Unveiling the Truth: How the Carnivore Diet Impacts Your Heart Health

The carnivore diet, an extremely restrictive dietary approach that has gained popularity through social media, primarily as a quick weight-loss method, involves consuming only animal products. This includes meat, fish, eggs, and certain dairy items, while excluding all plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts. While some proponents claim various health benefits, including weight loss, improved mental clarity, and reduced inflammation, health professionals have raised concerns about its potential long-term effects, particularly on cardiovascular health. This article examines the relationship between the carnivore diet and cardiovascular health, considering both potential risks and purported benefits.

Understanding the Carnivore Diet

The carnivore diet is essentially the most ketogenic diet because it allows for almost no carbs. It is a type of "keto," or ketogenic, diet. Keto diets work like this: The contents of a keto diet do not provide enough calories from glucose and other forms of sugar. To compensate, the body burns fat that creates ketones as an energy source. While some keto diets can emphasize the intake of healthier mono- and polyunsaturated fats, that's not the case with carnivore diets. Because keto diets induce the body to burn fat, all keto diets can jump-start a weight-loss program. This metabolic state, known as ketosis, shifts the body's primary energy source from carbohydrates to fat.

Potential Cardiovascular Risks

High Saturated Fat Intake

One of the main issues is that it’s high in saturated fats due to its high amounts of red meat and dairy. Foods deriving from animals, including red meat, butter, and cheese, are high in saturated fats. Too much saturated fat can increase levels of bad cholesterol (known as non-HDL cholesterol) in the blood. Saturated fats have been shown to increase LDL cholesterol, which can build up in the blood vessels, narrowing them.

Elevated LDL Cholesterol

The diet tends to raise LDL cholesterol levels in both the short and long term. Increased serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations are an established risk factor which may partially explain the positive association with animal foods and CVD. Researchers have found that the carnivore diet increases LDL cholesterol levels, which can contribute to heart disease and other negative health effects. The survey of 2,029 carnivore diet followers found that their median LDL levels were 172 mg/dL, a significant increase that could contribute to cardiovascular disease risk.

Lack of Fiber

For example, the diet contains virtually no fibre, which is a type of carbohydrate only found in plant-based foods that cannot be completely digested. Animal-based diets tend to be much lower in fiber, and indeed, the consumption of fiber, which is inexorably linked to unprocessed plant-food consumption, is associated with reduced CVD incidence in the most rigorous of systematic analyses. Fiber is crucial for gut health, and a lack of it can lead to constipation, microbiome imbalances, and poor digestion.

Other Potential Long-Term Concerns

Other longer-term concerns about keto diets, especially the carnivore diet, include the increased risk of kidney stones, gout, and osteoporosis.

Purported Benefits and Conflicting Views

Weight Loss and Metabolic Improvements

Because keto diets induce the body to burn fat, all keto diets can jump-start a weight-loss program. Foods that are high in protein are often more filling, which could help lower the overall amount of food you eat while on these types of diet. Participants also reported a reduction in body mass index (BMI), while those with diabetes reported reductions in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and diabetes medication use. Individuals with diabetes saw an average reduction of 0.4% in their HbA1c levels, indicating better blood sugar control.

Alternative Perspectives on Saturated Fat

Advice on how to avoid heart disease has stayed relatively the same for decades with one common recommendation being to avoid sources of saturated fat such as red meat-but Florida-based heart surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia challenges this as a "misconception.""The majority of what I eat, the basic framework that I construct what I'm eating around, is things from the animal world, mostly animal protein," Ovadia told Newsweek. That is what is causing the harm-but the red meat took the blame."Instead of cutting out red meat and other sources of saturated fat, he said: "A whole real food, low carbohydrate dietary approach is the best way to deal with insulin resistance and inflammation, which are the true root causes of heart disease."

Addressing Insulin Resistance and Inflammation

"Things like diabetes, things like cancer, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease-all of these things tie back to insulin resistance and inflammation," said Ovadia. "The carnivore diet in particular-but more broadly, low-carbohydrate diets-have now been demonstrated to be particularly effective at dealing with insulin resistance and improving or preventing inflammation."That's why I think they're so powerful when it comes to heart disease and these other chronic diseases."Inflammation is a normal immune system response that can become chronic if it is constantly triggered by dietary or lifestyle factors, such as sugar and ultra-processed food. Insulin resistance is a condition that is the precursor to diabetes. When we eat carbohydrates, the body turns this food into glucose, and the hormone insulin is released to take the glucose out of the bloodstream to be used as energy. Individuals who eat a lot of sugar and refined carbohydrates-such as white bread, pasta, and rice-may develop insulin resistance, where the body gradually struggles to cope with high levels of glucose in the blood.

