King Fat
Reader Andrew sends a question in email.
After discovering I was Celiac, I found Celiac.com, then the paleo diet, then Art De Vany's Blog, then yours. Thanks for the blog. I've got a quick question that I couldn't figure out where to post. I'm still pretty new to the paleo diet. It's been working great, but I want to make sure I'm not [edited] myself up. So I know that we probably can't get more than 35% of our calories from protein (I guess the kidneys fry?), but even if I eat 20% of my calories as plants, this leaves 80% of my calories coming from meat. If I eat 20% complex carbs, 30% protein, then 50% of my carbs to come from fat, right? Where do I get the fat from? Should I simply eat a lot of avacados and olive oil? Or does most meat have enough fat that it's not a problem?
Andrew: You're exactly right.
Now, your kidneys won't fry at all; you will simply find yourself incapable of overdosing on meat (i.e., you'll eventually get sick and puke).
Yes, explicitly: fat is the secret to success. This is why I eat both fatty and lean meat, even ground beef and uncured sausages sometimes, like Polish. I also make a lot of fat based sauces for meats (you can develop ways to thicken without wheat or starch — see my Food Porn category). I cook in various fats liberally, and I also use lots of coconut milk and coconut oil (which is like peanut butter, and I sometimes lick it right off the spoon).
Give it a shot. Fat is king. And BTW, you might monitor Mark Sisson's site as well. He often makes this point about fat.
Join Over 5,000 Subscribers!
Get exclusive content sent directly to your inbox.
8 Comments
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Maybe in California coconut oil is like peanut butter. In New Jersey it's more like candle wax.
Is that temperature or availability? In Canada we are challenged on both fronts, but I have been cooking with and eating coconut oil for a few months now. I love it. I am not a coconut fan, but this stuff tastes great. The mall health food store sells at least 2 brands of fine organic coconut oil. It is beautifully creamy with a wonderful mouth feel and delicate aroma.
Ray Peat sings the praises of the stuff.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/coconut-oil.shtml
My favorite so far is by Alpha – http://alphahealth.ca/ but I buy it in store – now if I could only find pasture and raw milk and grass fed meat as easily…
I was just making a funny about the ambient air temperature. It was peanut buttery in August and September. Even a few days in November. I bought the big Nutiva jar from Amazon.com. Unfortunately though my wife is not a fan of the taste so I don't use it as often as I would like.
Try spooning what you want into a bowl and then mix it about. That tends to make it creamier.
As a Canadian I fell your pain – and more. Although it is handy to live in a climate where for 4 months of the year you can leave the frozen food on the deck while you defrost the freezer.
My wife doesn't like the coconut flavor either so I mainly eat it by the spoonful. I must say the Alpha brand is pretty smooth all year round stored in the basement – not quite peanut buttery, but very decent.
I've been enjoying a nice big mug of canned coconut milk (natural not sweetened or preserved) mixed with a tsp of cinnamon, microwaved til' hot everynight since I discovered how tasty it is. I think I could live on coconut milk and meat for the rest of my life…
Yum – where do you get the coconut milk? – I have not thought of this – sounds excellent!
Most stores carry it it in the Asian section. It's canned, and you want the one that's full fat (not light) and unsweetened. Shake well, as it clumps up. It's great for lots and lots of things, even in meat sauces.