In recent times, we have been “shown” and taught that the best foods for our bodies are plant based foods because they tend to contain essential nutrients, living enzymes and are bioavailable.
As a result, many people have switched from meat based diets and foods, and taken to vegetarian or vegan diets. There are studies that have linked meat based products to all sorts of health conditions, chief of which are kidney disease and cancer.
However, there’s a new movement claiming that this is untrue and that a meat based diet can actually do wonders for your health.
What Is The Carnivore Diet?
The Carnivore Diet is a relatively new dieting regimen chiefly promoted by Dr. Shawn Baker, an orthopedic doctor, fitness enthusiast and self-confessed lifelong meat only adherent.
The diet essentially recommends the consumption of animal protein in the form of meat, eggs and all forms of animal based products.
Shawn claims that the studies regarding the link between meat and cancer or other diseases like kidney disease were largely cherry picked, and that there is no real study showing concrete, irrefutable link between the consumption of meat and the development of those diseases.
Naturally, this has sparked a movement particularly among meat loving individuals who don’t want to give up meat just to stay fit –as recommended in most diet plans- and fierce debates about the veracity and efficacy of his meat based diet.
The carnivore diet simply states that you should cut out all carbs and eat only high protein meat based foods. These include grass-fed beef, chicken, turkey, eggs, pork, animal entrails and steaks or any other animal produce.
The only animal produce you will need to avoid is dairy, particularly if you’re lactose intolerant or are allergic to milk.
Carnivore Diet Foods
If you’re thinking of going on the carnivore based diet, you should eat more of the following foods:
- Eggs with their yolk –none of that egg white only meal
- High fat fish like salmon and sardine
- Meat of all forms and their fatty products like lard and tallow
These are essentially all you need. As you can see, there’s no carbohydrate on the list. That’s because this is a largely carb-deficient diet. If you’re worried about getting the requisite amount of calories needed to go about your day, don’t be.
Meat based high protein sources when eaten in significant quantities, will provide you with all the calories you need. Also note that plant based proteins are not included in this list. That’s because plants, fruits and vegetables are discouraged when you’re on this diet.
The thinking is that most allergies that people suffer have their origins in plant based foods. Maybe it’s because of the high amounts of lectins in most plants, which essentially makes over 95 percent of all plants technically unhealthy for consumption.
For those who don’t know, lectins are hormones/compounds produced by plants to deter predators from consuming them. And they are still bioavailable, long after the plant has been harvested and prepared.
Since most people largely expose the vegetables and fruits to low/non-existent heat, these lectins are still pretty much active when they are eaten.
Benefits Of The Carnivore Diet
According to Shawn and many other adherents, there have been many listed benefits of going on the Carnivore Diet. Most of these benefits allegedly become evident within weeks of going on the diet. Some of these benefits include:
- Increased weight loss and management
- Less digestive health issues
- Increased testosterone levels particularly among men
- Enhanced cognition, focus and productivity
- Lower bad cholesterol levels
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Increased energy levels
- Better results from bodybuilding activities
- Reduced rate of systemic inflammation
Please note that none of these claims are actually proven to be true. They are largely first or second person accounts from individuals. There’s no scientific data or process involved, so you might want to take these claims with a pinch of salt or at least try to verify them before you embark on the diet.
Difference Between Ketogenic and The Carnivore Diet
It is often important to differentiate between both diets because they share a major food group: protein. In fact, most fans of the carnivore diet started with Keto diet and progressed from there.
In summary, keto diet is a low carb high protein diet that’s designed around our ancestors’ diet. So, there’s a lot of emphasis on plant protein, animal protein, little or no dairy and lots of fruits and vegetables.
The carnivore diet is primarily an animal protein based diet. There are no plants, no fruits, no veggies. You eat only meat and its products for the duration of the diet. This is really a more indulgent diet for meat lovers and those who don’t fancy plants in their foods.
Possible Concerns About The Carnivore Diet
One of the major concerns about carnivore diet is its long term impact on your overall health. More specifically, its impact on your gut health and digestion.
It is often thought that eating a primarily meat based diet will result in a pile of unprocessed or rotting meat storing away in the colon and stomach, resulting in terrible health conditions later on.
This supposed blockage or putrefaction from the ingestion of red meat is purely fictional. You see, your body is built to digest food materials, absorb the nutrients and expel the waste.
Much of the meat that is ingested is often digested and any leftovers passed out through your urine or feces. There’s nothing stored away in your gut. If there was, chances are that you would already be in deep trouble from all the junk foods you ate when you were younger.
So, your digestive health is never under any threat of damage, neither is your gut biome going to be affected in any way. And you’re worried about nutritional deficiencies, you can always supplement with multivitamins, even though that’s unnecessary as your meat based diet will provide you with the requisite amount of nutrients.
