Posted on 01/20/2020 5:47:17 PM PST by rebuildus
As I get older, I’m finding out there’s less and less room for error in how I eat… and my tolerance for animal fat has shrunk.
I’ve discussed meat eating and veganism HERE and HERE, and even Kosher Bodybuilding, which holds much promise for eating meat successfully (without blood and with lower fat).
I’ve eaten red meat my whole life, starting when I was young when my dad would take us to Sizzler on many a Sunday evening. This is back when they had sawdust on the floor, so you know I’m talking old school!
My favorite meal was always a hamburger with lots of ketchup, cut in half; or a big plate of spaghetti with meat sauce at Mike’s Pizza, my favorite local Italian restaurant in town. By the way, my mother was Italian too, so I ate a ton of spaghetti, rigatoni, pizza, and American dishes too.
My appetite was legendary, and I suppose you could say, it still is (though I admit I’ve lost a step or two).
The Florida Trip
Up until recently, I was still eating cheeseburgers fairly regularly. That was before the Florida trip…
We took a weekend trip to the Gulf Coast in August, and on the way I was eating big chunks of salami and cheese in the car (you know, for testosterone!).
And while we were there, we stopped two days in a row at Whataburger. I remembered this fast food place with fondness from the time we “discovered” it in the heart of Texas when my family took a three-day road trip there from Southern California to see my sister’s newborn son.
The recent Florida trip was also ridiculously hot and humid, which I hear is pretty much a given down there in the Summer. I know I didn’t drink enough water.
So soon after we got home I passed a kidney stone—no, saying “passed” a kidney stone doesn’t do it justice—I survived a kidney stone! That was the third time, if I’m counting right. The stone indicated a uric acid origin (from meat).
And more recently, I felt a strong pain in my lower abdominal area, right side (appendix), after waking up in the morning following a high-saturated fat evening meal.
Clearly I’ve arrived in new territory, and the wake up call has arrived too.
So I’ve really begun to ponder the effect of animal fat on my digestive system.
I went back and looked at my Cronometer entries for about a month’s period, and saw that I was routinely eating over the recommended limit for saturated fat in a day—sometimes double or more!
Now I understand that not all saturated fat is animal fat, and I will distinguish even further to say that when I speak of the animal fat that I believe is causing me issues, I’m speaking more of meat that of milk products, or eggs.
Digesting Animal Fat
As I said, I’ve been a big fan of meat. I know it contains nutrients that are powerful, and that you don’t get in fowl or fish. But I also know that there can be a great amount of fat on that meat! In fact, one reason I may have liked hamburgers so much, is that my dad used to like steak, but when I ate it and tried to digest any fat, it just would not go down. I’m still like that with meat.
What I’ve been coming to in a hurry, is that I have a very low threshold for animal (meat) fat consumption—I cannot eat much of it at all. I’m beginning to replace some of this fat with monounsaturated fats (MUFAs), such as that which comes from avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, etc.
The jury’s still out for me regarding milk fat and egg yolk. The small amount of recent personal research I’m getting back on that is that it may be okay. It’s hard to tell because I traditionally have reactions against dairy, though at the same time I tend to crave it!
Due to inflammation in my shoulder from a slow-healing injury (not exactly rare among strength athletes), I am carefully watching everything I eat to see if it is a net positive or negative. What I’m doing right now is reducing my animal fat while replacing it with vegetarian sources, and at the same time keeping my protein up, because I know that protein (or the amino acids that make it up) is helping to restore injured tissue.
And of the fat that I am replacing, I am eating a higher percentage of omega-3 fat, which is contained in food like salmon, walnuts, and chia seeds. These omega fats are reported to help reduce inflammation. I tried adding red wine to that mix, but find that I just don’t wake up as refreshed after consuming red wine the evening before.
So far, I AM finding reduced inflammation from this protocol, and will let you know how it goes from this point onward. Promising, for sure.
If you’d like to see me ruminate about this topic, just check out my recent video on this same topic.
Digestion and Older People
Let me know if you are dealing with digestion issues, and what your age range is. I know that older people tend to lose enzymes, and organs do not always work as efficiently as when they (we!) were young.
I do have to say that the aches and pains of advancing age—while kind of a pain themselves (!)—are interesting in that they are teaching me so much about how my body works, and what is the most efficient and effective food or protocol to handle a particular challenge.
