"Life Without Bread"

[mcb]

Refrigerating the grease is bad?

I do that as well and am not aware of, nor can think of, any problems with refrigerating it.

Sorry; I didn't mean it in that sense. You can just end up with a solid lump, depending on what it is. If it's in the bottom of a jar, you may have to carve it out. If there is more in the container than you can use at once, reheating to get it out affects the whole thing, not just the part you are about to use.

I find that leaving it out on the counter makes it just the right consistency. When my housemate refrigerates it, I have the urge to throw it out. Warm or cold, you don't want to keep it around long enough for it to break down chemically, but unless it contains significant amounts of polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), it should last for a while.

 

[Laura]

My grandmother used to make the most delicious tripe (fried stomach).

 

[dant]

It is not clear if fat can be stored short or long
term. I read that fat can be rancid which means
"throw it out", but can fat stored "short/long term",
not rancid, can still become toxic?

 

[mcb]

My grandmother used to make the most delicious tripe (fried stomach).

Why does it seem to me like "tripe" should be "fried brains?" :)

Oh, and thank you for not including a photo. When I finally do obtain some of the other organ meats, I may have to prepare and eat them with my eyes closed at first (careful with the knife!). But it's just another of life's lessons.

I at least grew up with the awareness that earlier generations had a very different take on these things, perhaps because my father's family still had the family farm when I was pre-teen and I was at least exposed to that, occasionally, but also from books that I read growing up. Because of that, whenever I have felt squeamish about food, butchering, or whatever, I have reminded myself of how it used to work. It doesn't much help the way I feel, but it maintains a perspective. Maybe that could be the first step for other folks now.

[This message brought to you by Bella, who is clearly jealous of my time spent on the forum instead of exclusively with her and who just poked me in the ribs with a claw to remind me of that.]

 

[mcb]

It is not clear if fat can be stored short or long
term. I read that fat can be rancid which means
"throw it out", but can fat stored "short/long term",
not rancid, can still become toxic?

PUFA, MUFA, SFA. Short chain, medium chain, long chain. It depends on the fat. PUFAs (polyunsaturated) can be highly unstable and are possibly best preserved in the animal, not in a bottle sitting in your refrigerator (or worse yet, capsules at room temperature). There is actually some controversy, too, as to whether any PUFAs are truly "essential" in a dietary, nutritional sense. A few people say they are unnecessary and dangerous. Others swear by them for their healing properties as long as they don't go bad, and claim they can help make up for a lack of organ meats in the diet. Some say they should be fermented. Who knows.

MUFAs (monounsaturated) are shelf-stable for a while if you don't heat them. SFAs (saturated fatty acids) tend to be shelf-stable and heat resistant.

Any container of "fat" you buy or prepare will contain a blend of different fats. It's more than I can keep track of. But watch out for PUFAs, and don't heat the MUFAs.

 

[dant]

Thanks for the info Megan!

 

[Ollie]

After I cook pastured organic bacon or pork sausage, I pour the grease into a glass cup and store it in the refrigerator. When I cook anything else, like eggs, I use a spoonful of the grease.

Refrigerating the grease is bad?

After cooking bacon etc., I pour the fat that was in the pan over the bacon etc., and eat it as part of the meal, breakfast. :D

In terms of storage of lard, I've kept it, in a glass jar: on the worktop; stored in a larder refrigerator - cold, yet still able to use with a spoon; and frozen in a freezer, an then thawed before use, and then stored in the larder refrigerator. All worked well in terms of cooking. :)

 

[loreta]

I always now cook with lard, it is much more cheap and the food have more gusto. I cook, for example, papada that is a sort of very good and natural bacon and then with the grease I cook my meat. Keep it and use for other cooking. :)

 

[mcb]

This is pretty interesting (posted by Chris Kresser in his weekly roundup):
Archaeology: The milk revolution

It is interesting to see how agriculture gradually drove out the hunter-gatherers and led us down toward "civilization," environmental destruction, poor health, etc. etc.

I especially liked this part :)
(LP = Lactose Persistence)

Given that dairying in the Middle East started thousands of years before the LP allele emerged in Europe, ancient herders must have found ways to reduce lactose concentrations in milk. It seems likely that they did so by making cheese or yogurt. (Fermented cheeses such as feta and cheddar have a small fraction of the lactose found in fresh milk; aged hard cheeses similar to Parmesan have hardly any.)

 

[mcb]

...Will add some oregano when cooking...

Do bear in mind that oregano is a leafy plant from which you can easily strip the leaves and add them to your cooking. The softer parts of the stems seem to be edible as well.

