Hi there! My name is Esmée La Fleur, and this is my best friend and soulmate “Sasha” The German Shepherd Dog.
ESMÉE’S STORY…
I started experiencing gastrointestinal and other health problems in my late teens after a trip to India, where I contracted a mild gastrointestinal infection that lasted a few weeks. After it resolved itself, I didn’t really think much about it, but I believe it was at this point that my Celiac genes were turned on. Celiac Disease is a genetic autoimmune illness, but a trigger is needed to for the genes to express themselves. My first symptom was actually the skin version of Celiac, known as Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH). This is an extremely itchy autoimmune skin rash, which is separate and distinct from intestinal Celiac Disease, and is very rare. Only 10% of people with intestinal Celiac also have the skin Celiac DH rash. It took me 8 years to figure out what it was and eliminate gluten from my diet. Within 3 weeks of removing gluten from my diet, the skin rash went away. I have since learned that this was a very unusual response, as many people never experience a complete resolution of their rash no matter how strictly they avoid gluten. However, gluten is not the only thing that triggers an outbreak of the DH rash. Oddly enough, iodine also triggers it. So if I eat foods high in iodine, like eggs or wild salmon, I will break out within 24 hours.
From my late teens on, my health began a steady downhill decline no matter what I ate. I was a vegan for 13 years, then a lacto-vegetarian for most of the next 12 years. In spite of my health problems, I managed to get a full scholarship to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts where I studied Anthropology. I was particularly interested the diets and health profiles of Hunter-Gatherers. What I was learning, in combination with my own failing health, caused me to rethink everything I thought I knew about what constituted a healthy diet. I tentatively began to experiment with adding meat back into my own diet. When I finally had the courage to eat my first steak, I could not believe how satisfied I felt in both body and brain for many hours afterwards. It was a profound, almost spiritual, experience. As a vegan and vegetarian, I had been hungry pretty much all the time, needing to eat all day long in order to not to have a blood sugar crash. I had no idea it was my food choice that was the cause of that problem.
I was eventually diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) by Dr. Paul Cheney and Postural Orthostatic Hypotension Syndrome (POHS) by Dr. Peter Rowe, both in 1996 at the age of 26. That was a largely unrecognized illness at the time and many doctors did not even consider it a legitimate diagnosis. During the second semester of my junior year in college, I became too sick to get out of bed. I took a medical leave of absence, hoping to return, but never felt well enough to resume my studies and finish my degree. My life has been extremely difficult ever since, both physically and financially, being too sick to work. I was completely bedridden for the next 10 years.
I gradually developed more and more food sensitivities over the ensuing years, until I was confined to an extremely limited diet. I went to more doctors than I can count seeking help, mostly alternative practitioners, and none of them were able to tell me what was wrong or provide any treatment that was remotely helpful. Sometimes my reactions to food were so bad that I could not eat anything and would have to fast for weeks at a time before the inflammation in my gastrointestinal tract would subside enough to allow me to resume eating the few foods I was still tolerating. To this day, water-only fasting remains my best tool for managing my autoimmune illness, in combination with a carnivore diet.
In 2005, at the age of 35, I was in very bad shape and weighed only 87 lbs at 5′ 6″ in height. My normal, healthy weight is 120 lbs, which is what I weigh today after 9 years on a carnivore diet. However, I did not know about the carnivore diet in 2005, so I was floundering around trying to figure what to eat and after praying to a Saint John Maximovich of San Francisco, a great contemporary, local saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, I was able to eat goat milk yogurt and raspberries. I ate these two foods 5 times a day for two full years and it literally saved my life. As an Orthodox Christian, I feel very strongly that this was a miracle of God, granted to me through the intercessions of St. John.
By 2007, my body was getting tired of the yogurt and it was becoming less and less satisfying to me. I started to experiment with meat again and moved to a diet of raw ground beef, olive oil, and lettuce. I ate that 3 times a day for the next 2 years. Then I encounter some major personal stress in my life and I started reacting to that food. In hindsight, I now realized I was reacting primarily to the olive oil, but I didn’t understand that at the time. I then stupidly made the decision to try the 80/10/10 fruitarian diet which I stuck with for the next two years. I think that diet almost did me in! There were a few more unsuccessful dietary experiments after that, but most lasted only 6 months or less. Before I stumbled upon the carnivore diet, I have been living entirely on celery and lettuce juice for 3 months because I could not find anything else that would work. When I finally found the carnivore diet, I was pretty desperate and figured I had nothing to lose.
January 1, 2015 was the beginning of my carnivore adventure. It was Charlene Andersen’s incredible healing story which I learned about from her husband Joe through a Facebook group that first encouraged me to try it. My own carnivore journey has been anything but easy, unfortunately. I will say right up front that I am not a poster child for this diet. I have not experienced a major healing of my health problems since deciding to adopt a carnivore diet. But that does not mean the diet has been a failure either. Far from it. If it was not for the discovery of the carnivore diet, I probably would not be alive today. I have been very ill for 25 years, but I have only recently found some of the answers as to what is actually amiss in my body.
In 2019, I was finally sent to a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with autoimmune illness, something besides Celiac Disease. I have a high ANA, SSA, and SSB. The second two autoantibodies are most commonly associated with Sjögren’s, but they can also be present in Systemic Lupus and other major autoimmune illnesses. However, gastrointestinal complications are extremely common in Sjögren’s, so this diagnosis remains the current front runner. My last gastroenterologist diagnosed me with Gastrointestinal Dysmotility (abnormally slow peristalsis), which is apparently extremely common in people with autoimmune illnesses, with periodic episodes of Chronic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction (CIPO), a very rare condition in which peristalsis stops altogether mimicking an obstruction. Because food takes so long to move through my gastrointestinal track, I can only eat one meal per day in the evening or I feel utterly miserable. I also have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and concomitant histamine intolerance, both of which make the carnivore diet a challenge.
When I first began the carnivore diet, I did reasonably well on raw ground beef, as long as it was extremely fresh. I had to go to great pains to procure the freshest beef, freshly ground, and frozen immediately. I would package it in meal size portions and thaw it for one hour before eating it while still partially frozen. Beef is aged and, therefore, high in histamines. The fresher it is, the fewer the histamines. Over time, I have become less able to properly metabolize histamines and have become more and more sensitive to them. The increased sensitivity has resulted as a consequence of emotional stress, local wildfire pollution, viral infections, and other thing outside of my control — all of which have caused my immune system to become even more overreactive than it already is. Each of these insults has cause me to lose ground that I haven’t been able to regain.
