This blog post is probably long overdue, considering the carnivore diet's popularity (or perhaps infamy, depending on who you ask). But better late than never, amiright?
So let’s jump right in. Let’s do this. We’re talking carnivore, people.
What is the carnivore diet?
The carnivore diet is based on getting one’s nutrition from animal sourced foods, and eliminating or drastically limiting other foods from one’s diet. The ideas behind carnivore eating are primarily based on improving health, relief from chronic illness, and fat loss.
Thousands of people, both anecdotally and in research studies, have reduced or reversed symptoms of diseases such as lyme disease, diabetes, depression, digestive issues, eczema and other skin conditions, joint pain, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, candida overgrowth, autoimmunity, other causes of inflammation, and more. In addition, there are almost always reported improvements in body composition.
What do people eat on the carnivore diet?
Any edible animal parts are fine, including muscle, tissue, fat, and organs. It is highly encouraged to eat nose-to-tail, and it is generally understood to be best when sticking with ruminants (beef, lamb, goat, deer, elk etc.). Poultry, pork, seafood, and eggs are included if they are well tolerated. Dairy can be included for some, also depending on individual tolerance. Finally, some people will eat fruit and honey on the carnivore diet, but no vegetables.
No vegetables? Limited or no fruit? What’s up with that?
The reasoning behind this can most be understood when comparing what happens to plants vs. what happens to animals once they are harvested. When you are hunting a deer, for example, the danger of the deer hurting you is eliminated once that animal has been killed. The deer can no longer charge at you or kick you - any potential threat is eliminated. Plants, on the other hand, are a different story. Almost all plants produce defensive chemicals and proteins in order to protect themselves from bacteria, insects, and more. These include tannins, flavonoids, cytotoxins, lectins, etc. These defenses do not disappear, and generally do not even weaken, once the plant has been harvested. Due to this, depending on the health and history of the person, various plants can cause various levels of inflammation and inflammatory reactions when eaten. Fruits are often the exception, however, because most fruits want to be eaten (so their defenses are low or nonexistent). The very reason fruits are full of sugar and often brightly colored is to attract animals to eat them, as that is the mechanism used to spread their seeds.
So… Should I do the carnivore diet?
If you’ve read my blogs or worked with me before, you probably know what I’m going to say. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Who are you? What is your medical background? What health conditions are you managing (or not managing)? What are your goals?
I always like to remind people that there is little to no value in making a nutritional protocol harder than it has to be. If you have a health condition that you want to manage, or you want to see how you look, feel, and perform doing something different, by all means try it. Think of it like trying on a sweater - you just need to see how it fits. Maybe you love it and wear it to all of your holiday parties, and maybe you’ll hate it and throw it away (or regift it to Chad from HR). This, like many things health-related, is an n=1 experiment.