[The Conversation]

What Is The ‘Carnivore Diet’ And Is It A Bad Idea?​

You may have heard of the carnivore diet, and the claims it is beneficial for our health.

Many diet trends, such as the paleo and Atkins diets, advocate high protein and low carbohydrate intake. But the carnivore diet takes this trend to the extreme.

So what is it, and is it bad for your health?

What is the carnivore diet?​

As the name implies, the carnivore diet involves only eating meat and animal products.


There is no official definition, but followers of this diet advocate eating red meat, pork, chicken and other poultry, eggs, fish and seafood. Some low-lactose dairy can be included, such as cheese and yoghurt.

All plant foods are typically excluded. So no fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains or nuts and seeds.

An example of what you could eat on a typical day might be:

Breakfast: eggs and bacon (without toast)

Lunch: lamb burger (without the bun)

Dinner: rib eye steak (with no sides)

A standard breakfast on the carnivore diet might be eggs and bacon without toast or sides. Pexels/freestocksorg, CC BY​

Are there any nutritional benefits?​

The short answer is no.

It may be theoretically possible to get all essential vitamins and mineral from animal products. For example, lean red meat is a good source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12, while oily fish is a good source of essential fatty acids, such as omega-3s.

But unless your diet is very well planned, eating only animal meat could lead to insufficient intake of certain vitamins and minerals. This is especially the case with vitamin C and folate, where the main food sources are fruits, vegetables and wholegrains.

Importantly, dietary fibre is noticeably absent from a carnivore diet. This is a problem because a low-fibre diet can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

To avoid any dietary deficiencies, the Australian Guide to Healthy Eatingrecommends eating from the five core food groups: fruits, vegetables, cereals, lean meats and dairy.

Is it bad for your health?​

Most likely.

Most evidence for benefits of this diet is anecdotal – based on personal experiences, rather than scientific evidence.

A recent article identified self-reported health benefits and high satisfaction among adults who followed a carnivore diet for six months or more. However, since the study involved asking people how much they liked a diet they had chosen to put themselves on, we can’t conclude much from its findings.

When it comes to high protein diets in general, we know the amount and quality of protein matters.

Research tells us sustaining a high protein diet over a long period of time (six months or more) could impair the ability of our liver, intestine and kidneys to detoxify ammonia, which is the waste product made by our body during the digestion of protein.

For example, a 12-month randomised controlled trial looked at how protein affects kidney function. Researchers prescribed adults to either an Atkins diet (30% of total energy intake from protein) or a control diet (15% of total energy intake from protein, which is close to the typical Australian diet).

The trial reported a rise in clearance of creatinine (a product of protein digestion) in adults on the Atkins diet at 12 months, but not 24 months. This could suggest that after a time, the kidneys became less able to clear away potentially harmful byproducts of excess protein, leading to kidney injury.

The only study on the carnivore diet was a self-reported survey of people who had chosen to go on the diet. Emerson vieira/Unsplash, CC BY​

However, because of the limited food selection, high cost of meat, repetitive nature of many high protein diets, and concerns over whether it would be ethical, there aren’t many long-term trials.

That said, evidence from large and long-term observational studies tells us diets high in red meat and processed meats increase our risk of heart diseaseand many cancers.

While one person may be able to sustain a carnivore diet for months, or even years, without any health complications, that’s certainly not going to be the case for everyone.

How much meat is too much?​

For an adult, a high-protein diet is generally defined as consuming 2 grams or more of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

So for an 80kg male, this would be 160g of protein per day. And what does 160g of protein in whole foods look like? It’s about equivalent to six medium lamb chops a day (550g of meat).

The Conversation, CC BY-ND​

When we compare this with national guidelines, the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend the average adult eats a maximum of 455g of cooked lean red meat per week (or 65g a day, equivalent to one small lamb chop).

For heart health specifically, the Heart Foundation recommends eating less than 350g of cooked unprocessed red meat per week (50g a day).

So what’s the verdict?​

The strongest evidence shows eating a diet rich in whole plant foods, such as fruit and vegetables, with a moderate amount of lean and unprocessed red meat, poultry and fish is good for our health.

