He can read hundreds of studies in full text, write intelligently about them, pierce his finger endlessly, and help change the world.
And he can kill a moose for food in his spare time, too.
So, this morning I’m lamenting my plot in life as the world’s worst hunter, spending a week in camp in a prime hunting spot and not even seeing so much as a hair.
I go out to my garden to pick the last bit of kale for a morning smoothy, and who’s there ahead of me, eating my last few heads of kale? Mr. Moose. I put an end to his kale thieving ways and fill my freezer with some grass-fed…err…kale-fed prime steaks!
He’s a yearling bull, the most tender meat on the planet!
Heart and tongue cooking as I type this.
I posted this a while back, but the non-pussy, non-metrosexual, non-hisper but total shaming fuckhead gets serious fish for dinner, too.

Halibut, Bass and Goldeneyes
Dismiss him if you like. He came to me with his ideas on resistant starch, in completely serious sobriety. I bit. I made a bet he was right; that there was really something to it and that it was profound in a missing link kinda way, because it made evolutionary sense to me. As I wrote posts and read studies myself, and got familiar with the logic, he made of himself a tireless collaborator in every comment thread, answering hundreds of questions. He never complains.
But if you dismiss him, just do it at your own peril. I placed my own bet he was right; I’ve been all in for months, laffing as people talk about new ways to get butyric acid by eating cubes of butter. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but your colon and its colonocytes will starve of butyric acid and other saturated, short chain fatty acids, even on a 100% butter diet.
I only wish I had something with which to raise.
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Nice. I’m assuming you got him in one shot? I say that because I’m guessing he’s lying in the very patch of kale you caught him munching.
OK, I’m in…got the Bob’s Red Mill. What’s your rec for a newbie starting off? One heaping spoonful a day?
Or more?
He took a few steps and it was over. Perfect shot. About 30 feet away. I never feel good about killing anything, but the meat can’t be beat. Usually when you get one way out in the backwoods, by the time you get it home it’s covered in hair, dirt, leaves, etc… and you end up trimming away a lot of good meat. Getting one in the back yard is a whole different story–virtually zero waste.
This does not make me the ‘great white hunter’, I’m actually kind of ashamed of such an easy kill, but l am a meat hunter first. I don’t know how the guys that hunt for trophies and leave the meat can live with themselves.
Do you think this resistant starch trick would help with skin issues too
PLUS 10
Nice job Tim,enjoy that meat!
Very nice!
Putin would have taken his shirt off though
next time
Killer catch TT.Quick question……you guys were speaking omixing PS and some other powder.Was it tapioca starch?
@Cate – lol. My fiest thought when I saw this was, ‘this is my Putin moment’.
@Wolfstriked – Tapioca starch hasn’t been so widely studies as potato starch, but everything points to it being the same % as PS…roughly 60-80%. It’s the about same price, I have been mixing the two, hoping it appeals to a wider variety of gut flora.
@tp – never read anything on skin issues, but so many things happen because of what happens in the gut, so who knows.
@Carl – my recommendation is always start with 1TBS/day or so, increase by 1TBS weekly, don’t exceed 4TBS/day. 1 or 2TBS every couple days may be a good long-term amount. Try to eat lots of RS rich foods, too. Take a 3-5 day break every couple months. This is all just pulled out of my butt–there is no set amount or anything, just what I and others have done.
tatertot, thanks for the reply. Did my first 1TBS tonight, will follow your protocol.
Is it odd that I’m looking forward to the fartage? What can I say, I was once an eight year old male. :-)
“james london” must be a metrosexual hipster ;-) Sadly too old to be a hipster at 48…
You two make a great team.
Been on 40g of Bob’s a day for a week. Going to up the dose as not noticed much apart from the weird dreams (not the rude kind sadly).
I’m a believer, but this is a recurring theme for me: trying gut-fixing strategies and not getting much effect. Am already on a litre of homemade kefir a day. Been paleoish all year.
Symptoms I want to fix are asthma (quite mild, not allergy driven), endless phlegm/coughing and general crappy mood/fatigue (all as of 2yrs ago), and lovely stinging sweaty bum (1 yr).
Have no GI symptoms to speak of which sometimes makes me think I’m looking in the wrong place, but what other place is there…? Had plenty of blood tests to rule out other things; doctor prescribes symptom fixers (inhaler, bum cream) – am ok with that but want to do better.
And if I had “normal” gut flora, judging by others’ stories these doses (especially 1ltr kefir) would produce more of a reaction. Makes me feel my gut is a bit of a quiet place (don’t have a scientific word for that).
Anyway I will be patient and am excited about RS especially that it might help “deliver” the kefir further…
@ Carl. The farts are pretty neat. Unlike regular farts, they do not leave skid marks in your underpants so your wife/girlfriend won’t complain about doing the laundry! They might complain about the noise though.
