My goal is to eat 90% carnivore. No processed sugar. I'll eat 1 piece of fruit if I get a sugar craving. Occasional vegetables. My motivation is to avoid diabetes as my last blood panel revealed I'm a pre-diabetic.
Has your cardiologist given you the green light for going Carnivore? Very controversial diet, for good reason. I have watched several of Ken Berry’s videos and heard the case he makes for the Carvivore diet. He is of the extreme minority view amongst physicians when it comes to the Carnivore diet, although I do find that I agree with him on some things.
Like you, I am pre-diabetic, which was discovered in 2019. At the time it was brought to my attention, I looked back at previous bloodwork and realized that I crossed the line into pre-diabetes about 2012, just that no physician had bothered to point it out to me. Sadly, many don’t even bring up to their patients that they are pre-diabetic. They generally wait until you become diabetic to take it seriously. By that point severe damage has already been done to the pancreatic beta cells and it is harder to reverse. So, good for you for taking action with lifestyle changes for your pre-diabetes, as this is the time when lifestyle changes can have the biggest positive outcome.
Discussing diet can be a bit like discussing religion with some folks, so it is with caution that I weigh into the discussion. However, I would encourage you to discuss with your cardiologist whether they believe that the Carnivore diet is heart healthy. There are other diets that work great for controlling pre-diabetes and diabetes, such as lower carb Mediterranean and Paleo, which you might consider and discuss with your doctor.
When I was officially diagnosed in 2019, the simple instruction from my cardiologist’s assistant was to “try to eat less sugar”. But, reading up on it, I realized that there was a lot more that I can and should do. I’ve been eating low carb Mediterranean for over 4 years now and my bloodwork shows that I no longer have pre-diabetes, both with fasting blood glucose and A1c of 5.1. However, I think the more accurate term would be to say that my pre-diabetes is in “remission”, because if I were to go back to my previous diet, including many high carbohydrate foods, my bloodwork would definitely again present as pre-diabetic.
My journey to the Mediterranean diet did not start out with me setting that as my goal. I bought a blood glucse meter ($25) and tested my post meal blood glucose response after every meal for about 6 months, to understand how each food impacted by BG and by how much. Generally I found the glycemic index for foods to be accurate, but not always. Some foods that were somewhat low or moderate on the index moved my BG higher than desired. I ended up eliminating, or severely limiting, foods that caused my blood glucose to spike. I also tried to incorporate as many highly nutritious foods into my diet as possible, provided I liked them. When I got the diet that was healthy and controlled my blood glucose well, I realized I had arrived at a semi low-carb version of the Mediterranean diet. I recently read up on Paleo and realized that with just a couple of exceptions, my diet fits pretty well into the Paleo diet box as well. I prefer not to call it diet, as it is just my way of life now. Diets are temporary and hard to stick to. So, it is just my way of life and how I eat, rather than a diet, so when I use the term "diet", just know that is what I mean.
Basically, I make a large salad every day. Typically, I would include spinach, cabbage, beans, chia seeds, tomatoes, avocados, bell peppers, onions and olives. For protein, besides the chia seeds, I add wild caught salmon or wild caught sardines and also cheese. For dressing I usually use a low carb dressing, which has olive oil as its base.
For snacks I usually eat nuts and seeds, and sometimes pop a can of wild caught sardines or oysters. I get a big thumbs up from my cardiologist on my diet and the results which it has had on my blood work.
The way I eat is sort of Mediterranean, but a low carb version. Bread is part of the Mediterranean diet, but I cut it out for about 2 years as I know how that spikes my blood sugar. But, I found a high fiber low carb bread that only has 1 gram of net carbs, and eat it daily.
The way I eat is kind of Paleo, but I include beans and other legumes. Paleo eliminates processed foods and typically includes non-processed, wild caught or grass fed meat sources, as well as lots of fruits and vegetables. So, all of that would describe how I eat, except for my inclusion of legumes. As to the legumes, I have seen all the info they claim about lectins and phytic acid, but it just does not hold up against the evidence in my view. Although, I eat beans in small quantities, so as not to bump my blood glucose.
You could also call me a Pescatarian, due to the amount of fish I eat. But, I also eat some beef, chicken and pork, it’s just that I don’t eat them as often as fish. BTW, I choose wild caught fish high in Omega 3.
Things I mostly avoid: Sugar, ultra processed foods, juice (whole fruit is better), most grains, rice and pasta. I do include a lot of fruits and vegetables, but I will avoid or significantly limit some that I know cause my blood glucose to spike, such as grapes, melons and potatoes.
Things I include: Lots of leafy greens, lots of cruciferous, all kinds of fruits and vegetables, with the noted exclusions above, wild caught fatty fish high in Omega 3s, moderate amounts of beef, chicken and pork. Not too much dairy, mostly in the form of cheese.
Many times an elimination diet, such as Carnivore, will make a person feel better, as cutting out sugar and processed foods will reduce inflammation. The current western diet, so high in sugar, high fructose corn syrup and ultra processed foods is so terrible, that any diet that eliminates these foods is probably superior and will make a person feel better. Eliminating these foods will also usually lead to weight loss, which will make you feel better and cause some blood markers to improve. But, I would look into it further and ask your cardiologist if it is a good plan to eliminate the vast majority of fruits, vegetables and fiber from your diet.
You might find this video by Dr. Gil Carvalho interesting. In my view, he does a good job of focusing on the science and cutting through hype and myth. BTW, Dr. Carvalho was also very critical of the claims made by the vegan documentary, Game Changers, for relying so heavily on anecdotes.
not very paleolithic lol).
