Glad to hear that you're continuing to make good progress dan!

Thank Michael. I'm very happy too.

I had no intention of absolutely denouncing the eating of pre-ground or frozen meat so I hope I did not give this impression.  I just wanted to point out the important points worthy of consideration to raw-al and anybody else that reads it.  Of course, we all make our own choices based on our own perception of the evidence and our own circumstances.  I can also clearly see the attraction of pre-ground frozen meats from a convenience and financial perspective and, if my circumstances were different, would not entirely rule out eating such foods myself.

I know you didn't. I just wanted to add in a bit more of my 2 cents with more recent experience.

I'd be interested in any links to studies or information which has informed your doubts regarding the extent of protein denaturation resulting from freezing.

I fly by the seat of my pants Michael. If it makes me feel good then it's ok in my book. I love science but do not spend time reading up on many studies so usually have no hard evidence to back up my anecdotal findings.
My feels about the protein issue is due to how I feel eating consistent brisket versus consistent ground. I do notice I have a small hit to performance (oftentimes mental) when eating solely ground but it's very small.
Of note my ground meat is much coarser and could very well be a single pass through the grinder like Rawzi mentioned. Maybe this minimizes problems for me?

Hope you're laying off those berries?!!   

Absolutely. The last fruit I had were about a half dozen lingonberries, maybe a month ago, off of plants my mother planted this year. They were nice and tart which was nice. I also didn't notice an issue with my Candida afterwards but did have a small bit of joint pain so will not make it a regular occasion.

My teacher in my health science class is trying to tell the class that meat takes four days to digest.  He also tells them that it will build up in your intestines as gunk, to the point that you will need surgery to cut out the parts that are too clogged up with gunk.  He also told us that John Wayne was found to have 50 pounds of rotten meat in his intestines, when they autopsied him.  Snopes denies this fact as true.  I really don't know what to think of this because the class seems to believe him except for me.  I also stated in class about the study I read with the man with a gunshot wound in his stomach, which showed cooked meat to digest in 3 - 4 hours and raw meat to digest within 1 - 2, and the teacher basically just said "our research is different."  What kind of answer is that?

What a lousy teacher. And teaching science no less. 

People do it all the time with lobster and crab shells so I don't see why you couldn't. You don't have much/any meat inside the shells but it'll impart some of the flavor. I'd recommend simmering to make the stock and then adding some mild flavored seafood afterward to it to compliment it.

Has anybody made ACV before? I figure that I can just bottle fresh raw apple juice, and let it ferment all the way. Or is it more complicated?

The raw cider vinegar sold in the store has been cultured from a mother much like Kumbucha. You should conceivably be able to make it without in the manner you're describing but it might not work quite right. Also make sure you get regular air into the bottle or else you're going to be making cider jack.

Better late than never raw-al!    Sorry, I must've missed this one and it's probably no longer important.

In my view, the 2 things to be aware of with eating ground meat are i) industrial cleaners and other toxic residues from commercially produced ground meat and ii) the timeframe between grinding and consumption.  I think I provided a link to studies elsewhere regarding the important issue of lipid oxidation in ground meats (let me know if you can't find it!).  My suggestion would be to only eat meat ground at home and consumed on the same day.

Having said that, I am aware that Lex's mono-diet of ground pet food and fat does not satisfy these requirements and he has still made significant improvements in health.  He buys pre-ground 'pet food' meat from Slankers which, I believe, is frozen.  I don't know if he's consulted with Slankers about any potential industrial chemical pollution.  Being frozen he will, at least, be reducing the lipid oxidation factor although freezing, itself, is not without it's drawbacks (as I understand it) as far as protein damage is concerned.  Admirably, Lex does openly admit that convenience and the ability to attain sufficient good health to enjoy life are his driving motivations.

Michael, the bulk of my meat the past few months has been pre-ground as it's the cheapest my farmer has. His standards are so high though that I have no problems from the meat at all. I do notice the brisket, when I get it, is a bit more nourishing but it's all relative to the quality that you begin with. It's all frozen meat as well FWIW.
I have my doubts as to the extent of protein denaturation when frozen in a blast freezer. I'm bulking up quite steadily (~10 pounds in 2 months with a roughly estimated 6-7 pounds as muscle) with visible muscle growth on a diet of usually 1 1/2 pounds of the ground (very lean) and maybe 1/4-1/2 pound suet.

I have.
I used to have knee pain as a teenager. An orthopedist did an X-ray and found a torn interior meniscus in my right knee. They did surgery and it felt better after that. A couple years ago my left knee started getting the same pains. Once I went raw carnivore ~ a year ago the inflammation went down significantly. Between diet and semi-regular walking/jogging/running the pain goes away completely. If I don't get out and move I do feel a twinge here and there but it's nowhere near what it should be. Believe it or not though the knee that ends up hurting more is the one they did the surgery on.

iLift about 4 to5 days a week and have not been doing cardio bc I can't run that well but I think it is getting because my once broken leg is getting stronger

You might be over-training and taxing your body. I'd recommend lightening up on the number of days a week and give yourself time to rest up. If you are building muscle better (through adequate recuperation time) you'll burn the fat more efficiently. Just something to consider.

Their fat is subcutaneous and is easier to digest than suet. It was also tastier IMO. Unfortunately many others agree so at the time it was harder to get than the suet.

For those of you who buy marrow, where do you get it and how is it packed?

I buy it from my farmer. It's vacuum packed in heavy plastic, two or three bones per bag.
I generally prefer suet to marrow. The first couple bites of marrow are tastier than suet but if I've had it recently it's not as pleasant after those first couple bites.

I have personally not experienced any Candida symptoms as a result of suet (or marrow for that matter). I haven't let it sit in the fridge for 3 weeks but I'd wager it's just part of the funky smell. FWIW saturated fat is supposed to be quite good for fighting Candida and other yeasts so it's unlikely to be a problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf-4lCsLlpg
Amidoinitrite?

oh, i meant to comment about that... carbonated water would do that to me... i don't drink it anymore, and if i did try it again, it would be on an empty stomach.  not saying it's not detox, though... not sure...

I have one brand, Saratoga, which I do indulge in occasionally. So long as I don't go overboard (a whole 1 liter bottle in one sitting or more than 1 bottle a week) it doesn't give me problems. I haven't had any in well over a month but we stopped at the stoe that stocks it yesterday so I had to buy some.
I don't give much credence to detox as it's used as an excuse for everything. I'm still doubtful even in this circumstance that I'm detoxing anything. At this point I'm thinking it just sat out so long and got so inundated with bacteria that it sat badly. The smaller dose the day before sat fine so it's probably too strong in the amount I ate last night.