© sheilaz413Stefansson and Andersen make paleo dieters look like vegans.
Low-carb diets and paleolithic nutrition are all the rage these days, and for good reason. Compared to the Standard American Diet, both of them are superb.
Few of us would dare to take the two to their extreme, however. Giving up sugar and wheat is one thing, but what about giving up everything except meat? Yes, I'm talking about an ultra low-carb diet with even foods like nuts and berries removed. Unsurprisingly and understandably, studies on the long-term effects of such a diet are severely lacking.
There is at least one study that did just this, however. If the diet brings the Eskimos to mind, it's no coincidence. You may have heard of Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson - the Canadian ethnologist who spent more than a decade with the Inuit during his arctic explorations in the beginning of the previous century. For nine of these years, he lived almost exclusively on fish and meat (you can read about his experiences
here). At the time, this was considered heresy and life-threatening, just as it is today (note that Stefansson apparently refers to both fish and meat with the word "meat"):
A belief I was destined to find crucial in my Arctic work, making the difference between success and failure, life and death, was the view that man cannot live on meat alone. The few doctors and dietitians who thought you could were considered unorthodox if not charlatans. The arguments ranged from metaphysics to chemistry: Man was not intended to be carnivorous - you knew that from examining his teeth, his stomach, and the account of him in the Bible. As mentioned, he would get scurvy if he had no vegetables in meat. The kidneys would be ruined by overwork. There would be protein poisoning and, in general hell to pay.
To the surprise of many (including Stefansson himself), he suffered no health problems during his decade of pure carnivorism. When he told people of his amazing experiences, he was met with skepticism from medical authorities who asked him to undertake a study that would replicate the results. He and a fellow explorer named Andersen agreed to eat an all-meat diet for an entire year in a closely observed setting.
Composing a diet of nothing but meat and fat
Comment: Read more about the ongoing debate between organic and conventional food and how the Mainstream media launches another phony war against organic:
Organic Food: Cutting Through The Confusion
Debunked: Ridiculous Study Claims Organic Same as Conventional
Sound Science and Common Sense are On the Side of Organics
State of Science Review 'New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods'
New 'Study' Based on Crops No Longer Grown, Twists Its Own Results, and Fails to Analyze Other Key Health Benefits of Organic Food
Whoa, Is Organic Food No Healthier Than Non-Organic? Controversy Erupts Over Study
Stanford Scientists Shockingly Reckless on Health Risk and Organics
Cargill and Others Behind anti-Organic "Stanford Study"
Thinking Outside the Processed Foods Box: Health and Safety Advantages of Organic Food