​​Seed Oils: The Underlying Cause of Obesity and Disease

There is a hidden ingredient in our food that is causing obesity and common chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Although bacon cheeseburgers, carbohydrates, and sugar have traditionally been blamed for rampant obesity and metabolic disease, they are not actually to blame. The hidden ingredient in our food (especially almost all restaurant food and processed food) causing this damage to the human body is vegetable oil – or as nutrition scientists more commonly refer to it: “seed oils”. 

Seed oils are known scientifically under many names: linoleic acid, omega-6 fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Dr. Cate Shanahan, long-time nutritionist for the LA Lakers and author of Deep Nutrition, calls these oils the “Hateful Eight” – including soybean, corn, canola (rapeseed), safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, grape seed, and rice bran oil*.

None of these seed oil fats were historically part of the human diet, as our ancestors did not press the oil out of soybeans or corn in the wild, and in fact humans did not eat beans and grains at all until quite recently. Historically, our ancestors were hunter-gatherers who ate mostly meat and fruit – they mostly hunted large game (ruminant animals) and gathered eggs and ripe fruit. The fat sources in the traditional human diet included lots of fat from animals as well as from fruits that contain fat like olives, avocados, and coconuts.

There are 3 basic types of fat: saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fat largely comes from animal fats and coconut oil, monounsaturated fats come from fatty fruits like avocado, and polyunsaturated fats are found in seeds. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature (think beef tallow and butter) due to being completely “saturated” with hydrogen. This causes saturated fat to avoid bonding with oxygen, since it does not have any double bonds that can attach to oxygen molecules. This also allows saturated fat molecules to stack together, which is what makes it solid at room temperature. When mono- and polyunsaturated fats have an area that lacks a bond with hydrogen, the fat molecules can bend here, and no longer are able to stack neatly together like they do with saturated fat. Because of these bends in the fat chains, mono and poly fats are liquid at room temperature. 

The 3 main kinds of dietary fat.

If a fat is not “saturated” with hydrogen bonds, oxygen atoms can attach to the long fat chains – mono (which means “one”) fats have one oxygen-attracting bend, and poly (which means “many”) fats have multiple bends. When oxygen attaches to these bends, the fat becomes oxidized, which means that the fats are going rancid and causing inflammation and disease in the human body * . 

The fats we eat get incorporated into the body’s tissues, and all cells in the body have a phospholipid membrane – meaning that the outside wall of each of our cells is made of various kinds of fat. When the cell membrane is composed of the weaker, more liquid mono- (MUFAs) and poly- fats (PUFAs), the cells become weak and damaged which can lead to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

graph from optimisingnutrition.com

Starting about a century ago, large amounts of polyunsaturated fats were introduced into the human diet. It started with Crisco, a company that began to chemically process cottonseed oil to make it available for popular consumption. Whereas prior to WWI, cottonseed oil had been used to lubricate machinery, after the war ended this fat was advertised to Americans as a “heart healthy” alternative to the tallow, lard, and butter that had been common in those days. 

Not only were seed oils introduced as food for humans, but they were also introduced as food for livestock. Animals like chickens and pigs are monogastric, meaning that they have one stomach - and all monogastric animals store the seed oils they eat without converting them into another kind of fat, like healthy saturated fat. If monogastric animals are fed seed oils, they store the seed oils, and then when we eat the bacon or chicken skin, we are eating the stored seed oils in their fat. 

Cows are the best fat source because they are polygastric (they have four stomachs) and ample beneficial bacteria in their stomachs to help convert the fats they eat – even when the cows are fed corn and corn oil – into healthy saturated fat. So even corn-fed beef still makes healthy saturated-fat rich butter and tallow, and this means that the fat from ruminant animals (bison, goat, elk, lambs, and sheep, as well as cows) is always going to be the safest and healthiest fat for the human body. In the carnivore community, we say “cows are king”.

Despite this, even grass-fed cows have a little bit of polyunsaturated fat in their bodies that we consume when we eat red meat and dairy. The ideal amount of PUFA to consume is less than 10 grams a day. Although eggs have a smaller percentage of PUFA than chicken fat and chicken skin, we get some seed oils from eggs as well (about 0.5 grams per egg, unless your eggs are corn-free AND soy-free). Red meat has about 3% PUFA in grass-fed meat and 6% in corn-fed meat, which is about 3 grams in a pound of 70% lean corn-fed beef *,*. Since red meat and eggs are some of the best foods for the human body, we will already be getting a small amount of PUFA in our diet even if we are avoiding seed oils and eating as healthy as possible.

There is rampant misinformation in the US regarding seed oils, and many in the medical community advise that people consume large amounts of seed oils. This misinformation stems from the idea that consuming PUFA reduces cholesterol, and that high levels of LDL cholesterol is linked to heart disease. This “research” largely benefits the agriculture industry and the medical establishment. It has been proven wrong by a number of studies showing that not only does lowering LDL cholesterol (and cholesterol numbers in general) not protect against heart disease, it actually RAISES the risk *,*. 

Likewise, some nutrition researchers have reported that PUFAs just need to be in a specific ratio with omega-3 fats, but this is not true*. Although omega-3 fats (like fish oil) are also technically polyunsaturated fats with similar multiple bends, they are not as harmful as the omega-6 poly fats from seed oils and may have some benefit in the human body. But, the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 (another name for seed oil-derived PUFA) is not important. What is important is keeping the total amount of seed oils in your diet down as far as you can, as they are poisonous, get stored in our bodies, and take a very long time to detoxify. 

In fact, researchers have found that the half-life of seed oils 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. Since research is also showing that seed oils are likely the main cause of not only obesity, but also all the other metabolic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, it’s clear that we need to get our seed oil consumption down as low as possible, as fast as possible, and AVOID SEED OILS LIKE THE PLAGUE!!

How do we do this? It’s not as challenging at home, as we can just swap out any “vegetable” oils that we have (which are all seed oils) for healthy beef tallow, butter, and high-quality olive oil, and coconut oil, in addition to avoiding the fat from chicken and pork – while still enjoying the protein from these animals like boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat free ham, and lean pork loin (which are easy to buy at any grocery store). We also need to avoid eating all beans, nuts, and seeds, as their main source of fat is from seed oils. 

The real problem is eating at restaurants. Studies have found that up to 40% of the calories in a typical restaurant meal are from seed oils, as they are very cheap and help keep costs down*. Basically, most restaurant food is completely saturated in seed oils. All fried food, sauteed food, salad dressings, and sauces derive their calories from seed oils. French fries. Ranch dressing. Asian stir-fry. Sauteed onions. Chicken fingers. Chicken wings. All seed oil. BUT, the good news is that there are a couple of restaurants that have beef tallow in their fryer – (one popular restaurant with a 100% beef tallow fryer is Buffalo Wild Wings - carnivore French fries!) and some authentic French restaurants. The two things that you can always order in a restaurant and be fairly confident that they are free of seed oils are beef burgers (no bun or mayo) and steak. Since beef has a good amount of fat in it, cooks and chefs don’t usually add any oil to the pan or griddle when cooking burgers and steaks. If you want to order a salad on the side, ask for oil and vinegar and dress it yourself. If you want to order a baked potato, ask the server to check that they have 100% butter or have them bring you the butter packets so you can read the ingredients. Even some popular chain steakhouses serve “butter” that is a 50% seed oil blend. You can even order beef patties from most “fast-food” restaurants - they are almost always 100% beef with no fillers or seed oils, and just add pickles, tomato, onions and mustard if you want!

Many French restaurants in the US use canola oil in their fryers, although traditionally French food (and Italian food too) abhors seed oils and only uses animal fats. This is the reason for the so-called “French paradox” - the observation that despite eating lots of carbs and high-fat food, French people do not historically get fat or have many of the Western diseases like diabetes and heart disease. If you go to France or Italy, you can be certain the vast majority of your food will be cooked with healthy animal fats. But in America, you will have to ask them to check the box that their fryer oil came in to see if it really is 100% tallow, or if it is instead a blend that includes a substantial amount of seed oils. I like to call the restaurant in the afternoon when they are slow, and politely explain that I don’t eat seed oils and ask kindly if they can check the ingredients on their butter, salad dressing, and/or fryer oil. 

There are a number of beneficial healing effects in the body from removing seed oils from your diet and making sure that you don’t get more than 10 grams per day from all sources, including beef and eggs. Within 3 months of making this change in my own diet, I could eat moderate amounts of carbohydrates again without gaining weight. Before this, if I even ate a tiny bit of carbohydrates I put on weight! I also found that the intense cravings that I would get from having a serving of carbohydrates was gone. I felt normal again, like when I was a kid and could eat carbohydrates and not immediately have intense cravings and end up overeating. 

