What Is The Carnivore Diet & Is It Good For You?

In the last few years, the carnivore diet has become extremely popular, being discussed on the news and across podcasting platforms like the Joe Rogan Experience. This diet consists of a high protein and fat content diet with lots of fruits and hardly any vegetables. This diet is supposed to help put your body in a state of ketosis along with helping to balance hormones and keep body fat percentage to a minimum. Along with avoiding processed foods, high carbohydrate foods, and more, the better your body will be able to maintain a healthy weight, with less inflammation and more energy, according to the research behind the carnivore diet. In today's article, we will deeply dive into the carnivore diet and everything it offers.

What is The Carnivore Diet and How Does it Work?

The carnivore diet consists primarily of animal-based products and food groups. Most like to say the nose-to-tail diet approach, where you eat the organs and the meat. Get all you can from the animal, which is said to have no carbs in the carnivore diet. When we do not have carbohydrates for an extended period, it can become extremely harmful to our hormones and brain. No whey has added fruit, raw honey, and maple syrup to the diet as good sources of carbohydrates. Now you may be thinking honey and maple syrup. Isn't that a bunch of sugar? Studies have indicated that raw organic unfiltered honey is good for regulating blood sugar, so having some each day is good for your immune system and blood sugar. A balanced amount of fruit within your carnivore diet is optimal for energy and hormone balance.

The carnivore diet is known to help with weight loss, hormone balancing, and energy.

What Foods To Eat & What Foods to Avoid

When it comes to the carnivore diet, it's all about the quality of the food you eat. Ensure you eat all grass-fed and pasture-raised meats so you get the most nutrients possible from the best meat on the market. Many people have argued that red meat causes cancer; there is conflicting research saying otherwise. It's not about the meat itself. It's how the animals are treated and fed throughout their lifetime. If they are fed vegetarian feed, trapped in pins all day, and injected with harmful chemicals, their meat will be disease-ridden. So getting your meat from quality sources is the first step, linked below I will have some of the top meat subscription companies in the country and a list of food you should include and avoid following the carnivore diet;

- White Oak Pastures

- Wild pastures

- Butcher box

Foods to implement:

- Organ meats (liver, heart, brain, pancreas, kidney, testicle)

- Grass-fed beef

- Pasture-raised chicken and pork

- Wild-caught fish (Salmon, trout, cod, mackerel, sardines)

- Butter

- Raw Cows and goats milk

- Bone marrow

- Eggs

- Pink Himalayan salt, mineral salt

- Fruits

- Raw organic unfiltered honey

- Organic maple syrup

Foods to avoid:

- Alcohol

- Vegetables

- Seeds

- Nuts

- Bread

- Pasta

- Grains

- Legumes

Anything that isn't animal-based and fruit should be avoided on this diet.

Will The Carnivore Diet Help With Weight Loss?

With the carnivore diet consisting of mostly protein, this can help to reduce your appetite as protein is filling, along with eating plenty of fruit, your sugar cravings will drastically change. Since protein is lower calorically than most other macronutrients, your will lose weight just from having a higher protein intake. A lot of the fat in the meat will also reduce your appetite.

One 3-month study in 132 adults with excess weight or obesity compared the weight loss effects of 4 energy-restricted diets containing varying amounts of carbs and protein (6Trusted Source).

Those who ate high-protein diets with 0.4–0.6 grams of protein per pound (0.9–1.3 grams per kilogram) of body weight per day lost significantly more weight and fat mass than those who ate 0.2–0.4 grams of protein per pound (0.5–0.9 grams per kilogram) of body weight per day.

The Benefits of the Carnivore Diet

The benefits of the carnivore diet are improved energy usage, better digestion, decreased inflammation, mood improvement, and better weight management. From the testimonials and followers, personal experiences, they all agree that it is a way to reset your body's ability to digest food and take a break from eating all of the inflammatory and toxic food in our society.

Eating a lower carbohydrate and higher protein diet sends your body into a state of ketosis, where your body runs primarily on fat. This acts on your body's stored fat giving you lasting energy and helping you burn the visceral fat off your body. Along with that, the nutrient you are consuming also cleans the blood and removes unwanted inflammation.

It helps with the body's ability to digest food better with the amount of amino acids and fatty acids you consume. Your body rebuilds its endocrine receptors and amino acid profile in the gut, which provides our body with digestive enzymes that help with nutrient absorption.

Better weight management as your body is running strictly on fat and protein, which prevents your body from storing extra carbohydrates.

More energy because your body is running on high amounts of omega-three fatty acids, providing your brain with sustainable energy.

Potential Risks of the Diet?

With any diet, there are potential risks, and some that may come with the carnivore diet are;

Diarrhea or constipation: with as much protein you consume, you will experience bouts of diarrhea at first, and then with lacking fiber in your diet, you may experience constipation in later stages. To avoid these issues, adding fruit and fresh organic raw honey will help keep you regular.

It can be hard to sustain since the food selection is limited, but I recommend switching things up monthly to help support this lifestyle if you want to follow it.

Repetition: Eating a lot of meat and organ meats and fruit and honey can get repetitive, which could limit some to following the diet for long periods.

Some health risks: Overeating meat can increase the risk of high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease. You should not follow this diet if you have kidney issues or genetic dispositions with your kidneys. It is also essential to work with your doctor to keep your iron levels in check, as you may need to donate if your levels are too high.

Quality matters: Not all meat is equal, making sure you buy organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed, and grass-finished beef is essential, as processed and regular heart is inflammatory and can cause health issues.

Take away

My takeaway for you in this article is that you can use the positives from this diet and research to see if it is the right fit for you. This diet has many benefits, and it could be an excellent way for anyone to rest their metabolism and reduce inflammation.