Carnivore Diet

The carnivore diet is a diet based on ancestral populations who are thought to have eaten mostly animal products more than anything else. The carnivore diet is very restrictive, only allowing you to eat animal products and a few low lactose dairy items. No other foods are allowed. The motivation behind the carnivore diet are usually to lose weight or to address an autoimmune condition.

The carnivore diet can help lose weight, improve high blood pressure, and improve your cardiovascular health. It is also seen as an anti-inflammatory diet. Since you eliminate all sugars it can be a good diet to help with diabetes management. Reports of people who have undertaken trying the carnivore diet have reported that it helped relieve symptoms from ailments like rheumatoid arthritis, depression, anxiety, gastric reflux, and psoriasis. It is also believed by many that high carbohydrate diets lead to a higher rate of chronic diseases. Cutting out all carbohydrates may lower the risk of developing chronic diseases.

This diet is very restrictive. So much so that it leads to the risk of nutrient deficiencies if one doesn’t supplement. This diet contains low vitamin C, low vitamin E, folate, and fiber. Among other essential micronutrients your body needs. Since you will be eating nothing with fiber in it, you run the risk of constipation. The carnivore diet may also raise your risk of gastric cancer. This is based on if there is a link between eating high amounts of red and processed meats, which raises your risk of developing gastric cancer. It may also lead to you developing an eating disorder. This is because of the negative impact of good foods versus bad foods in the restrictiveness of the diet. Eating high levels of meat protein can put extra strain on your kidneys. This can lead to impaired kidney function. The carnivore diet can also cause kidney stones. For people who have a kidney condition this diet is not recommended.

Foods you are allowed to eat are meat, fish, eggs, and small amounts of low lactose dairy. This can include foods like beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, organ meats, salmon, sardines, white fish, heavy cream, and hard cheese. Butter, lard, and bone marrow are also allowed. Organ meats include liver, kidney, sweet bread, tripe, heart, and bread. Seasonings that have no carbohydrates in them at all are sometimes allowed as well. To drink it is recommended you drink water or bone broth. You will need to increase the amount of water you drink daily to help with digestion as well as make sure you are staying hydrated since meat only has a little bit of hydration, unlike fruits and vegetables that contain more water.

Foods that are not allowed are fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, alcohol, any sugars, yogurt, milk, and soft cheese. It is also recommended that you don’t drink sodas, fruit juice, tea, coffee, or other plant based drinks. All carbohydrates are excluded from this diet.

The carnivore diet can be an expensive diet to take on as well. Meat and seafood are not cheap. Eating meat and seafood three times a day can add up quickly. A shopping list for the carnivore diet may include items like these. For meats ribeye steak, New York strip steak, brisket, pork chops, pork ribs, chicken thighs, chicken breast, liver, kidneys, lamb chops, and beefy jerky. Seafood can include shrimp, mussels, scallops, lobster, trout, salmon, salmon jerky, and sardines. Other foods are bone broth, bone marrow, pork rinds, eggs, sea salt, and peppercorns.

This diet is very restrictive so it is not suggested long term. Especially because of the lack of nutrients from cutting out so many food groups. Other diets that are low carbohydrate focused are the keto diet, and the paleo diet. These are both low carbohydrate diets. They are not as restrictive as the carnivore diet. They are also more nutrient dense. In some cases people who don’t have success with these diets may look to trying the carnivore diet to get some results. If you are finding it hard to keep up all your needed nutrients while on the carnivore diet you may look into one of these options. Don’t be afraid to add supplements to the carnivore diet. This can help bridge the gap of nutrient deficiencies. There are not a lot of controlled studies about the carnivore diet at this time.