Well, I've been a carnivore (not raw yet, but I'll get there eventually) for the past month or two and I was wondering something. When you eat meats that have a good amount of carbs such as liver, do you think the carbs affect you? I read from some people that carbs in meats don't matter at all, but then I see some people saying they will probably make you gain some weight. I searched this but I couldn't find it, so I was wondering what the thought is here.
I haven't noticed any problems from liver or eggs. Liver at times actually gives me a boost. I haven't found any plant sources of carbs that I handle well, though small amounts of low-carb fruits don't bother me that much. I also don't handle raw honey or milk well, for whatever reason.
Well those RZCers who've eaten raw animal foods with carbs in them like raw liver, raw mussels etc., have generally said they were fine with them, and when they mention suffering from plant-foods, they also generally mention suffering from all kinds of other plant nutrients, even plant-based raw fats like in avocados. This leads me to think that the issue of carbs is irrelevant, and that these people simply have issues with every plant-based nutrient, rather than just a sensitivity towards carbs.
I do get mild gas from avocados, but some veggies don't bother me noticeably, like young greens, broccoli heads, radishes, ginger, carrots, etc. They tend to be veggies that are relatively low in carbs, so the carb aspect could well be a problem for me. Besides, even if they're not a problem for me, carbohydrate intolerance is a recognized clinical diagnosis (
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec02/ch017/ch017c.html) as is fructose intolerance (
http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/sec23/ch282/ch282b.html), so carbs, at least plant carbs, apparently can be a real medical problem for some people. It would be interesting to know whether patients with carb intolerance can handle liver and eggs and how one gets tested for carb intolerance.
Trichinosis is still occurring in the USA, largely from wild omnivore meats:
Trichinosis Surveillance, United States, 1986
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001752.htm
The suspected meat was examined for Trichinella larvae in three outbreaks and in one isolated case. Two of these outbreaks involved wild boar meat (Hawaii, seven cases; New Hampshire, seven cases), and the third involved bear meat (Pennsylvania, 14 cases). The consumption of Trichinella-positive cougar meat caused an isolated case in Oregon.
In instances in which the food item was known or suspected (43 cases), pork was incriminated in 26 (60.5%) cases, bear meat in 14 (32.6%), and other meat in three (6.9%). Wild boar was the form of pork most frequently implicated, and it accounted for 14 (32.6%) cases (Table 2). In the other 12 cases due to pork, six patients purchased their pork directly from a farm; three, from a supermarket; and in three cases the origin of the pork was unknown (Table 3).
The method of meat preparation was identified in 42 cases: in 21 (50%), it was roasted over an open fire; in nine (21.4%), the meat was eaten raw; in six (14.3%), it was fried; in five (11.9%), it was microwaved; and in one case, it was boiled.
... and AV said...
Tyler's right. AV saying something doesn't make it so. I think Tyler goes overboard with the attacks on gurus at times, but it's probably because statements like these keep coming up that suggest guru worship, whether intended or not.
There is one positive thing one might say re AV as regards his raw dairy stance. From his point of view, most people have an unreasonable, near-hysterical, media-inspired, phobia towards raw meats ....
Agreed, the amount of hysteria toward raw meats (and insects) is amazing. At times it even takes the shape of hatred! Bizarrely, people have much less trouble with raw fish, as long as it's given special foreign names like sashimi and sushi and eaten in restaurants instead of at home. Also bizarrely, some people who won't eat raw meat or eggs at home will eat it at a restaurant when it's called "steak tartare" (one of my sisters is one). This despite the fact that you can better oversee the safety and quality of the food at home than you can in the unseen kitchen and freezer of a restaurant. Rational people suddenly become hysterical magical thinkers when it comes to raw meats, insects and other unusual foods. It's clearly a matter of social conditioning from an early age.
Thanks for sharing about raw honey, King Salmon. My raw honey experiments have also produced rather poor results. Some folks apparently handle it fine, but not me. It's good to know I'm not the only one, so I will be less likely to fall prey to the temptation to eat a lot of it by convincing myself that it can't be all that bad if no one else reports problems from it.
BTW, Tyler, there's a new and supposedly improved version of the Hygiene Hypothesis called the Old Friends Hypothesis. Jasper, the guy who sells helminthic worms, uses the new term now.