The carnivore diet, a way of eating that restricts food intake to mainly animal meats and fats, has gained popularity as an elimination diet. As with any restrictive diet, questions arise about how to ensure adequate nutrient intake. One such question revolves around salt: is it a necessary or even beneficial addition to a carnivore diet? This article explores the role of salt, sodium, and other essential minerals in the context of a carnivore diet.
The Carnivore Diet: An Overview
The carnivore diet, also known as the "zero carb" diet, is a restrictive eating plan that advises the consumption of only animal products and a few other items. There are several different versions of the carnivore diet ranging from the most restrictive to a little more lenient on what foods you can eat.
- Hardcore Carnivore: The most strict version in which you would only eat animal meat and animal fats. For seasoning, stick to just salt.
- Keto Carnivore: This is a combination of ketogenic diet and carnivore diet in which you would eat animal meat and animal fats for the majority of your diet, but also add in some low-carb vegetables and non-animal fats.
In all versions of the carnivore diet, animal-based foods are the cornerstone of the diet. The quality of the foods you are eating on the carnivore diet is very important.
Salt: A Contentious Issue
Salt has become a point of contention within the carnivore community. Some diet proponents add generous pinches of mineral-rich salt to every meal. In contrast, others swear off added salt entirely, arguing that a truly ancestral carnivore diet would supply all necessary electrolytes through whole animal foods alone.
For the portion of the carnivore and carnivore-adjacent communities that don’t rely on salt, the primary perspective for omitting it from your diet is that additional salt is not needed beyond the trace amounts already found in meat. According to MacGregor and de Wardener, “For 5 million years, …our ancestors added no salt to their diet. Nowadays, such a diet would be considered very low in salt. This was the diet of all mammals during evolution, and they were fairly adapted to it. Humans, like other mammals, relied on the small amounts of salt naturally present in food to regulate the amount of fluid in the body.
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While the above take on eating additional salt beyond what meat provides above may be ancestrally congruent, ancestral eaters that incorporate a modern and individual take on their meat-based diet choose to include salt as advocates for the addition to the diet. The idea behind adding salt and other trace minerals to your diet comes from the biological breakdown of essential vitamin and mineral minimum requirements that you need. Sodium is “one of the body's electrolytes, which are minerals that the body needs in relatively large amounts. Most of the body’s sodium is located in blood and in the fluid around cells.
Ancestral Perspectives on Salt Intake
Understanding salt’s role in a carnivore diet requires a shift in thinking-from the sodium-obsessed warnings of modern medicine to a broader consideration of what salt is, and why it's crucial for biological function.
Pulling from the above review and according to MacGregor and de Wardener, “For 5 million years, …our ancestors added no salt to their diet. Nowadays, such a diet would be considered very low in salt. This was the diet of all mammals during evolution, and they were fairly adapted to it. Humans, like other mammals, relied on the small amounts of salt naturally present in food to regulate the amount of fluid in the body.
In the ancestral world, salt and electrolytes came from diverse sources-blood, fresh organ meat, bone marrow, and mineral-rich water. The Maasai people of East Africa are well known for drinking raw blood mixed with raw milk as part of their everyday diet. It provides protein and a rich supply of electrolytes-including sodium, potassium, and magnesium-in a highly bioavailable form.
Indigenous groups throughout history consumed blood from hunted animals immediately after the kill, often raw or only lightly cooked. In doing so, they gained access to a matrix of minerals, enzymes, and compounds completely lost in the modern model of meat consumption.
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The Importance of Sodium and Other Electrolytes
Sodium is only one piece of the puzzle. When naturally sourced, salt often comes with a package of trace minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium. The higher the consumption of fiber, the lower the risk of colon cancer.
Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are foundational to life. These minerals regulate virtually every system in the body, from nerve conduction and heart rhythm to blood pressure and digestion. They work together to keep nerves firing, muscles functioning, and hydration levels stable within and outside cells.
Sodium gives you an electric charge when it dissolves in the blood. But, the carnivore diet is extremely low in carbs, entails a low sodium intake, and has low potassium. This means adding more salt to the food is safe if you’re on a carnivore diet.
Addressing the "Keto Flu" and Transitioning to Carnivore
Salt can also be particularly advantageous for those transitioning onto a carnivore diet to help reduce common negative side effects, with the most prominent one being known as “Keto Flu” or “Carnivore Flu.” This happens when your body transitions from carbohydrates as the main source of fuel and has to learn to transition to fat as the main source of fuel and energy.
