@Sabertooth - haven't gone the blood route.  Not readily available and whatever I do has to be convenient or I just won't do it.

As for salt I take two approaches:
1) I use one of the unrefined "sea" or mountain salts when adding salt to food.  I probably add about 1/2 tsp to things on a typical day.  These salts have a lot of trace minerals that are removed from normal table salt.  Not sure if it makes much difference, but I spend the extra money on the premium salts anyway.
 
2) I make and drink chicken broth everyday.  I have a large grinder that I made for grinding jerky for pemmican and other odd uses.  I grind whole chickens bones and all, throw them in a large pot, add 1 quart of water per pound of chicken, 1/4 cup vinegar to help dissolve the bones, and then simmer, covered, on low heat for 24 hours.  I loose about 2 qts liquid over 24 hrs so if I start with 10 lbs of ground chicken and 10 quarts of water I end up with 8 finished quarts of broth. I strain out the solids and put the broth in pint deli containers which provides two 8oz servings and freeze.  As I use one container over two days I have one thawing next to it in the fridge.

To serve, I put 8 oz in a glass or mug, add 2-3 tablespoons of grass-fed butter ( usually KerryGold salted),  nuke in the microwave for about 2 minutes, then whip with a stick blender and add additional salt to taste. I use this as my morning beverage as I don't like coffee.

Lex

@Sabertooth - thanks for the interesting post.  I guess I'm more of a deadend kid.  I'm afraid my palate is not all that sensitive to subtle differences in taste.  Some here say they can tell the difference between fresh and frozen then thawed meat.  I suppose, side by side, I might be able to tell the difference, but when I'm hungry, I don't care, all I want is to eat and satiate my hunger, and when I'm not hungry, I don't care because I'm not hungry and won't eat no matter how good it tastes.

As a hunter I expect I'm in the opportunist category.  Assuming I'm hungry and haven't eaten in awhile, I'll kill and eat anything that holds still long enough.  If I'm not hungry I'd like to think that I'm like the industrious ant, working to put away food for lean times, but alas I'm probably more like the grasshopper, wondering where summer went and will probably spend the winter eating whatever i can scavenge.

As a paleo hunter, with not much more than a rock and sharp stick as my weapons and tools, I'm inclined to think that I'd have preferences, mostly based on the size of the animal and the fact that larger meant I'd have to hunt less often, (in my experience humans are lazy by nature), but most likely would eat whatever I could kill.

In any case, I'm not sure I'd pass up a meal because the animal I took down was a browser and not a grazer (or visa versa), but it is interesting to contemplate.

Lex

Very wise words Eric.

Lex

TylerD! so good to see you're still around and as cogent as ever. Thanks for stopping by.

I agree that our food animals should eat as close as possible to their natural diets.  Commercial Chicken Chow is far removed from what wild chickens eat.  I find it humorous that the state of California has decreed that no eggs may be sold from caged chickens.  However, chickens in large open pens eating Chicken Chow is somehow more humane and better for us.

Such is the hubris and ignorance of our leaders,

Lex

Sabertooth don't let me dampen your enthusiasm.  I was passionate about my life's work and it served me well for over 40 years.  I'm passionate about the things I do now.  I advise everyone to follow their passion.

I'd be interested to know what you mean by "beyond grass-fed". 

I truly have no idea what you mean by optimal fats.  How are they different from the fats in grass-fed meats? (from your wish to go beyond grass-fed you must be referring to something different than fat from grass-fed animals?).

I'm also very suspicious when people talk about "optimal nutritional balance on a meat based diet" since by definition a meat based diet such as I follow is anything but balanced as the term is normally used in nutritional circles.  Again, not sure what you mean here.

I suppose I want to know how what you are working on would be valuable to me. Make my life simpler, fuller, healthier, better.

Thoughts?

Lex

Hi PaleoPhil,
Thanks for checking in.  I'd recognize that avatar anywhere!  I've tried to add some plant foods now and again, but I'm so insulin resistant that eating a small salad and a piece of fruit every day will add 10 pounds in less than two weeks.  All those carbs get converted to fat immediately. I find I have to stay under 20-30 grams of carbs per day or the result isn't pretty.  Yes, I could add carbs back in, but I'd have to totally change my dietary protocol so that muscles and other tissues would start preferring glucose again over fatty acids. I'm doing so well where I am that I just keep doing it.

Lex

I get an occasional email request for an update and this week I got three so I thought that it's been awhile since I posted and it's time to check-in and bring everyone up to date.