Once after loosing my ability to eat beef, I found raw quail eggs made it possible for me to eat it again. Scientific studies have demonstrated that raw quail eggs possess a unique substance that prevents mast cells from degranulating. Friends of mine were producing quail eggs and so I had easy access at the time. I would eat 60 raw quail eggs first, then eat the raw beef. Unfortunately, my friends decided that the quail eggs were too much trouble to produce and I no longer had a good affordable source. I was able to continue eating the beef for another few months without the raw quail eggs with no real trouble until I got a viral infection which put me back to square one. Very frustrating! If I had a way to raise quail myself I absolutely would.
I have done a tremendous amount of experimentation with a wide variety of carnivore foods in order to figure out what works best for my body. I cannot tolerate chicken or duck eggs, dairy, fish, pork, lamb, duck, turkey, and now even the very freshest beef is a problem. The only meat I am able to eat at present is chicken, which is very low in histamines, but even this choice has very defined requirements in order for it to work. If I eat too much protein and not enough fat, I will also feel terrible. Since chicken has very little fat, and I am not able to add any other fat, it took me a while to figure out how to overcome this deficiency. After a great deal of trial and error, I found that if all I eat is chicken backs, I get plenty of fat and just the right amount of protein. I buy the chicken backs by the case from a local health food store. I put these into 3 lb packages and freeze immediately. Then I take out one package per day, simmer in 1.5 quarts of water for 3 hours, let it cool for 1 hours, pour off the broth, remove and discard all of the liquid rendered fat which makes me sick, drink the broth, then eat all the skin, cartilage, and meat on the bones. This meal keeps me totally satisfied for 24 hours and maintains my weight perfectly. I just had blood work last week and all my number were in the middle of the normal range.
I do have to monitor my folate levels because in my fourth year as a carnivore I experienced severe neutropenia (low neutrophils). Neutrophils are white blood cells that protect us from infections. Without adequate neutrophils, the smallest infection can kill us. I was hospitalized and placed in isolation for 8 days until they got my level back up to a safe number. Neutrophils require folic acid and my serum folate was virtually none detectible. I started taking self-administered subcutaneous folic acid injections a few times per week and I have never experienced neutropenia again. I have never heard of anyone else on the carnivore diet experiencing this problem. If a person eats eggs, they are sure to get enough folate. But even the Andersen’s who have eating only fatty beef for 20 years, had two babies, breastfed, and raised their boys on fatty beef, have never experienced low folate or neutropenia to my knowledge. So I think serum folate levels may be influenced by gut bacteria. I strongly suspect that healthy gut flora produce folate endogenously. Since my gastrointestinal dysfunction is extreme, I doubt I possess a healthy biome, as chronic dysmotility makes this virtually impossible. But I feel it is important for me to share my experience in case others with similar issues run into similar problems on the carnivore diet.
Many new carnivores are worried about “high” cholesterol levels. There are a lot of great resources out their which dispel the lies linking cholesterol to heart disease, so I won’t go into that here. But, for what it is worth, I can tell you that while I have high total cholesterol, my Cardiac Artery Calcium (CAC) score is ZERO after 9 years on a very high fat carnivore diet. The CAC score is the single best test to determine your risk of a heart attack from cardiovascular disease. Interestingly enough, insurance will not pay for this very simple, very revealing test. Go figure! Fortunately, it is not very expensive. If you are worried, I would encourage you to get one at the beginning of your carnivore journey, and then again a few years later to see if there have been any changes. Several people have posted their results of positive changes in their CAC scores after being carnivore for a few years.
I started the Zero Carb Zen website shortly after becoming carnivore because I was hearing so many amazing stories of improved and recovered health, and I wanted these stories to be easily available in one place for all to read. I posted a lot in the first years after I created it, but very rarely as the years have gone by due to increased life responsibilities, as well as a desire to focus more on my spiritual life. I have had so much positive feedback over the years from readers telling me how much the website has helped them. Wishing I could be more proactive with it, but not finding the wherewithal to follow through, I was intrigued when Evan Moffic reached out to me with his ideas to infuse it with new energy. His offer felt like an answer to my prayers, so I have taken a leap of faith and decided to turn it over to him, trusting that it is in very good hands. And I am super excited to see what direction he will take it. I may still contribute here and there if I feel inspired and he lets me!
Anyways, if you have made it this far, thank you for reading. My full story is so much longer than this, but I have tried to include only the most essential and pertinent parts to my carnivore journey. From
Reading the medical literature, I have learned that many people with severe Gastrointestinal Dysmotility and CIPO, have an average life expectancy of 40 years. I am 54, so I must be doing something right to have made it this far. A significant number of people with the level food intolerance I suffer from end up on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), i.e. intravenous feeding. My primary goal to be able to keep eating real food for as long as possible. So far, the carnivore diet has succeeded in helping me to do this. In this sense, it has truly been a lifesaver.
I pray that the information on this website assists you in obtaining the best health possible for your particular body and situation. May God bless you abundantly!
Bonjour Esmée, avec ce nom, vous parlez français?
No, I do not. I wish I did though
I believe that beef is generally aged (causing histamines), but pork, lamb, and certainly poultry is not aged. Am I mistaken about this?
Lamb can becaged a long time if it is from Australia or New Zealand. Pork has higher levels if histamines naturally. Poultry skin is very high in histamines.
hi Esmee…
my son is autistic, has been on ketogenic diet for 3 weeks. but blood sugar level is up and up.
his stimming increases too, the other hand i feel he is more smarter after ketogenic.
since he doesn’t like vegetables and fruit, his ketogenic only meat and fat.
i add more fat, it seems he gets nausea. sometimes he vomits.
because i think ketogenic should reach 80% fat.
about zero carb diet, what is the composition between protein and meat?
does zero carb diet uses fat for topping? like coconut milk, virgin coconut oil, oilve oil, to boost the fat intake?
does probiotic needed? my son has leaky gut.
how to cook the meat? with what kind of sauce? just plain?
does coconut mulk allowed? because my son still doing non casein diet, he only takes non.animal fat.
thank u so much….
clueless mom
It would really be easier for me if you could join our group Principia Carnivora on Facebook and we can answer your questions there.
Esmee, just checking in with you to let you know I finished my first year as a carnivore!
Congrats!
Esmee, thanks for sharing your journey. I’ve slowly been transitioning from a ketogenic to a zerocarb diet and hearing your story, and the stories of the many folks you’ve interviewed, has really helped inspire me to complete this shift! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
As a quick sidenote, I’ve come down with a bout of shingles and was wondering if you have any experience with treatment and/or have come across anyone in your research that speaks about zero carb diet and shingles and/or shingles treatments in general? I know, random.
