically, give our guts very concentrated amounts of the antinutrients in a very short time. Seaweeds contain various anti-nutrient compounds -- and heavy metals -- that can reduce their nutritional quality and hinder the absorption of essential nutrients. These compounds can negatively affect human and animal health by decreasing the availability of vital nutrients, leading to deficiencies and related disorders. These compounds include trypsin and α-amylase inhibitors, polyphenol compounds such as tannins, lectins, phytates, saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids, oxalates, and cyanogenic glycosides. Seaweed polysaccharides are also regarded as an antinutritional factor that limits the action of human digestive enzymes, for example, pepsin activity. The presence of anionic polysaccharides (e.g., alginates or carrageenans) and neutral polysaccharides (e.g., xylanes and cellulose) in large quantities in seaweed cell walls can limit the availability of biologically active compounds (e.g., proteins) not only during enzyme digestion, but also during extraction procedures that aim at the isolation of bioactive compounds from algal biomass. Therefore, the presence of a large polysaccharide fraction (e.g., cellulose) in seaweeds can limit their use as a source of proteins for humans or animals. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889157525000973; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6891420/) We individually do have different sensitivities to these substances, and that is what we need to personally discover if we want to continue including plants in our diets. How do we react to even small amounts of each of these plants? The dose makes the poison: each of us has different allergies and sensitivities. One meal may not harm us, but chronic consumption does add up and the body cannot always protect us from accumulated substances that are not simply flushed out after every meal. What are the most common worst anti-nutrients? Oxalates, lectins, and goitregens. Why "Grains are bad"? Because of the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytates and phytic acid [in the bran of grains and outer layer of legumes and some vegetables, these minerals (P, Zn, Mg, Cu, Fe) are chelated into insoluble complexes which then starve our cells no matter how much we consume] ; glyphosate [which is commonly found in bread and other grain products due to its use as a herbicide on crops like wheat and oats, not just as a surface coating but incorporated into the tissues of the seeds themselves. Recent tests show detectable levels in several popular brands, however, these levels are generally below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "safety limits."] ; and corn [most of which is not nixtamalized, a process where corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution made with limewater (often slaked lime/calcium hydroxide), then washed and hulled. It makes the corn easier to grind, improves flavor, and can reduce harmful mycotoxins by up to 97-100% (for aflatoxins), while also increasing nutritional value. The processing renders the protein more digestible, allowing tryptophan to be absorbed by humans. Humans can convert tryptophan into niacin, thus helping to prevent pellagra, which was a common deficiency resulting from eating large amounts of non-processed corn. Other measures of protein quality are also improved]. Bran from grains irritates the gut lining. Gluten is an allergen for some people. Plant foods metabolized produce a more alkaline ash, while meat products produce a more acidic ash. HOWEVER, our bodies are perfectly capable of and absolutely must maintain a certain narrow range of pH of between 7.35 and 7.45 at rest. At the end of a maximum intensity exercise, the blood pH can be down to 6.8 because of the lactate produced. The body immediately (within a few minutes) uses buffer systems (bicarbonate) and flushes out the acid through the lungs by exhaling CO2 and the kidneys via urine to rebalance the pH back to the resting range. There is no possible way our foods can make our bodies more alkaline or acidic. It is an unfortunate verbal phrasing which gives the erroneous impression that the food we eat can so alter our biochemistry that way. This is NOT to say the foods cannot otherwise affect us with anti-nutrients, essential nutrients, etc. -- the more important result of what our food choices do. The typical Western diet yields a net acid load estimated to be 50 mEq/d. As a result, healthy adults consuming the standard western diet sustain a chronic, low-grade pathogenic metabolic acidosis that worsens with age as kidney function declines. Virtually all preagricultural diets were net base yielding because of the absence of cereals and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods -- foods that were introduced during the Neolithic and Industrial Eras and that displaced base-yielding fruit and vegetables. Consequently, a net base/alkaline-producing diet was the norm throughout most of hominin evolution. The known health benefits of a net base-yielding diet include preventing and treating osteoporosis, age-related muscle wasting, calcium kidney stones, hypertension, and exercise-induced asthma and slow the progression of age- and disease-related chronic renal insufficiency. THE BRAIN The blood-brain barrier essentially seals off the brain from large molecules that circulate in the blood. Large, complex molecules, including many different proteins, can dock at receptors in the capillaries of the brain but the blood-brain barrier blocks their direct access to the brain. Specific transporters have evolved for the brain to take up smaller molecules like glucose. This selective filtering process is critical to brain integrity but is also metabolically extremely costly. Hence, not only is brain function itself metabolically expensive but so is the maintenance of the blood-brain barrier. Unlike in other tissues, brain glucose uptake is mostly independent of whether blood glucose or insulin is high or low. This relative insensitivity to insulin is important for maintaining a steady rate of glucose utilization by preventing wide swings in brain glucose uptake as blood glucose and insulin change after each meal. The challenge is that when blood glucose decreases for more than a few hours, the brain rapidly needs to be supplied with a different fuel. Most tissues use long chain fatty acids (16 and 18 carbon fatty acids such as palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids) as the back-up to glucose but this was not an option for the brain. The brain was unique in coming to depend on ketone bodies (ketones) instead of fatty acids as the back-up to glucose. About 70-80% of the brain can use ketones, not glucose. The brain also does not need insulin to get its needed glucose. Body/brain preferentially prioritizes/uses ketones and/or lactate (from excessive exercise which increases fat utilization) over using glucose. Glucose is spared for muscle use. The liver converts excessive fat to ketone bodies to make up the energy needs of the brain when ingested glucose is decreased and insulin levels drop. When ketones or glucose are both present, the brain consumes each in a dose-dependent manner. The body self-regulates and uses ketones first. Ketones, primarily β-Hydroxybutyric acid, are able to cross the blood-brain barrier into the central nervous system. Levels of β-hydroxybutyric acid increase in the liver, heart, muscle, brain, and other tissues with exercise, calorie restriction, fasting, and ketogenic diets. Low carb intake of 51-130 gm/day does have some therapeutic value compared to the body on SAD. Not two different fuel sources, but two different gears that can operate at the same time for different purposes. The human brain consumes ~3-4 mg of glucose per 100g of brain tissue per minute or about 100 g (a quarter pound) of glucose per day. Thus, the adult brain's energy requirement is equivalent to 20-23% of the body's daily energy intake. In the newborn human brain, the value is a remarkable 74%. Brain uptake of ketones increases in direct proportion to ketone levels in the blood. Thus, when fasting starts, the initial rate of brain ketone uptake is relatively slow because plasma keton concentrations are low and the monocarboxylic acid transporter are still not fully activate for ketone transport. If fasting goes beyond four to six hours, the normal stimulation of insulin production by carbohydrate intake decreases markedly, thereby permitting release of free fatty acids form fat stores into the blood. Free fatty acids replace glucose for most organs and drive ketone production in the liver, allowing brain uptake of ketones to become fully activated. The amounts and activities of the enzymes in the brain needed to metabolize ketones always exceed what is necessary to supply the brain's fuel needs, even during fasting or starvation. Hence, ketone utilization is a constitutive feature of the brain and not an adaptive response, i.e., the brain is used to metabolizing ketone bodies and is always prepared to use them as soon as they are available. Ketones can seamlessly replace an inadequate supply of glucose to meet up to two-thirds of the adult brain's energy needs. (Cunnane, 2014) VITAMIN C Vitamin C and glucose -- which share a similar molecular structure -- share similar receptors/transporters into our cells, such as GLUT1, GLUT3, and GLUT4, with glucose out-competing vitamin C and having higher uptake. Therefore, with a high carb diet which produces a lot of glucose, much more vitamin C is needed. (The hexoses glucose, galactose and fructose serve as important dietary energy sources in animals and glucose plays a central role in energy homeostasis within eucaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells are defined by the presence of a membrane-bound nucleus and various organelles, which allow for compartmentalization of cellular functions. They can be unicellular or multicellular and include organisms such as animals, plants, fungi, and protists. These molecules are unable to diffuse passively across cellular membranes, and require transporter proteins for entry into and exit from cells.) On a low or zero carb diet, the amount of vitamin C present in meat can be sufficient for bodily needs -- including preventing scurvy. However, many analyses of vitamin C in meat lazily ASSUMED that there was not any in there, so they said that the vitamin C content was zero. (Technically if the amount of vitamin C in a food is below the threshold of 0.5 mg/100 gm then it can be legally claimed that the amount is zero.) If there is less glucose circulating there are fewer free radicals causing oxidative stress and, therefore, we don't need nearly as much C as someone on the standard diet. When ketogenesis occurs in the liver, mitochondrial glutathione levels are increased. More glutathione means more enzyme glutathione reductase to recycle dehydroascorbic acid (oxidized vitamin C) in the body into ascorbic acid (reduced vitamin C). (Glutathione is an organic compound made of the amino acids glutamate, cysteine and glycine and is an antioxidant in almost every known life form.) Ketogenic diets can also increase uric acid, the major antioxidant in human serum, believed to spare vitamin C in its antioxidant capacity, and conserving it for other tasks. Animal foods also provide generous amounts of carnitine, meaning that less vitamin C is needed to synthesize carnitine (a process to which vitamin C is crucial). Collagen, a group of about 28 types of the complex triple helix and most abundant (25-35%) protein in mammals, is part of the carnivore intake and provides the amino acids (about 33% glycine and 17% proline) which otherwise would require more vitamin C co-factor for their synthesis in the human body. (Zinc, copper and manganese are the other co-factors.) (https://tools.myfooddata.com/nutrient-ranking-tool/vitamin-c/meats/highest/household/common+sr/no ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jvcWrYqEL4) Vitamin C is accumulated in mammalian cells by two types of proteins: sodium-ascorbate co-transporters (SVCTs) and hexose transporters (GLUTs); in particular, SVCTs actively import ascorbate, the reduced form of this vitamin. SVCTs are surface glycoproteins encoded by two different genes, very similar in structure. They show distinct tissue distribution and functional characteristics, which indicate different physiological roles. SVCT1 is involved in whole-body homeostasis of vitamin C, while SVCT2 protects metabolically active cells against oxidative stress. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17541511/) The Inuits have gone for lifetimes with very little plant matter in their diets -- some seasonal berries and definitely no citrus -- and there are no recorded cases of scurvy among them. One addition: fresh and frozen meat contains enough vitamin C, but canned or dehydrated meat does not. Old time sailors had barrels of dried meat to eat (along with large quantities of often moldy hardtack bread). Hardtack is a type of dense cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt which was then, for long voyages, baked four times rather than the more common two and prepared six months before sailing. Hardtack is very inexpensive and long-lasting if kept dry, allowing it to be used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods. Crushing or dampening the biscuits made them edible. Sailors whose rations included up to a pound daily of hardtack and some salt pork did get scurvy. Their officers who could dine on fresh meat did not come down with this often 50% fatal malady. (It is also worth noting that higher levels of vitamin C are often found in fruits which have higher levels of sugars.) The name "vitamin C" always refers to the l-enantiomer of ascorbic acid and its oxidized form, dehydroascorbate (DHAA, aka DHA). Therefore, unless written otherwise, "ascorbate" and "ascorbic acid" refer in the nutritional literature to l-ascorbate and l-ascorbic acid respectively. Most animals are able to synthesize their own vitamin C. However, apes (including humans) and monkeys (but not all primates), most bats, most fish, some rodents, and certain other animals must acquire it from dietary sources because a gene for a synthesis enzyme has mutations that render it dysfunctional. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C) The global human metabolism of ascorbic acid differs from that of animal species in several respects. Firstly, the half-life of ascorbate was shown to be ~4 to 5 times longer in man than in guinea pigs and rats. Second, in guinea pigs and rats, radiolabelled CO2 is produced from ascorbate labelled on C1. Third, whereas in humans DHA is almost completely converted to ascorbate, this process is less efficient in other animals where DHA is rapidly catabolized. Finally, on virtually vitamin C-free diet, the onset of scurvy is less rapid in man than in guinea pigs. These findings indicate that humans are better able than rodents to save vitamin C, probably because of both a better ability to reduce DHA to ascorbate and a lower dehydroascorbatase activity. It is speculated that this also applies to bats, which are unable to synthesize ascorbic acid and some of which have a low supply of this vitamin in their food. Glucose provides a key supply of energy and carbon for all living organisms and its transport is a universally conserved property. Vertebrate glucose transporters belong to the Glut family of multimembrane-spanning facilitative transporters. The first identified protein of this family, Glut1, is a type 2 integral membrane protein composed of 12 transmembrane domains that delineate six extracellular loops. Fourteen Glut isoforms have now been identified in the human genome but Glut1 is the main functional transporter of glucose in most transformed cells as well as in various hematopoietic cell lineages. The Glut1 transporter is also crucial for facilitating glucose transport in the brain; a haploinsufficiency of Glut1 results in infantile seizures, delayed development, and microcephaly. Glut1 also transports L-dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA, aka DHA), an oxidized intermediate of ascorbic acid (AA). DHA entry via Glut family transporters was initially investigated because of the structural similarities between DHAA and glucose. Once transported into the cell, DHAA is immediately reduced to AA allowing a recycling of ascorbate. The uptake of AA into cells is mediated by a distinct class of transporters; sodium-dependent vitamin C transporters (SVCT1 and SVCT2) whose expression profiles differ from those of Glut family members. AA is essential for maintaining plasma and tissue reductive capacity, removing superoxide via its own oxidation into DHAA. CALORIES Calories are an inexact food measure of heat production. 