My Thoughts on the Carnivore Diet

 The carnivore diet has been becoming increasingly popular on social media, where people eat butter by the sticks, avoid fruit and vegetables, and eat large amounts of animal products. This diet has caught my attention because of the severe restrictions, so let's talk about it!

To begin, there are lots of diets that include animal products, so to be clear I am talking about people who solely avoid fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, anything that isn't derive from an animal. I have seen people on the carnivore diet who literally eat butter by the sticks. Some of them even eat raw meat!

Let's clarify that I'm not saying that dairy, meat, or eggs are bad for us. Animal products are arguably some of the most nutrient-dense foods we could possibly eat due to the abundance of protein, minerals (iron, selenium, iodine, calcium, zinc, etc), vitamins (B6, B12, vitamin A, etc), and much more. Some minerals, including iron, are more bioavailable to us, meaning we can absorb more of it. For example, iron is categorized as heme or non-heme. Non-heme iron is found in plants, but only 3-5% of it is able to be absorbed. Heme iron is found in animals, were 15-35% of it is able to be absorbed.

The problem with the carnivore diet is that it lacks several nutrients that are beneficial to our bodies, such as fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium to name a few. Vitamin C helps with collagen synthesis (which helps make your skin shine), potassium and magnesium are important for many functions in the body such as muscle contractions, and eating fiber has been shown to reduce your risk of colon cancer, help you live longer, and maintain a healthy gut flora.

Some of you may be seeing people lose drastic amounts of weight with this diet, so what could be the cause?

1. Since they are eating high amounts of protein and fat, they are feeling full quickly and eating less calories
2. Carbohydrates tend to make us hold onto some water so they might have lost some weight due to this
3. They are not eating things like ultra-processed foods (chips, cookies, crackers, cake, etc) that are full of calories but not nutrient-dense

I think the key point that I want to share is that the goal of nutrition should be able to eat a diverse variety of foods, rather than cutting entire food groups of our diet. So, I don't support diets such as the carnivore and vegan due to the severe restriction. Life is full of moments where you should be able to eat cake at a birthday party, eat watermelon at a BBQ, eat a hamburger on a Friday night, or eat a salad you made from your garden. Let's bring back eating in a way that is varied and balanced!

What are your thoughts on the carnivore diet?

Gabby