FYI: Tapioca Starch is $0.22/lb. FOB Bangkok
Long time lurker, great fan. Lots of weight here to lose but on an initial paleo diet (veggies+meat+fat) should I skip all starches, including RS, as I’m still in that “broken” stage of my metabolism, or could I benefit from a bit of RS, even a couple times a week?
Thanks very much!
tatertot // Sep 27, 2013 at 22:24
@Cate – lol. My first thought when I saw this was, ‘this is my Putin moment’.
;)
I might try PS when I have a hiatus from flying (no bathroom up there)
ONLY because I am borderline low thyroid (found out when I went <50 gm carb but Jaminet told me to add back 50 gms, bingo)
damn, 2002
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224402001310
Hi IAmMe
I’m far from an expert, but am a long time reader – but my (minimal) understanding is that RS serves as an energy source for your gut bacteria – hence you can have a keto meal (the one I have planned today is a 1lb ribeye seared in tallow with some brussel sprouts and sea vegetable salad) with several tablespoons of RS and it won’t kick you out of ketosis – but for a low carber looking for fatloss I am less concerned with ketosis as I really am trying not to do anything to cause net fat gain versus fat loss
note – I am totally on board with Richard that one has to still watch their calories but what I have found for the last few days is that I am totally stuffed on 1500 calories total a day – which is amazing…
tp:
On the issue of skin, see here:
freetheanimal.com/2013/09/phd-physical-chemist-commenter-marie-is-at-it-again-resistant-starch-and-k…
Resurgent // Sep 24, 2013 at 21:26
I would like to add a personal anecdote to this discussion – for whatever it is worth.
My wife and I have been Primal/Paleo and then typically PHD (Jaminet) eating philosophy over the last 4 years. Good results generally overall – My wife had rosacea that triggered with Sunlight, that went away about 70% since we changed our eating habits, strong sunlight still caused an eruption on face/arms.
3 months ago we started to add PS to an evening cup of milk kefir. Almost within a week she cleared up whatever little spots she had on her due to previous exposures to strong sunlight. The other day, she involuntarily exposed herself to strong sunlight for over an hour – usually this would cause a reaction – this time NOTHING. Encouraged, she tried it again – seems RS (PS) has solved this issue for her forever.
I must add that probiotics are not new to us. We have some home grown and fermented veggies, kefir, kvass on a daily basis – and we regularly supplement only with Vit D and magnesium, and infrequently, fish oil.
I think what we feed our micro-biota is crucial to our health, both mental and physical. We are a host to the life forms in our gut and they decide the hosts well being.
Thanks Golooraam. I’ll stick to the typical template, get my a$$ back to the gym (only walking now), and at least a couple times a week supplement with RS.
@IamME – Here’s some advice from a ‘manly man’, which usually doesn’t go very far in a woman’s world, but for what it’s worth…completely avoid ALL added sugar, flour, and vegetable oil and keep carbs under 100g/day until you are within about 15 pounds of your goal weight. The carbs you do eat until then should be nearly all from salads and a daily serving or two of rice, beans, and/or potatoes–not sugars. When you hit the dreaded plateau, up your carbs to 100-150g/day by eating another serving or two of potatoes, rice, or beans.
I would also recommend using some potato starch while on a LC weight loss diet of 1-2TBS/day, and make sure the beans, rice, and potatoes you eat are prepared in a way to have the most RS they can. Once you up your carbs, target even more RS foods and decide then if you want to keep up with potato starch. Also, during all this eat some good probiotic foods every day (kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, etc,,)
Get a copy of the Perfect Health Diet and tweak the amounts to suit you. Paul J. is in the weight-loss business now–check out his latest blog: perfecthealthdiet.com/2013/09/perfect-health-weight-loss-retreats/
@James London – I wouldn’t be so quick to go over 40g, or 4TBS/day. Even people with great gut flora can’t process that much, in fact going less might ven be better–like to 1TBS a day.
Raad this: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC526391/ This study found the sweet spot for lipid oxidation was 5g/day, and an icrease to 10g per day had no more impact than 0g per day! This was presumably a short term study on people just starting out with RS–not long term users.
Food for thought.
Sorry for typos….need an edit function!
Been having slight gas and also dreams that I wake up to remember.The dreams itself are amazing in that I NEVER remember dreams and haven’t for decades.Last night I was being attacked by American Marines in a truck and for some reason I was Taliban.All I had was an AK47 but the enemy was smart and kept a speed advantage,not allowing me to get off precise shots.I woke up suddenly and just layed there smiling and content and thinking WTF was that?!?!Is that the RS…..I Just dont know.