Improvements in Other Health Conditions

Still, over half of the participants reported improvements in allergies, skin issues, and digestive health, possibly due to eliminating allergenic or inflammatory foods. About 60% of surveyed individuals began the diet to address these concerns, and many reported symptom improvements. Since the diet eliminates processed carbohydrates, sugar, and plant-based irritants, some people may experience a reduction in inflammatory responses.

Scientific Evidence and Studies

Studies on Red Meat Consumption

While the carnivore diet emphasizes red meat, evidence from large-scale studies by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) raises concerns about its potential cardiovascular effects. A systematic review of 7,446 studies found that both processed and unprocessed red meat consumption has links to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), CVD subtypes, and diabetes, with stronger associations in Western populations. Another ACC analysis of data from 29,682 participants reported significant associations between red meat intake and both CVD incidence and all-cause mortality. However, consuming fish and poultry, especially lean and unprocessed, had no links to these risks. Although these studies did not specifically examine the carnivore diet, they provide strong objective evidence for reducing red meat consumption and favoring diets rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, and dairy. At this time, the ACC does not recommend the carnivore diet, emphasizing instead balanced dietary patterns for cardiovascular health and longevity.

Limitations of Existing Research

However, there is a lack of research on the carnivore diet and how it affects health, while some studies suggest it has benefits. For example, the data came from self-reported perceptions of people’s health. Alcohol and fast food consumption were also minimal, differing from typical Western diets. Experts need to conduct further research on the carnivore diet and how it can affect long-term health.

Plant-Based Diets and Cardiovascular Benefits

Plant-based diets have been strongly tied to a reduction in CVD incidence. Illustrative of the Blue Zone diets, the Okinawans in the 20th century had the highest number of centenarians per capita. Their diet was 85% percent carbohydrates derived from whole plant foods, such as sweet potatoes (69% of total calories), grains (19% of total calories) and legumes (6% of total calories), while animal foods comprised 1-2% of total calories of their diet. In 1995, the Okinawan CVD-associated mortality in males was nearly one-sixth the rate of male counterparts in the United States, and among Okinawan woman, CVD-associated mortality was less than one-twelfth the rate of female counterparts in the United States. Similarly, the Seventh-Day Adventists in the United States consume a mostly plant-based diet, and vegetarian men and woman have life expectancies that are 9.5 and 6.1 years greater than their Californian counterparts, respectively. It appears that animal food intake is significantly tied to CVD mortality among males.

Biochemical Mechanisms Linking Animal Foods to CVD

Animal-food-centered diets may (1) increase cardiovascular toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, due to increased serum endotoxins and oxidized LDL cholesterol, (2) increase cardiovascular lipotoxicity, (3) increase renin-angiotensin system components and subsequent angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1R) signaling and (4) increase serum trimethylamine-N-oxide concentrations. These nutritionally mediated factors independently increase cardiovascular oxidative stress and inflammation and are all independently tied to CVD development.

The Importance of a Balanced Diet

Dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine, author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed, told Newsweek: "Although short-term benefits might be reported, the high intake of red meat and lack of carbohydrates in a carnivore diet are concerning for long-term heart and gut health."A more balanced, varied diet including lean proteins-with fresh red meat featuring around twice a week-heart healthy fats, and fiber from plant foods is better supported by evidence for cardiovascular protection."

Considerations for Specific Health Conditions

For those struggling with specific health conditions like metabolic disorders or autoimmune symptoms, short-term experimentation with the carnivore diet may offer benefits. The elimination of processed foods and sugars can improve blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation for some individuals. However, long-term sustainability remains a challenge. The diet is highly restrictive and eliminates plant-based nutrients that are essential for gut health, immune function, and disease prevention.

Expert Recommendations

Health professionals generally recommend a more balanced approach. If weight loss or blood sugar control is the goal, a modified low-carb diet that includes nutrient-dense vegetables and healthy fats may offer similar benefits with fewer risks. If you are considering a dietary change, consult a healthcare professional. Nutrition is highly individualized, and what works for one person may not be beneficial for another.

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