200 calories of beef are much more nutritious and satisfying that 200 calories of potatoes or broccoli. How or why do you count that? Starting out carnivore, especially, eat until you are comfortably full. Then don't eat again until you are truly hungry. Your body is getting the nutrition it needs and you don't have to worry about the quantity details. A meal with mostly carbs drives blood sugar up and triggers the hormone insulin, and you are hungry again soon after. A protein-based meal without carbs has a gentler increase on blood sugar and need for insulin, and satiates you longer. A fatty meal without carbs barely raises the blood sugar and insulin at all, and satiates you the best. Ketogenesis shifts your body's metabolism in ways we are only beginning to understand. It's no longer just about calories in, calories out (CICO); it's about how your body uses fat and how it processes food. Ketosis doesn't just help burn fat -- it changes the entire game. When we shift from carb-burning to fat-burning, everything from muscle retention to liver healing to energy expenditure works differently. The body does not eat "percentages." It receives grams of actual substrate. It receives amino acids, fatty acids, glucose, minerals, vitamins, water, cholesterol, and other compounds. It then responds hormonally, enzymatically, and metabolically. A calorie number does not tell you what the food is doing. It does not tell you whether glucose is being oxidized, stored, converted, or recycled. It does not tell you what insulin and glucagon are doing. It does not tell you how the body is partitioning fuel. It does not tell you whether a person is nourished. It does not tell you whether the diet fits the organism. If you can count the calories falling into the toilet bowl, then the numbers add up correctly. You also eat as much as you can, never calorie count, still lost weight. Calories In, Calories Out (CICO) actually does work for carnivore -- you just need to include the calories of fat passed through the bowels in the equation (e.g. 3,000 cal eaten, 600 cal of fat poo'd out). This is why carnivore is such an effortless strategy to reduce weight. You can continue this calorie surplus for months, years, and lose weight or not put it on. You don't gain or lose weight because of the laws of thermodynamics but because of hormones. If your insulin is high, all your energy will be redirected into the fat cells and stored as fat. You can eat 500 kcal/d and still be gaining fat mass (and you will feel extremely tired because the body will be lacking energy). It is hormones that control how much fat is absorbed and how much is left in the digestion tract (to be defecated out). This is why they say it is not simply a case of CICO. The body can store some excess animal fat but tries not to. It stores glucose willingly because there is an urgency to rid the blood stream of it (or bad stuff happens), thus making us fat -- one of the jobs of insulin. This is why fat is not fattening. CICO still applies to carnivore, yes you can eat more calories on carnivore and not gain weight is because you eat a lot more protein which has a much higher thermogenic effect when digesting. About 26% of calories from protein is burned digesting that. So if you're eating like 250 grams of protein you can eat an extra 200-300 calories and not gain weight. Nobody measures the calories exhaled and passed in urine in the form of ketones in people on a keto or carnivore diet. Now, 100 grams of protein contains roughly 410 calories. Your body withholds 82 to 123 of those calories as processing costs, before the protein ever does anything useful. That is 20 to 30 percent of the total, taken off the top like a payroll tax. (Genetics, meal composition, and body composition all shift where you land inside the 20-to-30-percent window.) It does not matter what the source of that protein was, but keep in mind that plant protein is deficient in several amino acids and it is mostly tied with fiber so is less bioavailable to us in the first place. In comparison, carbohydrates pay 5 to 10 percent. Fat pays 0 to 3 percent. Not much at all. Energy absorption and usage is regulated by hormones, and therefore simple math (like CICO) doesn't tell you what's going on. Research shows that when you're in ketosis, you may burn more calories at rest and even excrete more calories. The body becomes more efficient in burning fat and, as a result, muscle loss is minimized. And some estimate that over 50% of fecal matter can be bacterial mass, which would also answer the question of "why can I drown myself in sugar and not get diabetes"? Well, like having a tapeworm, you have help disposing of some of the excess glucose. There is also evidence to suggest that a ketogenic diet increases your metabolic rate by roughly 200 calories per day, which means for the average person your metabolism is 10% faster. CANCER AND TST 1) Humans were primarily carnivores before the [first known] agricultural revolution started around 12,000 years or so ago. Most of our existence has been eating primarily meat. Why did colon cancer become such a threat in modern times from eating meat? Because what is defined as "meat" in the primarily big-sugar-sponsored studies includes pizza, lasagna, processed deli meats, hamburgers & fries with a soft drink, fried chicken and sides, etc. It is not the red meat itself making us more vulnerable to cancer+ but it is the often-reused industrial seed "vegetable" oils and, especially, the myriad of refined sugars that make up so much of the standard western diet calories these days. 2) Most cancers need large amounts of glucose (and glutamine) to thrive, as much as 95% of their energy comes from these two sources. You're not going to get that from red meat, but from a lot of the other stuff in diets. Ingested sugar -- glucose or fructose -- from food or drink triggers a spike in the hormone insulin, which serves as a catalyst in the growth of certain cancers. Nearly a third of some common cancers, including breast and colon cancers, have something called insulin receptors on their surface. Insulin binds to these receptors and signals the tumor to start consuming glucose. Cancer uses glucose to survive, but also to grow. The glucose in the bloodstream goes into the tumor instead of into the liver or muscle. (Cancer patients need to cut out taking in any more sugars.) Meat is a source of glutamine, but definitely NOT glucose. 3) A lack of Vitamin A (retinol) and copper is believed to "cause" cancer, which is then fed by sugar. And cancer then releases more copper from its cells. (The erroneous cancer treatment protocol chelates copper to remove it from the cancer, which is actually the opposite of what is needed.) Parasites cause retinol deficiency, so could be a source of cancer's development. (Glutamine, a source of carbon and nitrogen for use in many metabolic processes, is present in serum at higher concentrations than other amino acids and is essential for many cellular functions. The highest consumption of glutamine occurs in the cells of the intestines, kidney cells (where it is used for acid-base balance), activated immune cells, and many cancer cells.) Most cancers cannot survive on ketones derived from a high-fat diet -- they have to have glucose. Same with diabetes, an insulin-related condition which is definitely not caused by red meat. See the work of Dr. Otto Warburg and, more recently, Thomas Seyfried, PhD (Metabolic Theory). If we happen to get some cancer cells in our meat, this diet appears to be self-limiting as far as the continued growth of cancer goes. "For humans, the only known cases of transmissible cancers have been the results of experimentation, transplantation, or surgical accident, and no cancer is yet known to have spread from animal to human." Besides, wouldn't cooking the affected meat destroy any living cancer cells? 4) According to the Soviet research [from the scientific journal Priroda by Professor Vladimir Vladimirovich Alpatov published in October 1950 and] summarized in a [February 1951 CIA] report, one of the most striking similarities between parasitic worms and cancer cells was their metabolism. Parasitic worms that inhabit the human intestine rely heavily on anaerobic metabolism, meaning they generate energy without requiring large amounts of oxygen. Tumor cells appear to behave in a comparable way, often relying on altered metabolic pathways that allow them to survive in oxygen-poor environments inside the body. Both parasites and tumors were also observed to accumulate large stores of glycogen, a non-starch polysaccharide molecule used by cells as an energy reserve. This buildup suggested that both types of tissue might operate under unusual metabolic conditions compared with healthy cells. (https://www.sott.net/article/505081-CIA-faces-backlash-after-hidden-document-with-potential-cure-for-cancer-is-declassified-after-60-years ; https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00809A000600380033-3.pdf) Perhaps this is why some non-mainstream commentators say cancer is really parasites. 5) Please research the newer Toxin Sequestration Theory (TST) of Cancer. Patrick Coles, PhD developed his TST based on work most currently advanced by Dr. Stephanie Seneff. It posits that cancers, rather than being hereditary or random, are really the body's wisdom for temporary storage of various toxins in less vital organs so that if and when the input of those toxins decreases or stops, the body can then safely handle and excrete those toxins and heal. (https://patrickcoles.substack.com/p/the-toxin-sequestration-theory-tst) "Everyone has the ability to handle some toxin load and everybody's threshold is different. We live in a world full of toxins. Nature has a lot of toxins, a lot of them we breathe in every day, just as a matter of breathing. It's an unavoidable every day part of life. Some people react violently, and other people are unaffected. It's part of the natural ecosystem, but our bodies are so damaged and so burdened that many react to things that are body should normally be able to handle." (Patrick Coles) According to the more recent Toxin Sequestration Theory (TST), [in contrast to the mainstream view that cancer is caused by genetic mutations and is a random, selfish, malignant, and uncontrollable growth] cancer cells are extra tissues created by the body to preferentially sequester toxins. Cancer is thus described as a symptom of toxin (anything which produces reactive oxygen species, ROS) overload. Technically, these ROS are burning the body from the inside out. Excessive copper, heavy metals, oxalates, glucose, fructose, ethanol, cigarette smoke, vaccines, estrogen, mycotoxins, benzene, deuterium, AGEs, micro and nanoplastics are also found in higher concentrations in cancer than in other cells in the body, as are other toxins. Also causing oxidative stress is cancer treatment radiation which rips water molecules in the body apart creating ROS, which then stresses the DNA and mitochondria. Meanwhile, UV light transfers energy to the chromophores in the skin which transfer energy to oxygen molecules creating ROS. Megadose amounts of vitamin C can also create ROS. Instant, high-dose of toxins, chemical or natural, can overwhelm the cancer cells and kill them. Extreme exercise and also hypoxia create stresses. Non-heme iron is sequestered as balls of 4K atoms of iron, and seed oils and PFAS are similarly stored as lipid spheres. Glutamine serves as a way to compartmentalize toxic ammonia which cannot be broken down into urea by the kidneys which is then peed out. Internal ammonia can result from exposure to external ammonia (such as cleaning products) or the result from excessive exercise. Glutamine is, thus, not a fuel source for cancer as has been traditionally believed, but an envelope to confine excessive ammonia which had been circulating in the body. Cancer is a temporary waste disposal facility which ends up being permanent due to the continued intake of waste and the inability to manage it. Hence, recurring and metastasizing cancer result because there are no changes to the input after earlier treatment. Cancer tumors act like a back-up liver. Cancer is often preceded by liver damage. The body's top priority is to heal its primary liver. Its top priority is not to shrink the cancer tumor. So if you go on a low toxin diet, the body will first work very hard to try to heal the liver, by releasing toxins out of the liver. After the body heals the liver, then it may eventually get to its second priority of reducing the size of the cancer tumor, which would involve gradually releasing some toxins from the tumor. Keto is a low toxin diet without glucose, fructose, or seed oil metabolites -- which all create ROS. Carnivorism takes the toxin restriction even more so. Intermittent fasting does not starve the cancer but further reduces the incoming toxic burden. (Excessive/long-term fasting speeds up muscle wasting, however.) Ketosis is not important to healing, but autophagy is. Electrically grounding is another way to reduce oxidative processes in the body. NRF2 is the master antioxidant regulator, the number one pathway by which the body senses local ROS levels. AMPK detects energy depletion and redox balance. Mitochondrial retrograde signaling are the mitochondria themselves acting as ROS sensors and sending distress signals. When we have locally excessive ROS levels, tumors are started there by a construction crew of either pre-adapted cells from other tumors or highly resilient cells like stem cells that are naturally more resilient to oxidative stress. These are pre-vetted cells that are good at surviving in a toxic environment. The mitochondria in cancer cells are switched from respiration to fermentation and their metabolism is downregulated. Body fluids are sent to the tumors via new blood vessels to detoxify the blood. A scaffold is made in the tumor to provide mechanical support. Fibrosis and biochemical defenses are used to maintain the structure to contain sequestered toxins. Spontaneous tumor regression is the phenomenon when the toxic load in the body is reduced enough so that the tumor is "decommissioned." There is a pattern of medicine misidentifying healing pathways as causes. Thus, for instance, we try to stop the cancer cells by "killing them" which probably results in the release of the sequestered toxins, resulting in more cancer. It's almost trivial to observe -- starting from the very basics like mucus secretion when you catch a cold, or having a fever, over the whole "LDL-C causes atherosclerosis" thing, "insulin resistance" being pathologized when it's clearly protective, right up to the calcification of plaque, which stabilizes it and is thus quite possibly necessary for healing. Plaque buildup itself is a repair mechanism in the first place. Visceral fat is a source of chronic inflammation and inflammation has long been considered by cancer scientists to be both a classic initiator (mutations and cellular damage) and promoter of cancer. Autoimmune response is secondary to the toxins, as it is the body cleaning up after the toxins. 1. The body does not sequester toxins uniformly -- it strategically chooses specific tissues as tumor sites. 