I got a terrible case of shingle on a plant-based diet about 5 years ago. It was truly one of the worst experiences of my life. I have had no recurrence since then, and it itchy tingling feeling on the scars has disappeared on a zero carb diet. I eat only fatty beef and drink only water.
Hit there,,so interesting to hear your story and glad you have found healing..I’ve been trying to do this but am frightened of the chronic constipation and having to rely on enemas for a bowel movement! Then the fear really tenses me up..f not having any peristalsis..so I have tried to add greens and also for fatigue..How common is it to rely on enemas with this diet? Thank you!
No one uses enemas on this diet for chronic constipation because no one has chronic constipation. Please join us in our Facebook group where we can offer you more hands on help.
Hello,
With only meat and water don’t you have any constipation problems?
No. Please join us in our Facebook book group Principia Carnivora for hands on help.
It does not make any sense to me to start being vegan for ethical reasons and then go to a meat only diet !? Even the fact that you got a dog.. Wheres the difference between a dog and a cow ? They all got feelings and feel the pain when they get slaughtered. They are high sensitive beings.. And how does meat contain all the nutrients you need? It doesnt contain glucose which your body needs as an only source for the brain for example cause its the only molecule that can pass the blood-brain-barrier.. Glc can be used directly as energy and not as fat that needs to be converted into glc which is very complicated for the body and takes a lot of energy.
Everything you write doesnt make sense to me …
Still wish you all the best.
In case you did not understand my post, I am eating meat only because EVERYTHING from from the plant kingdom makes me sick. The book that changed my thinking is The Vegetarian Myth by long-time vegan Lierre Keith. It is one of the very best books I have ever read. Lots of animals are killed to grow plant foods, so there is nothing more ethical about eating a vegetarian or vegan diet. As far as the nutritional value of meat goes, I recommend these two articles:
http://www.diagnosisdiet.com/all-meat-diets/
https://zerocarbzen.com/2015/04/19/eskimos-prove-an-all-meat-provides-excellent-health-by-vilhjalmur-stefansson/
I would also recommend that you read through the many interviews of long term zero carbers which I have posted on this site:
http://zerocarbzen.com/interviews
And finally, your knowledge of the human brain and how it can obtain its energy requirements is inaccurate. The brain can run almost entirely off of ketones which are created when we switch our metabolism from being a sugar burner to being a fat burner. I have posted many excellent resources on my website where you can educate yourself on this issue if you so choose:
http://zerocarbzen.com/resources
God Bless you.
I’m so glad I found this site. I’ve had a similar path with health issues- different but feeling like crap is same all round. I work in a hospital lab and I get a lot of grief of my diet choices. I don’t like vegetables and they don’t like me😊. I’m excited to take this to the next level. Thanks for all the great resources- it’s nice to not feel alone in all this!
If you are on Facebook, please join our support group.
Principia Carnivora Group
http://www.facebook.com/groups/PrincipiaCarnivora/
Dear Esme
I stumbled across your website yesterday and since then have spent so much time reading your story and posts. The simplicity and of your way of eating seems to be what I have been searching for my whole life. I never write on blogs like these and am a very private person but something instinctively has told me to get in touch. I am 31 and since I was 10 have found eating so challenging and have shared many of your health problems. Do you offer email consultations as I do not want to write everything in this post .
Kindest regards
Megan
Hi dear Esmee : ))) Thank you for sharing your special journey with us! I’m underweight and whenever I reduce the carbs I loose more weight. I read you had the same problem and wonder how is it now with this diet. Warm Regards Raquel
The key to maintaining body weight on this diet is to eat more fat. Please join us in our Facebook group Principia Carnivora where I can give you more hands on help.
Hi Esmee,
I have been eating meat and drinking water (and unsweetened iced coffee) for three weeks. First week I lost 10lbs, but I have stalled since (almost 2 weeks now without a pound lost). I have 70lbs to lose in total, so I’m unsure why it’s not coming off eating the way I am. Any insight would be most appreciated. Thank you.
Can you join us in our Facebook group Principia Carnivora and ask this question? It’s easier to interact through that forum.
I wrote a whole 7 paragraph long explanation of my experiences in diet and my past and current standings, along with an anecdote of how my dietary explorations went. I didn’t feel right putting it all here though, so I will put the main intriguing parts. If anyone is curious on the whole thing I could paste it somewhere for you. I personally am curious as to how my whole life contributes to what I found out.
“I have gone through a whole year of diet testing, all starting after I got scurvy in July of 2016…After a while of researching I learned of vitamin C and all of the other needed nutrients.
…From a young age I loved food, I’d eat as much as possible but personally loved meat. The first time I ate a raw carrot it gave my stomach a whirl and I threw up.
I started with the test of Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson and his associate who ate just meat. I was astonished, yet I felt it was right. Through that I found your website starting with the interview with Elaine Anderson. That very day I asked her some stuff over my gmail account under my alias Lycan Ferret…I decided to read every single thing on your website, and it excited me, for lack of a better term.
…In the beginning I even ate butter, sadly that caused bloating and a generally ill feeling. I stopped that. Good thing with this was that almost all plants made me feel terrible now. I had all the symptoms of soy, nut and peanut allergies. Gluten, dairy intolerance. Nightshade issues. Pretty much the only stuff that made me feel better from the plant kingdom was lettuce and berries…I found what you said on histamines to be rather interesting. Yet I feel mine was a gut flora imbalance…After I ate just meat for two weeks I could stand meat that was left in the fridge for longer, and my issues went away with that. I then also decided to try more salt, I got Himalayan and Natural Sea Salt. Sadly I got addicted and binged on it, which messed up my kidneys. I myself actually find I do not need as much salt as others. I have no issues with anything like that, and I understand the Bear with it as a chemical poison.
Then thanks to Keto I was always worrying on getting enough fat until just today. I found liver at some point to, and personally, I love it raw. It tastes terrible cooked. Actually, at this point I eat all my meat raw. I currently eat 2-3 raw, beef back ribs(fatty parts first), supplementing with 0.5-1.0 lbs of 80/20 grassfed ground beef until the fat disinterests me, then I eat the lean until I get a tired-like full feeling or I start playing with my food. That is the first time I feel hunger after I drink 1 quart of water when I wake up. Next time I drink water is after I do anything that makes me sweat, say exercise or intense heat, and then I drink until an expanded feeling hits my abdomen. The next time I eat is when I feel hunger or tired at an abnormal sleeping time, and I eat until I feel a satiated tired feeling again. That meal is usually more ribs and ground beef, or more ribs and salmon/liver if I feel up for it. I like to eat salmon twice or three times a week, and liver twice. I have also found in the beginning anything but beef made me ill, but after a while now that I have salmon raw it sits better with my stomach.
