Hey there, I`m still trying to make sense out of the pulp thrillers out the 1930s.
Rereading the Tarzan books, I notice that Edgar Rice Burroughs seldom if ever describes his hero as eating fruit, nuts or even native bread or cakes. The Apeman simply pounces on a pig or deer, kills the beast and eats the meat raw. Then he drinks some spring water and is off again.
Now I realize that Tarzan of all people certainly gets enough exercise and fresh air, but could he be healthy on this diet? Would he suffer from scurvy and other nutritional deficiencies? Aren`t animals in the wild likely to have worms or other parasites which eating them raw would introduce into your body?
I seem to recall the Masai lived on milk and cow blood, but suspect this was a folklore exaggeration. Before I get into a brawl with Burroughs fans, I`d like to ask the enlightened ones of the Straight Dope what the reality of the situation would be.
Did Eskimos have access to anything but meat?
Yes. During the winter, they traditionally ate partially digested plant matter from the stomachs of caribou to get the necessary vitamins. In the summer they had access to many edible plants.
As I understand it, the Inuit traditionally ate a huge amount of fish, which gave them a high incidence of strokes. The liver of polar bears is reportedly very high in vitamins, enough to be almost toxic. (So Tarzan eating the occasional lion liver could stock up on vitamin D.)
And of course, Alaska is not the South Pole… there is a warmer growing season, with nuts and berries and bark and so forth.
Ironically, google send me off to my starting point: Straight Dope.
No. The body need certain pre-made triglycerides(fats) and vitamens that meat does not have.
If Tarzan ate the stomach and the contents of the upper part of the intestines, you know before it turns entirely to shit, he might have been able to get by. If you watch all the great African wildlife shows you’ll notice that once the lions have brought the baby gazille, bleeting and crying pitifully, to it’s end the first thing they do is tear into it’s innards.
If you eat nothing but T-bones, my understanding is that you essentially get no vitamine C. Ninty days of vitamine C deprivation is about the upper limit before scurvy sets in. One hundred twenty days and you are, if not dead, well on your way.
Actually, some fellow (as detailed in the link above), lived for a year with no ill effects on an all-meat diet. It seems vitamin C can be found in many uncooked meats, along with the skin of Beluga whales and various other nasty bits.
So…Yes. According to the SD article, it seems you could live on an all (un)cooked meat diet.