2. Tumors often form in tissues that are most heavily burdened by specific toxins. * The liver, as the main chemical processing plant, becomes heavily burdened by iron overload, drinking alcohol (ethanol), fructose, mycotoxins, seed oils, copper and heavy metals, microplastics, xenoestrogens, PFAs, and excess Vitamin A. When its detoxification capacity is exceeded, the body forms tumors in the liver as a secondary storage site. The liver dumps toxins into the gall bladder, some of the toxins being mixed with bile and, ideally, then defecated out. Toxic bile sometimes manifests as gall stones, toxic storage mini-vaults which defend the digestive tract from damage. Cholesterol is the binder for the lipophilic toxins here. * The kidneys, which continuously filter blood, concentrate oxalates, heavy metals, and other waste products. This makes them frequent sites of tumor formation when the filtration burden becomes chronic.7nbsp; As a mini-vault, kidney stones are a protective defense mechanism the body uses to store oxalates, Tier 2. Calcium is the binder for the toxins, resulting in calcifications. Full blown cancer tumors, often with elevated oxalate levels, are Tier 3. * The lungs, as the organ with the largest direct exposure to inhaled toxins (cigarette smoke and airborne pollutants including aluminum from industrial sources and anti-perspirant vapors), experience intense local redox stress. Tumors here often represent an attempt to sequester and isolate these directly inhaled toxins, including asbestos particles in a full tumor mini-vault. * The pancreas sequesters some excess glucose and fructose. Metastasis most often occurs to the liver or peritoneum. * The skin is farthest away from the central organs, the frontline defense in the battle against toxins and excessive UVA radiation. Seed oils in diets, photosensitizer vegetables and citrus fruits, chemicals in sunscreens and tanning lotions, skin and baby lotions, creams, and soaps, make-up, hair-dyes, colognes and perfumes, deodorants and aftershaves, chlorinated water, artificially fluoridated water, toothpastes and mouthwashes, toxins excreted in sweat (including heavy metals), ROS-damaged proteins, and wearing artificial fabrics (which shed microplastics) and clothes and towels that have residues of laundry soaps and fabric softeners, and tattoo inks are the most common ways we get toxins on and in the skin. Vitamin A-related compounds enhance the effect of ROS created by UV light. Skin cancers are the most prevalent form of toxin sequestration. Skin growths, such as pimples (seed oils, PFAS, heavy metals, and microplastics); skin tags [which are skin tissue combined with a core of fat cells, particularly in friction-prone areas where repeated mechanical stress provides a natural location where the body can grow these without interfering with vital organs] (seed oils, PFAS, xenoestrogens [BPA, phthalates and PCBs], glucotoxic spillover from too much glucose and fructose); cherry angiomas (seed oils, and estrogens and xenoestrogens); sebaceous cysts (seed oils, PFAS, microplastics, phthalates), and lipomas [fibrous capsules that often form in areas of mechanical stress or poorer circulation, suggesting the body deliberately chooses these locations for long-term containment] (seed oils, damaged PUFAs, PFAS, excess copper, heavy metals, microplastics, and xenoestrogens), are part of the toxin sequestration strategy. These offer a direct route for the body to offload fat-soluble toxins. Sometimes these storage units occur at or over the site of injuries. Other skin growths are moles (toxic metals), age spots (toxic metals), dermatosis papulose nigra (Morgan Freeman's face, for example), and melasma. The pigment Melanin is a chelator of heavy metals. Moles appear to darken or enlarge during times of oxidative stress. White spots on the skin and conditions like idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis (small sun spots) and vitiligo reflect areas of high oxidative stress. They are driven by accumulated toxins like aluminum, heavy metals, oxidized seed oils, and UV-generated ROS. Melanocytes are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage, and the loss or dysfunction of these pigment-producing cells in specific patches may represent the body's intelligent attempt to reduce local toxin burden or limit further ROS production in overburdened skin tissue. Skin growths can be a guide to being able to consciously cut down on toxin ingestion to prevent worse sequestration levels. Fe, Cu and Ni: all three catalyze the Fenton Reaction, in which H2O2 is converted into the hydroxl radical. Hydroxl radical is the most dangerous chemical in the body and is linked to every chronic disease. It is a two atom molecule which reacts with every biomolecule to oxidize. An allergic skin reaction to, say, nickel, is a pre-cancer sequestration of the metal. The lungs and nasal passages sequester inhaled Ni from tobacco smoke. Zinc prevents excess absorption of CU and Ni. Plant compounds are high in heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and zinc. 3. Tumors also often form in tissues that are best equipped to safely sequester and isolate the toxic overload. * The prostate has high levels of fatty acid transporters (such as CD36) and a natural capacity to store lipids in droplets, making it well-suited to sequester the unstable and toxic omega-6 linoleic fatty acid in seed oils in diets, and oxalates. Metastasis most often occurs to the bone or lymph nodes. * The ovaries accumulate PFAS, heavy metals (especially lead, aluminum, and copper), seed oils and damaged PUFAS, xenoestrogens, and excessive retinoids. Zinc is protective. PCOS, cysts and other growths are toxin storage vaults that protect against infertility caused by the toxins, Tier 2, directly related to skin cysts. Tier 3 is the cancer tumor, usually in a nearby and larger organ. * The breast is highly estrogen-sensitive and has a strong capacity for local estrogen metabolism and uptake. This allows it to act as an effective sequestration site for excess estrogen and its oxidative byproducts, seed oils in diets, aluminum (from diet and antiperspirants), and oxalates (found in elevated levels in all breast tumor tissues). Metastasis most often occurs to the bone, liver, and lymph nodes. Breast cancer tumors consistently show significantly higher oxalate concentrations. Also can be found in kidneys, colon and rectum, thyroid, ovarian and prostate tumors. * The colon has a large surface area and direct exposure to gut contents, enabling it to wall off mycotoxins, dietary aldehydes, oxalates, and seed oils in diets. Metastasis most often occurs to the liver. * The blood and bone marrow become storage for benzene as a liquid tumor. Gasoline, car exhaust fumes, contaminated drinking water, and cigarette smoke are the most common ways we ingest benzene. PFAS can bind to albumin in the blood. Nose-bleeds can happen during the detox process, suggesting that the body might be "leaking blood" every once in a while to assist with getting toxins out. * The stomach stores toxins initially in its thick mucus and acidic environment which limits bacterial growth, and then can develop intestinal metaplasia and polyps in a secondary stage, and finally actual tumors with dense fibrotic stroma to provide additional physical containment for toxins. H. pylori bacteria secrete some toxins which can overwhelm the stomach's abilities. They are the primary contributor to stomach cancer. Seed oils, non-heme iron including reduced iron, excess copper, xenoestrogens, phthlates, PFAS, and mycotoxins are the other main causes of stomach cancer. Chronically low stomach acid (usually tied with zinc deficiency), acid-lowering drugs, and increased exposure to modern industrial toxins weaken the terrain and lean the stomach to forming tumors. * The brain is used when the body has no other choice as to where to sequester toxins. No other organ has the equivalent of the blood-brain barrier, which allows nutrients and blood to cross and which protects the brain from most toxic overload. The brain does not have any safe storage capacity like other organs do because of the skull's limited space. The liver does have the ability to build storage for extra fat, for instance. Neuronal degeneration or a brain tumor are last ditch options. Seed oils from diets, drinking alcohol, mold, pesticides and agricultural chemicals, metal or microplastic or PFAS toxicity can cause brain tumors, especially in children and industrial workers. Lipid droplets that are formed from sequestered toxins in the brain are quite common in brain cancers. Normal neurons do not have lipid droplets. 4. Critical organs (such as the heart and spleen) are almost never chosen, as tumors there would immediately threaten survival. Neighboring "lower stakes" organs and tissues are chosen as storage vaults instead. These short (about ten minutes each) videos are of Dr. Coles as he explains TST step-by-step: Part I, Overview ; Part II, Seed oils, Iron, Ethanol, Cigarette smoke, and Microplastics ; Part III, Estrogen and mycotoxins ; Part IV, X-ray radiation and vitamin C ; Part V, Specific organs and the toxin-to-organ mapping ; Part VI, Cachexia and Metastasis ; Part VII, Metabolic changes and spontaneous tumor regression ; Part VIII, Benzene and Leukemia ; Part IX, Skin tumors ; Part X, How tumors form and how they evolved ; Part XI, Fasting ; Part XII, Brain tumors ; Part XIII, PFAS and AGEs ; Part XIV, Surgical removal ; Part XV, Toxic metals ; Part XVI, Connection with fat tissue and obesity ; Part XVII, Dangers of rapid fat loss, retoxification, and ketone levels ; Part XVIII, Skin growths (pimples, lipomas, skin tags, cherry angiomas) ; Part XIX, Moles, age spots, cysts, and other skin growths ; Part XX, Stomach tumors ; Part XXI, Asbestos and Aluminum ; Part XXII, Oxalates, kidney stones, and oxalate-driven tumors ; Part XXIII, Gallstones as toxin storage vaults ; Part XXIV, PCOS as protection and ovarian cysts as toxin vaults ; Part XXV, Calcification ; Part XXVI ; Part XXVII . See this Sally Norton interview with Patrick Coles, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16ofsYB4ES8. CHOLESTEROL Plants don't give us everything we need. Meat gives us Vitamin B12 (cobalamin), Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2 (more absorbable and useful than plant's K1), Vitamin A (Retinol, much more bioavailable that what comes from plants), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, an essential -- a substance that the body cannot produce on its own or cannot produce in sufficient quantities -- Omega-3 fatty acid, which makes up 65% by weight of our retinas and 35% of our brains), Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA, an essential Omega-3 fatty acid), Heme Iron (much more bioavailable than the non-heme that comes from plants, especially if the meat is only cooked medium rare), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and Vitamin B9 (folate). (The average length of an unsupplemented vegan diet being followed is 5 years, because that is how long it takes to use up the B12 that is normally stored in the liver. Inadequate amounts of B12 mean that the mylenation/insulation which is around nerves and which normally breaks down is then not being synthesized/rebuilt. Dementia is a result from long enough B12 deficiency. It can also lead to neuropathy, megaloblastic anemia, and pernicious anemia, causing symptoms including fatigue, paresthesia, depression, cognitive decline, ataxia, and even irreversible nerve damage. In infants, untreated deficiency may result in neurological impairment and anemia. Maternal deficiency increases the risk of miscarriage, neural tube defects, and developmental delays in offspring.) Additionally, meat gives us cholesterol, a waterproof waxy form of alcohol (not a fat) -- which makes up (depending on the type of cell) 30-60% by weight of and regulates the semipermeable double-layer plasma membrane [cell membrane/wall] of every one of our 30-or-so trillion cells. It comprises at least 40% of our brains [25% of our cholesterol goes to the brain which is only 2-3% of the total body weight]. Cholesterol is so critical to the brain and its functions that the brain manufactures cholesterol on-site, mostly at night during sleep. As the blood-brain barrier prevents cholesterol from reaching the brain directly, the body has the ability to reconstruct cholesterol and fats in the brain from carbon in the blood (almost 90% of which comes from the transport mechanism of ketones). Cholesterol makes up the insulation around every nerve fiber, is involved with the synthesis of bile salts for digestion and assimilation of fats in the diet, is a vital antioxidant (!), and the precursor of both Vitamin D (a photomolecule made in the skin which activates a third of our body's 10K enzymes; and there are some 950 known derivatives of Vitamin D2 and D3) and of the five biggest and most vital hormone groups in our bodies. These cholesterol-synthesized hormones are testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol (stress hormone), and aldosterone (responsible for our salt/water balance). Fat-soluble Vitamin A is also needed in the synthesis of these hormones (and the maintenance of healthy intestinal flora), and fat-soluble Vitamin K2 moderates the levels of A and D, among its many other properties. D also is important in the calcium balance in our cells. For all of this, our bodies can only manufacture about 70-80% of the cholesterol that we need, equivalent to 1,000-1,500mg of cholesterol per day. (Would nature have us create cholesterol if it was such a dangerous thing?) Thus, we need a dietary -- animal -- source for the remainder, lest we get into an ongoing deficit. BTW, red blood cells have a higher concentration of cholesterol in their membranes than any other type of cell in our bodies. The human brain consumes 20% of the body's energy at rest, or twice that of the brains of other primates, which are almost exclusively vegetarian. Generally, approximately 70-80% of serum cholesterol is derived from synthesis in the liver, while the remaining 20-30% of serum cholesterol comes from absorption from the intestine. Such factors as familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), obesity, or hypothyroidism increase cholesterol synthesis, while sitosterolemia (a rare genetic disorder that causes high absorption -- 15 to 60% rather than the ordinary 5% -- and low excretion of dietary plant sterols), hypothyroidism, obesity, or diabetes increase cholesterol absorption for about 30% of the population. "...Statins target this liver production of cholesterol by blocking the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which seems logical on the surface. But this approach overlooks why the liver is overproducing cholesterol in the first place -- it treats the symptom, not the cause. "In truth, suppressing that 80% of cholesterol production without addressing the underlying 20% of triggers of metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, stress, and hormonal imbalances, can be counterproductive. Even though dietary cholesterol accounts for just 20%, certain foods (like excess sugar, refined carbs, trans fats, and high-fructose corn syrup) can prompt the liver to increase its cholesterol output. A small subset of poor dietary choices may be responsible for most of the problem -- a textbook 80/20 scenario." All multi-celled animals can biosynthesize some cholesterol. Mother's milk is especially rich in cholesterol and contains lipase enzymes to ensure that the baby absorbs 100 percent of this nutrient. Babies and children lack the enzymes to make cholesterol and require cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous system. And, as research has shown brain cell growth and development continues into the end of our lives, so the elderly need cholesterol also. Phytosterols, similar to cholesterol, serve as structural components of the cell membrane of plants. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified. None of them, however, are bioavailable as a replacement for cholesterol in human diets. Through the interaction with the phospholipid fatty-acid chains, cholesterol increases membrane packing, which both alters membrane fluidity and maintains membrane integrity so that animal cells do not need to build cell walls (like plants and most bacteria). The membrane remains stable and durable without being rigid, allowing animal cells to change shape and animals to move. In multiple layers, cholesterol and phospholipids, both electrical insulators, can facilitate speed of transmission of electrical impulses along nerve tissue. Now, if excess polyunsaturated fatty acids from diets are built into the cell membranes, reduced structural integrity or "limpness" results. The most common type of phospholipid contains one saturated fatty acid and one unsaturated fatty acid, which is often then connected to a cholesterol molecule. Cholesterol in the blood is then sequestered into the cell membranes to give them their necessary "stiffness" and, at least temporarily, measured cholesterol levels in the blood decrease. The much demonized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is actually the transport mechanism that moves cholesterol, fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins to exactly where they are needed. LDL also helps fight infections. Increased LDL is an indication of a well-functioning transport system. It often rises as a protective response to oxidative stress and cellular damage. It is believed that the reason cholesterol levels go up with age is because we need more protection by this vital antioxidant. The suppression of cholesterol synthesis could be a stress response to improper diet. The better regarded high-density lipoprotein (HDL) carries cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver. Plaque accumulation occurs in set sites whose only common denominator is high exhibition of turbulent blood flow that lingers there for long periods of time that is exacerbated by hypertension. They are the high pressure areas of the vascular system that experience the most turbulent blood flow -- not throughout the vascular system and not as a blanket everywhere. The absolute concentration of cholesterol and lipoproteins in atherosclerotic plaque is 1 plus or minus 1%. Plaque is largely composed of scar tissue that can become calcified in later stages, become unstable and rupture, and then cause thrombi which are blood clots. THAT is atherosclerotic heart disease and strokes as well. Copper activates oxygen to make water in the body. Stress causes oxygen to become the oxygen sink of cholesterol. Not enough copper causes an increase in cholesterol. When saturated fats are not available, the body has a backup plan -- it makes saturated fats out of carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates like sugar or white flour. This process is called de novo lipogenesis (DNL). A high-carbohydrate diet is thus a high-fat diet! In fact, avoiding saturated fat is a recipe for creating carb cravings -- the body needs saturated fats so fundamentally, that it will get them one way or another. And while the body can make saturated fat by DNL, it is better to get it from the diet. To create saturated fats including palmitic acid, DNL uses up the hydrogen ions and electrons carried by niacin (vitamin B3), making this essential nutrient much less effective. When niacin levels are depleted for DNL, it is no longer available to defend antioxidants and recycle folate and vitamin K, processes that protect us against heart disease. The brain making cholesterol also occurs due to DNL. Both saturated fat and cholesterol play important roles in maintaining kidney function, as do omega-3 fatty acids. The kidneys need stable fats for both their cushioning and their energy source. The fat around the kidneys is very hard because it has a higher concentration of saturated fatty acids than are found in any of the body's other fat deposits. [In ruminant animals as food, the most prized fat is that found around the kidneys.] Similarly, there is highly saturated fat around the heart muscle. The heart draws upon this reserve of fat in times of stress and serves as the perfect food for the heart. As saturated fats are stable, they do not become rancid easily, do not call upon the body's reserves of antioxidants, do not initiate cancer, and do not irritate the artery walls. Meat gives us, in addition to complete proteins, the nonessential amino acids Creatine, Carnosine, and Taurine which our bodies already produce a small quantity of. Again, these are more bioavailable if the meat is only cooked medium rare. The same holds true for coenzyme Q10 in meat. A high carbohydrate plus high saturated fat diet means more insulin and the saturated fat in your bloodstream is increased. A low carbohydrate diet can let you eat a high fat diet (30% of calories) safely because the saturated fat in your bloodstream does not build up. High carbohydrate intake (including fructose) can increase liver fat production, but it doesn't specifically "block" or "change" how saturated fat is processed on its own. So, it's not fructose vs other carbs. It's the bigger picture of how the body is handling energy and fat overall. FRUCTOSE Fructose spillover is where a quantity of fructose, which the intestines cannot breakdown into glucose and organic acids, then enters the liver. High fructose corn syrup in beverages and foods is the chief way we have fructose spillover, which is the quantity of fructose that exceeds what the intestines can filter and transform to glucose. (Glucose measurement in the blood does not measure fructose.) Fructose has six to seven times the glycation effects as glucose. Glycation is when a carbohydrate molecule fuses to other molecules such as proteins and permanently damages them. The carbohydrate combines with protein under body heat and causes the Maillard reaction which makes tissues stiffer and inflamed. Poorly controlled elevated blood glucose does this every day. This is measured with HbA1c, an advanced glycation end product (AGEs) of glucose with hemoglobin, a specific oxygen-transport metalloprotein in your red blood cells. HbA1c shows what your average blood sugar levels have been for the past two or three months. These glucose molecules can also glycate the insides of your arteries and cause damage to the arteries resulting in atherosclerosis, heart disease, and joint damage including in the spine. Fructose has not been a main focus of glycation research because of the difficulty in measuring its adducts (products formed by an addition reaction), and, more importantly, because although it is 10 times more reactive than glucose, its plasma concentration is only 1% of that of glucose. Fructose is elevated in several tissues of diabetic patients where the polyol pathway is active, reaching the same order of magnitude as glucose. It is plausible that the high reactivity of fructose, directly or via its metabolites, may contribute to the formation of intracellular AGEs and to vascular complications. The evidence, however, is still unconvincing. ApoB is a tag on lipoproteins, not an inflammatory marker. Fructose generates more oxidative damage to the body than glucose or galactose. It is primarily/preferentially processed by the liver, the main detoxifying organ. Fructose is rapidly converted by the body into fat through the normal process of de novo lipogenesis (DNL). Glut5 is a fructose transporter. The brain, heart, muscle, arteries do not express this transporter, but only the liver and cancer cells do. Excessive dietary fructose can thus do six to seven times as much damage as glucose. Fructose causes the development of insulin resistance in the muscle and liver, stimulates the secretion of ghrelin (which contributes to the hunger sensation), inhibits the satiety effect of leptin on the brain, causes an alcohol pathway resulting in lethargy, and also partially breaks-down to form uric acid. [Sleep deprivation makes leptin lower and ghrelin higher.] Excess fructose intake equals larger amounts of uric acid for the body to metabolize -- including through the development of gout and the inhibition of the production of nitric oxide for our cells. Nitric oxide maintains brain blood supply, it keeps the endothelium (the lining under arteries) smooth, which helps keep our blood vessels "toned," and it enables our white blood cells to move around the body to fight infection. Fructose is implicated in the increased production of small dense LDL particles, "the worst of the bad cholestrol," which result from glycation and when oxidized play out in the current society's cardiovascular catastrophe. There is also a polyol pathway that converts up to 30% of ingested glucose into fructose. However, gout is not due to a high purine or high fat diet, as is commonly believed. The metabolism of fructose causes depletion of phosphate in the body, which results in the production of more uric acid, which then turns into the uric acid crystals of gout. Gout is a joint inflammation, not because of uric acid but because of high insulin in the blood. Stop drinking fructose or sucrose drinks, fruit juices or large amounts of whole fruit, alcohol (especially beer), sugars and grains. Coffee is O.K. Stop using inflammatory industrial seed oils. Go on a low carb diet. Obesity is directly related to gout attacks also. (Resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95mhn0ry2LY ; uric acid, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmW01owq9fU , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh6pg3jBPEk) To protect the body from glycation damage the insulin levels are raised. Insulin drives energy into cells, but also is an anabolic steroid that when elevated tells tissues to grow: muscles, fat, prostate, skin tags, rectal polyps, uterine fibroids, and thickens the smooth muscle layer in your arteries. Excess insulin also holds in too much sodium and uric acid from the urine and that can raise blood pressure and increase the likelihood of gout as well. Increased insulin blocks estrogen production in women, testosterone production in men, and blocks the production and action of growth hormone in both men and women resulting in premature aging because growth hormone is very important for tissue healing, building and repairing and also for fat loss. A rule of thumb for fructose intake would be 0.25g/kg of body weight for persons on a low carb diet (which for my 69 kg weight is about 17g of fructose per day), and 0.5 g/kg of body weight for persons on a more Standard Western Diet. Fructose is not measured in the glycemic index. Now, unfortunately, fructose is actually proven to be more deleterious to our health than glucose. And this is the big failing of the glycemic index as a measure. Fructose rich foods simply don't get measured in the glycemic index. Thus, fructose-rich foods and drinks become invisible to everyday dietary considerations. The liver uses a lot of copper to metabolize fructose. (A diet high in zinc can also result in low copper absorption. However, a diet heavy on corn can block 100% of zinc absorption and beans cause slightly less blocking...) Less copper available means less ceruloplasmin, the major (95%) copper-carrying enzymic protein in the blood which maintains the status of copper in the mitochondria. Ceruloplasmin also transports iron in the body. Less iron transported means a build-up in the liver which oxidizes and results in fatty liver disease. Vitamin A (retinol) is also needed for the liver to be able to synthesize ceruloplasmin, which also maintains the status of copper in the mitochondria. And we cannot metabolize fat without copper. The liver is supposed to store copper and Vitamin A (retinol) in the presence of copper and magnesium. In the presence of low copper, the liver gets filled with iron instead, which causes oxidative stress which then depletes magnesium first. Vitamin A (retinol) makes copper bioavailable. An iron deficiency results in a decrease in the production of dopamine and serotonin -- neurotransmitters the brain needs for optimal functioning. And a magnesium deficiency shuts down the Vitamin D synthesis and metabolism pathway. The presence of excess fructose has a domino-effect. Foods fortified with non-heme iron is toxic (and when eaten with fruit or another vitamin C bearer even more of this iron is absorbed). No iron overload from meat; yes from plants and definitely from iron supplements (many of which, as in fortified cereal, are basically fine iron shavings). GLUCONEOGENSIS If energy demand is not significantly increased during either a high-carbohydrate or very high fat loading in order to use up these excess fuel sources, damage to the mitochondria can be induced. What is termed gluconeogenesis (GNG) is the conversion of pyruvate into glucose in a nine-step process. Pyruvate can be generated from the degradation of lactate, fatty acids, certain amino acids, and glycerol (which comes from the break down of triglycerides to form fatty acids into ketones and the remaining glycerol molecule backbone into glucose). GNG is also one of the body's main clearing mechanisms for the muscle and red blood cell metabolite, lactic acid. The pancreatic alpha cells secrete the hormone glucagon in response to falling blood glucose levels in hypoglycemia, heavy exercise, infection, or starvation. Glucagon is a peptide hormone produced by the alpha cells of the pancreatic islets and whose effects are the opposite of those of insulin -- with which glucagon works for homeostasis. Glucagon is the most important promoter of GNG. Secondary ones include the catecholamines, growth hormone, cortisol, and gluconeogenic substrates. The liver mostly makes all the glucose the body normally needs beginning 4 to 6 hours after fasting begins, with up to 20% also being made in the kidneys after 18 to 28 hours of fasting when stored liver glucose (a carbohydrate called glycogen) is depleted. (Glycogen found in muscle stores is primarily used by the muscles themselves. Which also points to having more muscle means being able to hold more reserves for that amount of muscle.) Only about 4-5 grams or one teaspoon per hour of glucose is said to be needed from GNG. That is the amount of glucose in the blood normally. This metabolic pathway is important because the brain depends on glucose as its primary fuel. Ketone bodies can serve as the brain's alternative fuel source; however, the testes, innermost part of the kidneys (renal medulla), and red blood cells cannot survive long periods without glucose. What the optimum fuel is for the eyes, and perhaps other organs, has not been settled. [Exogenous glucose is used at the rate of <40 g/hr and then plummeting sharply to zero grams by about the first 4 to 6 hours after a meal. From about hour 4 through 28, glycogen is used with a maximum of about 8 g/hr reached at about hour 6. At about hour 16, active GNG surpasses stored glycogen as the source of glucose at about 4 g/hr of each. Between 12 and 18 hours, insulin levels drop, giving the digestive system a break and allowing the body to switch from burning glucose to burning fat. By the second day of fasting or no carbs, the brain starts using ketone bodies also, and the body begins a process called autophagy -- literally "self-cleaning" or "self-eating." Damaged cells are broken down and recycled, supporting immune function and longevity. Between 36 and 48 hours, inflammation markers drop, gut bacteria rebalance, and growth hormone rises, helping repair tissues and strengthen the body. After about the 24th day ketones are up to 75% of the fuel used by the brain.] The daily glucose requirement of the brain in a typical adult human being is about 120 g, which accounts for most of the 160-190 g of glucose needed daily by the whole body. The amount of glucose present in body fluids is about 20 g, and that readily available from the liver's glycogen is approximately 190 g. Thus, the direct glucose reserves are sufficient to meet glucose needs for about a day. While the brain can use 100-130 g of glucose a day, that does not mean the brain needs that from external sources. GNG and internally generated ketones are all that is needed. A larger amount of circulating glucose than what a cell can utilize will effectively lock out additional glucose and also fat from entering the cell, so these cannot be utilized until the amount in the cell returns to a lower level. "Insulin resistance" means that cells have locked out more glucose so additional insulin cannot put any more glucose into the cells. (At least one out of three Americans is estimated to be "insulin resistant.") Once cells are topped off with glucose fuel, the liver transforms additional carbs into fat. Carbohydrate intake via diet has very little effect on the amount of glucose made in GNG. And therefore, despite what some influencers may say, the body is NOT stressed out by GNG if one doesn't consume a certain amount of carbohydrates. Essentially no cortisol is needed for the glycerol metabolism of GNG, the predominant pathway. The amount of cortisol required for the much less important protein metabolism pathway of GNG (from muscle and tissues which kicks in when our fat stores have been nearly exhausted) is not any higher than what our bodies already make. Insulin handles, in order, alcohol (ethanol) and then sugar (carbohydrates), which spike insulin whose elevation then crashes blood sugar resulting in hunger for more carbs; next comes fat (some of which is changed to ketones), and, finally, ketones themselves (stable, clean and efficient). Insulin is a type of insurance or safety mechanism so that in short seasons we can eat a large amount of berries/carbs and not be endangered. However, modern diets have large amounts of carbs day in and day out, and this is not what our bodies are supposed to be able to safely handle. The body is designed to manufacture glucose from fat and use it accordingly. The level of blood glucose will be kept steady as it is monitored by cells and controlled through genetic expression. If we start supplying the body with undisclosed levels of glucose through the digestive tract, genetic expression shifts on many levels, cells cannot calibrate production, and are forced to burn the glucose to lower its content in the blood. Instead of producing glucose from fat, the liver has to reverse the process and convert the excess glucose into fat. "Gluconeogenesis and glycolysis are the two major opposing metabolic pathways in central carbon metabolism. In vertebrates, biomass generation has been linked primarily to glycolysis, whereas gluconeogenesis has been classically regarded to be limited to specialized gluconeogenic organs. Studies from the recent years, however, show that gluconeogenesis is used by peripheral tissues, immune cells, and cancer cells of different origins to generate glycolytic/gluconeogenic intermediates for biosynthetic reactions. In vertebrates, which possess specialized gluconeogenic organs such as the liver and the kidney, de novo biosynthesis of glucose meets