…Anytime I eat rendered fats or cooked meat I get ill, and that is the main thing I was wondering on….
…my dad eats literally just burgers, fries, pizza, steak, meatball subs, cereal, the odd fruit and fast food and he is in his 50’s, albeit overweight. Then that may be attributed to his very active lifestyle as a construction worker and sports player, as well as his stress-free thoughts and demeanor. My mother on the other hand ate a broad range of everything and she was a diabetic, had renal failure, arthritis and so on. Her entire family is and they are all “fat is bad, vegetables are good”, yet they all look ill. My dad’s family yet is overweight, but no one is a diabetic and they enjoy all their food, especially the meat. I guess that may be something on meat being extremely healthy….”
I’m not sure if there is a question here, but in regards to rendered and cooked fats, they all make me feel bad and cause digestive issues and often nausea, reflux, burping, etc. This is not an uncommon experience within the Zero Carb community. Some people do just fine with rendered and cooked fats, but a significant number of others do not. I actually feel best on meat and fat that is completely raw. Cooking it even slightly will change the way my body responds to it.
Since you were vegetarian for ethical reasons, how do you cope with the morality of zero carb? I was a vegetarian and then discovered the wonders of protein and in my case good carbs. I was VLC and ZC for a time, but it led me to an eating disorder and I felt awful on it. However, even though I am not ZC now I feel bad that I eat meat. I eat only free-range and grassfed, but I still wish I could be a veggie. I actually found your blog from Erica Awakening’s post.
I apologize for taking so long to share and respond to your question. It was a very long process that took many years to overcome faulty thinking. Studying the diets of hunter-gathers as an anthropology major in college was the beginning. Then the work of Dr. Weston Price. And finally, a fantastic book by Lierre Keith titled The Vegetarian Myth. I highly recommend this last book because it explains how Vegetarianism is not as ethical as we think it is. Lierre was a vegan for 20 years and it destroyed her body in much the same way as it destroyed mine.
I am just learning all of this now over the past few months. Since I committed to ZC a month ago I cannot imagine going back. Thanks!!!
Esmee, it’s finally great to read your story (we’re the same age)! What a journey. Also, I love and need a Sasha of my own. My health suffers without animals around! I remember enjoying your posts on Rob’s fasting site. As a vegetaraian, I never got into arguing with vegans, nor meat eaters. Everyone is built different. I do well with rice and green veggies (I could eat stir frys every day) and minimal amounts of food per day. I’m more disturbed by giving up cheese/dairy than I was meat! I was addicted to it, but my body has been less and less tolerant of it. Kefir is lactose free and helps me a lot. I seem to have been born muscular and wonder if that affects what I can tolerate. I always enjoyed snacking on seeds or salads while I work, and a heavier meal later. I think that’s why the The Carbohydrate Addict’s recipes worked for me (back when I ate meat). Right now, I’m focused on burning up these fibroids and cysts with dry fasting. I knew I was onto something with my last extended water fast, when all but one of my skin tags fell off! Dry fasting is taking me to the next level. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I know I will learn some things here!
I recently tried some goat’s milk kefir made by Redwood Hill Farm and it made me incredibly sick. I had so much gut pain I literally could not believe it. It was so disappointing because it was truly delicious. I am glad you are finding foods and fasting methods that are helping you.
Holy Moly! Thanks for sharing your story. It so closely parallels my own, starting with vegetarianism, including MHC, CFS, feeling better fasting, histamine sensitivity. Wow! I am currently low carb and taking the plunge to plant free would be pretty easy. Lots to think about.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have spent the last two days reading through your blog and have learned immensely from all that you have posted. I started eating only meat this morning and already feel less bloated and more energetic. I just wanted to let you know that you have touched my life and I am so grateful. Thank you 🙂
I sincerely hope this way of eating helps you.
Hi I’m very Interested in trying zero carb diet. I was wondering if zero carb also included fish or seafood? I also do heavy weight lifting 2-3 times a week and am concerned about cramps or recovery. Is there tricks/supplements to help in the initial adaptation phase?
Thank you,
Octavio
Please read: http://zerocarbzen.com/zero-carb/
Please join our Facebook group Principia Carnivora and ask your question about supplements there.
Hi Esmee,
A friend recently told me about your site and I’m so glad he did. I’ve been moving more and more toward eating just fatty beef, raw egg yolks and butter, along with some kind of fermented vegetable. I moved to Chile a few weeks ago, one of the reasons being that everything is so polluted in the US that my system was breaking down after years of eating high-carb and low-fat. Adrenal fatigue, Candida, sometimes violent mood swings, all kinds of stuff. A few months ago I started fermenting vegetables and it helped massively with every symptom I was having. Now that I’m in Chile I’ve been on the move too much to ferment consistently, but I still feel so much better eating about a pound of beef a day (beef in Chile is almost always grass-fed). One odd thing though–I’m noticing that vegetables here don’t digest as well, I think because they’re truly non-gmo and have not been engineered for lower salicylate levels. I was wondering if you knew anything about the effect fermentation had on salicylate levels in vegetables? Not pickling, but the kind where you stick vegetables in water with salt and let it be sit on the counter until the naturally occurring bacteria have done their thing. I can still tell that eating fermented veggies is way better than not, for my system at least. I think eliminating salicylates from my diet as much as possible for a while is a good next step to try and help my body heal itself, so I wanted to see if you knew anything about the effect of fermentation on salicylates.
I have absolutely no idea if fermenting vegetables reduces salicylates. Your supposition that the vegetables are higher in salicylates down there is a good one. I have a friend with severe food intolerances like me and he normally can eat celery if he pressure cooks it. However, he was recently experiencing symptoms he had not had for a while and he finished traced it back to the celery. The only celery he had been able to find was poor quality so he was only eating the inner stalks. As I’m sure you know, the inner stalks taste very different tgan tge outer stalks and must, therefore, contain a different chemical composition. Whatever it is, his body does NOT like it! Figuring this stuff out can be really complicated. Fermentation will create histamines which is another potential issue for people with food intolerances. This can be a big problem with beef which is often aged. I cannot eat any beef that has been hung (dry aged) for even as short as a week. All of the grassfed beef in my area is hung for a minimum of one week and i react horribly to it. I experience both physical symptoms and mental symptoms from it. You might want to try eliminating the vegetables for a while and see how you feel. BTW – I heard about a woman in one of the mast cell (MCAS) groups I follow who moved to Costa Rica for a year and lived mostly outside and ate the food grown there. She did this out of desperation because she had to be confined to a clean room in her home, otherwise she would go into anaphylaxis. She got 80% better and was able to return home. So, clearly, there is SOMETHING in our environment here in the US that is very toxic to many of us. I strongly suspect that glyphosate is a major player.
