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2.5 million years ago we first began to eat meat.
Prior to that our ancestors ate a vegan diet of berries and flowers and only when early
hominins began to eat more seeds and nuts, therefore taking in higher levels of fat
and less fiber did our bodies begin to adapt to handle meat.
But what would happen if now you ONLY ate meat?
Without fiber rich foods like lentils, beans, and broccoli you are going to feel constipated
and uncomfortable.
Not to mention, the simplest way for the body to make energy is to convert carbohydrates
into glucose.
In the absence of carbs your body will have to burn fat and break down important proteins.
Creating glucose from protein is known as gluconeogenesis, and it occurs in the liver,
creating a nitrogen waste that is converted into urea.
Too much can lead to protein poisoning - which includes symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, and
potentially death.
It's even been documented if you ate only a lean meat like rabbit, which has hardly any
fat, you could eat and eat and eat and still end up wasting away.
Another potential killer could be the lack of Vitamin C. Humans are one of the few animals
that are not able to synthesize the Vitamin on their own.
Without easy access to Vitamin C from fruits and veggies your body will be unable to effectively
create collagen, a structural protein found in your tendons, ligaments and skin.
This will put you at high risk of scurvy and cause you to have poor wound healing, rotting
gums and personality changes.
If not treated you would die from infection or bleeding.
But eating raw meat could be the way around this.
The cooking of meat degrades most of the Vitamin C, but raw, thick, chewy collagen rich skin
and blubber of whales can take in 36mg of Vitamin C per 100g serving.
Way more than the 10mg needed to fight off scurvy.
This brings us to an interesting case: shaped by low temperatures and a stark environment,
a traditional Inuit diet consisted of what was hunted and fished with little, if any,
plant food, dairy products, or carbohydrates.
Despite this, cardiac death rates were half that of other Americans and Canadians.
How can you be healthy on a fatty diet without any fruits and vegetables?
You can snack on organ meat like liver to get your recommended Vitamin A, which is vital for
eyes and bones and Vitamin D (for your bones too). And Oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty
acids will benefit your heart and vascular system.
Inuit bodies have adapted to manage gluconeogenesis by having larger livers and increased volumes
of urine to get rid of the extra urea.
A recent genetic study investigated the genome of Greenland Inuit and found a selection for
variants that create a protective effect against cholesterol and triglycerides.
So, it is possible to thrive on only meat but it's important to remember that Northern
communities have relied on animal food out of circumstance and necessity.
Their high fat diet was intended to keep weight on for days of hunting, and when food was
insecure, not lose weight like modern low carb diets.
Unless you are planning on eating raw whale blubber, organ meat, and have genetics on
your side consider sticking to a balanced diet of all the major food groups.