The Carnivore Diet and It's Use As a Preventative Against Tooth Decay and Gum Disease

Back in May, I wrote a post on the carnivore diet that you can read here, so if you are sketchy on the details, I suggest reading it before you read today’s post. I have been researching the diet for the last seven months and have decided to give it a try. The more I learned about it, the more I liked the idea of it as an elimination diet. I was just too curious not to give it a try. So far, it has been a breeze. I have gone all-in; I am not eating vegetables. I am avoiding herbs, spices and all alcohol.

My main goals with the diet are relief of substantial pain in my thumb (tenosynovitis) and elbow (medial epicondylitis). Incidentally, I believe the injury to my thumb is 100% work-related, and the elbow is from a lifetime of physical fitness routines. My secondary goals are gaining insight into the lifestyle and improving my body composition.

Most plants and their associated fruits and seeds contain toxins and poisons to avoid consumption.

Photosensitivity from Lime

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/jchimp.v4.25090

 I want to state upfront that this post assumes an organic, grass-fed diet that eliminates pesticides, hormones, and other environmental toxins. It is surprising to most people to hear that several organically raised and ordinary edible plant families, including the Rutaceae family (lime, lemon) and Umbelliferae family (celery, wild parsnip, parsley), contain phototoxic compounds called furocoumarins. (1) Susceptible individuals, after handling the plant, when exposed to the sun, experience photochemical reactions in the skin which damage cell membranes, resulting in cell death, edema, blistering, and injury to the skin. Take a look at the photo above; it is quite a severe reaction. (2) Luckily, most of us have zero problems with touching and eating common edible plants.

When we consume plant-based foods, there are many toxic compounds that we get exposed to, most causing no noticeable immediate reactions. Many of us have nagging issues like GERD, joint pain, and skin lesions. Since these conditions are chronic, they are not immediately associated with any lifestyle or diet factors and are determined to be the cost of either being human or aging. Many, however, ARE reactions to plant toxins.

The question is, what part of our diet is harming us with innate toxins?

The answer is usually vegetables, not animal products. Relatively few animals are poisonous.  You can, with relatively few exceptions, eat anything that crawls, swims, walks, or flies. If you were in an unfamiliar environment, how confident would you be picking a berry from a random bush? Would you be concerned it was poisonous? My guess is more than likely you would.

On the other hand, if you caught a local furry creature that you did not recognize, would you eat it? My guess is yes, if you were hungry enough. There are venomous snakes, porcupines with quills, fish with poisonous spines, frogs, and toads with poison glands in their skin, caterpillars with toxic hairs, etc. I would not make them my first choice on the menu. The world is full of folks who know how to raise and slaughter animals or hunt and catch them, so we are off the hook when it comes to facing the usual defense mechanisms animals possess like fleeing, biting and stinging, etc.

This section is not an endorsement to start eating wild animals, but keep in mind that many cultures eat all sorts of creepy crawlies. I include it because I can summarize in one paragraph the totality of toxic animals to avoid. To admit the obvious, some animals can sting, have venomous bites, or do possess poisonous skin or flesh. It is best to avoid them. All mammals are edible; however, the polar bear and bearded seal have toxic levels of vitamin A in their livers. All species of birds are edible, and there are no poisonous freshwater fish. All earthworms and crustations are edible. Mollusks are not toxic, although two varieties can bite, one uses venom. Mussels may possess poisonous plankton in tropical zones during the summer.

Pufferfish

Certain saltwater species of fish have toxic flesh. In some species, the poison occurs seasonally in others; it is permanent. Examples of poisonous saltwater fish are the pufferfish, triggerfish, cowfish, thorn fish, oilfish, red snapper, jack, and puffer. There are few poisonous species of frogs. They are almost exclusively brightly colored frogs or have a distinct "X" mark on their backs. The box turtle feeds on poisonous mushrooms and may build up a highly toxic poison in its flesh, and cooking does not destroy this toxin. Hawksbill sea turtles have a poisonous thorax gland. Insects to avoid include all adults that sting or bite, hairy or brightly colored insects, and caterpillars, and insects that have a pungent odor. Also, avoid spiders and common disease carriers such as ticks, flies, and mosquitoes.

summarizing plant toxicity in one paragraph is impossible.

 There are just too many plants and toxins to try to describe in anything less than a full book. Some plant poisons are hormone mimic estrogen. Some make us disoriented like THC. Some are just plain poisons like apple seeds that release cyanide upon digestion. The amount is minute, but it is cyanide nonetheless. The take away here is that the dose of a toxin matters. How much, how often, how cumulative a poison is all matter. Processed and refined foods even more risky because of this reason.