Oregano, to my mind, is not something that is processed by stripping, chopping, and drying and sold in a jar that says "Oregano" on the side. I came to understand this myself when my grocery store stopped selling bottled organic "oregano" (conventional apparently sells better; who needs nutrients anyway?) and I had to look in the produce section for the real item, fresh local organic oregano still on the stem. The difference in taste was huge, and taste is how we detect nutrients.

I may start just growing it in the back yard, but I suspect that a good organic farm (with rich topsoil) can do a better job than I can in a pot.

Another item -- a root -- that I like to include in my food is turmeric, and it was on my shopping list this week. I have always bought it in a jar, dried and ground, but while I was in the grocery store last night I found actual raw turmeric root. So that's the last jar to go, for me!

It was fun to watch the checker peering into the (cloth) bag, trying to figure out what he was looking at. This seems to happen often when I try something new and natural (no bar codes!).

 

[Snofla]

Hello,

I would like express my doubts about if I'm on the right way or not.
I'm 30 year old, and this year began with 6 months of vegetarian diet, I was experimenting my body, I had curiosity. Later, I discovered paleo dieta and now KD... and I decided to change.

Two months later with a "life without bread" (meat, fish, vegetables, eggs and fruit), the stomachache has gone, I don't eat at all time, and I feel quite well.
My problem is when I'm going to run to the mountain with hard stages, I have felt moments of low sugar, even hunger, maybe is another lack, but I don't know. I understand that my body in a low carbohydrates state needs more fat, but in a paleo diet I have not understood so, or I've not read nothing about it, obviously yes with KD.
I've notice I not eat much fat and today I go to the pharmacy, and I've check my weight, 58,9Kg, with a height of 171cm. The thing that worry is fat index of 12.9%, that supposedly is low. Could be the problem?

I apology if this post is wrong on this thread, or if the question is very obvious. I'm trying to read all pages of this part of forum, but there are a lot information, and I still reading with my friend translator (every day less)
I'll follow reading and studying because it's something basic to live well, but if anybody can give me a advice or tell me a page or link, I would be happy!

 

[Turgon]

My problem is when I'm going to run to the mountain with hard stages, I have felt moments of low sugar, even hunger, maybe is another lack, but I don't know. I understand that my body in a low carbohydrates state needs more fat, but in a paleo diet I have not understood so, or I've not read nothing about it, obviously yes with KD.

That depends. Do you know roughly how many grams of carbs you're eating per day? If you dropped your carb intake too low without adapting into a state of ketosis your body would still be in sugar-burning mode. But if it's not enough carbs to supply your energy needs you may get those low sugar moments. But everyone gets hungry, no matter if your in ketogenic's or not. :P

These two articles will definitely give you some pointers if you are in a mild state of ketosis or looking to switch over at some point. For one, taking electrolytes from salt, potassium and magnesium and drinking a lot of water are extremely helpful when cramping starts in the muscles, especially the legs.

Tips & Tricks for Starting (or Restarting) Low Carb Pt 1

Tips & Tricks for Starting (or Restarting) Low Carb Pt 2

I've notice I not eat much fat and today I go to the pharmacy, and I've check my weight, 58,9Kg, with a height of 171cm. The thing that worry is fat index of 12.9%, that supposedly is low. Could be the problem?

I think find out how many carbs your eating first. You don't want to eat too much fat if your still burning sugars until your ready to switch over to ketosis.

I'm trying to read all pages of this part of forum, but there are a lot information, and I still reading with my friend translator (every day less)

Take your time and go through the thread carefully and there's no need to rush in making drastic changes to your diet without first reading and understanding why you are making the changes.

 

[dugdeep]

Two months later with a "life without bread" (meat, fish, vegetables, eggs and fruit), the stomachache has gone, I don't eat at all time, and I feel quite well.
My problem is when I'm going to run to the mountain with hard stages, I have felt moments of low sugar, even hunger, maybe is another lack, but I don't know. I understand that my body in a low carbohydrates state needs more fat, but in a paleo diet I have not understood so, or I've not read nothing about it, obviously yes with KD.
I've notice I not eat much fat and today I go to the pharmacy, and I've check my weight, 58,9Kg, with a height of 171cm. The thing that worry is fat index of 12.9%, that supposedly is low. Could be the problem?

Hi Snofla,

The amount of body fat you have is really not relevant - if you have any fat to burn, and you always do, your body will burn it when it needs energy. So if you're lacking energy, for some reason your body isn't able to access the fats it needs.