Fortunately I’ve never had problems with histamines (that I can tell). At any rate, I always feel amazing after eating fermented vegetables, so I think I’ll do pretty well eating just vegetables that I’ve fermented. I know the beef here is almost all aged and it doesn’t seem to be causing problems.
Interesting story about the lady who moved to Costa Rica–it’s really amazing how polluted everything is in the states. I think you’re right, glyphosate is probably a huge culprit. Chile forbids the use and import of glyphosate and many other pesticides, which is a big reason for me moving here. I know that Texas (where I lived) was used as a testing ground during the 70’s for chemical agents that the US was developing for warfare in other countries. Stuff like aluminum used in an attempt to control weather patterns, and also defoliants. Stuff that doesn’t break down in the environment. My sister, who has severe allergies, impaired mitochondrial function, adrenal and thyroid problems (that and more, basically just about everything) has been outside the US a few times in the last couple years and she felt like a totally different person.
Love your website. Been keto for 1.5 years and switched to zero carb 7 days ago. So fascinated to eat this way, just a week in and I love the simplicity it has created already in my life.
How is zero carb for you in 2018?
Thank you
I’m glad you are finding the information helpful. Zero Carb is still the best way for me to eat.
Hi Esmée! I was hoping you might be able to help me problem solve on something I’m experiencing. I’ve been eating zc for over a year now, for lunch, I have a chicken thigh cooked in tallow, and I add a tablespoon of butter topped with two fried eggs. For dinner, I have a ribeye steak cooked in tallow with a tablespoon of butter on top, and two fried eggs. I also have a beef jerky snack in the afternoon that I dehydrate myself. It seems like for the last few months my stomach has been gurgling like crazy, it’s very loud and it sounds like liquid splashing around and gurgling. It can last for up to an hour and it comes and goes throughout the day, regardless if I have previously eaten. I’m a quadriplegic, and think my additional fats help with a great planned bowel movement everyday. Have you experienced anything like this or have any ideas? I was thinking maybe a histamine intolerance, but other than this gurgling experience, I feel great. Thanks so much!
Hi Amber – If noise is the only symptom, I would not attribute that to histamines. And if you feel good otherwise, then I probably wouldn’t worry about it. However, you might consider a trial of only beef, butter, and water with no chicken or eggs and see if thete is any change. Blessings. 💗
Thank you for your response Esmée, I appreciate your thoughts and can’t thank you enough for the amazing knowledge on this website. I took out the butter the last two days, and so far no more gurgles. A couple people in my family have lactose intolerance, so I read about it a little. My intuition said to try this first, and it’s amazing how only two tablespoons have been seemingly causing so much noise and stomach gurgle activity, lol. Anyway, wanted to let you know, and thanks again!
Great detective work!
Hi again Esmée, do you ever answer questions privately by email?
Hello Esmée,
Thank you so much for not only sharing your inspirational story/journey but for this fabulous, helpful blog! I too have tired every form of eating possible it seems will little success… kept getting worse. I am now trying beef and water only as well. However, I do think I too need to find an unaged meat source… any idea how to find this? I also have two questions for you. Are you the one who posted about trying alternate day fasting with this woe? And if so, did it help? Did you continue to use Aldernate day fasting?
You also interviewed a man named Rustik Johnson. I have tried to go to the web link you offered on his interview to read more but it didn’t work and I tired to ask a question but not sure he checks that any more since it’s been awhile.;) I am wondering if you happen to know Or have a way to find out from him if he still continues his every other day fasting and if it is still helping him? I really appreciate all the information. I have several autoimmune diseases I am trying to overcome and find your and his stories very helpful and inspiring!! Thanks again!!!
I haven’t spoken with Rustik in a while, but he should be notified by email that there is a question for him. Hopefully he will respond.
Finding low histamine beef is my biggest challenge. The best I have found is bulk, untrimmed, cryovac’d, PRIME grade New York Strip Loin or Ribeye from Costco. The cryovac’ing prevents histamines from forming. Histamines are created by bacteria that grow on the surface of the meat. Cryovac’ing removes oxygen and greatly reduces the bacterial activity. Once the package is opened though you need to cut into steaks, vacuum seal each one, and then freeze. Otherwise the histamines will continue to proliferate again. I can usually get away with three days after opening the package, but after that I will start reacting to the beef. If all you eat is steak and you have other members of your household eating only steak, then you might go through a package in 3-4 days. But if it is just for you, ypu will need to repackage and freeze the beef.
Esmée, thanks so much. I am thinking of trying an unaged lamb from US wellness meats instead… I am so so sensitive like you and it’s hard to know what to do. Do you still alternate day fast? If so, does that help you? I am going to try alternate day fasting with the lamb instead and see… thanks again so much!!
I have not tried alternate day fasting in a long time. But i keep in my mind as a sort of back up plan. I hope the lamb works for you. Let me know what you try and how it works.
Thanks so much Esmée!! You are a gift!! I will definitely let you know how the lamb and fasting work! Hope you continue to heal and feel well!! ❤️
Also I got ill and with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by being vegetarian and I got better eating meat but my attempt of protein diet resulted in kidney stones. Anyway it is interesting to know other ppl experiences.
The primary cause of kidney stones is drinking too little water.
How do you justify the slaughter of another sentient now?
Read The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith.
If I were to go all meat, it would probably be with a permit to kill more than one deer a year and try my hand at living mostly off of deer in the wild, would that be good? And eggs! I have chickens and if bad cholesterol isn’t linked to cholesterol intake (which I’ve read it isn’t) then eating two or three eggs a day shouldn’t matter either? Right?
Dietary cholesterol has nothing to do with serum cholesterol. Please see my Resources page linked at the top of my website. Deer will be much too lean to sustain you on its own. You will need to add extra fat from somewhere.
Esmee, my name is Walter Reed and Ive had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome , I think, since May 1988. I am excited to try this diet…Im one week into it and its tough eating only meat but Im gonna give it my best shot….thanks for your blog post….how are you doing now?