Another major benefit was the fact that many people who stop consuming seed oils also stop burning in the sun*! This has been well documented with my clients and others in the carnivore community. The reason that we get such high levels of sunburn and skin cancer is likely because the high level of seed oils in our diet is weakening our skin cells and causing our skin to become damaged from sunlight*. Of course our ancestors got a lot of sun - for hundreds of thousands of years humans were hunter-gatherers living near the equator. Why would we suddenly be experiencing so much sunburn and skin cancer? It’s not the sun, it’s the oils (as well as the toxic sunscreens) damaging our skin!

So what should we eat? The most important change we can make is to remove seeds and seed oils from our diet. Unfortunately, if you go out to eat regularly this can be the most difficult change to make. But it is worth it. Our ancestors ate mostly animal foods and fruit. Fruits are defined as “the fleshy and sometimes sweet part of the plant that contains seeds and can be eaten”, which includes all sweet fruits, as well as zucchini and other squashes, cucumber, avocado, olives, and coconut. Many carnivore or animal-based people also do well with root vegetables like carrots and sweet potato - although cooking them first removes some or most of the oxalate toxins. Fruit is the only part of the plant designed for consumption, as most fruit seeds pass through animal’s digestive systems and are planted in the waste. We know that pre-industrial humans were hunter-gatherers - they hunted large game and they gathered fruit. They did not eat seeds, as most are unpalatable, inaccessible, or indigestible in their raw state.

All foods derived from seeds are damaging to the human body - including nuts, grains and beans. Even the seeds in fruit and berries can sometimes aggravate those with a more damaged gut lining. Not only do seeds like grains, beans, and nuts contain seed oils, but they also have many other plant toxins in them to deter animals from eating them. Plants can’t run away like animals, so plants put defense chemicals in the parts of the plant that they don’t want you to eat - mostly the seeds, stems, and leaves.

When humans grind the seeds into flour or chew them, we are releasing these toxic plant chemicals into our bodies and damaging our intestinal lining and all of our cells. A common seed defense chemical is gluten, which is the protein found in the bran (outer) part of the seed of wheat plants and wreaks havoc on the gut and digestive system of humans. Grains were only added to the human diet in the last couple of thousand years with the advent of agriculture. There are hundreds of other harmful plant chemicals, like lectins, oxalates, phytates, phytoestrogens, phenols, saponins, and tannins, to name a few. Meat and fruit do not have any of these toxins and are the preferred foods for the human body, as they were the foods of our ancestors for hundreds of thousands of years.

Although olive oil and avocado oil are monounsaturated fats and don’t contain PUFA, there are a couple of concerns with consuming these forms of fat. They do still have one bend, so they are able to oxidize a little bit, and need to be cold pressed  (so-called “extra virgin”), and stored in dark containers. As they are liquid at room temperature, they are not as healthy for the body’s cells as saturated fats which have no bends and cannot oxidize at all. Saturated fats are firmer fats that are stronger for our cell linings. The second problem with olive oil and avocado oil is the fact that many American companies have recently been caught lying on the label and adulterating these fats with seed oils. One recent study found that over 80% of avocado oils and olives oils have been cut with seed oils*. Luckily, studies have found that Costco’s Kirkland Brand is 100% pure olive oil *! Also the Chosen Foods brand of avocado oil at Costco is 100% pure as well. The only other brand that the study found that contained 100% avocado oil was Marianne’s, which is sold at Costco and Whole Foods *,*.

There is rampant fraud in the food industry in the US. Not only are companies adulterating oils, but the food industry and the US government are allowing misinformation to negatively affect the health of Americans, switching out our fryer oils from healthy tallow and coconut oil to extremely unhealthy seed oils in the 1980s, and driving up levels of obesity and disease in the decades since. It is up to us to change our diets and heal our bodies. The good news is that it’s possible, many of us have already done it, and you can do it too. Throw out your seed oils, stop eating chicken and pork fat, refuse to eat foods at restaurants that contain seed oils, call your local restaurants and grocers and request healthier fats, and bring your own olive oil and butter with you when you go out to eat or go to a friend’s house for dinner. 

The benefits from switching to a diet of primarily meat, eggs, dairy, and fruit include losing weight, eating healthy carbohydrates without gaining weight, tanning in the sun without sunburn, aging more gracefully, and avoiding disease.  We will have a new and improved relationship with food as our bodies heal and we become more intuitive about our eating and nutrition needs. Take charge of your body and watch your body heal. Watch excess weight fall off, long-standing health problems resolve, your ability to tan in the sun return as well as significantly lower rates of sunburn and skin cancer, to once again be able to eat carbohydrates without excessive weight gain as well as an increase in intuitive eating and a lack of food cravings. 

Even if you cheat and eat junk food, DO NOT EAT SEED OILS. Just remind yourself, 680 days to clear out half of them! Within 3 months of lowering my PUFA consumption to 10 grams/day or less, I saw changes happen in my body and I started healing and losing weight. You can do it too! 

Additional references:

https://drcate.com/pufa-project/

https://drcate.com/category/food/seed-oils/

https://www.zeroacre.com/blog/linoleic-acid-facts

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195369/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27071971/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5492028/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24853887/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2373379/

https://www.worldatlarge.news/function-health/linoleic-acid-as-driver-of-heart-chronic-disease

https://www.gq.com/story/seed-oil-health

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/records-found-in-dusty-basement-undermine-decades-of-dietary-advice/

https://podcastnotes.org/wise-traditions/episode-262-the-hateful-eight-industrial-seed-oils-dr-cate-shanahan-on-wise-traditions-with-hilda-labrada-gore/

Coconut Thai Curry Chicken

This high-protein meal is perfect for a chilly fall day. It can be modified to be protein-sparing by using light coconut milk. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 T coconut oil or butter

1 can organic coconut milk with no gums - I like Native Forest

1 C bone broth

2 C chopped carrots

1 t fish sauce

1 T wheat-free tamari or Braggs coconut aminos

1 t garlic powder

1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced, or 1 t ground ginger

1 t onion powder

1 t ceylon cinnamon

1/2 t turmeric powder (optional)

1 T dried cilantro leaves (not coriander seed)

1 t fish sauce (gluten free)

1 T dried Thai basil

Directions:

Heat a large cast iron pan on medium-high. Add the coconut oil or butter, chicken breast chunks, tamari or aminos, and ginger. Stir-fry until chicken is cooked through and onion is soft. Add all other ingredients and stir well. Simmer until the carrots are soft, about 20-25 minutes and serve.

Coconut Curry Shrimp

This is a fun and quick weeknight dinner, super flavorful and colorful. You can use full-fat coconut milk if you’re at your goal weight, or light coconut milk on a weight-loss protein-sparing day. Other kinds of seafood can be substituted for the shrimp, like fish, scallops, clams, or calamari. Enjoy! Serves 2.

Ingredients:

Shrimp:

2 pounds of medium shrimp

1 T coconut oil

dash sea salt

Sauce:

1 can coconut milk, no gums - I like Native Forest

1 T fish sauce

1 T tamari sauce

1 t garlic powder

dash onion powder

2 t minced fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger powder

1/2 t ceylon cinnamon

1/2 t turmeric, optional

3 T chopped Thai basil, optional

lime slices for serving

Instructions:

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. Heat up the coconut oil a large cast-iron/stainless steel/copper pan on high until hot. Add the shrimp and the dash of sea salt, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, a couple minutes. Pour in the sauce. Stir until hot and well combined, and remove from heat. Add more fish sauce and/or tamari to taste, for saltiness. Sprinkle herbs on top. Serve immediately with limes on the side.

Breaking Through a Fat-Loss Stall: Why High Fat Alone Isn’t Enough

Why fat loss stops — and how to restart it without starving.

One of the most common frustrations I see in the carnivore and ketogenic world is the dreaded stall. At first, the weight falls off effortlessly. Butter, ribeye, fasting windows — it works, until suddenly it doesn’t. You’re doing all the same things you did before, but the scale won’t budge and body composition doesn’t shift.

This is where most people either double down (more fasting, more fat, fewer meals) or give up altogether. But here’s the thing: if you’re stuck, it’s not because you’re broken — it’s because your metabolism has adapted.

Why Stalls Happen

In the beginning, a high-fat carnivore approach works because it lowers insulin, balances blood sugar, and cuts out inflammatory foods. But over time, your body is smart. If you’re constantly pouring in butter, tallow, and fatty ribeyes, it has little incentive to tap into stored fat. Add in intermittent fasting and long stretches without food, and the metabolism often responds by downshifting thyroid function and ramping up stress hormones.

That’s why I see so many people who are:

• Cold all the time, with low waking temps (a thyroid red flag).

• Stuck in fat loss, despite “perfect” keto or carnivore compliance.

• Experiencing estrogen dominance (stubborn weight around hips, thighs, or belly, PMS-like symptoms even in menopause).

• Feeling more tired, not more energized, the longer they stay in a high-fat + fasting rut.

The body simply adapts. It’s not a willpower issue — it’s physiology.

The Stall-Breaker Strategy

Instead of cutting calories harder or fasting longer, the solution is often the opposite: feed your metabolism — just in a smarter way.

