The carnivore diet, a highly restrictive eating plan centered around animal products, has garnered attention for its potential health benefits and drawbacks. Proponents suggest it can aid in weight loss, improve mental health, and regulate blood sugar, while critics express concerns about nutrient deficiencies, long-term sustainability, and potential health risks. This article delves into the carnivore diet, exploring its purported benefits, potential risks, and its connection to anxiety, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of this controversial dietary approach.
What is the Carnivore Diet?
The carnivore diet is a restrictive diet that only includes meat, fish, and other animal foods like eggs and certain dairy products. It excludes all other foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. Its proponents also recommend eliminating or limiting dairy intake to foods that are low in lactose - a sugar found in milk and dairy products - such as butter and hard cheeses.
The carnivore diet stems from the controversial belief that human ancestral populations ate mostly meat and fish and that high-carb diets are to blame for today’s high rates of chronic disease. Shawn Baker, an American orthopedic doctor, is the most well-known proponent of the carnivore diet.
Other popular low-carb diets, like the keto and paleo diets, limit but don’t exclude carb intake. However, the carnivore diet aims for zero carbs.
Foods Included in the Carnivore Diet
Specifically, someone on the carnivore diet can eat:
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- Meat: beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, etc.
- Organ meats: Liver, kidney, sweatbread, tripe, heart, brain
- Fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, crab, lobster, tilapia, herring, etc.
- Other animal products: eggs, lard, bone marrow, bone broth, etc.
- Low-lactose dairy (in small amounts): heavy cream, hard cheese, butter, etc.
- Water
According to some proponents of the diet, salt, pepper, and seasonings with no carbs are allowed. In addition, some people choose to eat yogurt, milk, and soft cheese, but these foods are typically not included due to their carb contents.
Foods Excluded from the Carnivore Diet
All foods that do not come from animals are excluded from the carnivore diet.
Restricted foods include:
- Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, green beans, peppers, etc.
- Fruits: apples, berries, bananas, kiwi, oranges, etc.
- High-lactose dairy: milk, yogurt, soft cheese, etc.
- Legumes: beans, lentils, etc.
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, etc.
- Grains: rice, wheat, bread, quinoa, pasta, etc.
- Alcohol: beer, wine, liquor, etc.
- Sugars: table sugar, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc.
- Beverages other than water: soda, coffee, tea, fruit juice, etc.
While some people incorporate some of these foods, a strict carnivore diet does not permit them.
Purported Benefits of the Carnivore Diet
Influencers promoting the carnivore diet share many potential benefits, usually supported by anecdotal accounts. Scientific research specific to the eating plan is in short supply.
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Here are a few of the most cited positives:
- Weight loss: Your body uses carbs for energy. If you’re not eating carbs, your body turns to burning body fat for fuel in a process known as ketosis. This can lead to increased metabolism and weight loss.
- Blood sugar management: The carnivore diet can stabilize blood sugar (glucose) levels by preventing the blood sugar spikes after you chow down on carbs or sugary foods.
- Chronic disease control: Research links a high-carb diet - particularly from sugars - to various chronic diseases. Taking your carb count to zero addresses that specific risk factor.
- Better mental health: Some studies connect meat consumption to lower rates of depression and anxiety. Many also talk of achieving greater mental clarity while on a carnivore diet.
Weight Loss
Certain aspects of the carnivore diet may lead to weight loss. Specifically, some studies have shown that high-protein and low-carb diets can promote weight loss. This is mostly because protein, as well as fat, can help you feel more full after meals, which may lead to reduced calorie intake and subsequent weight loss. Protein can also increase your metabolic rate, helping you burn more calories.
Therefore, following the carnivore diet would likely cause you to feel fuller and eat fewer calories overall - at least in the short term.
Blood Sugar Management
Due to the removal of highly processed carbohydrates in the carnivore diet, you might see some early benefits such as improved blood pressure, reduced belly fat, and improved cardiovascular health. Whether these benefits are lasting, however, is less clear.
High-sugar foods can also be problematic for people with diabetes, as they can spike blood sugar levels. In fact, limiting refined carbs and sugary foods is often recommended to control diabetes.
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However, the complete elimination of carbs on the carnivore diet is not recommended or necessary for diabetes management. Instead, eating smaller amounts of wholesome, high-fiber carbs that don’t cause spikes in blood sugar is recommended.
Mental Health
Some studies connect meat consumption to lower rates of depression and anxiety.
Meat consumption was associated with lower depression and lower anxiety compared to meat abstention. Compared to vegans, meat consumers experienced both lower depression and anxiety.
Potential Risks and Downsides of the Carnivore Diet
Going to a meat-based diet can bring side effects that negatively affect your health. Issues include:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Digestive problems
- Muscle cramps
- Kidney function
Due to its highly restrictive nature and complete elimination of the majority of food groups, there are many downsides to the carnivore diet.
Heart Disease
The carnivore diet is high in saturated fats that can raise your “bad cholesterol” (LDL) levels and put you at higher risk for heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends limiting red meat to protect your ticker.