On a side note and off topic….just watched the F1 movie Rush.Its an amazing piece of work!!
Thanks Tatertot. Yeah, I’ve been trying to avoid the ketogenic rabbit hole although some great ideas I with it, but trying to keep my range between 50 and 100g carbs, although when I stick only to non-starchy veggies, I’m at the low end (only so much spinach I can stomach a day). But this means I look longingly at burgers and doughnuts, often caving in. Will try not to be scared of beans, potatoes, or rice anymore.
40-year-old man in Canada, so your advice will definitely be applicable to me. :-) Started reading PHD last week, and it clicks with me and seems to fill in the missing pieces in paleo for me (although the smart guys like Robb Wolf don’t mind starches in the context of performance).
@tatertot I desperately need to edit as well, especially from a phone..
Hi Tatertot – what’s your plan for 63 year old woman who should needs to lose 80+ pounds? I’m srsly needing something.
I seriously flubbed my last comment about this study: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC526391/
They didn’t use 5g – 10g/day, they used 5% – 10% of total carb calories per meal as RS. This equates, if my math is correct, to a sweet spot of about 10g/day with 20g/day having less effect.
So basically about twice the US average being just right for maximum fat oxidation (a good thing).
Keep in mind, that’s all this study looked at–not insulin or anything else. But still shows a smaller dose was better. And it probably is, especially when starting out.
Wolf
We saw Don Jon last night. Fucking funny as hell. Rush is next on my list.
Since discovering RS, my kitchen has become a laboratory. I decided today to concoct some kind of banana chocolate ice cream. I chopped up three unripe bananas and froze them for several hours, then mixed the banana pieces with 3 tablespoons of potato starch, sugar-free cocoa, and some water in the blender. The result was more like a smoothie than ice cream, but it tasted pretty good. I divided it into three servings. I want to do some additional experimentation to see if I can something with a texture more like ice cream. However, before going any further, I just want to make sure that I am not losing the resistant starch from the bananas by freezing them. I know cooking the bananas would be a no no but is there any reason to think freezing them has an effect? Tim, if you see this, would really appreciate your expertise.
@IamMe – ’40 year old man’, definitely don’t do LC for long. Cycle it if you must, but don’t get caught in the ‘low is good, lower must be better’ trap. Play with FitDay and see what 100-150g of carbs in beans, potatoes and rice look like–you will be amazed how much you can eat for not that many calories. Also, skip breakfast 5-6 days a week. That worked wonders for me in appetite regulation and weightloss–I still do it. I eat at 11 and 6, rarely have a snack–just two big meals.
@Cathi – ’63 year old woman’ . I’d give you the same advice. No added sugar, flour, vegetable oil. Don’t snack, moderate carbs, read Perfect Health Diet. Try to get good probiotics and some RS. Women are always so much different than us guys, though. We usually respond real well to advice like this…ya’all got them funny hormones working against you. I think the best advice I’ve seen given to ladies is to follow health markers like cholesterol, blood pressure, thyroid, glucose and get them all under control and learn to be happy with some extra padding. The term is MHO (Metabolically Healthy but Obese), you may not like it, but being metabolically healthy is more important than being rail-thin. If you fix gut and all those markers are in line, and you exercise a good bit, and you are eating the right food, what else CAN you do? I guess there’s HCG or bypass, but I’ll bet most who go that route don’t do all of the above or have unrealistic expectations what they need to look like.
Jeff – one thing I have been doing with yummy fruit mixes such as that is to make popsicles out of them. Nomnompaleo had one that had strawberries, banana, pineapple and coconut milk blended together. That 2 cups made 8 popsicles. Yesterday I made a smaller number of them with whipped cream and bananas. (not sure if I should be bragging about that one but it was good. And slower to eat than Ben & Jerry’s).
@Jeff – Plantain Flour cookie dough. Figure on 20g per 1/4 cup. Make however you want and eat it like cold cookie dough.
We bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker last summer and were making real ice cream with very little sweetener (none if it was just for me) and adding potato starch and guar gum.
If I’m in a hurry, I mash a banana in a bowl, add a bit of milk and potato starch and a handful of frozen blueberries and some cocoa powder (and granola if I want a crunch).
Buy some green plantains and slice and air dry them. They turn out like Saltines or Graham crackers depending on if you use salt or cinnamon.
Just saw your real question: Freezing bananas will not hurt the RS, it will increase it.
