Sources of fat

Question
QUESTION: Hi there!

I have tried numerous diets in recent years in the hope that they would
alleviate my symptoms(adrenal/thyroid problems, sinusitis, tinnitus, amongst
others)  and return me to good health, and have come to the current
conclusion that a high fat/high protein diet suits me best. I believe that raw
food is important in the diet but does not have to be 100% of it. I usually eat
my red meats lightly seared and rare, occasionally slow cooked and my
chicken cooked. I also think that organ meats are necessary in the diet but
unfortunately do not like the taste. I have recently learned that I cannot
tolerate dairy and also that I am sensitive to amines, salicylates and
glutamates in foods.  This is particularly frustrating as it means my dietary
choices have become very limited. I need to find a source of fresh, unaged
and unhung meat that has to be frozen straight away unless being eaten the
same day. This also means I can't eat fish as I cannot get same day caught
stuff where I live.

I find I have to eat a lot of meat, three times a day, when I don't have butter
to satisfy my hunger and even then, I know I need more fat.

I read with interest your suggestions on eating suet and marrow, which could
help me increase my fat intake whilst avoiding dairy. Do you just eat them as
they are or with meat?

Could you briefly explain the consequences of heating saturated fats like
suet, as I was under the impression  that saturated fats could be heated with
little damage to the chemical structure.

Thanks for your help,

Julian

ANSWER: If you're just now transitioning to raw zero-carb I would suggest caution. I, like many others, tried going raw zero carb, years ago, and failed miserably, losing appetite almost completely, getting fatigue etc. On the other hand, there are many people like Lex who've had minimal to no problems with such a diet, actually getting side-effects if they ever eat raw plants. There is a transition period, which some claim is 2-3 weeks while others claim it is anywhere up to 9 weeks in which people usually experience some issues.


If you eat most of your meats lightly cooked, you'll miss out on bacteria(though, admittedly, you get far more benefit re bacteria if you eat bacteria-rich aged foods such as "high-meat" etc. than from fresh raw meats). You'll also miss out on enzymes. Those who eat partially raw generally take a high-quality enzyme supplement with every cooked meal they have. I would strongly recommend this, in your case.

One common symptom re adrenal burnout is an increasing tendency to have problems digesting animal foods(cooked animal foods, that is), so I'm a little surprised that you're happy with that. I had, in hindsight, severe adrenal burnout before goin in for RAF diets and would double up in agony from stomach-aches within half an hour or so  of  eating any cooked animal food.Still adrenal-related problems are many and varied, so everyone's different.

re organ-meats:- It's really important to get used to the taste of raw organ-meats as they contain trace nutrients which are very useful for the body. Here's some standard advice re easing into such things:-

http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/important-info-for-newbies/sticky-advice-for-newbie

For the moment, it's best that you buy several organ supplements from Dr on's site since you need time to get used to the standard version. Dr Ron's supplements are the only ones I know of which don't have nasty fillers like magnesium stearate(which is a trans-fat). The supplements are freeze-dried, so almost as good as raw, and actually taste fine(IMO, even for those newbies with taste issues). You will need to buy the organic organ delight supplement which covers most of the organs, and the adrenal and thyroid supplements as well.

Re dairy:- Ah yes. Food intolerance to dairy, however raw, is common  for those with adrenal-related issues. As for your other food-intolerances, they certainly do limit your choices as amine-sensitivity would mean not being able to eat fermented foods etc. Your only choice seems to be to get to know local (organic grassfed meat)farmers and tell them of your requirements - well, unless you have a hunting-licence. Since you can't touch aged raw animal foods such as high-meat you may need to get hold of a high-quality probiotic.

Re suet/marrow:- Yes, they are ideal as an alternative to dairy. I generally just eat 1 food at a time, so I eat them separately from the raw meat. This is just out of habit and convenience now, but, back at the start of going rawpalaeo, it was a necessity, as my digestive system was very badly damaged at the time, and was a little sensitive if I put 2 different kinds of foods together.

You don't necessarily have to eat raw suet and marrow, though. Raw mutton, for example, is a great source of raw fat.

Re saturated fats:- One of the key findings in recent studies and reports on advanced glycation end products(AGEs) is that animal fats(all animal fats) produce far more AGEs after being heated than if plants are heated. This report makes that clear(it cites pasteurised butter(high in saturated fats) as the worst offender, but meats, in general, also produce a lot of AGEs:-

http://www.newcastleyoga.com.au/links/Food%20AGEs%20text.pdf

Also, scientists are finally coming round to the following notion:-


"given the prominence of this type of food in the human diet, the deleterious effects of high-(saturated)fat foods may be in part due to the high content in glycotoxins, above and beyond those due to oxidized fatty acid derivatives." The glycotoxins, as he called them, are more commonly called AGEs" taken from:-


http://www.pnas.org/content/94/12/6474.long




HTH,
RPG.






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I won't be able to go completely raw at the moment or in the near future  for
various reasons but intend to eat raw for breakfast and lunch. Aside from the
organ meats, are there any particular cuts of meat you eat? I may have
trouble with some cuts as I am unable to eat aged meats due to the amine
levels and fresh meat is tougher because it hasn't been hung. Am I right in
thinking you slice the meats very thinly so they require little chewing? This
may make the fresh meat more edible for me.

As far as organ meats go, I will try and have some liver and kidney, if I can
find very fresh ones, slicing them thinly and swallowing, maybe, rather than
chewing or possibly blending and adding some raw honey. I'll have to check
Dr Ron's organ supplements as I'm not sure if they may contain amines.
Amine formation in offal is very quick. Hopefully I will be able to use the
"Organ Delight" product.

I am currently using an enzyme supplement and was using probiotics but
discontinued them because I'm not sure it helps and it's too expensive if it
doesn't.

Thanks again,

Julian

Answer

Re particular cuts of meat:- I personally don't buy the more expensive fillet steak, and just go for stewing steak or rump steak. I don't view fillet steak as superior in any way.

Re aged meats:- I didn't realise that amines were a problem even with meats that were frozen or chilled for long periods. Meats are generally hung in a chilled environment.

Re slciing meats very thinly:- No, I never do that, these days. In the very early stages of going rawpalaeo, I was forced to buy preground meat as my teeth were so loose from consuming dairy over the years that they were in serious danger of falling out if I tried to eat/chew too tough raw meats, such as raw tongue - so when eating raw tongue, I would cut it up into tiny pieces beforehand, before just gulping each sliver down without chewing. Once my teeth regained their strength, I found that I no longer needed to chew more than a tiny bit,  if that, and just cut up large chunks of raw meats and  bolted them down.

I would suggest you get hold of a food-processor/grinder etc, as some RAF newbies have achieved some success with them re getting used to the taste of raw animal foods. I have no idea as to which products etc. to buy, as all the tools  I've ever used re raw foods were a meat-knife, a hammer, an oyster-knife, and a metal nut-cracker, so it's best to ask people on the raw animal food forums re this issue.

Re probiotics:- Most probiotics are useless but a few contain very large amounts of bacteria etc., so can be of use.

HTH,
RPG.

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