First there was keto and now the “carnivores” are on the rise.
The “carnivore diet” seems to become a new trend and many people claim that it has benefits like:
• losing weight without calorie counting • being healthier and feeling better • no body odor • less likely to get sunburned
I’m skeptical about this being healthy in the long run. What is your opinion and is there any evidence that this kind of diet is good for you?
For myself, I try to incorporate elements from Blue Zone diets that seem related to a longer health span and I’m not going to eliminate major food groups. But my goals may differ from those who are trying such a diet.
I just want to break down each benefit you listed:
> losing weight without calorie counting
Well you lose weight in a calorie deficit regardless… but there are plenty of ways you can be in a calorie deficit without physically weighing your good. You can learn to build your plate, that sort of thing, but you don’t need to eat a carnivore diet to achieve this.
> Being healthier and feeling better
This doesn’t really have much substance to it. Do you really need to eat nothing but meat, in order to feel better and be healthier?
> No body odor
Practice regular personal hygiene
> less likely to get sunburned
Yeah I’d like to see evidence of that, because I am highly skeptical that a meat based diet protects your skin from UV rays. But also, most of the time a sunburn is a very minor thing. Uncomfortable, yes, but not enough to make me completely overhaul my life and eat nothing but meat and butter. Wear sunscreen.
If you want my honest opinion, the carnivore diet is just a trend, and something to flex about at work, but it’s not actually going to be more than that.
Not a big fan.
Fiber is incredibly important. Much more than just helping with constipation.
EDIT:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25552267/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35918724/
Increased fiber is correlated with reduced mortality risk.
You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you use. You absolutely need to count calories when eating meat, it’s calorie dense. If you don’t want to count calories then eat plants, it’s physically impossible to eat enough spinach to hit 2000 calories a day.
People feel better on it because they don’t eat shit. Stop eating shit should be the conclusion not to eat mostly meat.
Carnivore diet is an easy way to die early. Beyond the staggering saturated fat level it’s fairly difficult to hit RDA’s for a bunch of macros without lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
The claims back to primitivism are totally bizarre too. Cows are the product of husbandry, our ancestors did not eat cows. The animals they did eat were far leaner than those we can buy today. What do these people think was eaten when animals were scarce? Humans evolved eating lots of things including fish, vegetables, fruit and grains. Don’t remove food groups because crazy people on social media say to do so.
Also FYI the three diets that actually have longevity benefits all share similar properties; ~50% carbs, 20-30% fat (mostly PUFA & MUFA, <5% calories from satfat) and 20-30% protein.
It doesn’t matter if you reject the saturated fat link to CVD, high consumption of red meat reduces life expectancy.
I think it’s a really unbalanced long term diet, but people are seeing a lot of short term benefits, so it’s wise to seriously investigate this. I believe a big cause of this is that the carnivore diet serves as an elimination diet, and many people have inflammatory/autoimmune issues from foods they’re reacting to.
There is also a ton of nutrients in red meat and organs that are more sparse in plants, so this could explain a short term energy boost even if long term some other deficiencies may arise. Carnivore (with meat AND organs) is very high in zinc, vitamin a, b vitamins, among other things, but low in calcium and other minerals.
Some people do include dairy on a carnivore diet, which would make it much more balanced. And there’s a historical example for this in the traditional diet of the Masai, which consisted of mostly meat, blood, and milk, and produced exceptionally robust health.
All that being said, if you are experiencing negative reactions to foods I think an omnivorous elimination diet is likely more sensible. The hysteria around plant toxins in the carnivore community is pretty hilarious, as it completely ignores that humans are “the cooking species”, and we’ve learned how to deactivate the majority of these compounds through cooking and other food processing methods.
It’s beneficial for some. A lot of folks with IBS and serious gut problems benefit from a carnivore diet.
Personally My diet consists of more animal products than anything else but I also love to eat fruit, fermented veggies, and sprouts.
Again there is nothing wrong with a carnivore diet. It’s beneficial for some people. Try it out. If it doesn’t work for you move on. No need to bash on people who are thriving by eating a certain way.
There is no scientific research on it yet due to the difficulty in obtaining ethics and getting participants to participate longer term. Dr Shawn Baker is currently collecting funding to do some research. There are currently studies into lean mass hyper responders re:cholesterol but not purely based on keto or carnivore.