Here’s how:

• Keep protein high. This preserves muscle, supports thyroid conversion (T4 → T3), and keeps you full.

• Bring fat down strategically. Not “low-fat” in the mainstream sense, but leaner cuts, fewer add-ons, so your body burns its own fat instead of the butter you ate.

• Keep calories adequate. The worst thing you can do is starve — this lowers thyroid output and raises cortisol. With the right macro balance, you can keep eating plenty while still tapping into stored fat.

• Optional metabolic support. For some, especially those with thyroid issues or long stalls, adding in “animal-based carbs” — think a drizzle of honey, ripe fruit, or dairy sugars — can provide a metabolic spark. Even the Lion dieter who never thought about carbs may find curiosity here when nothing else is working.

Other Keys That Break Stalls

Sometimes fat balance isn’t the only piece:

• Thyroid Support – If you’ve been under-eating or fasting for years, thyroid function often drags. Without enough T3, fat loss stalls no matter what you eat.

• Estrogen Detox – Many women (and men) have excess estrogen that keeps fat locked in. Supporting estrogen clearance can make a visible difference.

• No More Fasting Marathons – Skipping meals may feel effective at first, but in the long run, it raises stress hormones and slows metabolism. Eating regularly (with the right foods) works better.

• Gut Health – Bloating, slow digestion, or methane overgrowth can keep the scale stuck, even on carnivore. Healing the gut is often part of the stall-breaker plan.

Why You Haven’t Heard This Before

In carnivore and keto circles, the loudest message is still: “Just eat more fat.” That can work for a while, but it’s not the whole picture. The reality is that fat loss requires metabolic flexibility, and if your strategy isn’t evolving with your body, you’ll get stuck.

The good news? You don’t have to choose between being hungry or being stalled. You can eat big, satisfying meals, stay animal-based, and still unlock fat loss — if you know how to shift the dials correctly.

👉 The details — how much to lower fat, whether to cycle in honey or not, how to support thyroid and estrogen balance, how many meals work best for your body — are unique to you. If you’re stalled, I can help you map out the exact steps that fit your metabolism, history, and goals. This isn’t about another crash diet. It’s about breaking through intelligently and keeping your results.

Easy ways to keep protein high, while still lowering fat:

-Skim milk and collagen powder milkshakes, optional ingredients are a little stevia (or honey or maple syrup), vanilla, a dash of salt, PB2 peanut butter powder (no seed oils), berries, etc.

-Whole eggs everyday, adding whites if you’d like. Even though the yolks have 4.5 grams of fat each, your body needs at least 30 grams/fat each day and egg yolks are an excellent source. My favorite is soft-boiled.

-Fat-free lunch meat. Even organic lean pork and chicken are fine, because there is no unhealthy PUFA fats when there is no fat. It’s just protein. Be sure to check the labels and find organic lunch meat that is 0-1 gram of carbs and 0 grams of fat. Pure protein. Roll it up with pickle slices and mustard for an awesome lunch.

-90/10 or 95/5 Ground beef, super lean steak without much marbling, and beef liver. You can cook it in a dry cast iron pan with lots of sea salt and it is delicious. Maybe a bit of butter or ghee but count your fat grams.

-Nonfat greek yogurt with Nunatural Liquid Vanilla Stevia or a little honey. I love the thickness and creaminess of greek yogurt. Be sure to watch for any additional ingredients besides milk and probiotics, especially “nonfat milk powder” which is pure lactose/milk sugar. Or make your own yogurt and let it ferment longer and it’s basically carb-free. I like to add a few raspberries or blueberries on top, and it feels like a wonderful dessert.

-Lean pork loin or boneless skinless chicken breasts for dinner.

-Lean seafood like white fish, salmon without the skin, shrimp, oysters, scallops, and. mussels.

There’s nothing better than losing weight while full. Please reach out for a nutrition session with me if you have questions!

Salmon Greek Salad

This is one of my favorite salads ever. You can really use any kind of meat or fish you want but I love it with grilled or sauteed salmon. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

4 large wild-caught salmon fillets, 6-8 oz. each

1 tablespoon grass-fed butter

8 eggs

4 C zucchini noodles (or thin slice)

1/2 C kalamata olives

1/2 C feta cheese

2 C chopped cucumber

1/8 C super high-quality extra virgin olive oil

1/4 C balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

1 t each dried oregano, parsley, and dill

Optional: a few cherry tomatoes, if you tolerate nightshades (not recommended)

Directions:

Salt the salmon fillets and fry them in a hot buttered cast iron pan for a couple minutes on each side, so they are still rare in the middle. For the soft-boiled eggs, start with boiling a few inches of water in a medium pan until there is a roiling boil. Lower the eggs into the boiling water with a large spoon and immediately set a timer to simmer for 8 minutes. After the timer goes off, pour out the simmering water and fill with cold tap water to stop them from cooking. Peal and quarter the eggs. Plate the zucchini, cucumber, salmon, feta, eggs, and olives. Drizzle the dish with o.o. (olive oil), balsamic, herbs, and sea salt. Yum!

Beef Larb Salad

These are fun, easy, and absolutely delicious. Even my kids will eat them - in fact, they gobble them up! Double or triple the recipe for more than one hungry person.

Beef Larb Salad:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 t sea salt

1 t garlic powder

1 t ginger powder

2 scallions (green onions), sliced, both white and green parts

juice and zest of one large lime

2 T fish sauce

2 T low sodium/ wheat-free tamari OR Braggs liquid aminos

2 T rice vinegar

1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro, mint, and basil (thai basil or regular)

For serving: julienned English cucumber (skinny cucumber with thin skin, wrapped in plastic).

Directions:

Brown the beef in a cast-iron pan with the ginger, garlic, and sea salt until cooked through. Turn the heat down and stir in the sliced scallions, tamari, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and lime juice and zest, and warm through. Sprinkle some of the herbs on top to serve, and plate the remaining herbs, and cucumber on the side. Serve the beef larb in bowls, topped with cucumbers and herbs, and enjoy!

Chicken Kebabs with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

I grilled these up for some friends last night, and multiple people told me it was the best meal they’d had in months. The kebabs and yogurt sauce can be made in advance, so all you have to do is grill them up and serve!

Kebabs:

4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 40 2-inch chunks

2 sweet potatoes, cut into large slices

4 zucchinis, cut into large chunks

1 pineapple, cut into large chunks

Marinade:

1 Cup sour cream

1 t garlic powder

2 Tablespoons Herb de Provence, dried (or 4 Tablespoons fresh herbs)

zest and juice from 2 lemons

1 Tablespoon sea salt

Yogurt Sauce:

3 Cups Plain Greek yogurt

juice of 1 lemon

1 t garlic powder

salt to taste

1 onion powder

Optional sides:

Mixed Greek olives, pitted

feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

Whisk the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour 2/3 of it over the chicken to marinade for 30 minutes. Also soak the wooden kebab sticks in water for 30 minutues so they don’t catch fire on the grill.

The other 1/3 of the marinade can be poured over the “veggies” after the kebabs are prepared. I like to position the potato and chicken toward the middle of the kebab since the middle of the grill is often the hottest and these parts need to cook more.

To prepare the yogurt sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk. Serve the yogurt sauce as a dip for the kebabs, with feta cheese and olives sprinkled on top! Enjoy!

Bobotie (Curry Beef Custard)

This is one of my favorite dishes. Its from South Africa and is quite popular there. It’s a unique combination of flavors, but it’s magical how they all come together. It’s also easy enough for a quite and hearty weeknight dinner. Sometimes it is dressed up for weekends or holidays by cooking it in a hollowed-out pumpkin!

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, preferably grass-fed

1 T beef tallow or butter

2 t sea salt

2 T nightshade-free curry powder (2 t ceylon cinnamon, 2 t turmeric, 2 t ground ginger)

2 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

8 eggs

1 can coconut milk or 2 C raw milk

1/4 C raisins

1/4 C chopped apricots

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Optional: 5 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Saute ground beef, tallow or butter, and salt, and break it up until well cooked. Add all spices and turn off the heat. It should be a little too salty at this point, as the custard will absorb the saltiness. Combine eggs and milk/coconut milk with an immersion blender or regular blender until well mixed, and pour it into the beef/spice mixture. Stir well, adding the raisins, apricots, and chopped apple. Lay the bay leaves on top in a decorative pattern. Bake (in a cast iron pan, dutch oven, glass baking dish, or hollowed pumpkin!) in the oven for 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Do not overcook. Serve warm.

Vitamin D

I recently had a sinus infection that just wouldn’t go away. I rarely get sick, although I am historically prone to sinus problems. Although this one wasn’t very painful, it just wouldn’t quit. I happened across an article by one of my favorite bloggers (link below) that discussed Vitamin D and its importance in killing viral infections like influenza. I’d been largely treating my sinus infection as either bacteria or fungal with 10 different remedies, with no luck, and I suspected it must be a viral infection. Also, my kids had all had a brief bout of the flu right when my sinus problems started, so that was suspicious. The study I found mentioned something called the “vitamin D hammer,” and I had to learn more. Within 24 hours of trying it, I was significantly better for the first time in a month, and within a few days I wasn’t sick anymore. It was magical.