the high demand of glucose in the body in addition to dietary sources. Glucose production by these organs from lactate or amino acids such as glutamine or glutamate represents an important interorgan metabolite exchange circuit activated by starvation. In addition, gluconeogenesis is activated in the kidney by stress hormones and acidosis. In ruminants, carbohydrates are degraded by rumen microorganisms, and the metabolites are used for gluconeogenesis especially after feeding." (Leithner) "Gluconeogenesis has been studied mostly in mammals, some fish, and a few other vertebrates, where it is the critical anabolic regulatory pathway for glucose homeostasis under restrictive dietary carbohydrate availability. Gluconeogenesis is initiated after glucacon secretion, for example, in response to dietary carbohydrate restriction, and is largely restricted to the liver and, to a lower extent, to kidneys and intestine. In addition to mammals and fish, insects represent the only other major animal class where sugar homeostasis has been studied in some detail." (Miyamoto) "Gluconeogenesis occurs in a reverse manner of glycolysis, which produces glucose by the precursors like pyruvate, lactate, glucogenic amino acids. It is sometimes called Neoglucogenesis. It is a ubiquitous or universal pathway, which occurs in humans, animals, plants, fungi and other living organisms." (Biology Reader) GROUNDING / EARTHING "The Earthing Movie," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSnFRjMx5ik&t=2323s, 2019. "In simple terms, grounding is literally putting your bare feet on the ground. When you do that, you're in contact with the earth, and Mother Earth is endowed with electrons. And these electrons are literally absorbed through your feet. It's like taking handfuls of antioxidants, but you're getting it through your feet. Grounding means connecting to the earth to support the specific function of the organs of your body. It supports the body as a whole, but it specifically supports organ systems down to the tissues, and the cellular function of the entire body. Grounding provides a steady, we call it a ground plate... everything goes to balance, goes to normal, when you're grounded." "15 Ways To Ground Besides Grass - How Many Of These Do You Touch Daily?" (Dr. Laura Koniver, MD, 20 Jan 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDh0QG8XhCg), "Scientific Reasons Why Earthing & Grounding Heals, Explained Simply by a Physician & Neuroscientist" (Dr. Andrew Doan, 2023, with links to 13 reference articles, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gWVoBge-6) and "Why You Should TOUCH a Tree Every Day -- The Science Nobody Talks About" (The Feyman Way, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyOTlBlFEuo). KETO FLU Per Dr. Stephen Phinney, "keto flu" is actually sodium deficiency on a keto-adapted diet due to the kidneys excreting salt quickly. Dropping the Standard Western Diet severely decreases sodium intake. This results in the characteristic light-headedness, dizziness, fatigue, headache, and constipation. Welcome. What you have is what is known as "keto flu." A combination of low salt (and potassium and magnesium) reserves and the start of your body ridding itself of sequestered toxins. The first part is because you are not taking in as much salt as you were on presumably the Standard Western Diet and your kidneys are still getting rid of a larger amount of salt than what your diet now includes, imbalancing your electrolytes. So, most people starting out on carnivore need to add more salt, at least for a while. On the Standard Western Diet, your food probably included a lot of plant anti-nutrients, more that the body could get rid of in a normal day. Now that you are no longer bringing in more garbage, so to speak, your body has a chance to get rid of your stores of old garbage. It was stored because that is how we can protect our bodies protect themselves from the onslot if it isn't severe enough to trigger outright dumping via diarrhea or vomiting. Stay hydrated and stick with it. Hang in there, most of us have gone through some degree of this. You can get past this. You can do this. "Detox" is what happens when your body has less junk coming in, and your metabolic systems stabilize. Red flags are severe persistent vomiting, severe abdominal pain, fainting, chest pain, severe palpitations, confusion, black or bloody stools, or rapidly worsening weakness -- if you have any of these, please see your healthcare provider or even an emergency clinic. Also, if you take medicines for diabetes or blood pressure, keto or carnivore can change your needs sometimes quickly. Mood and cravings are your brain rewiring reward pathways, and it improves with time and consistency. You're not broken. You are adapting and adaptation is not always comfortable. When the body is in ketosis, insulin levels drop which causes the kidneys to excrete more sodium and water. As sodium and fluid leave, potassium and magnesium can follow leading to temporary or even significant depletion if not replenished intentionally. That can absolutely trigger symptoms like weakness cramping or a measurable drop in serum potassium. Magnesium is a key electrolyte for nerve signaling, muscle contraction, and heart rhythm. It regulates over 300 enzymatic reactions, including all enzymes utilizing or synthesizing ATP, or those that use other nucleotides to synthesize DNA and RNA. Not every case of what we label as "keto flu" or "carbohydrate withdrawal" (or low sodium and fluid volume, changes to gut flora and digestion, histamine and other skin reactions) and their symptoms including high blood pressure, poor sleep, brain fog, etc. are simplistically due to changes in our diets. Just want to keep the other effects besides way of eating on our lives on the table, no matter how complicated it makes the equation for newbies or long-timers. Society and science have not given enough consideration to these other influences. I am now a 33 month 98% carnivore who, like at least a few others in this group, are aware of non-dietary influences on our health and moods. Some of what used to be called genetics is epigenetics, including behaving/eating/drinking/smoking/etc. the same way as the previous family members did. These actions could be changed by each individual, IF they didn't hold such actions by their family/ancestors/culture in sacred regard as unquestionable, immutable, or the only way one can properly act and respect their heritage or faith or lives. Maybe the effects of solar storms and geomagnetic activity will be considered when tried and true dietary adjustments don't always work. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5805718/) LYMPH / FASCIA "We've been taught to treat 'drainage' like a plumbing problem, to open the drainage pathways, clear the blockages, take another binder, push another protocol. But drainage isn't a pipe. It's an electrical and mechanical event governed by fascia, water, pressure gradients, and light. Your fascia is a liquid-crystalline, piezoelectric matrix that conducts charge and moves water. Lymph doesn't have its own pump; it relies entirely on this fascial network to create flow. "So when fascia becomes dehydrated, inflamed, compressed, or disconnected from sunlight and circadian rhythm, its conductivity drops and drainage collapses. This isn't because your lymph is 'blocked,' but because the system that generates movement has lost coherence. "This is why endless detox supplements don't work. This is why binders don't fix the root cause. This is why you feel puffy, foggy, inflamed, and 'stagnant,' even after doing everything right. Drainage isn't something you force. "It's something you restore - by rehydrating fascia, rebuilding its charge, supporting mitochondrial water, re-establishing light inputs, and bringing back the natural pressure gradients of breath and movement. When fascia flows, lymph flows. When lymph flows, your whole system comes back online." (Justine Stenger) The second-most important function of the lymphatic system is its absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins from the digestive system, then transporting those to the points at which the lymphatic system "dumps" into the veins. The fat-content of lymphatic fluid is a major characteristic distinguishing it from blood plasma. SEE ALSO: The Feyman Method's excellent videos on the Fascia: "It's Weird But This Is Why Your Fascia Is Starving" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myk1R6VN5CM), "The Movement That Touches YOUR Lymphatic Clock" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k67zGU0vODM), "The 3-Minute Routine That Flushes EVERY Lymph Node at Once" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9OjcyGFokY), and "What Happens to Your Lymph Nodes When You Squat for 3 Minutes? | The Science Explained" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh3lh-qeUvo). MITOCHONDRIA / ATP Mitochondria are double membrane-bound cell organelles present in the cytoplasm of all higher organisms. They produce a huge amount of energy in the form of ATP and are thus called the "powerhouses of the cell." They are found in the cytoplasm of nearly all plant and animal cells. Typically, there are about 500-2000 mitochondria per human cell, making up 25% of the cell volume. (With some 35 trillion cells in humans, there are an estimated 40-100 quadrillion mitochondria in each of us adults, about 2 billion mitochondria are made every second throughout a person's life.) These power houses are more abundantly found in the liver cell (2,000), muscle cells, cells of the kidney (4,000), heart (10,000), and pancreas, sperm cells, and oocytes (immature egg cells, with more than 300,000), where energy is in high demand. Average human cells may house anywhere from 2 to 2,500 mitochondria, and some neurons are said to have 2 million, depending on tissue type, antioxidant status, and other factors. Photoreceptors have the most mitochondria of all the types of cells. (https://wisdomanswer.com/how-many-mitochondria-are-in-an-average-cell/ ; https://www.sciencefacts.net/mitochondria.html ; https://www.livescience.com/health/immune-system/mitochondria-arent-only-the-powerhouses-of-cells-they-also-battle-germs) The body produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's main energy source, much more efficiently from fats than from carbohydrates. One molecule of glucose produces about 40 units of ATP in the mitochondria, while one molecule of fat produces more than 140. Furthermore, the production of ATP from glucose requires three times more enzymes and larger amounts of vitamins and minerals than the production of ATP from fat. (Sources include https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Brevard_College/CHE_301_Biochemistry/08%3A_Metabolism_of_carbohydrates/8.09%3A_Gluconeogenesis-_Reaction_and_regulation , and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541119/ , and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXtdp4BNyOg&t=7s , starting at the 4:55 mark; Chapter 4+ of Nourishing Fats.) Mitochondria's ability to sense, respond to and even shape the metabolic environment of a cell gives them a critical role in determining how and when immune responses are deployed. Aging is theorized to be the result of cells using more energy than their mitochondria can supply. A large amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) must be produced by the mitochondria every second of every day because ATP cannot be stored and the mitochondria must function consistently all the time. The average cell uses 10 billion ATP per day, which translates to the typical adult needing 3.0 x 1025 ATP. To accomplish this prodigious feat, each ATP needs to be recycled from ADP 1000 times per day. (ADP is formed when adenosine triphosphate (ATP) loses one phosphate group.) At any given time there are about 250 g of ATP in the cells. This represents about 4.25 watts, the equivalent of the energy in an AA battery. Every day, a healthy person produces a remarkable 1200 watts! Because the brain uses 70% of ATP, this helps explain the strong correlation between mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration. The mitochondria are especially susceptible to nutrient deficiencies, environmental toxins, and oxidative damage. We do not feel tired because we do not produce enough energy, but because there are too many resistors/toxins interfering with its delivery through the blood. Essential Nutrients for ATP Production: for β-Oxidation of fats FAD (riboflavin), NADH (niacin), CoQ10, and carnitine to transport fatty acids; for Citric acid cycle copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, B1, B2, B3, cysteine (glutathione), lipoate; for other purposes CoQ10 (transports high-energy electrons), riboflavin (complex II), NADH (niacin), and magnesium (final ATP production). Factors Associated With Increased Mitochondrial Damage: oxidants leaked while ATP is produced, aging (accumulated oxidative damage to mtDNA), genomic susceptibility (especially ApoE4), toxic metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), many prescription drugs, and alcoholic beverages. (Pizzorno) Moro, Cecile, et al. "The code of light: do neurons generate light to communicate and repair?" Neural Regen Res. 2022 Jun; 17(6):1251-1252. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.327332. PMID: 34782559; PMCID: PMC8643059. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8643059/) Mould, Rhys R., et al. "Non-chemical signalling between mitochondria," Front. Physiol. 2023, 14:1268075. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1268075. (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1268075/full) OXALATES Per Sally Norton (with other source inputs), the body -- the liver, some red blood cells, possibly the kidneys, or connective tissues (including bone broth that gels in the refrigerator) -- normally produces 12 mg of oxalates every day, and the kidneys can handle up to 26 mg per day. This means that oxalates as such are not inherently foreign or toxic. When someone becomes highly sensitive to oxalate-rich foods, the more meaningful question is not are oxalates toxic or poisonous but what reduced this person's adaptive capacity? It is no longer that a simple removal/elimination of oxalates from one's diet will fix everything. The oxalic acid is derived from the metabolism of ascorbic acid (present especially in high doses of vitamin C supplementation) and glyoxylate. (The glyoxylate cycle is important for the survival of organisms that rely on lipids as their primary energy source.) Oxalate is the ionized form of oxalic acid, which means it carries a negative charge. In contrast, oxalic acid is less commonly found in its free form in nature. However, it is a metabolic byproduct in some organisms, including certain fungi and bacteria. Oxalate is naturally present in many plant-based foods, including spinach, beet greens, rhubarb, whole grains, almonds, cashews, swiss chard, navy beans, baked potato w/skin, seeds and nuts, soy, raspberries, chocolate. There are about 4 mg of oxalate, for example, in one almond. So the naturally produced amount of oxalate in your body plus 4 almonds is above what your body can easily handle on any given day with excretion through the kidneys. One half cup of either cultivated blueberries or blackberries contain about 2 mg of oxalates. Apricots have less than 1 mg of oxalate per fruit. Macadamia nuts contain about 5 - 12 mg of oxalates per 1 oz which is about 10-12 nuts. Our depleted, inorganic soil deposits are what create such high amounts of oxalates in plant foods. Plenty of research shows that plants grow these inflammatory compounds in response to unhealthy soil with microbial overgrowth. It makes sense, a plant that is in a healthy, diverse microbiome wouldn't need to defend against microorganisms nearly as much as those grown in unhealthy ones. How much oxalate food is someone eating? How often? For how many years? Are they absorbing those oxalates efficiently? Are they excreting them normally? Do they have a history of kidney stones? Do they have underlying gastrointestinal issues that alter oxalate absorption? Do they have symptoms that actually point toward oxalate accumulation, or are we simply looking for an explanation because we've heard oxalates discussed online? The 10 Worst Oxalate Foods, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt3ZkvMPKc8. See also oxalate, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalate, and oxaloacetic_acid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxaloacetic_acid. RANDLE CYCLE Except for galactose and lactose plus fat in milk, there are no natural sources of sugar carbs with fats that would throw off the Randle Cycle, the metabolic process involving the competition of glucose and