During this time, your body experiences three primary changes; water and sodium flushing, increased cortisol levels, and a potential decrease in T3 thyroid hormones. Common symptoms during this “flu” include headaches, cramping, brain fog, fatigue, and insomnia for up to 30 days during the energy source transition.
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One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of ketogenic and carnivore diets is the significant shift in electrolyte requirements, especially sodium, potassium, and magnesium. When carbohydrate intake drops, insulin levels fall as well, and this has a direct effect on how the kidneys handle electrolytes. Under normal, higher-carb conditions, insulin plays a key role in sodium retention by signaling the kidneys to reabsorb sodium rather than excrete it.
When insulin drops, it affects how ADH and other hormones signal the kidneys, prompting increased sodium loss through the urine. Sodium loss also tends to drag other key electrolytes, particularly potassium and magnesium, critical for muscle function, nerve signaling, and energy production. If these minerals aren’t intentionally replenished, the result can be symptoms such as lightheadedness, fatigue, headaches, poor exercise performance, heart palpitations, and muscle cramps.
The Impact of Modern Meat Processing
Today’s meat, by contrast, is frequently trimmed, aged, refrigerated, frozen, and vacuum-sealed. Refrigeration, freezing, and transportation change everything-blood coagulates, cells lyse, and sensitive compounds begin to degrade. Kosher and halal practices-though rooted in religious and ethical traditions-require that the blood be entirely drained from the animal.
The loss of blood from the diet means the loss of a primary source of sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and calcium-nutrients that our ancestors likely took for granted. In addition to that, the disappearance of organ meats from mainstream consumption makes it clear why even animal-based eaters struggle with electrolyte balance. We’re eating meat, but not the whole animal, and the parts we’ve lost are some of the most mineral-rich.
Shelf stability is largely to blame for the nutrient loss we see in modern meat. Meat processors prioritize safety and longevity, which often means removing the most perishable components of the animal-blood, most organs, connective tissue, and fat. These parts spoil quickly and present logistical challenges in transportation and storage. So, to keep meat fresh and safe on grocery store shelves, it’s stripped down to its most basic form: lean muscle. This processing makes shipping, storing, and cooking easier, but the tradeoff is a steep reduction in the food’s nutrient complexity.
Potassium and Magnesium: Often Overlooked
While sodium gets most of the attention, many symptoms attributed to "too much salt"-like cramping, fatigue, and dizziness-are actually signs of magnesium and potassium deficiency. The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for potassium is around 2,600 to 3,400 mg daily, depending on age and sex, while magnesium falls between 310 and 420 mg.
Carnivore dieters relying on muscle meat alone may unknowingly miss magnesium-rich sources like liver, heart, connective tissue, and bone broth. Stress, caffeine, alcohol, and poor sleep further deplete magnesium stores, compounding the problem.
Types of Salt for a Carnivore Diet
If you determine that you need to supplement your sodium intake, choosing the right type of salt is important. Here are a few options:
- Redmond Real Sea Salt: This salt is natural, unrefined, kosher salt. It provides the necessary electrolytes and minerals for a carnivore diet and enriches the dishes. Redmond salt isn’t heat-processed, meaning it doesn’t have any additives, only natural components.
- Himalayan Chef Pink Salt: Himalayan Chef pink salt is ethically sourced salt. Himalayan pink salt has 84 minerals and some traces of iron, which provide health benefits, including the prevention of muscle cramps.
- Maldon Sea Salt Flakes: Maldon makes sea salt flakes that come in a massive 20 oz resealable tub. Maldon has been manufacturing salt since 1882, and they use the same artisan methods to this day.
Making an Informed Decision
So, where does that leave us-should you be salting your food or skipping it? There’s no one right answer here. Rather than sticking to some strict rule, looking at the bigger picture makes more sense: what you’re eating, where it’s coming from, and how your body actually feels.
If you’re eating a true nose-to-tail carnivore diet-including liver, heart, kidney, bone marrow, connective tissue, and possibly raw dairy-you may be covering your electrolyte bases more effectively than someone eating mostly muscle meat. However, many modern carnivores rely heavily on muscle meats like ribeye and ground beef, often from refrigerated and processed cuts that have lost much of their original fluid and mineral content.
The solution, then, isn’t to fear salt or to overcompensate with massive daily doses, but to understand that sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are foundational to life. To maintain optimal balance on a low-carb or carnivore diet, strategically replacing what’s no longer naturally present in our food supply is often necessary. For some, that may mean increasing salt intake with each meal; for others, it may involve adding bone broth, organ meats, or even mineral supplements to compensate.