I’ve tried a lot and learned a lot over the past 3.5 years. Too much to explain in this response. I plan to write an update soon. However, I can tell you I have learned I only feel good on very fresh fatty beef. All other meats and animal foods give me problems of one sort or another. I also do best with beef that is either completely raw of cooked blue rare. I encourage you, if you have the resources, to eat only fatty Ribeye or New York Strip if possible. Ground meat can be much higher in histamines and may be a problem for you. Strive to purchase freshly cut steaks that you plan to eat that day and don’t eat leftovers. This will remove many variables. Try this for 30 days and let me know how it goes.
Hi Esmee. How long have you now been eating only meat? Any minor health issues? Thanks
Hi Mark, I’ve been on an all beef diet now for 3.5 years. I still have major health problems due to my food intolerances as described in this post. I am pretty sure that I have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and that is what is causing all the food intolerances. I feel best on raw ground beef, but even this is problematic if it is not fresh enough. Meat that has been aged too long is high in histamines and I do not metabolism histamines well. However, many people who do not have the complicated health issues that I do are following an all meat diet with with wonderful results. You can read some of their stories here: http://zerocarbzen.com/interviews
Hello Esmée,
Your site is an inspiration and I’m grateful for your sharing and work.
I began keto Jan. 18/18. I moved to more and more meat over time until I began zc about 25 days ago. I’m hoping you can answer a couple of questions.
I’ve never known my hunger set point, and now find myself eating about 1.5 lbs of meat along with lots of butter and fat. I’m not sure I’m eating enough meat because most folks seem to describe eating 2-3 lbs. I’m an 60 year old woman,
5’10”, down to 150 lbs from 180, and holding there, sad to report my level of exercise is low. Have you any thoughts about the quantity of meat and fat? Can I eat too much fat with zc?
As well I’ve got IBS-C and this hasn’t abated through keto or zero carb. I’ve read so much and tried salt, potassium, etc, etc. Any words of wisdom about this concern?
Finally, although I’ve always had healthy gums they have just gotten seriously unhealthy quickly! I have now included oil pulling and rinsing with salt to brushing and flossing. I read of people having gum problems quickly resolve. It seems the opposite for me. Any ideas what’s happening with this. Of all the side effects of my new woe this has my quite concerned. Ideas?
I hope you’re okay receiving my questions here. I’m not a Facebook user so haven’t seen the info there.
In appreciation of all you do,
Kochia
Hi Kochia – Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, but I wanted to give your questions the attention they deserved.
Protein & Fat – I am 5’6″ and 115 lbs and I eat 1.5 lbs of fatty beef. If the meat is fatty enough, I could not possibly eat more than this. However. If the meat is not fatty enough, even 2 lbs will not satisfy me. If the meat is not fatty enough, I will end up consuming too much protein. The way I know I have eaten too much protein is that I will become fiercely thirsty an hour or so after eating. I feel best consuming 80% fat and 20% protein by CALORIES. If the the ribeye is PRIME grade and untrimmed, it will provide this ideal ratio for me. I will get about 2 gm of fat to 1 gm of protein. This translates into about 200 gm of fat and 100 gm of protein for my steak. I only eat once a day. If you eat too much fat, you will become nauseated. I have written several articles on this topic. If you enter “Optimal Fat” and “Optimal Protein” into the search box for this website, they should come up for you. Let me know if you have trouble finding them.
IBS-C – What kind of meat are you eating? are you consuming ground beef? Ground beef is very high in histamines and causes big problems for me and many others. If you enter “Newbold on Ground Meat” in the search box for this website, you will find the article I wrote discussing this. Also read the link for “Histamines” under the topic category at the top of this website.
Salt & Electrolytes – I did a tremendous amount of experimenting during the first 2 years I ate this diet. I finally decided to give up all of it because I finally figured out they were all giving me the chronic migraines I was experiencing. It took me a full month to adapt to removing all salt and electrolytes from my diet. I was fatigued, had tachycardia, and had extremely dry mouth and lips. Then one day, about 4 weeks later, all these symptoms disappeared practically overnight. I have not had any salt or electrolytes since May of 2017. I feel much better than when I was including both in my diet. Please read the article on “Salt” under the topic category at the top of this website for an extensive discussion. Keep in mind that I wrote it before I personally gave up all salt.
Oral Health – I am not sure why you are experiencing gum issues, unless your IBS prevents you from absorbing a particular nutrient. I personally have trouble maintaining my folate levels on this diet. There is not much folate in muscle meat. It’s possible that healthy gut bacteria makes folate and mine may not be able to do this. So, it’s always possible that you may not be getting enough of some nutrient you need due to your unique health issues. You are able to eat liver, you could consider adding that on a regular basis and see if it makes a difference. I went to get my teeth cleaned after I had been on this diet for a full year. I had not had them cleaned for 5 years prior to this. The dentist was incredibly impressed with the heath of my gums, especially for my age (48 yrs.). But I have always eaten real food no matter what diet I followed. And I have only used warm water and a toothbrush to clean my teeth for the past 20 years because I react to all toothache products.
May God support you on your journey to better health,
Esmee
Dear Esmée,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I do eat ground beef and realize it’s not the best for me. Unfortunately the cost of ground beef is high and rib eye higher in Canada. The prices in the USA appear to be much lower. Here it’s challenging to even find a fatty ground beef!
I look forward to reading the referenced articles and trust I’ll find them helpful.
My fear about my gum health has eased. Since adding salt rinses and oil pulling to my usual brushing and flossing my gums are much improved.
With blessings and gratitude,
Kochia
Hello Esmee – I was part of the Facebook group (Princ… Carnivora), but I stopped receiving notifications for some reason and I wanted to post a pic the other day ??!! I did not say anything that would offend; so am curious.
Regards, Amanda.
Hi Amanda,
I just looked into this and you were in our “blocked” members section. I have no idea why, but I unblocked you. You should be able to find the group by searching and then submit a request to join again. Let me know if you have any trouble doing this.
Esmee,
Ultimately, my goal with carnivore is to one day see food as fuel, not fun. I have cut most foods out of my daily diet and am down to meat, salt, butter and water. I currently cook all of my meat in butter and think that because butter is tasty and contains dairy, I may be tempted to eat based on flavor instead of hunger. I experimented with not salting my meat this past week to allow my taste buds to become accustomed and I’ve noticed that the flavor difference is massive. I can clearly see now that salting my meat was definitely influencing my desire to eat. I’m going to go without if for a while and play with developing a taste for meat only – not salt – only because salted meat makes me want more.
Now I am also questioning adding fat. Since I was coming from a Keto mindset, I was used to adding fat to all of my meals. Yet carnivore seems to be different and I think I must retrain myself to NOT add extra fat to my meat. I choose fatty steaks and my ground meat is 85/15 so I think I’m good with the fat!