Today, the continuous supply of plant-foods and their concentration into smoothies and juices lead to concentrations of plant toxins to unnatural levels like never before. Additionally, seasonality limited availability until the following growing season. The plants that constitute the contents of most vegetable smoothies contain goitrogens that hurt our thyroids. Additionally, think about how many soybeans they must need to make one glass of soy milk. Soy contains estrogen-mimicking compounds. Some claim that baby formula made from soy may have a stronger effect than a birth control pill.

Gluten is an excellent example of how a substance in plants can stir up trouble.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Without getting into the details, it has properties that make it difficult to digest. It also has some tendencies to irritate the digestive system, that in time, can lead to systemic symptoms. There are many books dedicated to the subject of gluten. If you are curious, I suggest reading Wheat Belly or Grain Brain. For most of my life, I had chronic sinus issues, resulting in surgery. I always had difficulty sleeping, and later in life, I felt just awful. All of this was a big mystery until I decided to ditch the grains. It was miraculous. All of my symptoms disappeared. I was lucky; I eliminated gluten-containing foods and hit the nail on the head. There are thousands of potentially troublesome phytochemicals out there.

How can we figure out all of the foods to which we are sensitive?

The answer is using an elimination diet. The basic idea behind an elimination diet is to minimize the variety of your food intake, and then slowly add foods back in and see how you feel. The problem is that you may not have initially eliminated all of the foods to which you are sensitive. If you go on the paleo diet and you happen to be sensitive to cucumbers, how will you know, assuming you don’t react overtly and immediately when you eat them? If you go on an all grapefruit diet, you can’t get all of the nutrients you need, especially vitamin B12 and protein. As much as you may have eliminated all of the foods you are sensitive to, you will be malnourished if you stay on it for too long.

Anyone considering dietary change should do the necessary research beforehand.

The carnivore diet is no exception. In a nutshell, the carnivore diet consists of eating fatty choices of animal products like ribeye steaks and eliminating all other foods. You can eat any animal flesh, but you must have animal fat. If you eat only lean chicken breast, you will need to add naturally lactose-free butter, ghee, or lard, etc. to ensure you are getting the adequate nutrients contained in animal fat.

Remember that no domesticated mammals contain toxins in their flesh.

 It is rare, but meat allergies do exist. Unfermented dairy contains lactose, which can be problematic, so you should avoid it initially. Egg whites are also a common source of dietary issues. You don’t have to take my word for it, but every nutrient is available in a diet of animal protein and fat. Do your research and see if you agree. A fantastic resource is the website WWW.MEATRX.COM. They offer research articles, coaching, an online community, knowledgebase, and more if you are interested in the finer points.

The common question is, “ what about polyphenols and all of the other beneficial things plants offer”?

The short answer is your body does not require ancillary phytonutrients and phytochemicals like resveratrol, flavonoids, carotenoids, etc. Can these substances impart benefits? Yes, in some cases. Remember that an elimination diet serves to help determine problematic foods. Therapeutic botanical agents are not part of them, as they can be irritants. Let's take the case of caffeine. Some people love the added energy and concentration it can deliver. Others suffer from anxiety, racing hearts, and insomnia.

If you go full carnivore, take note of any physical or mental changes, whether they are positive or negative.

There can be some lethargy and cravings initially, especially if you are currently consuming processed carbs.  Over time, you may feel some benefits. If you continue to feel worse after the initial difficulties, discontinue the diet. After a time, you can add one food at a time, waiting several days to a week to see if you have any adverse reactions. You can continue as needed until you add everything back in that you can tolerate.

Your mouth on a carnivore diet will be much healthier.

The absence of processed carbohydrates removes any risk of tooth decay and gum disease. The germs in your mouth require carbohydrates to promote tooth decay. You can read more about how carbohydrates cause oral problems in my previous post here. The toxins generated by the microbes in the mouth can only become problematic with carbs as well. Find out more about that in my post here. Lastly, many of the negative changes in your gut microbiome require carbs as well. I have posted about the harmful effect carbs have on your gut and overall level of inflammation here. Food impaction can lead to inflammation, and meat can impact in between your teeth. I recommend flossing once a day and after any food is trapped between your teeth as soon as you can.

This post is not a comprehensive how-to guide by a long shot. If you are interested in any elimination diet, do your research. The bottom line is that animal protein and fats have little to no effect on oral illnesses, which makes it a good option as far as my profession is concerned. Be warned; if you have current problems like tooth decay or gum disease, you must visit the dentist for evaluation and treatment to resolve them.