I'm really busy as I now have 2 wonderful granddaughters ages 3 and 5, still teaching antique clock repair several times a year, and very involved in helping aging neighbors (most in their late 80's and 90's) with their daily struggles.  I travel quite a bit and have converted a small diesel Ram Promaster van (136" wheel base, low roof) into a camper van much like the old Volkswagen Westy's.  Have taken two trips so far this year, one 5,000 mile and one 3,000 mile, to visit friends and relatives. Van is fitted with 600 watts of solar panels and Lithium batteries so have a fridge and freezer and prepare all my own food along the way.

I'm still pretty much eating just raw meat.  On occasion I do add a bit ( a couple of tablespoons) of diced onion or maybe some garlic, a dash of hot sauce now and again, and salt and pepper for flavor and variety, but other than that it is 95+% meat and fat. No grains, or starches, and veggies only when eating out, and then only if that's all that's acceptable on the menu.  Like when friends take me to one of those new-age lunch places where the only meat on the menu is Chicken Caesar Salad. I order the salad with double or triple meat (usually costs a fortune) sans croutons, and throw the salad away - not excited about the lettuce and don't want the soy oil based dressing either.

I changed my meat source a couple of years ago from Slanker's to Marine Sun Farms here in California.  They shipped for free as long as I picked up at the freight terminal which was only 5 miles from my house, so it was a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, sorry to say that Marin Sun Farms has stopped selling to me directly.  I now have to order through one of their local wholesale customers and pay a retail mark-up which adds about $2 per pound to the cost.  Because of this I now only order their "Patty Mix" which is about 25% organ meat for $6/lb (used to cost me $4/lb) because I can't purchase that at the local market.  Walmart now carries grass-fed meat for $6/lb so I purchase my normal ground meat there.  Marin Sun Farms wants $8/lb so no benefit ordering regular ground meat from them. Von's has it for $8 so I'll purchase there in an emergency.  Both Walmart and Von's only offer 15% fat so I have to add butter or other fat to bring the fat content up to snuff - usually about 4 tablespoons per pound. My favorite butter is Kerry Gold which I purchase by the case from Trader Joe's.  As an alternative I may mix a bit of Taco seasoning in the meat and slather with sour cream to raise the fat content when in the mood for a south of the border flavor.  I make sure any seasoning mix I use has no MSG or other badies.

For awhile I was unable to get an organ mix ground meat at all so I had to figure out an alternative.  After a bit of head scratching I came up with the idea of adding sardines packed in olive oil.  You get the whole fish including bones, (only the heads are missing) and they are very rich in Omega-3s so I figured they'd fit the bill.  To this end I add one 3.75 oz can of King Oscar "Tiny Tots" sardines packed in olive oil to one pound of grass-fed ground meat when my organ mix is not available. Kinda adds a Tuna taste to the mix but not bad at all. King Oscar says each tin has 2.4 grams of Omega-3 which is quite a lot.  I purchase these by the case at Walmart for $2.54 per tin which is the best price I've found.  Most markets price them at $3+. Their also very convenient when traveling.

Still only eat one main meal per day at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. However, I have taken to having a cup of chicken broth in the morning which I enjoy immensely.  I make the chicken broth myself following Stephen Phinney's directions which you can find doing a Google search.  I make a couple of gallons at a time and store it in pint containers which I freeze and then thaw as needed.  To serve, I heat one cup broth with 3-4 tablespoons butter and then mix well with and immersion blender - wonderful.

I still eat between 1800 and 2500 calories per day at 75% to 85% fat. My protein intake is around 80 - 100 gm/day.  I haven't tallied it up, but I think my food costs are still around $10/day. However, it may be closer to $11 or $12 now since my cost for organ mix meat has gone up and sardines are not free either.

One thing I added to my menu this summer was sparking herbal tea.  Since I don't drink sodas and don't want to add artificial sweeteners, sugary fruit juices, or grain heavy beer to my diet, it's a bit of a struggle to find an acceptable alternative.  Enter Celestial Seasonings caffeine free herbal teas.  These things are amazing.  My favorites are Country Peach Passion, Raspberry Zinger, and True Blueberry.

I'll start by using one tea bag in a cup (8oz) of hot water as normal.  Let steep and cool for an hour or so.  Remove tea bag and refrigerate the tea.  When ready to serve, pour over ice, add a dash of lemon juice for tartness, and top off with 4-6 ounces of club soda or seltzer water to add a bit of tingle. Really hits the spot on a hot summer day.