The “vitamin D hammer” is a one-time dose of 50,000 IU in one day (or 10,000 IU 3 times a day for 2 or 3 days), for adults with viral infections who haven’t been previously supplementing with sufficient amounts of vitamin D before they acquired the infection. As the FDA only recommends 400 IU of vitamin D daily for adults, this is a much larger dose than I’d ever heard of taking. Many people recognize that the FDA recommendation is wholy inadequate, and daily doses of 1,000-5,000 are common. According to the research, it takes almost 9,000 IU per day for 97.5% of adults to reach serum vitamin D levels of 50 nmol/L or more. Some vitamin D scientific researchers advise taking doses high enough to reach serum vitamin D levels of closer to 100 nmol/L, especially while fighting a viral infection like influenza. Up to 75% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, which is actually a hormone usually produced by the skin’s exposure to sunlight.

According to the researchers from Canada who discovered the “vitamin D hammer”, “The results are dramatic, with complete resolution of symptoms in 48 to 72 hours. One-time doses of vitamin D at this level have been used safely and have never been shown to be toxic. We urgently need a study of this intervention. The cost of vitamin D is about a penny for 1,000 IU, so this treatment costs less than a dollar.”

Another group of researchers interested in the “remarkable seasonality” of influenza noted that the sunshine causes “robust seasonal vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter, and activated vitamin D, a steroid hormone, has profound effects on human immunity. [Vitamin D] acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the ‘oxidative burst’ potential of macrophages” (white blood cells found at sites of infection). His research found that not only did a study involving volunteers injected with influenza have more fever and illness in the winter, but that children with vitamin D deficiencies had higher rates of viral respiratory infections.

I was not only amazed by vitamin D’s ability to stop influenza in its tracks, but in my resulting research I found scientific links between high vitamin D levels and the prevention of many other illnesses and conditions, including autoimmune diseases; type 1 diabetes (which many researchers believe to be an autoimmune disease); insulin resistance including prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (also associated with obesity); neuromuscular issues including muscle weakness, a reduction in falls of elderly patients (one study found a 20% reduction and another found a 72% reduction in falls), idiopathic low back pain, and fibromyalgia; multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis (40% reductions in the risks of developing either with supplementation of vitamin D); as well as a possible protective effective in cardiovascular disease by lowering systolic blood pressure and heart rate; and cancer (by inducing cell death in some kinds of cancer cells, including breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancers).

Obviously, I had largely underestimated the importance of vitamin D supplementation. It is found in animal based foods like eggs, salmon and other seafood including cod liver oil, beef liver, and cheese; but since the researchers are showing that we need 9,000 IU/day, food sources are not enough. I now buy 5,000 IU gel caps, and recommend taking enough that your levels are close to 100 nmol/L, when tested by your doctor, especially in the winter months.

Learn more:

https://www.cheeseslave.com/how-to-get-enough-vitamin-d/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870528/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4210929/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4463890/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870528/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3317188/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2426990/

Grass-Fed Cows Create Soil and Reverse Climate Change

We often hear about the methane emissions from cows’ burping and farting, but we rarely hear about the contributions that grazing cows can make to reversing climate change. If raised correctly, cows can pull more than 10 times the climate change-causing gases out of the atmosphere that they add to it. Cows can be not only carbon-neutral, but carbon-negative.

Current farming practices involve factory farming of most of our meat, but this is a very different scenario than how cows and other ruminant (grazing) animals acted in the wild. For millennia, ruminant animals covered the grasslands of North and South America. Because of predators, they would stay in tight, bunched groups, and constantly were on the move for new sources of tall grass to eat. Their hooves would press the chewed grass into the soil, planting the seeds, and their waste would fertilize the plants. They would naturally move on when the majority of the tall grass was eaten, leaving short grass behind. They would not stay long enough to kill the grass but only to leave stubble, similar to when we mow our lawn. If we never mow the lawn, the grass becomes too tall and dries out from an excess of plant matter blocking sunlight and using up the water in the soil. If we mow our lawn too short, the grass can die as well. Both situations result in desertification, which is a fancy word for the removal of topsoil.

Soil is made out of carbon, because it is largely decomposed plant and animal matter. When this soil is sent up into the atmosphere, it become atmospheric carbon and contributes to climate change through an increase in global temperatures caused by the carbon trapping heat in the atmosphere. Both removing grazing animals from grasslands, and over-grazing the grasslands, causes desertification. But, mimicking nature with managed grazing actually does the opposite, and causes the grass to pour carbon into the ground - creating new topsoil and reversing climate change.

Grass has a symbiotic relationship with the fungus that lives underground. This means that they trade with each other. Fungus provides the grass with micronutrients, and in exchange grass provides the fungus with sugar, a 6-carbon molecule. Basically, the grass is purchasing nutrients from the underground fungus, and the currency is carbon. The grass obtains this carbon from the atmosphere, using sunlight as the energy source to drive photosynthesis (the creation of sugar). When the grass is eaten down by the cows but not killed, it causes the grass to pour carbon into the ground in order to “purchase” additional nutrients from the fungus to re-grow.

Allan Savory, the scientist who discovered much of this process and how to recreate it with farming practices, claims that grazing animals can create as much as a foot of topsoil a year, underground. The topsoil is created down into the earth, the level part of the ground does not change. Dead sandy areas underground become “humus”, or pure carbon, living topsoil. A teaspoon of healthy topsoil contains billions of organisms, mostly bacteria and fungus, as well as worms and grubs and much more.

Current farming practices, especially of grain and bean crops like the corn and soybeans that covers the U.S., cause desertification, the removal of topsoil, sending the soil carbon into the air. Some scientists believe that the removal of topsoil has contributed more to atmospheric carbon, and climate change, than all fossil fuels use COMBINED. But all we hear about is fossil fuels, no one is talking about soil. When the ground is tilled, broken up, during modern agriculture, it breaks up and kills the underground fungus and ruins the symbiotic relationship between the plants and the fungus underground. The plants are no longer able to “purchase” nutrients from the fungus, which is now dead from being tilled, and the farmer is forced to use artificial nutrients (fertilizers) to feed the plants. Also, the actual tilling of the ground sends more soil carbon up into the air. Then the modern farmer also kills pests and weeds with pesticides and herbicides, further killing the bacteria and fungus underground, creating dead soil that no longer is able to absorb water or support life without artificial nutrients.

When Europeans arrived at the Americas in 1492, there was an average of 10 feet of topsoil covering the continents, created by millennia of ruminant animals grazing the grasslands. Now we are down to an average of 6 inches. Scientists state that we have less than 60 harvests left before all the soil is gone and plants will no longer grow. We need to stand up to the monolithic farming conglomerates that have taken over the small farms that used to cover our land, and are mass-producing corn and soybeans in order to feed not only factory-farmed animals, but humans as well. Humans are not meant to eat grains and beans, and neither are ruminant animals.

Allan Savory states that if we cover the earth’s existing grasslands in grazing animals, we could create enough topsoil (by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere) to completely reverse climate change. Cows can save the planet.

Learn more:

Allan Savory's TED Talk (One of the Top 100 TED talks of all time)

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/cows-beef-farming-reverse-climate-change-global-warming-a8202121.html

https://sustainabledish.com/meat-is-magnificent/

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-regenerative-land-and-livestock-management-practices-can-sequester-carbon

https://www.agriculture.com/livestock/cattle/meet-allan-savory-the-pioneer-of-regenerative-agriculture

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20091209/climate-conscious-ranching-free-range-really-better-feedlots

Cayenne Gargle: A Natural Cure for Strep Throat

Scientific studies have shown that there are many natural medicines that are just as effective as antibiotics against strep throat (Group A Streptococci). The most effective natural medicine against strep throat that I’ve found is cayenne pepper (active component: capsaicin). Two others that have shown promise in studies are oil of thyme or oregano (active compound is carvacrol), and cinnamon oil (Cinnamomum verum EO) - which was found in a study of essential oils to be the most effective essential oil, similar to a common antibiotic (Amoxicillin) in its antimicrobial activity against strep.

My favorite home cure for strep throat, that has worked over 20 times in a row in my family for over a decade, is to make a salt water-cayenne gargle and use it many times throughout the day as soon as one’s throat becomes sore. I use 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne powder (as much as I can stand) in one cup of warm water, using one medium sip for each gargle. Spit the gargle out after. It’s important to start right away, and to keep the spicy residue on the throat and not drink water right after. Basically every time I eat or drink, I do another gargle of the salt-water cayenne, and I can feel the cayenne killing the bacteria on my throat. I do rinse my mouth out with plain water after the gargle, if the cayenne makes my mouth too spicy, but I leave the spicy salt/cayenne rinse on my throat.