Tater— nice moose and love love the kale story lol
james london —
my children and i used to have asthma and though paleo and fiber/RS are fantastic, it’s not enough in my experience with people with asthma. the root causes of the asthma epidemic are deep, deep. gluten free is good but not enough either. the gut is extemely deeply damaged for many. i wish RS would be enough but the great majority because of mercury, heavy metals, pesticides, GMO Bt corn and other crops, processed soy protein, etc. you needs to live as often as one can in the wilderness…. like Tatertot!! the gut is the immune system and in asthma, skin disorders (bum skin) and brain, the gut is perforated and diseased which debilitates the immunity.
what helped my kids to get off inhalers (which didnt work anyway) was
— vitamin D til blood levels sustained were 60-80 ng/ml
— lots of omega 3 (high quality, high potency — 6 caps daily)
— mag and zinc
— stopping all allergenic foods
we do home crafted sauerkraut and i would say it has made a difference because we seem to get sick less often.
for allergenic foods, the top five most allergenic foods are soy, corn, dairy, gluten and nuts. i have clients stop all five for one month then re-introduce one by one later and monitor for reactions (bloating, skin acne etc, mood changes).
have you read about functional medicine?
drhyman.com/blog/2013/09/17/breathe-easy-addressing-root-causes-asthma/
grace
Grace
I was never “Paleo King” as you’ve referred to me for years, but anyway, Tim really deserves that title.
I’m quite happy with Paleo Court Jester. :)
@Richard,you will really enjoy Rush,race fan or not.Actually,I was set to see Don Jon first but Rush caught me by surprise at last minute and being a racing fan….
Wolf
That would have been my pref, but I had Bea in tow and were there at the right time and she had picked. As we’re in line, email comes in from her dad, giving Rush a 9. NOW she’s ready to see Rush. Blood….
…Plus, Niki Lauda has to be about the coolest name imaginable.
well….. Queen Bea is still queen…!!
@Richard – court jesters mocked the authorities, spoke truth to power. I can’t imagine how that is applicable in your case. :)
Tim,
I was doing some numbers on rs content of the Hadza diet, from tubers and legumes.
The percentage of total cals from tubers and legumes is pretty constant year round, around 15-20%, of total calories (approx 150-250 cals). A couple of months of the year, when fibrous berries dominate, it is less, and a few months when game meat drops off it is higher.
At 40-50% rs for unprepared raw tubers straight out of the ground, I put their rs at around 15-20g daily.
Adding 5-10% rs to carb intake for a 1800-2000 cal, 50% carb diet, would be around 10-20g daily.
Iamme
mystifier completement
Funny thing is that while his name is kool he wasn’t….or was he??He was lacking in looks,very strict anal retentive type who comes across as an asshole to the world compared to the free loving,funny,handsome,amazing in bed James Hunt.And yet I became a huge fan of his by the end of the movie,and James Hunt both.
Wolf
Thanks for the spoilers, because my biggest mystery was if he was good in bed. :)
Speaking about hunter gatherer tribes who ate/eat mainly starch based foods,are they actually eating high fat diets.There was word of gorillas actually eating a high fat diet a couple of months back with the claim that gorillas digest the leaves they eat into fatty acids.Now peeps stumble on RS in humans and how its digested into fat.Is it possible that hunter gatherer types are also actually eating high fat diets?Is the diet TT proposes THE DIET??
Ouch,sorry I thought you knew their story already though I doubt it changes the movie in any way.
“Speaking about hunter gatherer tribes who ate/eat mainly starch based foods,are they actually eating high fat diets.”
Even if you counted rs as “fat” it is not likely.
For L2 mitochondrial ancestral populations — estimate 20-25% fat intakes, max. More likely 15-20%.
just don’t tell LCHF “paleo” diet “gurus”.
Rich ? “Paleo Court Jester” ?
Mmmmm, yeeeessss, only if Jester describes Lenny Bruce.
youtube.com/watch?v=gDkoCtMOFOg
Is sunnovabitch worse than muthafucker?
Sláinte
@tatertot thanks – won’t go higher than 40g and may come down a bit
@grace thanks for your advice – am familiar with many of those but good to know what worked for you and your family.
Mold as an asthma trigger is a tricky one because I live on a boat!
Finally putting my crockpot to good use (lamb curry)…question on the potato starch. After I divvy up my food across various containers and let it cool a bit, is that when I can add a slurry of the potato starch to each and let it cool, or is it okay to put it in a bit earlier in the crockpot and have it cool later with everything else. I seem to remember that in some startches, the RS is gone if you cook it too high, and while slow cookers in general aren’t super hot, they may be hot enough.
“when I can add a slurry of the potato starch to each and let it cool, or is it okay to put it in a bit earlier in the crockpot and have it cool later with everything else.”
The safe bet is to introduce potato starch when temp is 140F or less.
Lauda has balls of carbon steel. This from wikipedia: “…Lauda is perhaps best known for being involved in crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, during which his Ferrari burst into flames and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic gases and suffering severe burns. However he recovered and returned to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Scars from the injuries he suffered have left him permanently disfigured…”