It’s one thing to look at studies, which is great, and which so many health and fitness professionals and “regular folks” read too, but it’ s another thing to actually see and feel issues working in your own body!
Anyway, I’d appreciate your input on this.
And if you’d like me to help you navigate through perhaps being a bit older, weaker, or “broken down” as you train—to minimize negative issues, or better yet, to overcome some of these issues, then contact me or consider letting me coach you to success.
If you want to read a great introduction to gaining the “Greek Physique”—all for less than your cup of morning Espresso—then check out my just-updated eBook.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
To your Health and Fitness,
Patrick
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. Its focus is natural health and independent living. Patrick is the author of GREEK PHYSIQUE: The Simple, Satisfying Way to Sculpt Your Body—Even if You’re Old, Weak, or Broken Down; and is also the creator of Greek Yoga™ and the Greek Yoga for Beginners video. He offers health and fitness consulting in-person in Middle Tennessee and worldwide via phone, Zoom, and Skype. To reach Patrick, email him at info@oldschoolus.com.
I was okay, now I’m depressed again.
True. I was able to because I lived way BELOW my means, living in cheap houses and buying old cars. worked 2 jobs (65 hours total) for 10 years, saved half of my earnings and invested in stocks. So retiring at 57 was easy, joined a high class private golf club in Vancouver, WA and had a great time, including 30+ cruises. I can never spend all my money if I live to be 100.
Kudos: You’re close. (all I’m sayin’)
The Mediterranean diet is optimal for most people. Plenty of seafood, just a little animal protein, and plenty of whole foods.
There is a podcast somewhere that the guy ate only meat for a year. He actually did pretty well.
So, he should just STFU.
Not to burst your bubble but can reverse the diabetes you have do it all on NO Carbs
Nope.
You can’t reverse type 1. Totally different from type 2.
oh so solly
I like NOW Super Enzymes, they seem to help. I am 3/4 C old, zero prescriptions, good cholesterol, BP is under control. Magnesium 600 mg/day, Vit C 3000 mg/day, Nicotinic acid 2.4 grams/day. Fishoil 2000 EPA/DHA per day.
Read up on Dr. Jason Fung, MD. He has reversed Type 2 Diabetes in a clinical setting — even among those dependent on insulin — without any other drugs, by intermittent fasting.
Srsly.
Age 63 eating meat, fish, breads, vegetables, fruits, nuts and some sweets. Modest intake of alcohol and not every day. Key is eating moderation, balanced diet and some exercise. I add in green smoothies with protein powder and extra magnesium supplements. Maintaining near ideal weight helps too. Still need to take a daily low dose BP med. Something will eventually get me off the topside of the earth however.
Without a certain amount of animal fat your brain will deteriorate. Eat meat.
I believe there is one great realization that all the promising diets are converging towards, which is as one gets older one should each much less, and stop subscribing to the three-meal-per-day eating pattern. This is what I'm trying to do now that the holidays have passed.
I know people who are in their 90’s. All their life they have eaten animal meat with no regard for the fat. The ones I know are Catholic. They still eat fish on Friday. Perhaps it’s the fish. Some tell me that the meat isn’t as tasty as it used to be. For that reason, they don’t eat as much of it as they used to.
Quite a few people have gone many years carnivore and done quite well - it’s especially good as an elimination diet for folks with autoimmune diseases & those with depression/bi-polar seem to benefit as well. I think Amber O’Hearn, who is well known in the carnivore community, has been carnivore for something like 10 years. Dr. Paul Saladino (carnivore!) has a book coming out in February called The Carnivore Code - here’s his website if you’re interested: https://carnivoremd.com/
Carnivore isn’t for everybody, but when it’s ‘good’ for someone, it seems to be very, very good!
Did the same for years and still mostly....when I avoid carbs almost entirely (less than 20-30 g/day) the weight falls off, my joints don’t hurt, don’t get hungry, and my allergies go away.
Getting wheat and sugar out did wonders for my health and I eat at least 5 lbs of rare, fatty beef (typically rib eyes) every week along with a couple lbs of clean bacon or sausage and 3 dozen pastured eggs. I’ve gotten back to eating better so far this year and have found that a few lbs of cashews a week makes a great substitute for the junky crap I was starting to crave again
Yep.
I don’t seem to have any problem whatsoever digesting animal fat. I can’t relate to the author.
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