Usually the pain is reducing by the end of the first or second day, if I am strict about keeping the spicy on my throat. The salt is helpful by creating an osmosis effect on the cells of the throat, drawing the bacteria to the surface so they can be killed by the cayenne, and rinsed out of the mouth. We also make sure to not eat any grains or sugars, so that we don’t feed the throat bacteria simple carbohydrates, eating mostly healthy animal fats and proteins, as well as fruits and honey for carbohydrates if needed.

People have also had success with the cayenne technique with young children by using Cholula mild hot sauce, which contains capsaicin, the active compound in cayenne pepper, and isn’t quite as spicy. It can be added to their food, like scrambled eggs, with a little sea salt, and eaten periodically throughout the day. Be sure to visit a doctor if a child’s sore throat doesn’t improve within a day or two.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4643145/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22807321

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25784902/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3638616/

Insulin Resistance: A Pro-Metabolic Perspective on the Real Root Cause

Why are so many of us overweight, struggling with fatigue, poor blood sugar control, or even facing diagnoses like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer? Most experts agree that these conditions are all connected—grouped under the umbrella of Metabolic Syndrome—and yes, insulin plays a major role.

But here’s where the confusion begins: mainstream medicine (and many “low-carb” nutritionists) believe obesity is the cause of insulin resistance. They claim it’s just a matter of too many calories or carbs. But from a root-cause, pro-metabolic perspective, it’s the other way around.

Insulin Isn't the Villain—It's a Sign Something’s Wrong

Insulin is a life-saving, anabolic hormone that allows our cells to absorb and use glucose—the body’s preferred fuel. It’s not just about blood sugar. Insulin supports thyroid function, helps the liver convert T4 to T3, drives glucose into muscle cells for energy, supports sex hormone balance, and even stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis (aka more energy production). When your cells are responsive to insulin, glucose is burned efficiently for fuel—not stored as fat.

But in today’s environment—where chronic stress, polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), low thyroid function, nutrient depletion, poor gut health, and under-eating all collide—our cells start to resist insulin's signal. This doesn’t happen because we “ate carbs.” It happens because our cells are under so much metabolic stress that they downregulate energy production to survive.

This cellular stress leads to insulin resistance. The pancreas compensates by pumping out more insulin, but the cells are too dysfunctional to respond properly. It’s not the presence of glucose that’s the problem—it’s the cell’s inability to use it.

Muscle First, Fat Last

One of the earliest signs of insulin resistance shows up in the muscle tissue. Muscle is the largest glucose sink in the body. When muscle cells stop responding to insulin, glucose gets shuttled to fat tissue instead. This means even if you’re eating modestly, you may gain fat—not because you’re eating too much, but because your muscles aren’t using what you’re eating.

When that happens, even dietary fat and protein can be stored as fat, especially if there's low muscle glucose uptake. This is why people often gain fat during keto or carnivore despite “low insulin.” It’s not just about lowering carbs. It’s about raising the cell’s ability to use them.

Fructose: Context Matters

There’s a lot of fear around fructose in low-carb circles. But let’s be clear: naturally occurring fructose (in ripe fruit, honey, and even fresh juice) has been a staple in human diets for centuries. It's metabolized differently than glucose—it’s processed by the liver first—but in a nutrient-rich, low-fat diet, fructose does not cause insulin resistance. In fact, when paired with minerals like potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C (all found in fruit), it can support liver glycogen and help stabilize blood sugar.

The real issue is industrial fructose—like that found in high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in sodas and processed food. It’s consumed in excess, stripped of nutrients, and paired with seed oils, which damage the liver and mitochondria. That combo is what leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), VLDL overproduction, and systemic insulin resistance. It’s not the molecule itself—it’s the metabolic context in which it’s consumed.

What Actually Improves Insulin Sensitivity?

If insulin resistance is really about mitochondrial dysfunction and stress overload, then the solution isn’t cutting carbs—it’s restoring the body’s ability to use them. Here's how we do that, pro-metabolic style:

🥩 1. Eat More (Not Less)—But Do It Right

Undereating, especially under-eating carbs, is one of the fastest ways to wreck your thyroid and insulin sensitivity. We must eat enough calories, carbs, and protein to support cell function. Most women healing their metabolism need 2000–2500+ calories/day, with 50–60% carbs, 10–15% fat, and 1g protein per lb of lean body mass.

🧂 2. Balance Blood Sugar with Frequent Meals

Eat every 3–4 hours, include protein + carb at every meal, and avoid pairing carbs with high fat. Keep meals simple: fruit + dairy, potatoes + lean meat, sourdough + eggs. This reduces blood sugar spikes and supports metabolic flexibility.

🔥 3. Ditch Seed Oils, Use Saturated Fats Sparingly

PUFAs (like those in canola, soy, corn, and fish oil) directly impair insulin signaling, damage mitochondria, and suppress thyroid function. Swap them for small amounts of coconut oil, butter, ghee, and cacao—but remember, fat should be the smallest macro during healing.

🏋️ 4. Build Muscle

Muscle is your best ally in reversing insulin resistance. Strength training increases GLUT4 receptors and mitochondrial capacity. Focus on resistance training 2–3x/week and maintain daily movement (8–10k steps/day). Overtraining, like chronic cardio, increases cortisol and worsens blood sugar.

🌞 5. Sunlight, Sleep, and Stress Management

Vitamin D plays a role in insulin signaling. Get daily sun, prioritize 8+ hours of sleep, and support your adrenals with regular meals, minerals, and gentle movement. Cortisol, adrenaline, and inflammation are all major drivers of insulin resistance.

💊 6. Support with Smart Supplements

Key insulin-sensitizing nutrients include:

• Magnesium glycinate (300–600 mg)

• Potassium (aim for 3,500–4,700 mg/day from food)

• Vitamin E (for PUFA detox)

• Niacinamide (B3) (for NAD+ regeneration)

• Shilajit or beef liver (for minerals + CoQ10)

Avoid fish oil—its oxidized PUFAs worsen insulin resistance. Instead, eat fresh seafood sparingly and prioritize grass-fed liver or oysters for essential fats.

Summary — You Don’t Heal Insulin Resistance by Cutting Carbs

You heal insulin resistance by healing your metabolism. That means eating enough, lowering stress, rebuilding muscle, and restoring your body’s ability to use the fuel it was designed for: glucose.

Don’t fall for the outdated belief that insulin is bad and carbs are the enemy. Your body is not broken—it’s adaptive. If you support it with the right environment, it will remember how to thrive. And insulin? That beautiful hormone will go back to doing exactly what it’s meant to do: building, energizing, and protecting you.

Letter To My Daughter's Teacher

Just ate a huge steak covered in butter while I wrote this letter to my daughter's teacher.
Hey *,

I just wanted to drop a note to you about the earth day lesson that you gave the kids yesterday. My daughter was concerned and I would love to pass on some scientific information to you that you might not be aware of and might be interested in.

So, she let me know that you told the class that meat eating is bad for the planet and that a plant-based diet is best for the environment and our bodies. I am a nutrition researcher by trade (masters in biochem from the U and I'm also a licensed nutritionist) and I'm actually writing a book on the topic. Although in the past, science agreed with you, the emerging science is painting a very different picture.

It turns out that our ancestors were largely carnivorous and every primitive culture that we've studied ate an animal-based diet. Not only is meat NOT the cause of chronic disease (this is commonly called the diet-heart hypothesis and was started at the U where I went to school - the science has been disproven and it is now widely accepted science that all chronic disease is actually caused by sugar and grains) but the environmental science has been off, too. I discovered during my graduate work that all nutrition science in the US is industry funded, and the U of M nutrition department is funded largely by the grain industry, as well as Coca-Cola. The system is very broken and the science disproved the links between animal fat and chronic disease long ago, but the systems in place (including Big Pharma and the USDA - corporate grain and bean farmers) hugely profit off of this misinformation.

Although animal flatulance does contain methane, this addition to climate change is miniscule compared to the carbon that is removed from the atmosphere by grazing animals. When cows eat grass (just like in the wild), they cause the grass to dump carbon into the soil (because the grass has a symbiotic relationship with the soil fungus, providing it with sugar - a 6-carbon molecule - in exchange for micronutrients) sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and creating up to a foot of topsoil/year. If the earth's grasslands were covered in cattle, it would completely reverse climate change in our lifetimes. I am including some scientific articles for you to peruse if you are interested in learning more.

Although I completely respect your right to decide to not eat meat because of spiritual or animal-welfare reasons, I want you to know that it is scientifically a much less healthy diet and ironically, mass agriculture of grains and beans is actually the cause of desertification (removal of topsoil), which has contributed more carbon to the atmosphere and climate change than ALL fossil fuel use combined. Plant based diets are actually causing climate change, and grazing cows is one of the only things that can reverse it. And red meat is actually the healthiest food for the human body. Humans aren't grainivores, we don't have a gizzard (the organ that grinds grains into flour in the animal's body) and grains are one of the newest foods to be added to the human diet.