Further to what Turgon said above, if you're still stimulating too much insulin release through excessive carb and protein consumption, you may have difficulty getting into fat burning mode when you need it for physical exercise. Insulin prevents fat burning.

I would lay off the fruit and maybe replace it with non-starchy vegetable (green beans, kale, sauerkraut, salads, that sort of thing) so that your insulin isn't rising sharply to meet with the demands sugars make on the body, (natural fruit sugars or otherwise). I would also start restricting protein more and INCREASE THE FAT.

I was going through similar issues when I switched over to an all meat diet, and it was simply because I was eating too much protein (and probably not enough fat). It pays to weigh out how much protein you're eating so you have an accurate idea of what you're consuming. I know it seems like a pain to be measuring things at meals, but if you're suffering from these symptoms, it's likely you're still doing too much protein/carb which is causing too much insulin release and preventing fat burning.

You could also try adding L-Carnitine as a supplement. It helps to get the fats into the mitochondria to be burned for energy.

Hope this helps :)

 

[mcb]

Hello,

I would like express my doubts about if I'm on the right way or not.
I'm 30 year old, and this year began with 6 months of vegetarian diet, I was experimenting my body, I had curiosity. Later, I discovered paleo dieta and now KD... and I decided to change.

...

Snofla,

It's not clear to me from your post if you are currently following a "Life Without Bread" (LWB) diet (which is typically not quite low enough in carbs to be ketogenic, although it depends on the individual) or a ketogenic diet, but if you do a lot of physical activity ("running to the mountains with hard stages") then you might find it helpful to read the book The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Phinney and Volek (P&V).

It is a fairly short read, which may help in your situation, and it is very contemporary where some of the information in LWB may be dated. It specifically addresses the macronutrient needs of athletes following a ketogenic diet, although it contains much useful information for anyone on a KD.

The P&V approach is essentially one step below the LWB approach, taking you just beyond the ketogenic threshold. It is not the same as the experiment presented in this thread -- for that you will need to keep on reading here -- but it is pretty simple to transition from LWB to their type of diet.

One caution applies, always, when reading P&V: they are low-carbers (they co-authored the "New Atkins" diet book with Westman) but they are not "paleo" advocates, and some of the foods they suggest would make some of us here cringe. I don't recommend using them as a guide as to which particular foods to eat. You can find better information about that right here.

Edit: Sorry, I just realized that this post is in the LWB thread, not the Ketogenic Diet thread, but I don't think that changes any of what I said. If I sounded lost as to where I was posting, though, I was.

 

[Snofla]

These two articles will definitely give you some pointers if you are in a mild state of ketosis or looking to switch over at some point. For one, taking electrolytes from salt, potassium and magnesium and drinking a lot of water are extremely helpful when cramping starts in the muscles, especially the legs.

Tips & Tricks for Starting (or Restarting) Low Carb Pt 1

Tips & Tricks for Starting (or Restarting) Low Carb Pt 2

Thank you Turgon, precisely the last day, I had a cramp in my leg.

I would lay off the fruit and maybe replace it with non-starchy vegetable (green beans, kale, sauerkraut, salads, that sort of thing) so that your insulin isn't rising sharply to meet with the demands sugars make on the body, (natural fruit sugars or otherwise). I would also start restricting protein more and INCREASE THE FAT.

I was going through similar issues when I switched over to an all meat diet, and it was simply because I was eating too much protein (and probably not enough fat). It pays to weigh out how much protein you're eating so you have an accurate idea of what you're consuming. I know it seems like a pain to be measuring things at meals, but if you're suffering from these symptoms, it's likely you're still doing too much protein/carb which is causing too much insulin release and preventing fat burning.

I'm not sure about quantities, but it's true that I eat a lot of proteins and carbs (too much fruit) and few fat.

It's not clear to me from your post if you are currently following a "Life Without Bread" (LWB) diet (which is typically not quite low enough in carbs to be ketogenic, although it depends on the individual) or a ketogenic diet, but if you do a lot of physical activity ("running to the mountains with hard stages") then you might find it helpful to read the book The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Phinney and Volek (P&V).

Megan excuse me, I'm currently following a LWB diet, but my doubt was if I'm in a good feed.


I understand that if I want begin a ketosis I must change the current measures of fat, protein and carbs, and the problem in my current state is that surely my body continues ask me for sugar and I reduce but not enough to begin a ketosis. I stayed in middle...

Thanks for yours replies. I will keep your advice and I tell you that such :)