Issue #106: Top 3 Mistakes On An Animal-Based Diet

Hey Heart & Soil Tribe,

We’d like to extend a big welcome to the thousands of you who have joined us for our Animal-Based 30 Challenge which kicked off this week!

To help you get the most out of your animal-based journey, today we’re covering the top 3 mistakes most commonly made on an animal-based diet.

But first, let’s briefly recap:

An animal-based diet is primarily meat, organs, eggs, fruit, honey and raw dairy:

yum yum

This way of eating is centred around the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and is what we believe to be a very evolutionarily consistent diet for humans, mimicking the way we have been eating for hundreds of thousands of years as hunter-gatherers. 

While there are lots of ways for you to eat healthy, an animal-based diet serves as an excellent blueprint that can help you figure out what works best for you in the longterm. It has helped thousands of people improve many health issues, including metabolic dysfunction, autoimmune issues, fertility challenges, fatigue, and excess weight. 

It’s simple, nourishing and most importantly, these are the foods our DNA expects for us in order to thrive!

But if you want to experience the full benefits of an animal-based diet, it’s important to do it right. 

Here are our top three mistakes to avoid:

Mistake #1: Not getting enough collagen

If you’re eating lots of muscle meat on your animal-based diet, then it’s important that you eat enough collagen and connective tissues to balance this out. You see, our ancestors didn’t just eat steaks. They ate the entire animal, including the skin, bones and fatty tissues. 

One of the best ways to ensure you’re getting enough collagen is to make your own bone broth.

It’s super easy. 

First you need bones, ideally knuckle bones from grass-fed & finished cattle. Then just put them in a pressure cooker with water and let it cook! You can add salt or some herbs if you want too.

If you’re thinking about a collagen powder, it’s important to be aware that they are often made from hoof and hide cartilage or collagen, and mostly sourced from South America where they can be high in heavy metals. 

Instead, if you’re looking for a supplement, go for Joint Strength & Repair. It’s our most collagen-rich product, and like all our products, is fully third party tested to be free from heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants.

Mistake #2: Not Getting Enough Carbohydrates

Many of you on an animal-based diet may have tried a carnivore or ketogenic diet in the past and even had some success with it. But an animal-based diet includes carbohydrates (specifically from fruit, honey, maple syrup and raw dairy).

We don’t think you should fear carbohydrates. Contrary to popular belief, whole-food sources of carbohydrates don’t appear to cause metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance (it’s the seed oils).

And besides making the diet much more sustainable, carbohydrates will benefit your sleep, energy, strength, and exercise performance.

By now you’re probably wondering how much carbohydrates you should be eating.

Well it depends. For some people with severe metabolic dysfunction, a strict carnivore/ketogenic diet (decreasing carbohydrate intake to 100 grams or less) can be strategically beneficial for a short period. But after about 1-3 months, you run the risk of electrolyte, sleep and hormone issues, and it’s a good time to reintroduce carbohydrates at that point.

But for the majority of people, consuming a moderate level of carbohydrates each day is best. How much depends on your activity level and weight. Our founder Dr. Paul has a great free animal-based calculator on his website that can help you determine the right amount for you. Check it out here!

Mistake #3: Not Eating Organs

The third mistake is not getting enough organs in your diet. Just like collagen balances the amino acids from meat, organs balance the micronutrients. Muscle meat is a good source of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and iron, but organs like liver provide essential nutrients that are less abundant in meat. 

For example, liver contains folate, riboflavin, choline, biotin, and copper, balancing the zinc found in meat. Without organs, it’s hard to get your RDA for riboflavin, an essential nutrient for proper methylation. 

Organs truly are nature’s multivitamin!

While some folks are happy and willing to get fresh organs, we know the vast majority (ourselves included) don’t like the taste and texture. They are also difficult to source, and quality can vary.

With our products you can be confident that what you’re getting is of the highest quality and standards (we test each batch against contaminants, heavy metals, microbes and pesticides).

What’s also cool is with our products is that you have access to a huge variety of organs to support your health journey. 

You can even stack our products together, to deliver enhanced benefits towards your specific health goals. 

Here are some of our most popular stacks:

This week on Instagram:

This week on Radical Health Radio:

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That’s all from us this week…

Keep thriving!

The Heart & Soil Team