Omnivores Survive, But Carnivores Thrive
The Subconscious Fat of What Humans Evolved to Eat
“So, the title is your bold statement?” Asks Mr. Skeptical.
“Yes. It is.”
“Who do you think you are? You think you’re a Ph.D. anthropologist nutritionist?”
“No, and I don’t think that Ph.D. exists. But the title of this post is a slogan on how a human should think about and eat food.”
“Well, there’s much debate on what humans eat. Why should anyone listen to you?”
“Because science can often be manipulated and trump simple concepts like common sense and anatomy. See what the editor of the Lancet has to say about that here.”
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
Besides, this idea that we should eat more like a carnivore is not my idea. It’s been around for a long time. It’s what made us human. Humans evolved from eating cooked meat. And don’t take my word for it. Take Richard Walter Wrangham’s word, an anthropologist and primatologist at Harvard University who wrote the book Catching Fire.
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
“Have you read the book, Hermann?”
“I ordered it just a few days ago. It’s on the way.”
“Why are you talking about a book you haven’t read?”
Mr. Skeptical is so damn irritating! “In my research for this post, I’ve found lots of videos and research papers indicating that our brains started to grow about 1.9 million years ago thanks to using fire to cook meat. The cooking allowed the meat to be softer, so our teeth and jaws became smaller, along with our digestive tracts, thus allowing our brains to increase in size.”
“But how do we know exactly when humans started to use fire to cook meat?”
“It’s challenging to know when exactly. It’s hard to prove what pre-humans were doing a million-plus years ago. But it’s also difficult to prove evolution. Even evolution is just a theory, but we’ve seen so much evidence that any rational person concludes evolution is valid.”
“That’s still your opinion.”
“Yes, it is. However, observe and compare the digestive anatomy of one of our closest evolutionary cousins.”
We can see in the above diagram how the cecum area (circled red for humans and green for chimps) is more prominent in apes. The ape’s whole colon is larger and fatter. This is to help digest plants, which are hard to digest because the plant’s cellular wall needs to be broken down. This is why herbivores spend most of the day eating and have larger jaws to crush plant matter constantly. The more enormous jaws of chimps also prevented their brains from growing.
“Well, why don’t we have long canine teeth and claws to eat like a carnivore?”
“Because we don’t need them. We evolved a larger brain from cooked meat. The bigger brain allowed us to make tools to hunt animals in groups and crush their skulls to get to the meat, fat, internal organs, and brain matter.”
Mr. Skeptical folds his arms and sits quietly. It feels so good to shut him up.
I add. “And remember, I’m not saying humans are carnivores. We are omnivores. But I believe we ate the vegetables when the meat wasn’t around or as a side dish to the leading food: meat. This is why I thought of and love the catchphrase: Omnivores survive, but Carnivores thrive.
Let’s look at more herbivore digestive systems.
The areas colored in green are what allow the herbivores to digest plant matter properly. These areas tend to be oversized, allowing for gases to form, which happens when breaking down plant matter. This is why humans who eat lots of plant matter and carbohydrates fart more. The Koala is an exception, not having large areas, but it has a super long cecum, as indicated by the green circle. The elongated cecum allows it to digest the eucalyptus tree leaf, which is poisonous to most animals.
Many biologists claim pig anatomies are human-like, and humans and pigs are omnivores. Look at the red areas comparing pig with dog. The cecum areas aren’t that different. Now, look at the cecum area of an Orangutan. The cecum there is much longer, and the initial colon is thick and large.
All herbivores animals have thick areas in the colon or long cecum or both to handle the digestion of plant matter. A human’s cecum isn’t as long (compared to a chimp), and its large intestine is thinner. Yet, humans are omnivores, and vegetables have helped us survive, but my argument is they helped us survive when we couldn’t get the meat.
“But aren’t pigs more like a herbivore?”
“I used to think the same thing. Domestic pigs are fed wheat and grains to fatten them up (Eerily like humans eating lots of wheat and grains) before slaughter. A lot of people think pigs don’t eat meat. That’s incorrect. Wild pigs hunt for meat all the time.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
Mr. Skeptical’s face is a frown, but I can tell he’s about to explode. He yells, “Well, why do you only support eating like a carnivore? There’s a lot of science out there showing vegetables are healthy. Why don’t you mention a few doctors who support eating a vegetarian diet?”
“I’ve always said that if people switch from a standard American diet, which includes wheat and grains, to a vegetarian diet, they will encounter positive changes. Yet this still doesn’t mean vegetarianism is the ideal human diet.”
“Give me the name of a doctor who supports going vegetarian.”
“Fine, Dr. Garth Davis. He’s on many YouTube videos, being the one to most support going vegan. If one watches enough of his videos, one will likely be convinced to become vegetarian.”
“Why don’t you support him and go vegan?”
“Because ultimately everyone will follow what their instincts or innate intelligence tells them to do; in other words, people will follow their own conscious or Subconscious Fat. I didn’t always think eating meat was healthy. I ate many vegetables for many years, thinking they were good for me. Nevertheless, as a personal trainer, I wanted to get a 6-pack. Taking testosterone would dramatically help, but I wanted to avoid possible side effects and be all-natural. Here’s a picture of me just a few months ago.
“What’s so terrible about the picture?”
“Not much, but after hiring an online trainer to guide me in going carnivore, I feel and look much better in the pic below. It’s not just about me getting a six-pack; I’ve also noticed more energy, fewer stomach issues, higher libido, and overall health. So, readers should consider whether they should try Ozempic (a popular, expensive, recently released weight loss drug) or the carnivore diet.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
Living by the philosophy omnivores survive, but carnivores thrive makes a lot of sense. I still indulge in ice cream, coffee, fruit (only in the mornings), and occasionally alcohol and a cigar, for I enjoy socializing. However, what I look forward to eating the most, which will help me thrive, is the meat and organs in animal products.
Mr. Skeptical is all quiet with a disgusted look on his face. I get up and start singing and dancing to the slogan.
“Omnivores survive, but Carnivores thrive.”
I sing it louder!
“Omnivores survive, but Carnivores thrive.”
I dance like a Native American, balancing and moving on one leg and then another, going to the rhythm of the repeated statement. Mr. Skeptical, shaking his head, walks out. But that’s okay, for I’m at home with my ancestral tribe, knowing that in my genes is an ancient memory of my early ancestors doing a similar dance.
“Omnivores survive, but Carnivores thrive.”
At night, other predator’s eyes look hungrily at what we dance around, but the fire keeps them away. We eventually traded meat for protection with one of those predators, and the wolf became man’s best friend.
“Omnivores survive, but Carnivores thrive.”
A nirvana-like, literal brain-expanding state is reached; delicious smells of popping flesh float in the air as our ancestors dance, sing, and socialize around a campfire of cooked meat.
“Omnivores survive, but Carnivores thrive.”
Be aware.
PS Links in Facebook and Instagram. Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.
I am definitely more convinced after reading this haha
Good Sabrin! That’s the idea.