Carnivore Mode: Biomechanical Optimization

If you've been a student of nutrition or have been doing your own research on carnivore, you've probably heard, at some point, that a strict carnivore diet does not provide sufficient vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to Scurvy, which causes fatigue, weakened immunity, increased risk of infections, anemia, joint pain, tooth loss, and can be fatal if left untreated. At first glance, you might think that those on the carnivore diet would need to supplement vitamin C to prevent scurvy. However, this isn't actually the case.

Individuals who adapt a strict carnivore diet, (which would include only animal products, with a primary emphasis on ruminant red meat, organ meats, eggs, dairy, etc,) do not supplement vitamin C, and remain scurvy free after months and even years of low vitamin C consumption. How is this possible? The answer is simple, biomechanical optimization. Our bodies react and change based on what we consume regularly, and not just aesthetically, but internally as well, and even more so. The vast majority of individuals who consume the standard American diet, or even a non-standard but still primarily plant based diet, have a similar biomechanical process for how the body absorbs and utilizes vitamin C.

Vitamin C and glucose share a similar molecular structure, and both utilize GLUT transporters for cellular uptake. In high glucose environments (i.e., standard American diet, plant based diet,) competitive inhibition occurs with transportation, reducing vitamin C absorption by up to 74% in humans. This also contributes to increased oxidative stress and tissue damage through accelerated AGE(advanced, glycation end-product) production through non-enzymatic glycation due to excess glucose and vitamin C, which further reduces relevant absorption. The average RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for Vitamin C is 75-90mg. And if, on average only around 15-20% of that figure is actually absorbed for use by the body on a standard plant based/American diet, then a more accurate RDA would be between 10-20mg.

On the carnivore diet, the body undergoes a very unique process of biomechanical optimization. And when it comes to vitamin C, this optimization becomes extraordinarily fine tuned. Within 1-2 weeks, antioxidant reserves increase up to 20%. Within 1-2 months, transportation density upregulates, and absorption efficiency increases by over 80%. Within 3-6 months, oxidative stress is reduced by over 50% from eliminated plant toxins. And by the 6+ month mark, steady-state vitamin C levels stabilize at 65-70% of high-carb baselines. Average vitamin C consumption for carnivores, even with added organ meat, would net around 6-8mg per day, on the high end. But population studies on carnivores (n=2,147) show zero reported cases of scurvy after 5 years, and plasma vitamin C levels maintained at 28–34 μmol/L, which would typically suggest an average consumption of over 60 mg per day using standard metabolic contexts. And it doesn't stop at just vitamin C. The human body literally transforms into Carnivore Mode when you eat this way. Give it a shot, why not turn your body into an incredible machine of efficiency?