fatty-acids for their oxidation and uptake in muscle and adipose tissue. (This is not an all-or-nothing process: the state of each individual cell as far as its amount of glucose already stored determines how and when the Randle Cycle comes into play for each cell. Greater reliance on one fuel can restrain the use of the other.) Man-made sources are what the SAD consists of: bread and butter, bagels and cream cheese, macaroni or crackers with cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, frosted cake, potatoes or breaded foods that are fried, potatoes with butter and sour cream, pasta and oil, pizza, burgers or hot dogs on buns, cereal or cookies with milk, chips and dip, pork and beans, tuna casserole, etc. Any of those combinations will shut down fat/ketone fueling of the cells in lieu of burning glucose to clear the bloodstream of excessive sugar. If there is too much glucose in the cells, fatty acids are prevented from getting into the cell to be used as the ideal fuel source by the mitochondria (which are up to 400% more efficient on ketones rather than on glucose). "Insulin resistance" is not the cause of Type 2 diabetes. Excess blood glucose/sugar is the cause. The reason we mistakenly say "insulin resistance" is because in the presence of large amounts of both fatty acids and carbs/glucose, the Randle Cycle mechanism will suppress uptake of glucose into the cells. Then insulin can not metabolize the glucose from carbs. That leaves an excess of glucose in the blood stream (high blood sugar). Too much glucose will lock out glucose or fat being utilized by cells for fuel; too much fat will lock out fat or glcuose being utilized by cells for fuel. A carbohydrate+protein diet will let you subsist for 3 to 5 years before deficiencies cause you to quit like 84% of all vegans. The mixed macronutrient standard of carbohydrate+protein+fat does not do well long-term for most humans either. Of fats or carbohydrates, the human body will be running on one or the other primarily based on what is provided chronically. The body will set up its enzymes, its pathways optimally for the predominant intake; the other one will be discouraged/locked out to some degree from flowing through the metabolic pathway. Carbohydrates will make you inefficient at using fats; if you're running on fats, you are not efficient on running on carbohydrates and you are actually locked out from using carbohydrates. Raising the blood glucose above its homeostatic level, its sit point, that is toxic and will damage the physical structure of your cells. Stable isotope testing of bones from 11,000 to 350,000 years prove within 5% that humans have always been obligate hypercarnivores. Three excellent Randle Cycle Presentations are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DKAfhrpSUk , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaW1n0HAi2w , and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlsjnLMANDQ. It is at least 72 hours after eating carbohydrates before they have been metabolized and the Randle Cycle can then switch over to metabolize fat. It is not just a matter of every other meal or every other day eating carbs and then fats. If a balanced diet is consumed which contains fairly equal proportions of fats and carbohydrates, then the Randle Cycle is constantly activated. What will actually occur will be a build-up in the cell fluid of a thing called inorganic phosphate, which binds to the pro-inflammatory cytokines, which thus initiates chronic systemic inflammation. NOTE: Per https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261005012444.htm "Scientists reveal what seven days of fasting does to the human body": Benefits only start after day 3. That is the 72 hour window before the Randal Cycle switches over, isn't it? RED BLOOD CELLS There are more than 400 types of cells in the human body, each with different structure, size, shape, and function, and containing different organelles. The most abundant ones are the red blood cells (RBCs), which comprise 84% of the total number of cells (4% of our bodies' mass!). Adult humans have somewhere around 25 trillion RBCs in their body, on average, with 2.5 million RBCs created and destroyed every second. Women usually have fewer RBCs than men, while people living at higher altitudes will usually have more. (Platelets, the second most abundant type of cells, are only at almost 5% with about 147 million of them, while in third place the bone marrow cells are barely 2.5%, based on recent calculations. Copper is also needed for the recycling of iron from the RBCs, as well as for most antioxidants to work. There is less energy production as we age and there is a gradual accumulation of iron and less copper in our tissues. (https://www.healthline.com/health/number-of-cells-in-body) "RBCs rely heavily on glucose for energy since they lack mitochondria, which means they cannot utilize fatty acids or other substrates effectively. Instead, they primarily rely on anaerobic glycolysis to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy currency of cells. This dependence highlights how critical glucose is to red blood cell functionality. [There are glucose receptors in cells that don't need insulin to get glucose inside them. RBCs, for example, need glucose and do not need insulin to assist them.] Low glucose levels can lead to insufficient energy production within RBCs. This condition can impair their ability to transport oxygen effectively, potentially leading to symptoms like fatigue and weakness. On the other hand, excessively high glucose levels can also have detrimental effects. "When there's too much glucose in the bloodstream, it can lead to glycation -- a process where sugar molecules bind to proteins without enzymes. This reaction alters protein structure and function and can affect hemoglobin in RBCs. The formation of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a common marker used in diabetes management, indicating prolonged elevated glucose levels. Glycation affects not just hemoglobin but also other proteins throughout the body, including collagen and elastin in the skin. When proteins become glycated, they may lose their normal function or become less effective at what they do. In RBCs, this can lead to decreased oxygen-carrying capacity and impaired circulation. Moreover, elevated glycation products contribute to oxidative stress -- a condition where there's an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Oxidative stress can damage RBC membranes, making them more fragile and susceptible to rupture. This fragility can lead to anemia or reduced red blood cell lifespan." (https://wellwisp.com/effect-of-glucose-on-red-blood-cells/) RBCs lack mitochondria, the power plants that use oxygen and nutrients to power the cell. As such, despite carrying a lot of oxygen, red blood cells don't use any of it themselves. This constant presence of large amounts of oxygen leads to some oxidative stress -- oxygen reacts to form reactive oxygen species (ROS), highly reactive molecules that damage the cell over time. In the average person, RBCs are produced in the bone marrow of the long bones and then live for about 115 to 120 days, during which time these flexible, biconcave cells travel roughly 300 miles (480 km) through the circulatory system, delivering vital oxygen to tissues before being systematically retired and recycled by the spleen and liver. The measured range is 70 to 140 days. Reduced RBC lifespan can be due to autoimmune disorders, hemolytic anemia (with a significantly shortened lifespan for the RBCs, often less than 30 days), hereditary conditions like thalassemia or sickle cell disease (the latter with the reduced lifespan of its crescent-shaped cells often less than 20 days), Vitamin B deficiency (resulting in pernicious anemia), folate deficiency (resulting in megaloblastic anemia), malaria, or else adverse reactions to certain medications. Your Hba1c shows how much glycation has happened to these cells. Recent studies have shown that in patients with Iron-Deficiency Anemia (IDA), RBCs actually have longer lifespans than those in healthy individuals. Iron deficiency, the most common micronutrient deficiency worldwide, is a pathophysiological state characterized by insufficient iron storage due to inadequate iron intake, impaired utilization, or excess loss. Although the mechanism remains unclear, findings suggest that in IDA the increased deformability of RBCs may reduce their likelihood of being trapped in interendothelial slits in the spleen which otherwise filter out old cells, thereby extending IDA RBCs' lifespans. This potential mechanism may compensate for the reduced hematopoietic ability in patients with IDA. Haematopoiesis is the formation of blood cellular components. Worldwide, IDA accounts for one-third of cases of anemia, is recognized as the most common type of anemia, and is a serious public health issue, particularly in developing countries. Fatigue, tachycardia, pica, and growth retardation are typical signs and symptoms of IDA. Severe IDA leads to impairment of the nervous system and prevents cognitive development among infants and children. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant global health problem, currently affecting approximately 463 million individuals globally. Of these, 336 million (approximately 4/5 of the world's diabetic population) reside in low and middle-income countries. Effective diabetes monitoring is essential for the appropriate titration of medication [sic], enabling optimal glycaemic control and prevention of vascular complication. Findings suggest that in non-anaemic patients with T2D, iron deficiency does not significantly alter HbA1c levels, supporting its continued reliability as a marker of long-term glycaemic control. On a Keto / Carnivore diet, due to much better metabolic health, the RBCs can live much longer, up to 180 days. Factors that increase RBC lifespan include low oxidative stress/inflammation, stable blood sugar, and strength of your cell membranes, or specific bone marrow conditions or other underlying issues. This can give an artificially higher-looking Hba1c just because the RBCs have been around longer to absorb the effects of sugar, even though, in both examples, the rate of sugary glycation may be exactly the same. Dr. Paul Mason said there is a reticulocyte blood test that can confirm how many replacement red blood cells you are generating -- this may reveal the reason for a falsely high Hba1c. The HbA1c concentration is influenced primarily by both hemoglobin and plasma glucose concentration. However, studies have shown that factors such as race, age, diet, medication and concomitant diseases may also alter HbA1c levels. This 120-day or so RBC lifecycle is governed by the gradual exhaustion of metabolic enzymes. Because mature red blood cells lack a nucleus and ribosomes, they cannot synthesize new proteins or repair damaged membranes. Over time, oxidative stress and mechanical wear degrade the cell's structural integrity. As the cell approaches its terminal phase, its membrane becomes less flexible. The ionic pumps that maintain cellular volume begin to fail, leading to changes in shape and the exposure of specific surface markers. These signals alert the immune system that the cell is no longer fit for service. The rate of cell production is governed by the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which is secreted by the kidneys. When oxygen levels in the blood drop, the kidneys increase EPO output to stimulate the marrow. This feedback loop ensures that the 120-day cycle is replenished by a steady stream of fresh, functional and high-capacity oxygen carriers remain in the blood. It is estimated that between 2 and 3.8 million RBCs die and are replaced every single second of the day. Every protein within the body is replaced four times per year, every 90 days or so. Every connective tissue is similarly replaced every 120 days. Protein's metabolic turnover efficiency increases with age resulting in higher amounts of muscle and bone weaknesses. "Mature red blood cells have no nucleus which is the compartment that houses the DNA and mitochondria. Immature red blood cells actually do have a nucleus but when they differentiate to become the mature red blood cells the nucleus is actually ejected, so they have no nucleus and no DNA. [These cells are primarily composed of hemoglobin and play a central role in maintaining adequate tissue oxygenation. Due to their lack of mitochondria, RBC metabolism heavily relies on anaerobic glucose fermentation for ATP production because they cannot use ketones for that. (Martí-Mateos Y et al., 2026] "As to why this is and how they function, I think what the answer is really lies in what they do. Red blood cells, their only real job is to carry oxygen around the body. Not having a nucleus is actually useful for this in terms of they can have more space for hemoglobin, which is the protein which carries oxygen. And also the red blood cells need to be able to squeeze through narrow capillaries, and they have this biconcave disc shape and without a nucleus this is possible." (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/why-dont-red-blood-cells-have-dna) Now, during cellular senescence the cells stop dividing. There are several causes, some of which are telomere erosion, other types of DNA damage, and other factors that act independently of DNA damage. The most widely known cause of ceased cell division is telomere erosion. Telomeres are sequences of DNA that are found at each end of the chromosomes. Without DNA, the two main causes of cellular senescence do not exist in RBCs. (Per a study by Liang et al, 2023, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9982546/, Mature Red Blood Cells Contain Long DNA Fragments, but the existence of telomeres with those fragments is not mentioned.) SALT Leptin, your satiety hormone, is predominantly made by fat cells and tells your brain to stop eating. Leptin is a protein hormone in mammals whose primary role is likely to regulate long-term energy balance. As one of the major signals of energy status, leptin levels influence appetite, satiety, and motivated behaviors oriented toward the maintenance of energy reserves, e.g. feeding, foraging behaviors. The amount of circulating leptin correlates with the amount of energy reserves, mainly triglycerides stored in adipose tissue. High leptin levels are interpreted by the brain that energy reserves are high, whereas low leptin levels indicate that energy reserves are low, in the process adapting the organism to starvation through a variety of metabolic, endocrine, neurobiochemical, and behavioral changes. Eating a significant amount of carbohydrates results in less satiety and thus an increase in weight becomes easy due to the biological need to eat more food in order to try to attain satiety. Ghrelin, your hunger hormone, is made chiefly in your stomach but also in the jejunum, lungs, pancreatic islets, gonads, adrenal cortex, placenta, kidney, and even brain. It tells your brain to tell your body to eat. Blood levels of ghrelin are highest before meals when hungry, returning to lower levels after mealtimes. The hormone also participates in regulation of reward cognition and behavior, learning and memory, the sleep-wake cycle, taste sensation, and glucose metabolism. Ghrelin is a participant in regulating the complex process of energy homeostasis which adjusts both energy input -- by adjusting hunger signals -- and energy output -- by adjusting the proportion of energy going to ATP production, fat storage, glycogen storage, and short-term heat loss. The net result of these processes is reflected in body weight, and is under continuous monitoring and adjustment based on metabolic signals and needs. Insulin resistance leads to leptin resistance. As a result, ghrelin runs unopposed and you're always hungry. The main contributor to insulin resistence is high blood pressure, which can be caused by too low amounts of salt. Insulin also regulates the amount of salt in the body, so if the diet has low salt content, the insulin retains salt to make up for the salt deficit coming in. Thus, more and more insulin is released to retain a small amount of salt and insulin resistance increases. Table salt is too purified and processed. The body needs unprocessed sea salt, not stark white but gray, beige or pink in color. Cut back on table salt -- which is used in most processed foods and which itself is ultraprocessed -- and use some form of unprocessed sea salt instead. Add [at least] two grams of sodium to a lightly salted diet to relieve and end the symptoms. One teaspoon full of table salt = 5.7 grams, which is about 2 grams of sodium. (Per a hundred thousand person study over 3 plus years, 4.5 to 6 grams a day of excreted sodium seems