Over the years my doctor became worried that my highly acidic urine would be a problem, especially since I've had a bout of kidney stones in my recent history (2009/2010).  He wanted me to do something to rise my urine ph from 4.5-5.5 to somewhere between 6.0 and 7.0.  I did a bit of research and decided the best paleo friendly approach to do this would be to add some bicarbonate of soda to offset the highly acidic metabolites of the ketogenic diet.  This kills two birds with one stone so to speak.  It adds sodium to my diet which is needed since a ketogenic diet flushes sodium (per Phinney et. al.) and puts me at risk of loosing magnesium and potassium to compensate, and the bicarbonate effectively lowers ph which keeps my doctor happy.  The body manufactures lots of bicarbonate in the pancreas and kidneys so all I'm doing is supplementing what it already creates - hopefully removing a bit of stress on the kidneys and pancreas in the process.

My protocol is to drink a pint (16oz) of water with 1/2 tsp of Arm & Hammer baking soda in the morning upon arising before my morning walk, and again about 12 hours later in the early evening well after my daily meal.  This seems to work like a charm, keeping urine at a ph between 6.0 and 7.0 and is really cheap at less than 2 cents a day.  A one pound box lasts about 2 1/2 months and costs about $1.30 at any supermarket - even cheaper if you purchase in bulk.

EDIT:  I forgot to add my exercise protocol.  I walk about 4-5 miles per day 6 days a week first thing in the early morning (6am).  When I return home (about 7:30am) I follow Paval's "Minimum Kettlebell Protocol" which is a short warm-up followed by 100 swings and 10 Turkish Get Ups.  I do this with a 20kg (44 lb) kettelbell which takes about 30 minutes.  I'm finished with all this foolishness by 8am and ready to face the day.

Hope you find this useful.  Will hang around awhile to answer any questions,

Lex

Phil,
The battle of the diet gurus is, if nothing else, amusing to watch.  They all claim they've found the dietary Holy Grail.  The next thing you know, there's a stampede in another direction towards a different cliff, again labeled "the dietary Holy Grail". Years ago it was Ehret, Walker, Bragg, Tobe, Sheldon, and Carrington.  Then came Wigmore, Kulvinskas, and Pritikin.  Shortly followed up by Atkins, Sears, and Diamond.  Then there's the new crop Asprey, Kresser, Moore, Cordain, Taubes, Durant, Sisson, Hunt, Wolf, Jaminet, Devany, and Peat, et al. each with their own biases and agendas.

Ehret championed the mucusless diet, Walker- raw juices, Bragg-apple cider vinegar and fasting, for Sheldon it was cherries, and Carrington thought the perfect food was chocolate.

For Wigmore and Kulvinskas it was wheatgrass juice, rejuvilac, and sprouts.   Pritikin was all about ultra low fat, high carb, moderate protein.

The current crop seems to be all over the map as well, though they seem to have more of a herd mentality.  They all shift direction like a school of fish - almost in unison - but with the occasional straggler that peddles hard to catch up with the pack.

Today's hot topic seems to be "resistant starch" (last week it was "safe starch") and so the drama continues.  Just as all the gurus of the past discovered about their pet beliefs, RS will soon be eclipsed by the next Holy Grail, and relegated to the ash heap of history.  Stay tuned.

Life is short, and I have determined to waste as little of it as possible, for death will overtake each of us soon enough, regardless of what we choose eat.  Dietary wars were waged long before I was born, (even the Bible weighs in on the subject), and will still be raging long after I'm gone.  Diet gurus will come and go as sure and as regularly as Paris fashions.

If you think agonizing over resistant starch (used to be called fiber in the olden days) is a good use of your time, then by all means have at it.  For me, other things are more important.  I think I'll continue to do what works well for me, and spend little of my precious time worrying over the constant hysteria churned up by the gurus.  What time I have left on this earth is better spent in my shop and with family and friends doing the things I love to do. 

Rest assured, if what I'm doing stops working or problems arise, I'll change in a heartbeat. Until then I'm going to burry my head in the dietary sand and ignore all the clatter from the gurus.

Lex

Panacea,
I enjoyed your well thought-out post.  I seldom give advice for the reasons you point out.  I have no idea of the health, condition, or environment factors affecting anyone other than myself.  To give advice to others under such conditions is sheer folly.  Therefore, I try to state plainly what I'm doing and the results I achieve and let others determine for themselves what action, if any, they wish to take.