It’s something you need to do a lot of reading about, consult a GP with and formulate a plan and get regular blood work. Always try and source the highest quality ruminant animals you can. I’ve been keto since 2014 and the last 2.5 years of that have been 95% carnivore. All biomarkers and blood work is excellent. Yes my cholesterol is “high” but when interpreted with everything else the blood work shows and a 0 cac score I see it as a non-issue (I am a lean mass hyper responders).
Animal products get an unnecessary bad rap. That said i wouldn’t want to eat only meat. I think a lot of the carnivore folks like it at first if they are reacting poorly to a variety of plant foods. But keeping a carnivore diet balanced long term could be very difficult
It’s garbage science that is terrible for the planet, it’s incredibly elitist, and it’s going to lead to premature death or at least CVD and probably other health concerns for thousands of people who don’t know any better thanks to a bunch of charlatans.
There are several concerns and potential drawbacks associated with the carnivore diet. Here are a few:
Nutrient deficiencies: A diet that excludes or severely limits plant-based foods can be deficient in certain vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients that are essential for optimal health.
Increased risk of chronic diseases: Eating a diet high in animal-based foods has been associated with increased risks of heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases.
Limited research: There is limited research on the long-term health effects of a carnivore diet, and most of the evidence supporting its benefits is anecdotal.
While the carnivore diet may lead to short-term benefits for some people, it’s not a sustainable or balanced dietary approach for most people in the long run. A healthy and balanced diet should include a variety of nutrient-rich foods, including plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
As with any dietary change, it’s important to consult with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian to ensure that your nutritional needs are being met.
About 90% of what I eat is grass-fed beef, cage-free eggs, and fruit and I’ve never felt better. I make sure I have enough fiber, eat the occasional sweet potato, and take a greens powder every morning.
I think everyone should have their own body processes evaluated by a professional to understand their needs and bioavailability for best results. Eat local. Mostly fresh. Drink water. Avoid fake shit as much as you can. Good Luck.
I don’t think drastic diets should be attempted for any extensive amount of time. The max benefit is around 2-6 months, then you should adjust to a diverse well rounded diet aiming for sustainable energy, quality of life, quality of ingredients.
One thing to definitely consider is the quality of the food/meat and the amino acid profile, red meat should always be balanced with glycine, collagen, and organs.
Like many of the comments before me, this appears to be a short term sprint. I am not for short term weight loss plans. Best to be consistent and eat a healthy range of foods to get max nutrition/vitamins and lose weight gradually. I find counting calories to troublesome so just eat till your 70% full, limit unhealthy snacks and cut off food after dinner. Unless you are pregnant or require sustenance for medical reasons, no food until breakfast.
I recommend to check out intermittent fasting instead.
Best of luck!!
You’ll have to watch youtube videos of these people because they are very serious about eating only meat and have plenty of science to back up their claims against eating plants, fiber, vegetables, even fruits and grains
The world is wildly complicated, you’ll even find doctors who suggest eating only ribeye steaks to literally cure diseases. Doctors from the US mind you, so they can’t make claims that kill people and get away with it.
If you watch these doctors, you’ll learn that vegetables and fiber are horrific for you.
You have to make your own mind up I guess lmfao…. Somehow you can have doctors who say opposite things.
One tells you fiber and vegetables will kill you while the other says you better eat fiber and vegetables or you’ll die.
I’m not sure this sub is worth asking any questions about nutrition, even somebody with a degree in nutrition could be completely wrong about how they see the world.
Is oatmeal healthy? Well that’s a tough question to answer I guess. Andrew Huberman eats oatmeal, but doctors say all grains are terrible for you. But the research says oatmeal is healthy, but the research says oatmeal is inflammatory.
The research says fiber is healthy and that fiber creates IBS and a lack of fiber resolves IBS.
You’ll never make sense of “science” because multiple things are said about almost everything. The only thing we know for sure, now, is that cigarettes are not healthy like we were told uhhh idk 50-60 years ago?
I’m so glad my grandparents finally know smoking is unhealthy, because they grew up being prescribed cigarettes for things like pregnancy stress.
This thread is really interesting, but for those that are dismissing it without even questioning it, remember that the point of science is to constantly question science, right?
Just wanting to hear more from people that truly researched it.