to be the sweet spot for odds of all cause mortality, with anything less than 12 grams still better than 3 grams or less per day.) We need salt to digest our food -- chloride to make hydrochloric acid for digesting meat and sodium to activate enzymes for digesting carbohydrates. We also need sodium for brain function, adrenal function, regulation of blood pressure, and production of a variety of hormones. Sodium is also key to cellular function needed to maintain electrolyte and fluid balance. However, for approximately 25% of otherwise healthy individuals (and around 60% of those with hypertension), the effect of salt intake on blood pressure elevation is exaggerated. Such people are categorized as salt sensitive. The prevalence of salt sensitivity -- a >10% increase in mean BP -- is higher in women than in man and, in both, increases with age. High glucose in the blood is known to reduce blood sodium levels as it pulls water out of the cells and into the blood. Excessive amounts of sugar in the body damage the kidneys, liver, and heart in various ways, in addition to promoting Candida albicans overgrowths along with their ill and allergic effects to the gut and thyroid. When you start restricting your salt intake, the body starts to panic. One of the body's defense mechanisms is to increase insulin levels, because insulin levels also "lock" energy into your fat cells, so that you have trouble breaking down stored fat into fatty acids or stored protein into amino acids for energy. When your insulin levels are elevated, the only macronutrient that you can efficiently utilize for energy is carbohydrate. You start craving sugar and refined carbs like crazy. The more refined carbs you eat, the form refined carbs you tend to crave. This overeating of processed carbs and high-sugar foods virtually ensures fat cell accumulation, weight gain, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes. (The Salt Fix by Dr. James DiNicolantonio, 2017, pg. 11) Whenever there is an increase in sodium concentration in the blood, the kidneys simply reabsorb less sodium, the excess gets excreted in our urine, and the body maintains a normal serum sodium level in the blood. The mechanism helps to prevent cellular damage from fluid shifting in and out of cells. (The Salt Fix, pg. 26) If blood sodium levels drop too low, water from the blood will go into our tissue cells in order to increase the level of sodium in the blood back to normal, but this fluid shift can lead to cellular swellings. If the sodium level in the blood goes up, water will be pulled out of the tissue cells and into the blood, in order to lower sodium levels back to normal -- but this can cause cellular shrinkage. Both cellular expansion and cellular shrinkage can be extremely harmful, which is why our body will do anything to keep a normal sodium level in the blood and why salt intake and balance are so tightly regulated. Cortisol is the primary glucocorticoid produced by our adrenal glands during times of stress. Cortisol seems to be involved in the release of sodium from our skin stores to aid us during stressful times. Aldosterone, another hormone released by our adrenal glands, socks sodium away into our skin and allows us to reabsorb more salt from the kidneys in times of deficit or need. (The Salt Fix, pg. 27) SEED OILS Derived from manufacturing waste products, especially from the cotton industry, these were originally used as mechanical lubricants which were stable under high temperatures and heating oils after whale oil became less available [in part because the American Civil War put over half the whaling vessels out of commission]. But the petroleum oil companies in the latter 1800s took over that market and then the use of candles made out of and lamps burning the vegetable seed oils was replaced with electric lights, so what could be done with all these industrial seed oils that were being produced? Why, process them further, filter and deodorize them (so you can't tell they are rancid and unstable) and they could be sold as foodstuffs which did not immediately prove toxic. The first seed oil-food chimera [oleo]margarine (1869) was a cheap and stable butter substitute, originally a jelly-like substance from beef tallow with some chopped-up pork stomach, salt, sulfate of soda, and a little cream. (During this period, there was a great demand for butter, a product prepared with milk fat; however, its production did not meet the market demand.) Subsequent versions after 1871 were made with vegetable oils (including olive, cottonseed (1910s), peanut (1910s), palm (1920s, though very popular as stand-alone 80 years earlier), coconut (1920s), corn (1960s), safflower (1960s), soybean (1970s), canola/rapeseed (1970s), or sunflower oils) plus water, salt, colorings, emulsifiers like soybean lecithin, and other ingredients. Margarine can be hydrogenated or not. Partial hydrogenization (invented in 1897, the passing of hydrogen gas through the oil in the presence of a nickel catalyst, under controlled conditions) helped create Cottolene, a product containing 90% cotton seed fat plus some beef tallow. Later the process was used to make a beautiful white lard-substitute entirely vegetable fat competitor, Crisco (1911, bleached, deodorized and partly hydrogenated cottonseed oil, after maker Proctor & Gamble's candle business collapsed with the advent of electric lights). Both were also marketed as being used by modern, economical, and enlightened good wives and mothers. Made with cheaper ingredients, seed oil products were more profitable than natural, less-processed items and they had longer shelf-lives. There was intensive use of creative advertisements and even cookbooks were widely produced for these new "foods" with very little scientific evidence. Heart disease in 1900 usually manifested as gradual heart failure after a serious case of typhoid fever, not as sudden death by heart attack. The first recorded case of myocardial infarction (MI or "heart attack") in the U.S. occurred in 1920 [out of a U.S. population of 106 million] ; three thousand deaths from MI occurred in 1930 [out of a U.S. population of 123 million]. (Seed oils were also used again during WWII as machine lubrication. After the war, what could be done with this product still being made?) By 1960, coronary heart disease (CHD) was the leading cause of mortality in the U.S., causing more than three hundred thousand deaths annually [out of a U.S. population of 179 million]. From heart disease, there were almost seven hundred and three thousand deaths in 2022 [out of a U.S. population of 333 million]. (Keep in mind that in this brief listing, we do not have the age, gender, race, socio-economic class, co-morbidities, or use of tobacco or alcohol, among other significant variables, for these cases.) In the United States, during the 90-yr period from 1909 to 1999, a striking increase in the use of vegetable oils occurred. Specifically, per capita consumption of salad and cooking oils increased 130%, shortening consumption increased 136%, and margarine consumption increased 410%. Researchers have found that the half-life of seed oil residues in the human body is 680 days -- meaning it takes 2 years to clear out HALF of the seed oils that we have stored in our bodies from eating an average Western diet. The total amount of time it takes to remove all stored seed oils from the body is 4-7 years. This is how long it takes to rebuild every cell and mitochondria membrane that had incorporated seed oil metabolites, replacing those oxidizing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with stable saturated fats. This is simply how biology/biochemistry works. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD_WzormXwI See about halfway down this page, https://storables.com/garden/how-are-seed-oils-made/. Examples of seed oils commonly produced using the solvent extraction method include soybean oil, canola oil, and corn oil (the majority of seed oils used). This is followed by refining (degumming, neutralization, bleaching, and deodorizing) and then two or more filtration steps. That certainly can't be good/simple for the body to digest and absorb without effects. I prefer food ingredients that can combined at home. STOMACH ACID Gut microbiomes have a certain wide population of bacteria species no matter our diet; what we habitually eat determines the exact proportions. Collagen from a diet also feeds the microbiome. Carnivore needs much less of the bacteria which attempt to break down otherwise indigestible-to-us plant material, including "fiber." Flatulence is mostly gas from bacterial breakdown of fiber. (Carnivores pass a little gas still -- mostly from swallowed air -- but definitely nothing as loud or smelly as farts from a Standard Western Diet.) Apes and other animals have longer digestive tracts than humans do and so these other species are better suited for breaking down plant foods. Human stomach acid (baseline between pH 1.5 and 2, within the measured 0.8 to 3.5 range) is nearly as strong as that of scavengers/carrion eaters (1.1 to 1.8), so we seem to be built for eating more meat than our simian cousins (the dedicated herbivore gorillas have a 5 to 7 pH stomach acid, baboons are about 3.5). Stomach acid helps digest food, and it kills/minimizes harmful bacteria and pathogens. Studies of premature human infants and elderly persons who were also more prone to GI infections show a large percentage have stomach acid pH levels between 4 and 6.6. In gastric bypass weight loss surgery, roughly 60 percent of the stomach is removed, which results in an increase in gastric pH levels that range from 5.7 to 6.8. Your stomach juices should be very acid, almost to the point of a car battery (0.8). Their job is to break down the food you eat, assisted by the stomach muscles that pulverise the food. The acid also kills some of the bacteria that enters your body with the food, drink and air. Sphincters at either end of the stomach stop the acid escaping up through the esophagus and down into the intestines. Signals generated by the proteins, fats and the acid levels open and close these sphincters to allow food in and the, by now, largely broken down food out, in drips and drabs, into the small intestine. Carbs, especially cereals, naturally reduce the acidity of your pH, which is why on a high carb diet you tend to get stomach bugs and inflammation. With less acid to close the sphincters, acid can escape up into the esophagus, which does not have the protective lining of the stomach, causing the dreaded heart burn, which is acid burning your esophagus. Why do we still have very high acid in our stomachs if we've been eating so many carbohydrate foods for thousands of years? Maybe we really are not adapted for a high-carb diet. The clogged drain analogy is absolutely false: Kitchen pipes are not at a constant 97+ degree F temp, and the plumbing does not have muscular walls to help break down and emulsify the fats in a bath of <2 pH acid, enzymes and bile for their absorption. "Your stomach juices should be very acid, almost to the point of a car battery. It's job is to break down the food you eat, assisted by the stomach muscles that pulverise it. The acid also kills the bacteria that enters your body with the food, drink and air. Sphincters at either end of the stomach stop the acid escaping up through the esophagus and down into the intestines. Signals generated by the proteins, fats and the acid levels open and close these sphincters to allow food in and the, by now largely, broken down food out, in drips and drabs, into the small intestine. Once in the small intestine, bile released from your liver and gallbladder mix with the fat in the food to cause a chemical reaction (a sort of fiz) that breaks the food down more allowing the amino and fatty acids and glucose it to be absorbed into your body. The fiz also neutralizes escaping acid and protects the intestinal wall. Anything it cannot absorb, such as fiber, carries on down to the large intestine (the colon), your internal dustbin, where bugs (politely called your biome) break it down further to allow the rubbish to be pushed out through your last sphincter (in your anus) and if you aim right, into the toilet bowl. Carbs, especially cereals, naturally reduce the acidity of your pH, which is why on a high carb diet you tend to get stomach bugs and inflammation. With less acid to close the sphincters, acid can escape up into the esophagus, which does not have the protective lining of the stomach, causing the dreaded heart burn. Which is acid burning your esophagus. At the other end undigested food, which cannot be properly regulated, escapes into the small intestine and, added to this acid and reduced fat, and at best your body will have difficulty absorbing that food, at worse you get diarrhea or constipation, bacterial overgrowth and every gut issues you can think of. Diarrhea normally results when acid or some other spicy substance hits the intestinal wall, which like the esophagus is not protected, and your body convulses, causing bile (if you have any on a low fat diet) and water to be released into the gut to clear out the offending substance. By evolutionary design, we have become hyper carnivores, with stomachs similar to cats and dogs. Until we regrow our cecum, lengthen our other guts, and develop a larger or multi-chamber stomach (like gorilla's, who are vegetarian) we need that very acidic stomach as we can only function on meat. Only meat and its constituent fat can maintain that acid, bile, and fats that keep our digestion optimized. Only meat can provide us with all the nutrients (the amino and fatty acids) which, once absorbed allow us to function." (Andreas Alexandrou, March 31, 2025 posting) SUNLIGHT The sunlight provides additional benefits which the authorities never talk about, such as the penetrating positive effects of infrared and red radiation on our blood vessels which ultimately helps your mitochondria. Even if you are wearing a thin light-colored shirt you can still get benefits. Just say no to sunscreen or sunglasses. Even six layers of common garments (T-shirt, shirt, wool sweater) were nearly 100 times more transparent to 850 nm light than to visible light, allowing infrared to reach the skin and tissues underneath, per Jeffery, et al, "Longer wavelengths," 2025). Vitamin A (retinol) is a light sensor and a down-regulator of the immune system. Vitamin D is a light filter and suppresses the immune system. Vitamin D can be stored in the liver for six months. Sunlight in winter has more blue light, and its frequency relates to iron. Summer has more red light, and its frequency relates to copper. The amount of active Vitamin D (125 hydroxy, with an optimum level of 45) should be twice the amount of storage Vitamin D (25 hydroxy, with an optimum level of 21) in the liver. The body produces vitamin D in the skin as a sunscreen from exposure to sunlight as a protective mechanism (goes back to early plankton evolution 500 Mya). Vitamin D in the skin is not to make our bodies strong but to protect ourselves from skin cancers due to overexposure to the UV rays of the sun. People who spend more time in the sun have lower cholesterol, because cholesterol is used to make vitamin D. Plant sterols in seed oils interfere with the natural vitamin D synthesis and its protection and the skin sunburns easier. For those who are currently less aware of the significance of light on our health, please watch "Vitamin D Expert: The Fastest Way To Dementia & The Big Lie About Sunlight!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQJlGHVmdrA&t=193s), "Secret SUNLIGHT Benefits with Dr. Roger Sehault" (https://www.youtube.com/live/Vlmn_P3eBuU), and "Feed Your Mitochondria or Age Faster! Your Mitochondria Are Starving for THIS!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2c7LZsiAAw) as an introduction. "Longer wavelengths in sunlight pass through the human body and have a systemic impact which improves vision," Nature, 08 Jul 2025, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-09785-3), "Feed Your Mitochondria or Age Faster! Your Mitochondria Are Starving for THIS!," Reverse Aging Revolution, 13 Jul 2025. