The Ancestral Indigenous Diet: A Whole Foods Meat-Based Carnivore Diet

by Frank Tufano

But plant foods aren’t necessary to obtain Vitamin E. Eggs, raw dairy, fatty fish, beef fat, marrow, and brain are all excellent sources. And since this list is pretty similar to the foods you will be eating to maintain high levels of Omega-3s, you should be all set as long as you follow the core principles of this diet. Of note: The quality of the food here is paramount. Low-quality meat from feedlot farms doesn’t have much Vitamin E.

  The only other thing to keep is mind is that it is technically ideal to only lightly cook your egg yolks and fat in general. This will ensure that the Vitamin E content isn’t damaged, although this isn’t that big of a concern with this nutrient. (It’s a good habit in general though, as lighter cooking will also reduce the oxidation of cholesterol.)

  Vitamin C

  Of all the vitamins we consume, everybody knows the most about Vitamin C. The orange juice lobby alone has spent bank vaults full of money over the decades to make sure every mother and teacher in America is pumping their kids full of sugar water that will supposedly keep them from getting a cold.

  But although it has been overhyped and many people pointlessly consume (then pee out) way more than they need, it is of course very necessary for human health. Specifically, Vitamin C is required for collagen synthesis — which makes it a structural component of all connective tissue, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, gums, skin, teeth, and bones. It also plays a role in neurotransmitters and is involved in the metabolism of cholesterol into bile acids.

  Vitamin C also plays a role in carbohydrate metabolism. So even when consuming Vitamin C in something like orange juice, the amount of sugar you ingest at the same time is not natural. Wild fruits of the past, like camu camu and kakadu plums, have substantially higher Vitamin C content without the sugar.

  And as all the marketing (rightfully) tells you, Vitamin C plays a role in immune function through the generation of T-Cells (which are immune cells). Other vital, but less-discussed, factors are how it serves as an effective antioxidant that reduces damage from free radicals and works to help synthesize carnitine, which is essential for converting fat to energy in cells.

  Vitamin C: Sources & Preparation

  All meat contains small amounts of Vitamin C. The fresher it is, the more Vitamin C it will have. Certain organs and glands, certain parts of fish (and especially fish eggs), and some raw dairy products are actually quite high in Vitamin C, especially raw milk.

  As long as you are eating fresh meat and other animal products that haven’t been frozen for very long, you will be fine. If you do find yourself only having access to cuts that were slaughtered a while ago, Vitamin C intake can become a concern.

  Fortunately, the solution is quite simple: a whole-food based Vitamin C supplement, like acerola cherry powder. (Herbs like thyme also have some Vitamin C.) While it isn’t necessary if food sourcing and preparation is done right, some people decide to rely on supplementation more regularly, or perhaps just at the beginning, just as a psychological safety blanket.

  Cutting out all that citrus fruit may make some people uneasy, but don’t worry. Even on a carnivore diet, modern life will never be anything like a year-long voyage on a pirate ship. There is not a real risk of getting scurvy if you eat high-quality foods.

  Antioxidants

  The nutrition world has become obsessed with “antioxidants” and “free-radicals.” You can’t find an article on nutrition, or even general health, that doesn’t mention them, and this trend is being used to sell all sorts of useless supplements that nobody needs. It’s a shame because they do have a big role to play, especially as we discussed in terms of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Glutathione.

  Overall, the two most important things to understand is that the body can only produce so many antioxidants and deal with so much stress. Specifically, we’re talking about oxidative stress. All the mechanisms that cause this, and all the reasons that it is so damaging to our bodies, are too much to detail here. But the big takeaway is knowing that all this stress is negative for your health.

  From this perspective, improving health can best be achieved by limiting the causes of oxidative stress rather than merely relying on trying to fix it after the fact. This means focusing on keeping the negative things out of your diet as opposed to ingesting “positive” things to repair the damage.

  Did you ever hear the story about the old lady that swallowed the fly? Then she ate a spider to fix the problem. Then she swallowed a bird, a cat, and a dog to deal with the new problems each one created. Well, it seems to me, she would have been best off by just never eating that fly to begin with. The same goes for you and foods that cause oxidative stress and inflammation.

  If you just cut out all the seed oils and high-carbohydrate crap in your diet, you will not need nearly as much Vitamin E and Vitamin C, let alone concern yourself with devouring fad “superfood” staples like goji berries and kale or expensive supplements that provide few benefits.

  There will still be other modern factors — like environmental pollution and electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) — that will cause stress on your body. Some of this is unavoidable. But simply steering clear of the dietary sources will do wonders to keep your oxidative stress levels low.

  Some people even talk about stressors as a means to introduce “hormesis,” which is when your body can get some supposed benefit by withstanding negative stimuli. But our modern world has plenty of hormesis. There is no need to intentionally induce it.

  Minerals, Elements & Electrolytes

  Electrolytes are frequently mentioned when discussing the Keto Diet or Carnivore Diet. But despite all the confusion, there is no need to supplement them granted you are following the nutrient-density principles of the Ancestral Indigenous Diet. Mineral intake will be achieved inherently from all the high-quality food sources you are consuming.

