Carnivore or Lion Plus Coffee

There's a huge controversy in the Carnivore and Lion Diet world about coffee. Some of the leaders and influencers drink it, some don't. The anti-coffee people state it's a plant and still has oxalates, which is true as most coffee is high in them, others state that coffee in moderation doesn't do any harm especially if you drink it black or just with heavy whipping cream and no sugars. 

So how harmful are things like coffee and tea? This is a case where I think we have to make our own judgement and listen to our bodies. There are also things one can do to continue to drink these beverages but lower the oxalates and damage. 

The first is to do some research into lower oxalate brands and sources. For example, single bean coffee from a single source is better than a blend, especially if it's wet-hulled like Sumatra coffee. Just doing a search for wet-hulled coffee will pull up a list of brands and types that are processed this way, which lowers oxalates and improves flavor. My research also shows that heating coffee and tea, which we do in the brewing process, lowers the level of oxalates (unless you cold brew).

Also, invest in a better coffee maker. My favorite is the Ninja with its adjustable warming plate and larger shower head, ability to remove the carafe to fill your cup mid-brew and the reservoir that can be filled at the sink (perfect for a lefty like me). It's available in 12 and 14 cup sizes and has a small batch setting for 2-4 cups. The larger shower head wets the coffee grounds more fully so that the brew is richer and more even. 

Now when it comes to tea, whether it's black, green or herbal, making sure that it's organic and its bag isn't bleached does a lot to lower your contamination from pesticides and herbicides. This may not lower the oxalates, but it does lower the damage these chemicals do to your body. I've done a lot of research on this and there are a few brands that I trust like Numi, Traditional Medicinals, Stash (organic line) and Pukka teas. This is a great article about the things that can hide in your tea: https://www.mamavation.com/product-investigations/hidden-ingredients-in-tea-you-wont-find-on-the-label-safe-toxic-teas.html

I feel that having one or two cups of any high quality coffee or tea doesn't cause much harm and is better than giving in to other cravings for high sugar or carb treats for sure! But you may still want to try eliminating them to see if you notice a difference or not, and see what happens if you add them back again. Some may find it causes more damage than others because we are all different.

Be Healthy and Happy,

~Diane Jarecki 🥩

 

Learning Not To Stray

 

It's interesting to note that when your body is chronically inflamed you don't really notice the swelling and pain very much if it's at a low level. However, once your body is free of that inflammation, you notice its return immediately!

My husband and I belong to a local conservation group in our town and the last weekend of April is our annual roadside cleanup for Earth Day. We start with road assignments, bags and gloves being handed out in the morning and then in the early afternoon we have a cookout. All members of the group contribute food, and my contribution is usually potato salad, something that my husband and I normally love.

Originally I hadn't planned to eat there with everyone and neither had my husband. I was going to behave and stick to my Lion Diet, make the healthy choice. But then everything looked so good and everyone else was eating, we gave in and joined. Call it social pressure even though nobody really cared if we did or not. It all tasted so good! Yes, I even had potato chips, cookies and brownies though I didn't eat any buns. I decided that I could allow myself one "normal" meal and it would be okay...back on Lion right afterwards.

I had heartburn that night from the potato salad and chips. The next morning I felt like I'd been run over by a train and my husband and I noticed that our hands and feet were swollen up a bit again, his worse than mine, and painful. I was also stuffed up from the grains in the cookies and brownies. We were actually amazed at how fast our bodies suffered the effects of inflammation in response to just one meal!

So, we won't be doing that again any time soon, it's just NOT worth it. Our bodies didn't get that toxic and sick overnight, it took decades, and it's not going to all heal in just a few weeks or months, it's going to take some time. I've settled in to accepting that, but also accepting that I'm human so I may give in to temptation again at some point. We just have to make sure it's not too frequently and really choose the foods we eat carefully even if we stray for a moment, try to lessen the impact by not binging like we did at the cookout, maybe just choose ONE unhealthy treat instead of ALL of them. 

I feel like this is part of the process. Mikhaila Peterson, the woman who started and named the Lion Diet and inspires so many, has spoken about the fact that she's tried to add foods back in to her diet but has been unsuccessful at doing so. I'd like to reach a point of getting back to Paleo, or at least being able to have a more lax Paleo meal or treat occasionally. I did so well on that for so long and I'd really love to get back there, but if not I can accept remaining on the Lion woe if I can have occasional treats without suffering so much for it. 

Nobody is on this type of restrictive diet completely by choice, it's just a choice of not being on meds and making our bodies more and more toxic, but healing it instead, which doesn't happen on medications.

Find the diet that works best for you and your body using trial and error and doing your own research. Your body knows what's right for it better than any doctor, especially since they get zero training in nutrition in medical school, just training on drugs and procedures.

Be Healthy and Happy,

~Diane Jarecki 🥩