For this reason, the Mediterranean diet has become ubiquitous with a healthy diet.

If you are considering trying a high-protein diet, it’s recommended to first consult a health professional, such as an accredited practising dietitian.

This article was first published on The Conversation, and was written by Katherine Livingstone, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University

 

[Lizzie1149]

Well I can probably name a lot of people who do carnivore diet and some for many years. They are still healthy. I myself have gone this way. Lots out there do very low carb and keto. Very low carb has been a treatment for epilepsy for 100 years or so. Big thing is we don't need carbohydrates, our bodies can make the small amount it needs, it's called gluconeogenisis. Current diets based on ultra processed junk, fizzy drinks and seed oils are just poison to the human body. And don't get me started about the Mediterranean diet, that is one of the biggest cons. How many countries border the Mediterranean Sea. Lots and they all have different diets. No one diet for all of them. Total rubbish. We can get all the nutrients we need from a meat only diet provided we buy good quality. Even replacing some of the basic supermarket meat with some grass fed, grass finished from the local butcher will help to be healthy. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate

 

[Macarj]

Any one who needs to be on losing weight diet should only see a dietician it is well known a balanced diet of protein and fruit and veg is the only proper diet and the amount you eat is what determines what weight you lose if you have managed your eating all your life hopefully as you age you might not get too much over weight

 

[Lizzie1149]

Any one who needs to be on losing weight diet should only see a dietician it is well known a balanced diet of protein and fruit and veg is the only proper diet and the amount you eat is what determines what weight you lose if you have managed your eating all your life hopefully as you age you might not get too much over weight

that is rubbish. We have been taught that by the very companies that make money of getting us sick. Diabetics should not eat fruit or high starch veg. Bet there aren't too many who tell you that. I know a lot of qualified doctors and dieticians who have fixed their own health problems with low carb/keto and some with a carnivore diet. Most of our health issue today are because we eat stuff that is not suitable for human consumption. Even the fruit has been bred to be much sweeter than it used to be. Find the post on the internet about how many teaspoons of sugar are in fruits and veg. All carbohydrates, fruit, veg, processed stuff like cereal turn to glucose in your body so your body can digest it. Too much glucose for a long time = diabetes. Our bodies don't need any of it. But if you must eat any of it, a few betties are okay, in season and green veg tend to not give too much grief. The idea that vitamin c is needed in high doses is rubbish too. We only need it if we eat junk food and seed oils as it negates the oxidisation in the body. If you don't eat it you don't need it. Get enough from real foods

 

[Thecheesequeen]

Well I can probably name a lot of people who do carnivore diet and some for many years. They are still healthy. I myself have gone this way. Lots out there do very low carb and keto. Very low carb has been a treatment for epilepsy for 100 years or so. Big thing is we don't need carbohydrates, our bodies can make the small amount it needs, it's called gluconeogenisis. Current diets based on ultra processed junk, fizzy drinks and seed oils are just poison to the human body. And don't get me started about the Mediterranean diet, that is one of the biggest cons. How many countries border the Mediterranean Sea. Lots and they all have different diets. No one diet for all of them. Total rubbish. We can get all the nutrients we need from a meat only diet provided we buy good quality. Even replacing some of the basic supermarket meat with some grass fed, grass finished from the local butcher will help to be healthy. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate

 

[Ricci]

I'm going to be starting a new diet soon, it's called The Cost of Living diet where we just go to the shops and gaze at all the stuff we would buy if we could afford it!!

 

[terri]

That would get really boring really quickly. I eat meat but dont think eating only meat would be that appealing.

 

[Gailforce]

Having tried numerous different diets over the years I can honestly say that for my husband & I, going whole food, plant based for the past 18 months is the best decision we have made. My husband no longer needs to take blood pressure & cholesterol meds & he’s 74. I’m 63 & have never had to take meds. Neither of us smoke & we stopped drinking alcohol 6 years ago when my hubby had a health scare. He had a mini stroke behind his left eye which caused the loss of sight in that eye! We walk on average 5klms a day & have never been fitter or healthier.