Hi Craig.
...I have a number of autoimmune symptoms like tinnitus, carpal tunnel, sore knees and so on. My tolerance to exercise doesn't go much beyond taking walks and doing stretching.
When I was on Paleo with lots of plant foods (mostly raw) and mostly cooked meats I had occasional tinnitus, mild carpal tunnel pain, sore muscles, cracking joints, etc.
...I can't decide whether to go very low carb or carnivorous. Any suggestions or major distinctions that might help me decide?
Carnivorous works well for me, but is not for everyone. Works best if you have complete control over your food and keep plant foods out of the house.
The only reason I'm leaning towards carnivorous is because I'm really enjoying the decrease in food prep time.
Me too.
Are carnivorous eaters concerned at all about antioxidants?
No, Lex Rooker covered that in his journal, I think. Meats and animal fats appear to give me all the nutrients I need except vitamin D--whose main source for Stone Agers was the sun but which you can also supplement with fermented cod liver oil (as Tyler mentioned), but it's very expensive. Wild fatty raw fish are a decent food source of vitamin D, but they are also expensive.
Here's an opinion from the PaNu doctor on vitamin D in carnivorous diets: "The Inuit probably got both K2 and VIt D from organ meats, and obviously, fish livers." --Kurt G. Harris MD, September 22, 2009,
http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2009/9/22/bone-density-assessment.html. I figured there was significant vitamin D in GF animal livers too, but I don't know how much.
My potassium and zinc deficiencies actually resolved on a carnivorous raw Paleo diet (CRPD). I still have some mild magnesium deficiency symptoms, though they also improved on a CRPD. Surprisingly, meat also contains antioxidants (see
http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/natural_antioxidants_in_meat_eggs_and_milk). I wonder why I never heard about that until I came to this forum?
I do plan on incorporating fruit at some future date if I feel confident in my candida suppression. What vegetables are easy to digest raw?
I find spring greens to be the easiest. They are very tender. I don't bother with them very often anymore, though. I mainly eat them in public situations to reduce the freaking out of other people.
I was wondering though if the safety issue is tied to meat quality. Am I less likely to have problem with high quality meat?
I don't know the data on this, but as Tyler indicated multiple sources have claimed that grassfed meats are less likely to have pathogenic bacteria. They can still get it, though, as Lex pointed out once, because the bacteria are spreading. If you eat only raw the chances of your getting a bad reaction to pathogenic bacteria are reportedly reduced.
I'm in the process of finding good meat sources here in Pittsburgh. Am I looking for trouble if I eat something less than grass-fed in a pinch, settling for Whole Foods or worse?
I've been using lean commercial meats for my low-heated (uncooked) beef jerky for years now without a problem. No guarantees, though. I mainly buy grassfed for my fatty meats and fats (ground meats and suet), although I occasionally buy grainfed marrow, because grassfed marrow is rare in my area. The local bison and venison I buy are mostly grassfed, but not completely.
-Also tied to quality, I noticed in Lex's meat dryer instructions he purchased Costco meat. Is this because most issues of meat quality are issues of the fat profile?
Yes
--or are there other concerns?
Price
I'm currently unemployed and looking to dine cheap; if I can find some good quality suet and organ meats, can I mix these with grain-fed lean cuts?
I would think so, just don't overdo it on the liver, to avoid potential vitamin A overdose--which I have heard rumor of happening to some Weston A Price dieters.
Any other tips and tweaks for cheap eating?
Buy in bulk when you're ready. My main beverage is water from the tap, which is free. I sometimes buy mineral water too.
Here are my current prices for my staple foods (I haven't started buying in bulk yet):
grassfed ground beef: $5.84-5.99 /lb
no-antibiotics-or-hormones local ground bison (much better tasting than the national stuff): 6.99 /lb
no-antibiotics-or-hormones local ground venison (when available): 7.99 /lb
GF suet: .90-1.49 /lb
grain-fed top round steak: 2.99 - 4.99 /lb
water: free
I was eating more wild seafood in season before, but it got real pricey in my area this summer.
-Some cuts I've been working with seem to have a lot of connective tissue--is there any reason to go out of my way to eat or avoid this for matters of either nutrition or digestion?
GF meat and suet seems to have less of the fibrous and grizzly type strings and bits in it for some reason, but I don't think it's worth going out of your way to avoid eating, as connective tissues are a natural part of an animal's body.
-I've found a few words on this in the forum, but I'm including a fairly heavy dosing of salt to deal with adrenal problems. Is this generally acceptable?
If you're deficient it is. There is sufficient salt in meat for people who are not deficient.
My understanding is that as the problem diminishes I can expect my salt cravings to subside as well. Right now, though, I crave salt about as much as fat.
The carnivorous northern Inuit have the lowest tolerance for salt ever measured. My own taste for salt has diminished dramatically. Most salted foods taste WAY oversalted to me now and give me salt-induced nausea if I eat more than a little.
-Any good advise specific to exercise intolerance? I guess it's probably not a separate issue and most symptoms will tend to come and go together, but I believe exercise to be rather vital and would like to be able to incorporate it in my routine.
Exercise intolerance should resolve once you find the diet that works for you. If you get enough sleep you'll find your energy increases dramatically and you'll be itching to exercise.
-Brain fog is also personally very impairing--any advise on dealing with this?
Drastically reducing carbs down to about 2% or less of my diet was the only thing that worked for me to completely clear it. As mentioned, omega 3 fats also help (60% or more of a healthy human brain is composed of omega 3 fats).
