Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Water Consumption Important for Carnivores

In addition to fat, water is very important for carnivores, including humans eating a carnivorous diet. Inuits still eating a meat/seafood-heavy diet reportedly drink large quantities of water:

[The Inuit drink] large quantities of water (5 to 6 litres per day), characteristic of the protein-rich diet that triggers renal elimination of the products of catabolism. Jeremy MacClancy, Consuming the Inedible: Neglected Dimensions, p. 123

There's also the example of wolves and other carnivores who drink copious amounts of water after feasting on flesh. This vid is not of an actual wolf, but you get the idea: Josie Wales Wolfdog Wolf Dog drinking Water

Five to six liters is about 10.5 to 12.5 pints of water a day. That sounds excessive to me, so if anyone has any information on how much water the Inuit drank, I'd appreciate it.

I drink mostly mineral water myself, as some studies indicate it provides additional benefits and I figure Stone Age water was probably more mineral-rich than most of today's tap or bottled water.

Friday, November 06, 2009

Update: Still Doing Great

I'm still doing great on my stricter version of a Paleo diet (raw carnivore, with only occasional plant foods--basically an Inuit-style diet). The recent relapse of symptoms disappeared within a couple of months and my health is once again better than it's been in decades--even better than it was at my peak during the more conventional Paleo diet.

I don't tell people what to eat. I think folks should work out for themselves what foods they do best on. However, if you don't even try a Paleo diet, how will you know whether it works for you or not?

Note: when eating near-zero-carb like I am currently, one needs to eat a lot of fat to avoid eating excess protein and potentially even risking "rabbit starvation" (which is "protein poisoning" and malnutrition that occurs when eating too little fat or carbs with protein). I seem to do best on around 75 - 85% calories as fat.