In this 20‑day self‑experiment, the presenter consumed 30 strips of sugar‑ and antibiotic‑free bacon daily (totaling 600 strips, ~21,000 kcal from bacon and 1,800 g of bacon fat). The first ten days were a strict carnivore diet (≈308 g fat, 0 g carbs, 140 g protein, ~3,330 kcal). For the final ten days, he swapped 2.75 Tbsp of extra‑virgin olive oil for 5 Tbsp of honey, adding ~85 g net carbs while keeping total calories and protein constant (≈272 g fat, 85 g carbs, 140 g protein). He reports modest non‑cholesterol effects (bloating, ~4 lb weight gain, likely water). Lipid measurements showed LDL cholesterol remained stable during the low‑carb phase, then fell 22 % after the carb addition. He frames the results within the “lipid energy model,” arguing that in lean, insulin‑sensitive individuals, low‑carb diets up‑regulate systemic lipid trafficking, raising LDL, and that re‑introducing carbs reverses this. The experiment replicates his prior 720‑egg study and references similar n=1 demonstrations (Oreo vs statin, Dave Feldman’s white‑bread experiment). He emphasizes the value of replication, storytelling, and “legit‑bait” n=1 demonstrations to amplify rigorous metabolic research, noting his group’s recent publications and collaborations. The tone mixes informal humor, personal anecdote, and scientific explanation, concluding with a recommendation for bacon‑and‑honey and a call to stay curious.
Chapters
I ate 600 strips of bacon over the past 20 days. That's 30 strips of sugar and antibiotic-free bacon per day, and in total 21,000 kilocalories from bacon and 1,800 grams from bacon and bacon fat alone. But why did I do this? Because as you may know, I already showed that I could drop my LDL cholesterol while eating 720 eggs in one month. In my prior video. So what possible reason could I have for repeating this animal-based binge stunt again? Isn't it redundant? Well, I did it for 3 reasons. First, replication. Yes, even in n=1 science, it's fun to replicate findings with variation and methods to hammer home a point. Second, puns. You know I love puns, and I mean, if the data don't bring home the bacon, a perfectly placed pun should prevent you from getting bored. Third, well, stick around and find out for the main reason I made this video. And no, it's not the same stick around and find out main reason as last time. It's something new and you're gonna wanna hear it out. But again, the logical basis here remains the same as for the egg speriment. I hypothesized that eating 600 slices of bacon would not increase my cholesterol and would not increase my LDL, so-called bad cholesterol. And indeed it didn't. Again. For the first 10 days, my cholesterol was stable. Then, for the final 10 days, I did similar to what I did in the egg experiment, the egg-speriment, and the famous Oreo versus statin experiment. I added carbs. This time, I added carbs in the form of honey. And it dropped my cholesterol. Now, as an aside before I get into the data, bacon with honey is absolutely delicious and I 10/10 recommend it. It was way more fun this experiment than the Oreo The honey versus statin experiment, or even the egg speriment. But anyway, for statistics, I added 5 tablespoons of honey per day on top of an otherwise carnivorous diet. Although I suppose honey is carnivore, so I guess these whole 20 days I was a pigture perfect carnivore as well. Well, not really. One sec. That's 85 grams of carbs from honey and a total average daily macro intake of 272 grams of fat 85 grams of net carbs and 140 grams of protein versus 308 grams of fat, no carbs, and 140 grams of protein during the initial 10-day period when I wasn't having honey. And keeping protein and calories stable with total daily calories at around 3,330 calories was pretty easy. All I had to do was swap 2.75 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in my diet for 5 tablespoons of honey. And I intentionally chose to swap the olive oil to remove a primarily unsaturated fat source from my diet rather than removing a saturated fat source. And the rest of my diet was composed of primarily animal-based foods, salmon, sardines, eggs, beef, and chicken with extra virgin olive oil and macadamia oil as well, which is why it wasn't a pig-chur-porfect carnivore. Anyway, in terms of non-cholesterol changes, I definitely had some bloating and gained about 4 pounds. Most of which was probably water weight. And as expected, the added carbs dropped my LDL cholesterol by 22%. Now, in case you didn't watch the 720 eggs video, which after this you totally should watch, but why did my LDL not change during the first 10 days and then drop by 22% over the final 10 days? Well, carbs. Keeping this as high level as I possibly can, when lean insulin-sensitive people go on low-carb diets, Cholesterol can rise as part of a metabolic response that constitutes a metabolic signature of shifting from carb burning to fat burning, particularly in lean insulin-sensitive people. It's those people who have the most pronounced response. And adding back carbs decreases the need for upregulation in systemic lipid trafficking through this cholesterol system, and the phenotype reverts, dropping LDL cholesterol. We've shown this in published case series and interventional trials. In dramatic metabolic demonstrations by myself, including the Oreo study, the 720 eggs experiment, and by others like Dave Feldman's famous white bread and processed meat experiment, and by people who have just in the community replicated our n=1 experiments. And on the 22% drop value exactly, this value may be a function of the fact that I was eating more carbs than when I did the egg experiment, where LDL dropped by 18%, but I also did so over a slightly shorter period of time. Anyway, again and again, this is the point, when we pit the lipid energy model, a mechanistic explanation for why LDL cholesterol increases when some people, especially lean insulin-sensitive people, go low carb, when we pit the lipid energy model against conventional ideas about LDL cholesterol, saturated fat, fiber, and so on, the lipid energy model wins the day again and again. So, to ham, er, home the point, New understanding of human physiology, here lipid and cholesterol dynamics, allows people, in this case me, to generate conditions where we can expect what is unexpected and even paradoxical to those who remain attached to status quo ideas about metabolism. Now, to be clear, it doesn't mean old ideas and old models don't have relevance. At no point did I say saturated fat or fiber don't impact cholesterol, for example. And in fact, in the general population at large, they probably have a larger impact. However, models require updating, and if findings shock you, especially where they're predictable to others, well, that's great because it means there's something interesting to learn here. And now, to get personal and transparent about my why for doing this video. My colleagues and I have been spending blood, sweat, and tears on our research around cholesterol, ketogenic diets, and lean mass hyperresponders, with a good track record to show show for it, including 10 publications over the past couple years and a rapid acquisition of new partners and resources that will catapult us, all of us, the community, into the second half of the 2020s. But what I've found personally is that while science in its rawest form is about data and it's cold and emotionless, scaling and selling science and scientific stories requires storytelling and a human element, which is where these metabolic demonstrations have deep value.. We can spend years on a study, and when it comes out, it receives less attention than a simple 20-day or 1-month n=1 story. And this is reality. It's reality that we, I, have to deal with. And what I'm finding, or trying out, is that there could be a synergy between this form of legitbait n=1 showmanship and hardcore rigorous metabolic science, where the latter, the n=1 storytelling, the metabolic demonstrations, enhance the former and amplify the former, the studies. Oh, and just by the way, yes, I did drink all the grease. #StayCurious. And seriously, if you don't have any metabolic restrictions to trying it, bacon and honey is freaking amazing.