This leads me to my question: Since I have defaulted to using butter to cook all of my meals, I am noticing that I’ve gotten a bit heavy-handed with my use of it lately (using more and more) and I simply don’t want to become attached to the flavor enhancement butter provides. When choosing a fat to cook meat in, do you have any thoughts on butter vs. ghee vs. lard vs. tallow?
Any of your thoughts are welcome!
Thank,
Terran
I agree with you about salt, but not about fat. 85/15 ground beef is quite lean.
The Importance of Fat
Please read Michael Frieze’s Interview:
https://zerocarbzen.com/2015/03/07/zero-carb-interview-michael-frieze/
Please read these three articles in order:
Optimal Protein & Fat on Zero Carb
https://zerocarbzen.com/2015/09/29/optimal-protein-on-a-zero-carb-diet/
https://zerocarbzen.com/2015/10/04/optimal-protein-on-a-zero-carb-diet-part-2/
https://zerocarbzen.com/2016/04/21/optimal-fat-intake-on-a-zero-carb-diet/
Please read Stefansson’s, Blake’s, and Newbold’s books:
https://zerocarbzen.com/classic-books/
Please watch this video: Man, the Fat Hunter
https://youtu.be/ZKLCp4rIBI
If you eat butter, just make sure you eat unsalted butter.
Noted, thank you! Switching over to unsalted…
Also plan on trying Tallow in place of butter.
And whatever animal fat works best for you is fine.
Hello Esmée La Fleur,
My name is Cesar, I have been on Zero Carb diet for one month. I eat rib eye steaks and water. Hence, I buy in bulk 10 steaks at once and then put them in the freezer for the week ahead. Now my question is: If I buy the rib eye steaks fresh and then put them on the freezer, is that consider to be aged?. My goal is to avoid histamines as much as possible.
All beef is aged to one degree or another. You need to ask the butcher if he knows the slaughter date and packing date (if it is cryovac’d in plastic). I do much better with beef that has been cryovac’d than I do with beef that has been dry hung. Most grassfed beef has been dry hung for 7-10 days before reaching the butcher shop. Most cryovac’d beef is often older than this, but it was usually cryovac’d soon after slaughter. The cryovac’ing prevents bacteria from growing because it removes oxygen. It’s the bacteria that create the histamines. So you will need to experiment with different sources and see how you feel after eating them. Freezing will stop histamine formation. Ideally, you would want your steaks cut from a freshly opened cryovac’d ribeye roast. Then freeze those steaks as you have been doing.
Thank you very much for the information.
What a lucky find Keto living day by day. I found it at a bookstore and it was used returned to be resold. I had been talking with my physicians and the Keto Genic diet was mentioned. I have been dieting since I was 12. No matter how much I exercised or less I ate didn’t seem to help. I found a girl I had a crush on so I did some drastic things. Ate small amount at dinner only. Slept 6 hours a day and turned out for sports like basketball and track. After 4 months I lost 35 pounds and in that time I had fainted a couple of times. I tried after that diets that never worked even a carb diet of all things. I had done something like the keto diet when I was around 20. But I got to a point I was always ill. No energy and dragging. I passed an ice cream store and that ice cream cone perk me up almost immediately.so I bagged the diet. Years passed and after 3 heart attacks and having metabolic syndrome which drove me into the heart attacks and type 2 diabetes that was only maintained by high dose insulin. 40 units of the fast acting insulin and 50 of the slow acting one 3 to 4 times a day. My blood sugar in the morning was 250+ and never got lower than 160 unless I again stopped eating and ate in the evening but even then nothing dramatic. I had always been told starting in high school that fat was the enemy which clogged arteries. I was starting to believe it. I started family history and found some interesting things. Out of my dad and his 8 sibling only 3 made it past 60 they died from heart, artery disease and strokes. Following down my grandmother’s side a Swede I found many that didn’t make it past 50.
My wife and I started the Keto diet about 3 or 4 weeks ago starting out slow. Slowly cutting carbs. With the cookbooks I was able to find the goodies to satisfy the sweet tooth with no carbs using nut flour and the recommended sweeteners. That helped and the sugar craving diminished and just a small piece was satisfying. With the food lists I was able to translate recipes I already used and cut out the rice noodles potatoes etc. What was left was like a its own meal. No carbs what so ever. Using the vegetables to bolster meals. I have made soups, sloppy joes without carbs, Stroganoff without the carbs, Now it is a quiche and next pizza. I did find that cream cheese was my nemesis. With all the fats I found I was having severe cases of diarrhea. But in general I am feeling better. I was rarely sleeping and after a week or so on the diet I began sleeping more. I find my attitude is getting better and my blood sugars are phenomenal. My morning blood sugar is below 200 and once was 167 something that hasn’t happened in 10 years. I do have to be careful. i was feeling a little dizzy and found my blood sugar was 67 so I got disturbed and started to carb out thinking I had to do that to bring it back to a safe level for me. The next morning it was well over 300l. I needed to get a grip and have patience and less carbs. That is what I am working on something with a little sugar boost and protein like a bar. Something both fast and sustaining and not a lot and also get a grip and not panic so much though I was feeling dizzy and a little disoriented. Being able to translate what I use to eat with the food list and it works well. I still need to be able to translate 5% carbs in the diet. I think that maybe the small amount of carbs may reduce the dramatic drop in blood sugar.
The first time in 50 some odd years something actually worked.
How are you doing now? Have you thought of trying an all meat, zero carb diet?
Dear Esmee, wishing you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season, and a year of peace and happiness. May God bless you and your wonderful mission!
Greetings from Vancouver, Canada, 🙂
Blessed Nativity Feast!
Hey Esmee,
What hygenic products do you use?
I’ve been using organic products but a lot of them have ingredients like avocado oil, coconut oil etc. and I wasn’t sure if those would negatively affect me. Also not sure about toothpaste.
Thank you for this wonderful site, it’s truly amazing and has helped me start a new life!!
😀
I use very few products over all. I have not ysed any toothpaste for 20 years. Just plain warm water and a toothbrush. The dentist was extremely impressed with the health of my gums for my age (48). I use Aveeno Shampoo and Conditioner (Sulfate Free version). I use no body soap in the shower.
Awesome, thanks Esmee!
Thanks for sharing your story and starting this website!!!