I also enjoy pondering the unknowable and often post my thoughts and ideas for others to consider and comment on.  Your post should provide much food for thought as well.  You are in good company with Paleo Phil and others who post to my journal.

Lex

Somehow my reply to Dustin (two posts above this one) got posted as though it was from goodsamaritan.  Not sure how this happened.  Here's the header to the post:

Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1954 on: Yesterday at 09:02:26 AM »

The post is correct but I'm the one that made the post, not GS.  I guess Arthur C. Clarke was on to something when he said:  "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."  It's clear some sort of magic happened here...

Lex

Should we utterly ignore these aspects of nature and just assume that modern practices are sufficient?.....

It's quite true that today there are no lean months. The fractal/intermittent nature of nature has been replaced with chronic habits based on pleasure-based preferences. The hard aspect of nature is largely being ignored.

I suppose the question is how important are these natural cycles?  We tend to focus on the specific foods we should and should not eat, but seldom do we look to emulate the natural cycles of food supply in nature.  Could it be that the annual cycle of eating far less food in late winter and becoming very lean into spring could be just as (or more) important to overall health as the specific foods consumed?

I know from horticulture classes I've taken that plants grown in a hothouse appear fleshy and robust, but are actually much weaker than the same plants forced to deal with their natural environment.  A hothouse grown plant will die when suddenly faced with an extreme change in environment, where its scrawnier sibling in the wild will handle the same change with ease.

Maybe we've turned ourselves into the equivalent of hothouse plants that look robust but are actually rather fragile because we've been sheltered from our normal environmental cycles.  We have all the same foods plentifully available all year around.  We heat our environments in the winter and cool them in the summer such that we can no longer tolerate wide temperature changes.  Could this be a significant source of our modern day maladies?

Another story comes to mind that might illustrate the point further.  Many years ago my grandfather came to live with us after grandma died.  He brought along his little dog, a mix of pomarenian and pekingese, weighing about 12 lbs.  The dog was about 8 years old and had always been a house dog.   It had heart trouble and digestive issues, was taking a lot of medications and wasn't expected to live much longer.  My dad said that it wasn't good for dogs to be in the house all the time and insisted that the poor little dog sleep outside.  We lived in the San Joaquin Valley and it easily reached 108+ in the summer and below freezing at night in the winter.  We were all sure that the poor dog was going to die in the first month.  That didn't happen.  The dog actually got better. Within 6 months she was no longer on any medications. She grew a thick coat in the winter and shed profusely in the summer months.  And she lived to be 14 - very old for her breeding.

Anyway, the importance of exposure to natural environmental cycles is an interesting question that is not much discussed.

Lex

Still though I have to ask. Would you consider supplementing with bone broth/collagen/gelatin for a period of time and see if it helps at all?

Sorry but I'm just not interested in making bone broth.  I eat lots of collagen/gelatin/marrow as part of my diet, it's just not cooked into broth.  There is a large amount of connective tissue in my food which is the source for extracted collagen and gelatin.  I prefer to eat mine raw and complete rather than cooked into a broth where the solids (and an unknown amount of nutrients) are discarded and or damaged by heat.  I have to ask myself why I would want to supplement with a cooked partial form of these nutrients rather than just eat the uncooked complete nutrients just as other animals do.

I'm all about what works, and if bone broth is working for you then that is wonderful keep it up.  My diet has worked well for me for about 8 years now and I'm very happy with it.  Many problems have been resolved and only BPH remains as a significant issue.  There's just nothing in bone broth that makes me believe that it's worth the trouble.

With three weeks into your protocol you have a long way to go.  Let's see if you are still convinced that bone broth is the key to health 10 to 20 years from now.  I know that when I became a vegetarian/vegan about 45 years ago, I thought I'd found the dietary holy grail.  It took 25+ years to realize things were not turning out as advertised on the vegetarian front and after about 30 years I finally got the courage to switch to paleo. 

For me, paleo, VLC, ZC is still new. Eight years is not an overly long track record compared to an expected lifespan of 80 to 90 years.   I make no claims for it nor do I recommend it to others. Right now it seems to be working well for me.  However, if things change and I start to see problems, I'll change in a heartbeat.

My BPH is not a result of the paleo lifestyle.  It started in my vegetarian/vegan days well before paleo.  BPH was just one of the many problems I hoped that paleo would solve.  Alas, it is the last remaining problem and it seems paleo was not the answer.

Lex

Déithe a mholadh!

I don't think there are 2 h's in moladh... but I could be wrong.  I'm certainly not an expert, but Google tells me so...

Had to look it up!

Lex