  One main consideration to remember is that the three key electrolytes — potassium, magnesium, and calcium — are much more bioavailable in their animal form compared to their plant form. While your RDA recommendations and food labels may make you think you aren’t consuming enough, that really isn’t the case. One pound of meat, for example, contains approximately 1400 mg of potassium, 80 mg of magnesium, and 40 mg of calcium. And, importantly, they are all highly bioavailable forms.

  Someone who is consuming one to two pounds of animal foods per day would get far more of these minerals than anyone on a “high nutrient” plant-based diet. On paper, it may seem like you need to eat a whole bag of spinach every day to get the recommended allotment of magnesium, for example. But this is largely because the magnesium in vegetables is largely bound to substances (such as phytates and oxalates) that inhibit mineral absorption. By contrast, the magnesium you get from high-quality beef is almost fully absorbed and put to work in the body. As far as plant foods go, seaweed can be a great food to try for electrolytes as it contains ample potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

  Sodium

  The one electrolyte not talked about above is sodium, which most people just call salt. It is essential despite its recent reputation for being unhealthy. This fact has become confused largely because there is so much (poor-quality) sodium contained in the processed foods that everybody eats. But in an ancestral, natural diet, you will actually need to be working to get salt into your system.

  There are various salts (Himalayan, Celtic salt, generic sea salt), but the point is to get a quality sea salt with nothing added to it. Salt your food to taste and craving. But be mindful that certain salts can be "saltier" than others. It should also be noted that salt is very subjective. Some people may need large amounts initially (or continuously), while others find they don't need salt hardly at all. This can be observed in indigenous diets as well. Some of them sought after salt. Many of them did not have salt.

  Iodine

  One aspect of our diet that often goes under the radar is iodine. One way we know that this is important is by understanding that many indigenous people who did not obtain significant iodine from the anim
al foods they were consuming went out of their way to gather it. This was typically something seen at higher elevations where the grass did not contain enough iodine from the ocean-fueled rainfall.

  In modern times, if you consume high-quality dairy and eggs you will generally get enough iodine. Organs like liver also have iodide present, and seafood of course is the best option for iodide. (Seaweed is also great but could come with a pollutant concern.) The high mineral content can also be an issue for people with pre-existing stomach conditions. Iodine levels are directly linked with body temperature. If you eat high-iodine foods and notice your core temperature start to rise, there will be a peak. Once you hit the peak, that hypothetically means you have likely reached your ideal iodine intake.

  In the past I have personally used seaweed to increase my iodine levels. But because of the variation in different types of seaweed, I also use Lugol’s iodine sometimes. It can be taken either orally or through transdermal delivery on the skin.

  Everything Else

  I obviously have not discussed every nutrient here. There are many minerals that could be discussed, and depending on past diet and lifestyle, you may run into issues in the long run related to any of them.

  Some people may have high ferritin (iron) levels from consuming fortified breads and cereals their whole lives. Many people have a copper-to-zinc ratio imbalance (ideally above 8:1 zinc to copper), being deficient in either copper or zinc. Although a hair mineral analysis is not a fully accurate tool, it may give you a starting point when it comes to understanding your levels.

  For instance, if your deficient in copper and iron, maybe you would make sure to eat more liver initially. On the other hand, if your overloaded with zinc, which meat is very high in, maybe you opt for fish like salmon or clams that have lower zinc, with higher copper.

  The reason you don’t want to start worrying about specific minerals, electrolytes, or supplementing, however, is because they are thrown out of balance incredibly easily. If you get a hair mineral analysis and know for certain that you can safely supplement and monitor your levels, that is an option. But nature did not intend for us to take electrolyte powders and metal supplements every day.

  In general, most of the other nutrients will work themselves out. I know I keep saying this. But it’s the truth. You will have enough to worry about when it comes to the big-ticket items. Focus on those and eat in a natural way to help ensure that you are obtaining Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin K2 as well. I really want to emphasize nutrient synergy. It is very important for optimal health to get these in the right ratios.

  But as you fix deficiencies and start dialing in your eating habits, this will all start to even out naturally. Then, a year or two down the line, perhaps you can start concerning yourself more with precise intakes of Selenium, Manganese, Boron, and other trace minerals by isolating specific foods for certain nutrients.

  Chapter 5

  Chronic Inflammation:

  How to Avoid the Silent Killer

  So far, we have discussed all the nutrients we need. Now it is time to talk about the one big thing you need to avoid: inflammation. After achieving nutrient density, this is the second big goal of the Ancestral Indigenous Diet.

  By now, most people have heard the warnings to avoid this so-called “silent killer.” But like so many health and nutrition topics, hearing about something doesn’t mean understanding it. There is a ton of confusion out there.

  For this reason, we need to start with a pretty basic question: First off, what is inflammation? In an overall biological sense, inflammation is natural and a very good thing. It is our body’s way of trying to fix a problem by ramping up the production of white blood cells and kickstarting other healing mechanisms. It is an immune system response to make us better.

  This good inflammation — “acute inflammation” — happens after we get a cut on our arm, for example. You want this to happen. Without this immune response, people might die from a small scrape.