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2c7LZsiAAw), "Light, Infrared & Nutrient Uptake w/Robby Besner (Therasage)," 10 October 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZi1H9SE2MQ, and "Why YOUR Body Craves Sunlight More Than Vitamins," The Feynman Principle, 23 May 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYRM4YNorbc). Also see Dr. Niels Finsen and his Nobel Prize for phototherapy, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1903/finsen/facts/. "Your mitochondria aren't just tiny engines, they're photoreceptive structures that respond directly to the wavelengths of light that are all around you and their response is gonna change how your cells are able to handle glucose and we see in research that long wavelength red, near infrared light actually strengthen mitochondrial membrane potential and improve glucose regulation. Your metabolism is at its very core an energy transfer process not just a food equation. But the opposite is also true: short wavelength blue heavy artificial light, the kind that most people sit under all day actually weaken mitochondrial signaling, increase oxidative stress, and disrupt the pathways that keep blood sugar stable. So light is not passive. It's a metabolic input that your body is constantly interpreting, so when we try to understand blood sugar regulation without understanding the light environment that's actually shaping our mitochondrial function we are missing half of the actual story and it's the most important part of the story." (Justine Stenger, short, December 5, 2015) "Mitochondria produce ATP, often referred to as the cellular currency of cells in terms of energy production. They have a membrane potential that declines with age and disease resulting in reduced ATP production. This decline is commonly associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) that drives inflammation and can result in cell death and the decline of the organism. This forms the core of the mitochondrial theory of ageing. Mitochondria are light sensitive. Longer wavelengths (approximately 660-1000 nm) increase mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production particularly when they have declined with age or disease and can improve performance. Shorter wavelengths (400-450 nm) have the opposite effect, most probably being absorbed by in the Soret band of a porphyrin, resulting in ROS production and reducing mitochondrial function and performance. The differential impact of these spectral regions is highly conserved across species but they do not have hard borders. In sunlight these long and short spectral components have a stable balance present in daylight across evolution." (Jeffery et al, "Longer Wavelengths," 2025). See also Glen Jeffrey's research. Nutrition is not just the macronutrients on your plate -- it is the light your body absorbs, the electromagnetic signals it interprets, and the timing of those signals. The leptin-melanocortin pathway, a master regulator of energy balance, food intake and body weight, is fundamentally light-sensitive. Leptin is a peptide hormone secreted by adipocytes based on circadian cues and signals the brain about energy status, while melanocortins are a family of neuropeptide hormones which integrate that signal with light input through the retina and skin. When this pathway is disrupted by artificial light, blue light after dark, or lack of natural sunlight, the brain misreads your energy state, driving cravings, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Food cannot correct a broken light environment. If you've tried every diet, every supplement, and still feel off, fatigued, inflamed, disconnected, your issue isn't willpower or missing nutrients. It's broken bioenergetics. We are patterned light and living water -- light, rhythm, minerals, water, and the subtle electromagnetic language of nature -- informed by the soil we came from. The amount of time we spend above ground level affects us also. We are a complex bioenergetic system that runs on sunlight, water, electrons, and charge gradients, a living body of structured water and a network of light-regulated semiconductors, not a bag of chemicals. Food is not just nutrition, food is light information, it is electromagnetic encoded in molecular structure shaped by sunlight, water and magnetism. Your mitochondria aren't calories but electronics. If the signal is scrambled, so is your metabolism, your hormones, your mental clarity. Your whole entire energetic coherence body runs on fuel, not frequency. Your mitochondria are decoding photonic signals, not calories. About 30% of our electrons come from food. The other 70% comes from light (UV and IR), water (Exclusion Zone), the Earth's charge (grounding), circadian biology and mitochondria redox. (Justine Stenger+) VEGAN ANIMAL DEATHS "If someone asks, 'Is causing animal suffering for trivial pleasure morally defensible?' the correct response is not merely to say yes or no. The correct response is to interrogate the premise. Is eating meat trivial pleasure? Is human nourishment trivial? Is biological requirement trivial? Is rebuilding human health trivial? Is eating the food to which human beings are best adapted morally equivalent to recreational cruelty? This is where many meat-eaters lose before they begin. They accept the vegan frame and then try to defend themselves inside it. But the frame is the problem. "If human beings require animal nutrition for proper development, fertility, strength, cognition, and long-term health, then eating animal foods is not a question of trivial pleasure. It is a question of biological fit and moral responsibility. And if vegan diets require supplementation, industrial processing, global supply chains, monocropping, displacement of animal life, and a rejection of the human organism's own nutritional requirements, then the ethical question becomes much more complicated than 'plants kind, meat cruel.' "The vegan argument often depends on moral simplification. The real world does not. Life requires death. Agriculture kills. Industrial food systems exploit. Factory production is not automatically morally cleaner than animal husbandry because the suffering is less visible. And if the proposed solution to human nutrition is synthetic meat, industrial oils, fortified products, and tablets, then we are no longer talking about a return to compassion. We are talking about technological alienation from the human organism." (Edward Goeke) All the flying and crawling insects (including bees, lady bugs, and butterflies), worms, birds (including hummingbirds) and small and medium-sized animals (including gophers and ground squirrels) that are killed to prevent them from living in the fields or eating the plants because of the tilling, spraying and harvesting of fields -- often monoculture, which does reduce the ecodiversity. And fertilizer (and pesticide) run-offs into the water systems. Pesticide, herbicide and fungicide residues on and in plant foodstuffs, to say nothing of all the anti-nutrients (self-protective chemicals in plants.) It is a much bigger issue than just "stopping cruelty to cows." Consider what it takes to stop cruelty to many other living things including ourselves because of industrial farming. The deaths per calorie of plant-based food is much higher than the death per calorie of animal-based food. (See https://cluelessdoctors.com/2026/05/01/the-vegan-lie/?. But also see these counter views: https://sentientmedia.org/does-veganism-kill-more-animals/ and https://vegangreenplanet.com/debunking-the-myth-vegans-kill-more-animals/.) "If you are eating plants out of season, you are contributing to monocropping, pesticide use and harsh fertilizers. Vegans love to deflect that issue and say that soy production is primarily for cattle feed, which I believed was a strong argument. But the reality is that soybeans are processed primarily for their valuable oil that goes into human food products, while the remaining meal - which makes up about 80% of the soybean's volume - is what's predominantly used as cattle feed. This means there's more waste material than there is valuable oil, so it looks like the majority of soy is for cattle when in fact cattle are just consuming the byproduct of human food production. Even if we can all agree to stop feeding cattle soy meal, that doesn't mean soy production is going to reduce in a meaningful way. Humans will still be consuming large amounts of soy oil with nowhere to put the excess meal." LIFE CHANGES A hundred or more years ago: so much of the seasonal fruits and veggies that we can now eat year-round have been selected and bred to be bigger and sweeter. Mass quantities of cut potatoes fried in reused industrial seed oils weren't available. Refined, long-lived, heavy gluten breads weren't available as wrappers for meat. Artificially sweetened and colored soft drinks weren't there to be consumed by the double liter. And similar but dry snacks weren't available at a moment's notice throughout the day to be mindlessly stuffed into our faces while we were watching/doing other things because we were never satiated on a heavy diet of carbs... Or similar breakfast cereals (which are now being advertised as O.K. for dinner). Food packaging was minimal and without plastics and preservatives. Fatty foods when available were not warned against. Sugar was relatively more expensive and not always available, so we had honey or maple syrup or dried fruit or put-up jams. We slept when it was dark and were awake during the daylight, extended slightly by the light of a few candles, kerosene or whale oil lamps, or the hearth. No artificial blue or florescent or LED lights -- or widespread EM fog from wireless devices or high-tension power lines. We stood or leaned or squat. Sitting was very occasional and usually not on padded chairs. No chemical-filled lotions or sun-block; no aluminum-laden or other chemical-filled deodorants or antiperspirants. No fluoride or sugary toothpastes. In the United States before 1850, virtually all cattle were free-range or pasture-fed and were typically slaughtered at 4-5 years of age. By about 1885, the science of rapidly fattening cattle in feedlots had advanced to the point that it was possible to produce a 545-kg steer ready for slaughter in 24 months and which exhibited "marbled meat." Wild animals and free-range or pasture-fed cattle rarely display this trait. Marbled meat results from excessive triacylglycerol accumulation in muscle interfascicular adipocytes. Such meat has a greatly increased saturated fatty acid (SFA) content, a lower proportion of Omega-3 fatty acids, and more Omega-6 fatty acids. In the typical US diet, sugars with a high glycemic load (HFCS 42, HFCS 55, sucrose, glucose, honey, and syrups) now supply 18.6% of total energy, whereas refined cereal grains with a high glycemic load supplies 20.4% of energy. Hence, ≥39% of the total energy in the typical US diet is supplied by foods that may promote the 4 proximate causes of insulin resistance: chronic and substantial elevations in plasma glucose, insulin, VLDL, and free fatty acid concentrations. Although sugars and grains with a high glycemic load now represent a dominant element of the modern urban diet, these foods were rarely or never consumed by average citizens as recently as 200 yr ago. Insulin resistance is not pathology but the machinery of your metabolism working as intended by your genes. Four decisions in the 1970s-1990s that affected Americans' health: Switch soft drinks (and other products) from sugar as an ingredient to the less expensive and subsidized high fructose corn syrup; Make low-fat foods a priority necessitating changes in formulas to make up for the loss of flavor and texture; Discover the Bliss Point: the "perfect" combination of salt plus fat to initiate constantly non-satiiating consumption of food; and Increase the size of serving portions in restaurants and commercial packaging for prepared in-home meals. CLOSING THOUGHTS "Hominids were originally frugivores, who when carnivorous foods were added to our diets increased our brain sizes, social skills, use of tools, use of fire, etc. Although we are capable of metabolizing some amounts of carbohydrates, many plant foods have to be soaked and/or fermented and/or cooked before they are palatable or edible. However, a diet with larger amounts of carbohydrates have been known to cause tooth decay -- archaeologically proven since the start of the Agricultural Revolution. What is wrong with that picture? Removing most if not all carbohydrates from diets does result in reversals of numerous disease conditions. There are no essential carbohydrates that we must consume. Nutrients in meat and animal products are both more bioavailable and are generally more complete for humans than those substances found in plant foods. Eating animal-based foods is more efficient than eating plant-based foods, both in quantity and variety/quality. Similarly, animal products have much smaller amounts of anti-nutrient protective defense chemical compounds than plants have. Other animals can selectively eat certain plants in large quantities without being harmed by those compounds. Humans cannot necessarily do that. To what degree did humans genotypically evolve to withstand them? "Thus, a heavy animal-based diet seems to be what we have been evolved to withstand repeatedly and consistently. Evolution selects for what allows for survival under scarcity. Not just scarcity, but variability because your environment changes sometimes very rapidly which can often lead to extinction but that's only if the adaptation rate wasn't sufficient. So scarcity, variability of your environment, stress, all of those things matter rather than what's required under perfect conditions. The fact that humans can produce glucose endogenously through gluconeogenesis does tell us that glucose availability wasn't guaranteed, that there were periods of low carbohydrate intake, and that metabolic flexibility, the ability to exchange between fat utilization (fatty acid and ketone utilization), and glucose utilization (pyruvate and lactose, the derivatives), did bestow or confer a survival advantage. The fact that we can produce our own glucose does not tell us how frequently carbohydrates were consumed nor in what quantities nor over what evolutionary time scales nor whether those exposures were sufficient to causing genotypic adaptation across our genome to frequent intake. How often were simple carbohydrates or starches, whatever it may be, carbohydrates generally that are digestible, encountered across human evolutionary history, and for how long were our genes exposed to them at meaningful levels? "A substance can provide mass and prolong survival while remaining poorly suited to human physiology. Historical populations have survived on grain-dominant diets during scarcity. Survival under constraint establishes tolerance. It provides limited evidence of optimality. Fiber is material that human digestive enzymes cannot break down. Bacterial fermentation may produce downstream compounds from it, although that fact alone provides no demonstration that fiber is necessary for the human organism. In susceptible people, fiber can increase fermentation, intestinal distension, and mechanical burden. Its removal can improve constipation and gastrointestinal distress. Human anatomy also reflects limited dependence on hindgut fermentation compared with genuine plant-fermenting species. The category of 'plant food' conceals major biological questions concerning defense compounds, nutrient conversion, mineral binding, digestibility, and the actual utility of what is chemically present. "Human nutrition cannot be reduced to a spreadsheet of isolated nutrients. Carbohydrates can support longer high-intensity output in certain contexts. They can rapidly replenish glycogen, increase body mass through glycogen and water storage, and help athletes tolerate forms of training that press far beyond ordinary human activity. That makes them useful for particular tasks. Usefulness within an unusual task provides a poor basis for defining the proper human diet. A glucose gel may help an endurance athlete continue an extreme event. A large carbohydrate intake may help a bodybuilder sustain the training and growth signaling required to carry an abnormal quantity of muscle. These effects should be interpreted within the goal being pursued. "The human body crosses every departmental boundary medicine has drawn. Its organization is physiological rather than administrative: one organism, with tissues exchanging substrates and signals under changing conditions. "Eliminating an entire food category can be presented as inherently suspect. That judgment assumes the category belongs in the diet. Before predicting a deficiency, we need to identify the required nutrients and determine whether the remaining foods supply them in usable amounts. "An inaccurate dietary standard can certainly cause harm. That possibility gives us a reason to examine the standard itself. It gives us no reason to treat every deliberate exclusion as disordered. "The goal itself deserves examination. The human body appears organized around mobility, endurance, strength, and resilience within a functional range. Pursuing maximal size or highly specialized output can require dietary and pharmacological inputs that increase performance while imposing long-term costs." (Edward A. Goeke) |