The Last Word has told us that lions prefer to eat the fat and organs of their prey rather than the muscle. Apparently, muscle tissue is relatively poor in energy and vitamins (for lions, at least), and lions are able to make glucose in the liver from protein, so do not need carbohydrates. What, then, are the equivalents in humans? And if, when civilisation crashes, I finally manage to catch a stray cat or dog, which parts should I eat first, and why?
• Our livers, like those of lions, can use proteins and fats to manufacture all of the glucose we need, to supply red blood cells and some brain cells, for example. The rest of our cells do just fine on free fatty acids and compounds called ketones.
As the US Institute of Medicine declares in its snappily titled report “Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids (Micronutrients)” (The National Academies Press, 2005), and as our history as a species proves: “The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.” This is why there are essential amino acids and fats, but there are no such things as essential carbohydrates.
“If you catch a stray animal after the collapse of civilisation, consume the marrow and brains for fuel”
The Inuit people, who traditionally consume almost no dietary carbohydrate to no ill effect, are proof of this. So are the millions of people on a low-carb, high-fat diet, and those prescribed a carbohydrate-free ketogenic diet for epilepsy.
Therefore, if your questioner manages to catch a stray animal wandering around after the collapse of civilisation, he should do pretty much what the lion does and what our forebears once did: consume the marrow and brains for fuel, the organs for vitamins, and some of the muscle to replenish protein.
No need for pudding.
Nick Mailer, Edgware, Middlesex, UK
• If you are fortunate enough to catch a stray cat, start with the blood before it leaks away, but discard the urine.
Then eat the most microbe-rich parts before they rot. That means working your way through the gut from the tail forward.
You should make sure that you include all of the gut content, because it is nutritious as well as tasty, and your gut can digest some of the food components that a cat cannot.
Let’s just hope that you are not sensitive to high concentrations of tyramine – an indicator of spoiled meat – which is common in cat intestines.
Next, you should eat the parts that rot rapidly – because of bacterial exposure or the cat’s own enzymes – such as the lungs, liver and other soft tissues.
Eating the rest is a little less urgent if you can dry all the remaining bits before they go off, especially if you can smoke them, salt them, or shred and sun-dry them. Start with muscles and the like and then move on to the brain. Crush any remnants such as bones (to make them easier to digest), skin and fibrous connective tissue such as eyes, tendons and fur.
“Polar explorers forced to eat sled dogs to avoid starvation were poisoned by the livers”
Remain alert for flies and other scavengers which are attracted to your supplies, although they might be welcome additions to your menu. Bon appétit.
Jon Richfield, Somerset West, South Africa
• Don’t eat cat or dog livers. Excess vitamin A is stored in this organ and is especially concentrated in carnivore livers, which can therefore be toxic.
Polar explorers who were forced to eat their sled dogs to avoid starvation found their livers were the easiest thing to eat uncooked. They experienced severe poisoning as a result. In error, they then fed the rest of the carcasses to the surviving dogs.
Hilary Johnson, Malvern, Worcestershire, UK
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This article appeared in print under the headline “Offal way to die”