  But when the nature of the “problem” that the immune system is trying to fix isn’t clear, our body can overreact. Rather than targeting a specific problem, the body initiates a low-level immune response that isn’t actually necessary, can cause discomfort, and may harm our internal systems.

  The Standard American Diet (SAD) leaves people in a constant state of inflammation. This is why so many people see immediate benefits from simply not eating and the modern trend of Intermittent Fasting is gaining popularity. If you can feel the best you’ve felt in years simply by avoiding a few of your typical meals, it really says something about how poisonous modern food is.

  Think about the typical foods people eat every day: cereal with low-fat milk for breakfast, a ham sandwich for lunch, and pizza for dinner. Each of these meals causes an inflammatory response in your body to some degree.

  Let’s look at just breakfast. The cereal likely has high sugar content and is full of “anti-nutrients” that can cause problems ranging from “leaky gut” to the malabsorption of minerals in the intestines. These industrial farmed grains were also sprayed with dangerous agrochemicals in the form of herbicides like glyphosate and any number of pesticides and additives that are included in so many processed foods.

  The milk, because it has been pasteurized and homogenized, is likely rancid and definitely lacking any of the desirable nutrients found in raw, grass-fed dairy. Plus, like the cereal, it is high in sugar and also triggers an insulin response that, over time, can lead to the “chronic inflammation” that most people live with constantly throughout their digestive system and, really, their whole body.

  The related mechanisms, problems, and causes of “chronic inflammation” are too complex to detail in full here. But what you need to know is that eating certain foods — including most of the foods listed in the common daily meals above — leads to inflammation. And this can be quite bad for our gut and other organs, including our heart.

  The result is a dysfunctional internal system that is effectively attacking the substances that we are eating, and this becomes associated with many negative issues you’ve likely heard about, from “oxidation” and “free radicals” to “leaky gut” and “atherosclerosis.” Over time, inflammation may even become one of the contributors to diabetes, heart disease, and possibly even cancer.

  Inflammation Warning Signs

  Knowing all this is great, but how can someone identify chronic inflammation in their own body? Well, if you eat the Standard American Diet, you are likely experiencing it on some level.

  The signs are rampant. Rather than seeing them as significant problems, however, most people just learn to live with them. So many Americans constantly experience gas, bloating, upset stomach, diarrhea, heartburn, acid reflux, GERD, mucus buildup, or persistent cough. They think this is just part of life — but it shouldn’t be. This is gastric distress caused largely by the food you eat, and it is accompanied by never-ending low-level inflammation in your gut.

  Beyond the discomfort, inflammation can generally make you more lethargic, fill your head with brain fog, cause poor memory, and lead to emotional reactiveness. Overall, it can negatively impact how all your internal systems function and sap you of the energy you need to feel good in your daily life.

  You shouldn’t be medicating against all these symptoms or even just living with them. This is a chronic condition — even if it doesn’t seem debilitating. You need to fix the root cause so it all goes away and you can start living a better life. (Speaking of medication, if you are taking one, it’s important to understand its metabolism, what it’s doing in your body, and how to address that issue or deal with any potential consequences.)

  The biggest issue for many people is that they don’t even realize there’s a problem. Because if you don’t ever experience the difference between this way of life — the default state for most people — and a very-low-inflammation diet, then you won’t ever realize how bad your current diet is.

  Our society normalized terrible health
so much that millions of people take a pill every day just to alleviate gastrointestinal diseases that are by and large solely due to an unnatural diet. Walking around with Tums and Nexium in your pocket isn’t normal! You are sick!

  If you don’t fix the real issue, you will never know just how good you are supposed to feel. You will never know actual human “normal.”

  Beyond the energy boost and mental clarity, many people find they can sleep less and still function fine after reducing inflammation to near zero. They feel fewer aches and pains in joints and muscles. And they have almost none of the gastric problems that they once thought were just a part of eating.

  Sugar and the SAD Reality

  There are so many foods and dietary habits that cause low-level inflammation. We cannot discuss them all. But there is one big culprit that most people consume way too much of every single day.

  Let’s just look at sugar, perhaps the most problematic staple of the SAD diet. It can contribute to many inflammatory and inflammatory-adjacent issues, including insulin resistance, leaky gut, dysbiosis, and general weight gain.

  It goes without saying that you want to avoid all these issues, which are commonly seen by people on the SAD eating habits like those we discussed in the example above.

  Remember: We’ve only dealt with breakfast so far. If that was the only “bad” meal you ate all year, you would probably be fine. But most people follow the bad with more bad — meal after meal every day for weeks, months, years, and even decades. This compounds what could be a minor concern over and over and over again until the condition is chronic.

  The bread in the sandwich has similar properties to the cereal. That’s inflammatory. The ham is likely from pigs that were fed a high Omega-6 diet that throws off the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats in the body. That’s inflammatory. The deli meat, like so many processed foods that have 50 ingredients on the label, is also likely full of additives and chemicals. That’s inflammatory. The mayonnaise or various other condiments probably have added hydrogenated vegetable oils — one of the most detrimental foods to consume — that are highly oxidized Omega-6 fats. That’s inflammatory.