Her dad and I wanted you to have access to this scientific information and hold no hard feelings about your teachings because we know your motives were pure and you want our kids to be healthy and the environment to be saved. We would really appreciate it if you would look over this additional research I'm sending, and please not spread misinformation in the classroom. My daughter was so upset after your meat-is-bad speech that she went in the bathroom and cried. Since our family eats a meat-heavy diet (all grass-fed and organic, of course) this was hugely upsetting to her, and us. Since I began eating a meat-based diet, I have reversed my type 2 diabetes, all of my digestive diseases (SIBO, IBS, and celiac) have gone into complete remission, and I've lost 70 pounds and kept it off for over 5 years.

Thanks so much for listening. I highly recommend watching this TED talk from the leading permaculture scientist Allan Savory, it's one of the top 100 TED talks of all time, and explains how to reverse climate change and save the earth.

https://www.ted.com/…/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s…

And here is an excellent article by one of the leading scientific nutrition researchers in the US about red meat and how it's actually the heathiest food for the human body and was the primary source of nutrition for our ancestors throughout a million years of human evolution: https://chriskresser.com/red-meat-it-does-a-body-good/ He also has an entire ebook (free) online if you want to learn more about the science behind animal-based diets.

Thanks *, we really appreciate you, but we would like you to be aware of the way our daughter was affected by your lesson and have access to the alternative scientific information.

Love, Marissa

Gluten

It’s just the newest fad diet these days to go gluten-free, right? What is this stuff, “gluten,” anyway?

Turns out this newest “fad” actually makes a lot of sense when we look into it. Gluten is the protein found in wheat and most other grains. Although grains (the seeds of grass plants) are mostly carbohydrate, there is a little fat and protein thrown in there too.

So let’s talk about grains like wheat. Grains are the newest food to be added to the human diet, from an evolutionary perspective. We’ve only been eating grains for about 10,000 years, at most. And that’s only in certain areas of the world. When you look at the fact that homo sapiens have been on the planet for over 400,000 years, and our older ancestors dating back to homo habilis have been on the planet for 2.3 million years, this is only the blink of an eye. Actually, this means we’ve been eating grains for only the last 0.04% of the time our species has been on this planet.

Grains are not human food. We do not have a gizzard, which is the organ that grainivores have that grinds the grains into flour inside their bodies. This is why we have to grind grains and cook them in order to eat them. Grainivores also eat little sticks and rocks to help their gizzards grind up the grains. Have you ever seen a wheat berry? It’s like a small rock. We would never eat that in the wild, that’s why our ancestors did not consider it food for the first 99.96% of human history.

Grain-eating started with the agricultural revolution. Humans realized that they could stop following the herd they relied on for survival, and stay in one place, if they planted wheat fields and kept domesticated animals. Thus was born agriculture. We needed foods that could be stored when animal foods were scarce, and increasingly came to rely on grains and beans, in addition to root vegetables, squash, and other foods that could be stored. These were used to supplement the animal foods that were available at the time.

Humans began experiencing a great increase in sickness and disease with the adoption of this foreign food group. Although many of us think of ancient humans as living short difficult lives, this is the experience of more recent people, after the agricultural revolution (like the middle ages). Pre-agricultural humans, or hunter-gatherers, often lived long and healthy lives. There are mummies that date back to pre-agricultural times that have all of their teeth and are believed to be close to 100 years old.

Our human body evolved over millennia to be an amazing machine, when fed the right foods. Grains cause disease in multiple ways. First of all, there are a plethora of “anti-nutrients” in grains that strip vitamins and minerals out of the human body. The primary anti-nutrients are phytates, which bind to minerals and results in rickets, slowed skeletal growth, iron-deficiency anemia, and leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut is a very common issue in our society today.

The main diseases that result from grain eating, besides vitamin and mineral deficiencies, are autoimmune disorders. When we eat grains, especially whole grains - which are actually worse for our bodies, the bran part of the grain that makes it a “whole grain” rips tiny microscopic holes in our intestinal lining. (By the way, the reason they tell us whole grains are better for us is because they cause a slightly slower raise in blood glucose. This is similar to saying that low-tar cigarettes are slightly better for you than high-tar cigarettes so you should smoke a lot of them.)

When we have these holes in our intestinal walls, intact proteins from our diet can leak into our blood stream instead of being broken down into individual amino acids. When the body sees certain intact proteins from our diet (like gluten and casein  - milk protein) in our blood, it thinks this protein is a pathogen because many germs and pathogens are long protein strings. The body reacts with an immune response against the imagined invader. When this goes on for years, the immune system eventually turns on its host and causes auto-immune problems. These include: Type I Diabetes Mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis and joint problems, Crohn’s disease, colitis, celiac, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, psoriasis and eczema, hypo- and hyperthyroidism, depression, anxiety, Sjogren’s syndrome, and irritable bowel syndrome, among many others.

So why are grains the base of the food pyramid and why are we told to eat a diet high in “healthy” whole grains? Well, the most obvious explanation is because the grain industry likes it that way. They make a lot of money off of our grain-eating ways, and the health care industry makes a lot of money off of treating these diseases. The reason this misinformation has been perpetuated for so many years, especially in our country, is because nutrition research in America is almost exclusively industry-funded. There is almost no federally-funded nutrition research in the U.S., like there is in many other Westernized countries. This means that most of the nutrition research here is funded by groups like the grain and sugar industries. This obviously sways the results of the research, and which studies not only get funded, but which studies get published.

Many people are forced to eat a diet higher in grains and other cheap carbohydrates because animal foods are more expensive. There is also an incorrect belief that grains and plant foods are easier on the planet that growing animals. Ironically, these days we not only eat grains ourselves but feed it to our domesticated animals – like chickens, who are omnivores and eat worms, and cows who are supposed to be eating grass. But is it really cheaper when we look at the costs of health care, and living shorter lives? There is a quote I like that says something like, Pay for food now or doctor’s bills later. When the destruction of the soil and our bodies is taken into account, we find that grain eating is not actually cheaper or better for the planet.

But how can we possibly give up bread? The staff of life… Give us this day… Crusty baguettes and cake and donuts and cookies. Well, gluten-free has been a “fad” long enough that wonderful alternative have been put on the market. I have been off of gluten grains for almost a decade, and don’t miss them at all. One can still eat sandwiches, cake, cookies, and pizza – mostly made out of almond flour and coconut flour, mostly made at home. But I choose to eat healthy animal foods. And in addition to watching the pounds melt away, I got to watch numerous health problems melt away as well.

You Are Only As Healthy As Your Gut

Science is just beginning to study and understand the world of bacteria within our bodies. There are trillions of these organisms inside each human, and they can be classified as beneficial or pathogenic (disease-causing).

Essentially, the human body is a donut, with a hole in the middle that goes from your mouth to your anus. The bacteria and food in the donut hole are not technically “in” our bodies, until they are actively absorbed by our bodies through the enterocytes (intestinal cells). With ten times more bugs than cells in our bodies, we are actually 5% human DNA and 95% bacterial DNA!

Another, more harmful way that food and bacteria make it from the intestines into our blood stream is through tiny holes between the enterocytes. These tiny holes are called loose junctions, or “leaky gut”. Some researchers claim that up to 90% of people in the West have some amount of leaky gut, which is caused by a range of things like gluten (a protein found in grains like wheat) and other plant toxins, antibiotics, yeast overgrowth, a high-sugar diet, pharmaceutical medications, NSAIDS (ibuprofen or Advil), alcoholism, and drug use.

Two problems appear when our enterocytes are damaged and become leaky. First of all, food and bacteria from our gut leaks into the blood stream and the body responds with an immune attack. It not only attacks the invading bacteria, but also sees intact proteins (long strings of amino acids) from our food leaking into the blood stream, rather than the single amino acids that are normally absorbed through the intestinal cells. The body also “thinks” these are bacteria (like gluten from grains, casein from dairy, alkaloids from nightshade vegetables, and more) and attacks them as well. Over long periods of time, these heightened immune responses wreck havoc on the body and likely contribute or cause the development of autoimmune diseases like type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, celiac, and multiple sclerosis.

The second way that damaged enterocytes further cause problems in the body is due to their inability to digest food properly. Instead of the food being broken up right away by enzymes (made by the enterocytes), the food sits in the gut and putrefies. This rotting food feeds the pathogenic bacteria, especially the high carbohydrate, high sugar diets that are common in the West. When there is an imbalance in bacteria in the gut, it is referred to as “gut dysbiosis” and has been associated with inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer. For many people, the feeding of pathogenic bacteria also leads to bloating, belching, acid reflux, and constipation/diarrhea.