Given that the carnivore diet consists solely of animal foods, it can be high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Saturated fat may raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol, which may increase your risk of heart disease. However, recent studies have shown that the link between saturated fat intake and heart disease risk may not be as strong as previously believed.
Still, consuming high amounts of saturated fat on the carnivore diet may be of concern. No research has analyzed the health effects of eating animal foods exclusively. Therefore, the effects of consuming such high levels of fat and cholesterol are unknown.
Cancer
Eating large amounts of red meat has been linked to increased risk for colorectal cancer, which can be divided into colon cancer and rectal cancer, as well as several other types of cancer.
Red and processed meat intake has also been linked to higher rates of certain types of cancer, including colon and rectal cancer.
Digestive Problems
Meat takes longer to digest, and slowing down that process can lead to constipation. Plus, the carnivore diet lacks fiber to help keep things moving along.
Fiber, a non-digestible carb that promotes gut health and healthy bowel movements, is only found in plant foods.
Thus, the carnivore diet contains no fiber, which may lead to constipation as a side effect. Additionally, fiber is incredibly important for the proper balance of bacteria in your gut. In fact, suboptimal gut health can lead to a number of issues and may even be linked to colon cancer.
In fact, one review found that a high-protein, low-carb diet may increase your risk for gut inflammation. When your body digests large amounts of protein, it creates potentially harmful byproducts in your gut. These byproducts may have a negative effect on the health of your bowels.
Overall, following the carnivore diet may harm your gut health.
Muscle Cramps
The lack of key nutrients in a meat-based diet can lead to electrolyte imbalances that cause muscle cramps, as well as dizziness, fatigue and general weakness.
Kidney Function
Eating a diet high in animal protein can place added stress on your kidneys, which may affect their long-term filtering function. Eating more meat also may contribute to kidney stone formation.
Nutrient Deficiencies
The carnivore diet eliminates highly nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, all of which contain beneficial vitamins and minerals.
While meat is nutritious and provides many micronutrients, it should not be the only part of your diet. Following a restrictive diet like the carnivore diet may lead to deficiencies in some nutrients and the overconsumption of others. What’s more, diets that are rich in plant-based foods have been associated with a lower risk of certain long-term conditions like heart disease, certain cancers, Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes.
This is not only due to the high vitamin, fiber, and mineral contents of plant foods but also their beneficial plant compounds and antioxidants.
The carnivore diet does not contain these compounds and has not been associated with any long-term health benefits.
High in Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium
Given that the carnivore diet consists solely of animal foods, it can be high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Moreover, some processed meats, especially bacon and breakfast meats, also contain high amounts of sodium. Eating a lot of these foods on the carnivore diet can lead to excessive sodium intake, which has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, kidney disease, and other negative health outcomes.
Suitability for Certain Populations
The carnivore diet may be especially problematic for certain populations.
For example, those who need to limit their protein intake, including people with chronic kidney disease, should not follow the diet.
Also, those who are more sensitive to the cholesterol in foods, or cholesterol hyper-responders, should be cautious about consuming so many high-cholesterol foods.
Furthermore, certain populations with special nutrient needs would likely not meet them on the carnivore diet. This includes children and people who are pregnant or lactating.
Lastly, those who have anxiety about food or a history of disordered eating should not try this diet.
Long-Term Sustainability
The carnivore diet is difficult to follow long term and does not offer much variety.
The Carnivore Diet and Anxiety: A Closer Look
While some studies suggest that meat consumption may be associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety, anecdotal evidence suggests that some individuals experience increased anxiety on the carnivore diet. One theory proposes that this may be related to the balance of glutamate and GABA, important neurotransmitters in the brain.
The Glutamate/GABA Balance
Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, while GABA is a calming neurotransmitter. An imbalance with high glutamate and low GABA has been associated with various problems, including sleep disturbances, increased blood glucose levels due to elevated cortisol, psychiatric disorders like anxiety and OCD, migraines, diabetes, and neurological conditions.
Some individuals may have genetic polymorphisms in the GAD1 genes, responsible for converting glutamate to GABA. Individuals with these polymorphisms may struggle more with the carnivore diet due to the higher glutamate levels in many of the foods which are commonly consumed.
Glutamate Content in Foods
Many of the foods commonly consumed on the carnivore diet are high in glutamic acid. Meats like fish, turkey, shrimp, beef, and poultry tend to be higher in glutamic acid.
Interestingly, many of the carnivore foods recommended to alleviate anxiety, such as fat, eggs, butter, and cream, had lower glutamic acid content. Incorporating more of these foods moderately improved symptoms in some individuals.
Even cultures whose diets were closest to the modern carnivore diet consumed foods that could offset the intake of high-glutamate foods. For instance, the Inuit consumed a significant amount of animal fats, which are much lower in glutamate compared to muscle meat. The Maasai diet, while predominantly meat-based, also included a substantial amount of milk, which has significantly lower glutamate levels.