I have been reading your posts about histamines. I spoke with Dr Georgia ede this week and think that might be a issue. What are some ideas of what to eat? Beef is my favorite. I have been eating only meat, some eggs, raw goat milk and some sour cream and yogurt for about 3 weeks. Alot of depression, fatigue, itchy. Thank you for all your responses
The zero carb diet can be difficult for someone with histamine intolerance. It all depends on your level of sensitivity. All beef is aged and aging allows histamines to form. Most with severe histamine intolerance have to buy their beef as whole cryovac’d roasts; In other words, the entire ribeye or New York Strip. Then take it home, cut it into individual steaks, and freeze. Thaw just prior to eating. Never eat leftovers. Histamines are created by the bacteria naturally present on the surface of the meat when exposed to oxygen. Cryovac’d meat has the oxygen removed and this keeps histamines from forming as rapidly. Most other animal foods have histamines in them also depending on how old they are and whether or not they have been fermented. Fermentation also creates histamines. But there are a lot of different kinds of histamines and you may have trouble with some but not with others. You will have to test eat food individually in order to see how it affects you. I hope this helps.
Do you have an email mailing list to join?
When you leave a comment under a post, I think you have the option of receiving any new posts by email.
Just found your blog and I’m loving all the testimonials so far! I’m just starting down the zero carb path and previous to this year had been maintaining a larger weight loss with IF protocols and then was doing a diet that was progressively plant based, as I began searching for the healthiest way of eating with a focus on long term outcomes. After focusing on plant based eating though for a few months I realized that I was gaining weight and was experiencing digestion/energy issues for the first time. That led me to experimenting with low carb this spring, which has now brought me very quickly to pursuing a more carnivore way of eating (about 80% at this point). I feel amazing, my weight has corrected itself and I’m maintaining again effortlessly, and I love the simplicity of my animal focused days 🙂 Excited to know there’s others out there who are also pursuing this!
If you’re on Facebook, please join us in the group Principia Carnivora.
Esmee ! Thank you for what I think is a thorough biography of the late great Dr. Newbold. You’ve had a challenge I would think gathering information on him, he was I thought, a private man, helping the world see new health.
I was a patient of his in the late eighties, at Murray Hill, NYC.
I have been looking for information about him over time, you filled in some gaps I had of his life.
He is in my opinions one of the great minds of Medicine sorely missed. The societal need for him in this present day is overwhelming.
I am grateful for your words, and that there are others who share complex physical challenges, …..I am not alone.
Thank you so much for your comment. It’s thrilling to meet someone who was his patient! The man was a genius in my opinion. I would love to get my hands on his case files.
God Bless. 🙏💗
Just found your very interesting and well formulated site. I have been moving more and more to carnivore diet, with cheese and eggs. and I find sites like yours help me stay motivated and gradually increase my knowledge base.
Thank you for sharing all your hard work.
Scott
Hello Esmeelafleur,
What a story..! Thank you so much for sharing.
During the last week I’ve been reading all your website and comments. You see, my wife and I have many autoimmune diseases that even after a few months on a beef and water only diet, we regained symptoms, I now believe it to be because of histamine intolerance.
Anyway, my mother tongue is Spanish and I am starting a website in Spanish to try to show Spanish speakers a different view on food, it will be tough but I feel I ought to do it. I did read in one of the comments above of someone wanting to do it in French, that sounds amazing! The more languages the better :).
So here I am, asking your permission to translate some of your work if that is possible. Let me know if there are certain things I shouldn’t do or you wouldn’t want me to do or certain things you would want me to do as I am very new to the world of the websites.
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards
Antonio Iglesias
Yes, please feel free to translate and publish anything you want from my website. I need to re-write the about me page at dome point in time, as I have a lot better idea of what I am dealing with now. Been to many different specialists over the past few years and have been diagnosed with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (possible Sjogren’s) and Dysmotility of the small intestine (secondary to autoimmune illness). I have become very reactive to beef unfortunately and fund it causes too many symptoms for me to eat it now. I have been eating mostly chicken as a result. I have noticed that beef seems to be a major trigger for inflammation within the autoimmune community. It’s frustrating, but that does seem to be the case. So you’re not alone in your experience. I hope you can find foods that work for you.
Hi Esmée
Thanky ou for this website! A few questions if I may please.
How are you these days? Are you still 100% ZC or made some alterations?
As a fellow HIT sufferer [my gene report even highlights the ACO1 gene which means I’m a slow clearer of histamine] i’m interested how you are doing
Has your histamine intolerance settled down on ZC and have you been able to expand the types of meats you are eating or add things like eggs/diary? How long did this take? ,
I’m 90% ok and on an AIP Paleo Diet [avoiding high histamine foods of course and avoiding Igg response foods]. Still suffer if I eat a high histamine diet [histamine headache, pulse up, a bit grumpy, if bad – little bit of skin irritation] .
So i’ve decided to try a carnivore based diet [no eggs though/diary for now-Igg says no and I react to soft boiled egg white] .
Do you ever get blood work before after meat only diet?
Thanks for your time. Good health to you.
Kind Regards – Mick
Hi Mick – my story is, unfortunately, long and complicated. I now know that I have autoimmune illness which has caused GI Dysmotility, and the GI Dysmotility has likely caused Mast Cell Activation Symdrome. All of this combined seems to be responsible for my very severe food sensitivities and reactions and the histamine intolerance. Neither diet nor periodic therapeutic fasting can fix or cure these problems, but they both serve as good symptom management tools. I am still confined raw ground beef, but even this has negative effects on my body. I have also been able to eat raw quail eggs for the past year. Studies have shown that they prevent mast cells from degranulating and my own experience seems to bear this out. Sadly, I will not longer have access to them after the end of the year because the person supplying me is going to discontinue producing them. I have not been successful at introducing either duck or chicken eggs in the past and I haven’t tried them in a very long time. Once I am no longer able to get the quail eggs, I may try them again to see what happens. I have been completely carnivore for 5 of the past 6 years. There was one year when I could not eat any meat after having a severe intestinal flu. It wiped out the little tolerance I still had for histamines. The quail eggs were the turning point for me and allowed me to once again resume eating the raw ground beef.
Sorry to hear you are still struggling. Have you tried going off Carnivore for a a few days while and just eating something bland like white rice or cassava, sweet potatoes.- with a bit of fat thrown in?
I’m sure everyone has offered hints and tips- I’m trialing this at present – to limit some histamine reactions 2g of ginger morning and night – i grind it up in with a mortar and pestle and put half a cup of water in, swirl and swallow. Its not a magic pill, need to do it continually and affects seem to kick in after a few days
Yes, I have tried all kinds of things. All plant foods cause problems that are even worse for me. But thank you for the suggestions.
Appreciate yoou blogging this