Not only are high numbers of pathogenic bacteria species thought to contribute to autoimmune disease and the diseases of gut dysbiosis, but they also cause inflammation and links are being made to chronic diseases as well like heart disease, type II diabetes, and obesity. The links to obesity are especially fascinating. A study from Washington University, published in the elite journal Science, showed that specific bacterial species are correlated with either obesity or thinness. Previous studies have found that obese people and thin people often have very different strains of intestinal bacteria. In this study, they inoculated germ-free mice (grown in a sterile environment) with bacteria from human twins, one of which was obese and one of which was thin. The mice receiving bugs from the obese twin gained statistically significant more weight than the mice given bugs from the thin twin, despite being fed the same chow. Although there is still much to be studied and learned about bacteria, studies like this show that it is a very promising topic in the field of obesity research.

Another common gut problem that causes discomfort for many people is SIBO – small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. This is caused by an overgrowth of pathogenic species in the small intestine, rather than the beneficial bugs being concentrated in the large intestine, or colon, like they are in a healthy person. When numbers in the small intestine are closer to 10^4 rather than 10^3, which is normal, this can cause also symptoms like bloating, belching, acid reflux, stomach distention and pain.

Although much nutrition advice in this field has centered around adding probiotics like acidophilus to the diet, recent research has shown fermented foods (yogurt, kimchi, raw sauerkraut, and kombucha) to be even more effective at inoculating the digestive tract with beneficial species and healing disease. Foods like coconut oil and bone broth have also been found to be effective at healing leaky gut and helping beneficial species to thrive.

There is new research showing that, in addition to taking probiotics, consuming a gut-healing diet for a period of time can be helpful in starving pathogenic bacteria and feeding beneficial bacteria in cases of autoimmune diseases as well as other diseases associated with gut dysbiosis. One such way of eating that has become very popular and effective for many is the SCD – specific carbohydrate diet. This moderate-carbohydrate diet recommends limiting carbohydrates that are made of two or more sugar molecules linked together (sucrose, maple syrup, and starches from things like potatoes, rice, and flour) based on the idea that damaged enterocytes are unable to produce the necessary enzymes to break them down and they stay in the gut and feed the harmful bacteria. Carbohydrates made of single sugars like fruit and honey are allowed, since they don't require enzymes to be digested and so don’t feed the harmful bacteria but instead are absorbed quickly and used for energy by the body. Most individuals find that after a healing period, problematic foods can be added back into the diet without causing symptoms.

Another similar diet that is growing in popularity is the GAPS diet. This stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome and was designed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Her book by the same name details the relationship of high number of pathogenic bacteria and their relationship to issues of mental illness, including depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, the autism/Asperger's spectrum, and more. Her theory, which is fascinating and has shown correlation in a number of scientific studies, is that pathogenic bacteria emit neurotoxins which pass the blood-brain barrier and contribute to mental illness. This also explains the exponential increase in depression and mental illness we've seen in Western countries in the last century. She also discusses a phenomenon she calls "glue ear," which is the idea that reoccurring ear infections (otitis media) in children are caused by pathogenic bacteria making their way into the inner ear through the opening into the throat and causing mucus and infection in the middle ear. Many families report success treating depression and autism spectrum disorders in children using this approach. 

There are a number of supplements that are useful in removing the pathogenic bacteria and helping the beneficial bugs to take hold, as well as lowering the numbers of the harmful species present with these intestinal problems. Often the harmful bugs include yeasts like Candida Albicans, which are able to take hold after the administration of antibiotics which kill off multiple species of good and bad bacteria and allow yeasts to take over. The yeasts and other harmful bugs create a home for themselves called a “biofilm” that makes it hard for beneficial bugs to kick them out. A commonly known biofilm is the plaque on our teeth, and one can think of biofilms as a plaque that covers the intestinal lining. There are a number of biofilm disruptors on the market that can be useful, as well as herbal versions like grapefruit seed extract and coconut oil.

Although definitely a strange concept at first, the medical treatment recently discovered that has shown the best results is the fecal transplant. Like it sounds, this involves taking the feces or isolated bacteria from the feces of a healthy person and injecting it or orally delivering it into the colon of the unhealthy person. For diseases with high mortality like Clostridium difficile, it has shown to be astonishingly effective. Although in its infancy, methods like this will likely be explored as a cure for a growing number of diseases and ailments.

Lastly, a group of researchers created the Human Food Project and are now conducting a study called American Gut, looking into the variety and specific species present in different Americans. For $99 (or less for 2 or more people’s samples) they send you a home kit to mail them a feces sample. They then send you a list of your bacteria species and their relative abundance in your gut, as well as on your skin and in your mouth, and compare this to other Americans (including famous author Michael Pollan) as well as a primitive tribe that they have been studying.

This very exciting field of science holds a lot of promise for people suffering from this long list of gut-related, auto-immune, and chronic diseases. There is much to learn but from what we already know, dietary changes and some simple supplements can be even more effective than any of the medications that western medicine now prescribes – which often only treat the symptoms and not the underlying reasons for the disease.

If you suffer from any of these digestive problems or diseases, I am a Licensed Nutritionist and Life Coach with an advanced degree in Nutritional Biochemistry. If you would like to schedule an appointment by Skype/FaceTime or in person (in the Minneapolis area), please email me at marissa@thecarnivorenutritionist.com. We can tailor a diet and supplement schedule tailored to your individual symptoms and food preferences, and create increased health and vitality in your body!

Recommended reading:
http://chriskresser.com/a-healthy-gut-is-the-hidden-key-to-weight-loss
http://www.gapsdiet.com/
http://terrywahls.com/tag/intestinal-bacteria/

Eating Low-Carb for Health and Weight Loss

THIS IS AN OLDER ARTICLE, I NO LONGER RECOMMEND A LOW-CARB DIET EXCEPT IN SPECIAL SITUATIONS! AFTER SEED OILS ARE DETOXED, WE CAN SLOWLY INCREASE CARBOHYDRATES AND DECREASE FATS FOR INSULIN SENSITIVITY AND HEALTH! ASK ME FOR MORE INFO!

Some of us have health problems that require a more strict Carnivore way-of-eating, or even Beef-Water-Salt, which is the ultimate elimination diet. Some of us don’t have metabolic disease or weight to lose, and do well on a more animal-based diet including the least toxic plant foods. I would love to meet with you and help you find the version that works best for your body.

Once we realize that the food pyramid has been upside-down our whole lives, what do we eat? We pretty much have to re-think everything that goes in our mouths. They have literally turned the truth completely upside-down on us! They tell us that sugar is innocent and that animal fat is killing us, and the exact opposite is true. Sugar, grains, and industrial seed oils are killing us and animal fat is the healthiest food we can eat. Saturated fat is absolute health food! The Inuit (Eskimos) are the healthiest people we've ever found and they eat 80% animal fat. There is an amazing researcher responsible for this discovery, Vilhjalmer Steffansson. You can read his book, My Life With the Eskimo, on google books.

The question people most often ask me is, What should I eat? So here is a list of meal and snack ideas.

Breakfast: easy peasy, as long as you love eggs. If you don't, it's time to learn. After a couple days of eggs for breakfast, you will start to crave them right when you wake up. Eggs have an amino acid profile of 100. They essentially set the standard for all other proteins. Plus they are full of extremely healthy cholesterol (doesn't cause heart disease, that is a huge myth), other healthy fats, and vitamins. If you aren’t feeling like having eggs, yogurt with berries is a great option. For weight loss, choose nonfat yogurt without “nonfat milk powder” which is just additional lactose.

If you eat some less toxic plant foods and tolerate dairy:

Frittata: 8 eggs, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, half cup cream, 10 pieces of pastured bacon or sausage, any other ingredients you want like zucchini, sweet potato, or olives. Fry up the meat and veggies in some butter or bacon fat, then stir in the beaten eggs, cream, and cheese, then bake in the oven for 20-30 mins at 350 degrees until cooked through. Delish.

Another amazing breakfast recipe that can be premade and frozen to have something quick to grab in the morning: Bacon Muffins! These are fabulous. There is a recipe on my blog.

Lunch or dinner ideas:
Wild caught salmon, with melted cheese, dill, and lemon.

Grilled brats with pickles and mustard, with or without cheese melted on top.

Coconut curry -  soup or stirfry with any veggies or meat you want, fish sauce, ginger, garlic. I like to use half broth and half coconut milk to cut down on fat and calories.

Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie, heavy on the meat and non-root vegetables and light on the sweet potatoes, covered in butter and/or cheese.

Zucchini noodles with homemade alfredo sauce and your choice of animal protein.

Any big piece of meat like a steak or some oven baked chicken, with a side like squash, sweet potato, or cold cucumber salad, etc. Baked chicken breast is really good with herbs, garlic, and butter smeared on it before you bake it.

Pot roast. So easy and so good. Brown the roast in a hot pan with some bacon fat or butter in it, then pour broth over the top, add onion and garlic powder, and a couple carrots and cook on low heat for many hours.

Three awesome dessert ideas: yogurt with berries and a drizzle of honey, Panna Cotta, or Egg Custard. Recipes are on my blog. These can be made with honey.

Hope that gives you some good ideas to get you started! Remember you only need to measure carbohydrates, keeping fat low and protein high for weight loss. Keep your carbohydrates below 50 grams/day for weight loss for most people - about 2 small servings, spaced throughout the day. Then eat all the beef, pastured pork and chicken, yogurt, eggs, and fish that you desire and watch the pounds fall away! Happy eating!

Margarine and Frosting

A Day in the Life of a Nutrition Student

My professor started out our first day of Advanced Human Nutrition this semester with the baffling statement: “Its very hard to find a study that shows that soda is bad for you.” She laid this whammy on us while introducing our first assignment. We had to design a scientific study on a nutritional topic of our choosing. I immediately weighed my options - definitely something related to a low- or no-carb diet. We didn’t actually have to conduct the hypothetical experiments, obviously, but just come up with a design.

Since a single soda can has 12 teaspoons of sugar in it, I knew there were scores of studies linking sugar consumption to a host of problems: type II diabetes, ADHD, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease, to mention a few. Amazingly enough, not a single student raised a hand, including me, to question this inane comment. What is it about the science of nutrition that turns us all into mind-numb zombies? We are weary after decades of contradicting information, unable to sort out the conflicting advice and filter out any remaining truths. Here we sit at a Big Ten University, and no one has the confidence to argue with a professor with the gall to state that there is no scientific proof that 12 teaspoons of pure sugar is bad for you.

And then, just when I thought it couldn’t get worse. To further aid us in generating topic ideas for the assignment, she put up a powerpoint slide with the steps of the scientific method displayed. Underneath the first step, Hypothesis, was the question: “Is the Atkins diet more effective at weight loss than a calorie-restricted diet?” Here we go, I thought.  “Has anyone here tried the Atkins diet?” The question hung in the air a few seconds, and slowly an athletic guy a few rows down and I raised our hands. She turned to us. “How did it work?” She asked with a slight smirk.“Good,” I said, and Beefcake College Boy agreed, "Awesome."

“Does anyone have an idea as to why there are so many testimonials of people losing weight on the Atkins diet?”

A girl across the room raised her hand. “Because fat has more calories than carbs or protein, so you get full quicker and eat less calories.” Prof nodded approvingly.

“Anyone else?” I felt my hand go up before I could stop it. “Yes?”

“Well, a low-carb diet utilizes little or no insulin for digestion, and insulin is the primary hormone that promotes fat storage in adipose tissue.” I could have gone on about triglyceride formation, but I left it at that.

Her smirk turned into a puzzled stare. “Hmm,” her brow furrowed, she turned away, and flipped to the next slide without responding to my statement.

Second step: Design a scientific study to attempt to answer the question. This slide said: “Put half the study participants on a reduced calorie diet, and half on the high-fat, low-carb Atkins diet.” And in the bubble below: “Study shows no difference between weight loss at one year amongst the two groups.” I shake my head. Unbelievable. The only thing that causes weight gain is carbohydrates. I scribble down the journal and article number in small print below the proclamation. “Lastly, see if follow-up studies agree with your finding, and develop the hypothesis into a theory.” Underneath was an additional study that found no increased weight loss with the Atkins diet. I scribbled it down, too, vowing to look up the studies when I get home, knowing the real story won’t be quite so simple.

And my prediction was right. I found the first study right away at home, and it turns out that the half on the Atkins’ plan lost significantly more weight at 3 months, 6 months, and still an average of over 9 pounds more at a year. Then, in complete contradiction, the study also claims, “Participants had no significant difference in weight lost at 12 months” in the next paragraph. I suppose the margin of error could be large enough for that claim, but I suspect that my professor isn’t the only professional who twists the results of studies when they don’t show what is predicted by mainstream nutritional advice.

Reading further, I discovered that the researchers used a “self-help” style of nutritional advice, simply handing half of the participants a copy of Atkin’s diet book and leaving them to forge through an introduction to a low-carb diet on their own, while trudging through this maze of nutrition misinformation in our carb- and sugar-obsessed culture. As if large group of study participants could adhere to the no-carb Atkins diet without any counseling or support! Obviously this was a ridiculous assumption on the part of the researchers, as they admit that ”attrition was high” and that “during the first three months, the percentage of patients who tested positive for urinary ketones was significantly greater in the group on the low-carbohydrate diet than in the group on the conventional diet, but there were no significant differences between the groups after three months,” which of course means that no one was on a low-carb diet and the results of this study at one year are meaningless if your purpose is to study the effects of a low-carbohydrate diet.

The next sentence of this study is very confusing: “There was no significant relation between weight loss and ketosis at any time during the study.” What? This is completely inaccurate. They are completely contradicting themselves. After telling us that the low-carb group had “significantly” more ketones in the beginning of the study, and that “subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet lost significantly more weight than the subjects on the conventional diet at 3 months (P=0.002) and 6 months (P=0.03),” now we’re being informed that there was no “significant relation” between the presence of ketones and weight loss.  I printed out the study, wondering what to do with the information. I wanted to raise my hand at the beginning of the next lecture and confront her with the accurate facts, if only to educate my classmates – all future doctors, nurses, and dieticians. A room full of people about to spend entire careers spreading this misinformation and furthering the development of chronic disease, all while attempting to heal people.  The irony fell on me like dead weight.

Later in the lecture, she told us that the studies say that the higher a person’s total carb intake is, the thinner they are – and does anyone know why this would be? A student raised a hand and postulated that it must be because they get more exercise. Prof nodded and shrugged, telling us that it was also discovered in the Nurse’s Health Study in the 80’s that those who eat the most are the leanest. She then completely flaked out of any sensical conversation about these facts by stating, and I quote: “In the field of nutrition, it would be nice if we had real rules.”

As if science doesn’t exist. I would have loved to raise my hand and explain most of this. First of all, as for the study that supposedly tells us that eating carbs makes us skinny, obviously there is more at play here than simply calories in, calories out. Different people's bodies have differing abilities to digest carbohydrates as fuel rather than storing them as fat. People with a highly evolved ability to digest carbs can eat more of them, and still have enough insulin and insulin-responsiveness in the cells to use the glucose as fuel and burn it off. People who eat "less carbs" and weigh more are really probably eating less food overall, not just carbohydrates because THEY HAVE A SLOWER METABOLISM and a reduced ability to digest carbohydrates so their bodies are STORING the food they are eating.

And then we get to the Nurse’s Health Study. I love this study. You just can’t argue with a solid, well-executed study involving thousands of reliable participants, even if the findings aren’t at all what would be predicted by modern nutritional theories. Despite the fact that the nurses demonstrated that it is not simply caloric intake that causes weight loss and gain, researchers and professors alike simply brushed aside this inconvenient finding with the explanation that the thin participants must also get the most exercise. This is so ridiculous. Do you have any idea how much more exercise one would have to get to be able to eat an additional 1000 calories a day and still be thinner? You would need to run 10 miles a day or do 2 hours of heated power yoga with weights EVERY DAY. Not likely. Here once again, the cause and effect have been reversed because of a correlation, which does not infer causation. One cannot assume cause and effect just because two concepts are found to be related. In this case, researchers assume that some people are overweight because they consume too many calories. But there is ample evidence that obesity is a hormonal disease, and that people are overweight because their bodies are storing the food they eat as fat because of a metabolic defect. This defect is likely caused by the excessive insulin that is produced by the insanely high amounts of carbohydrates being eaten in our society, as well as many other countries across the globe.

There are a few more random comments that my professor made in the first couple lectures that I just shouldn’t finish this post without mentioning. On the second day of class, she professed while introducing the carbohydrate lecture: “Carbohydrates are my life!” I had to stifle a snort and duck behind the girl in front of me. Later she told us that she is so well known for her tolerant attitude toward sugar and sweets, that recently someone asked her, “Aren’t you the pro-sugar nutritionist?” Now this really blows my mind. As if someone could actually call themselves a nutritionist and be pro-sugar! This is a tenured professor at a major university. Obviously the brainwashing of of academia by the grain and sugar industries is a resounding success! And to then announce it to her college class with a guilty laugh and a breezy attitude was almost more than I could bear. I wanted to get up and storm out of the room, muttering profanities as I slammed the door behind me. She also announced in class one day (and it was in the textbook, too) that if a child has failure-to-thrive because they don’t gain weight for over a year, you should feed them a diet low in fat and protein and high in MARGARINE and FROSTING. Unlimited frosting. I have a friend that actually told me her doctor told her to let her child with failure-to-thrive eat as much frosting as she wanted. Pure sugar, completely empty calories, poisoning the child’s body.

I later found out that multiple studies conducted by this same professor were funded by Coca-Cola. No wonder she’s the “pro-sugar nutritionist”. There was one last off-hand comment toward the end of the carbohydrate lecture by her that pretty much sums it all up: “When you’re working with carbs, you run into problems!”