The carnivore diet, an eating plan consisting primarily of animal products, has gained significant traction in recent years. Fueling its rise in popularity is a growing online community of "meatfluencers" who share their experiences, recipes, and purported health benefits of this restrictive diet. This article explores the landscape of carnivore diet influencers, examining their claims, approaches, and the broader context of this dietary trend.
The Rise of "Meatfluencing"
The trend of "meatfluencing" has emerged as a powerful force in the online health and wellness space. The videos of people eating huge quantities of steak straight off the cutting board - sometimes still bloody rare - had initially seemed “insane.” These influencers, often showcasing their consumption of large amounts of meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy, have attracted a dedicated following. The appeal lies in the promises of improved gut health, clearer skin, and increased energy levels.
Melody, a 36-year-old from Toronto, exemplifies this trend. Intrigued by the claims made by other meatfluencers, she embarked on a carnivore diet last October. After the first six months, she introduced some herbs from her garden and avocado into her daily meal plan. This month, Melody posted a video announcing her plans to restrict her diet even further, by undertaking the “beef, butter, and tallow challenge,” consuming just these three types of foods for 30 days.
Until recently, “meatfluencing” has been thought of as a decidedly male corner of the internet. All-meat diets have been promoted by the likes of Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, and Jordan Peterson. However, the community is more diverse than initially perceived.
Key Figures in the Carnivore Diet Movement
Several individuals have risen to prominence as leading voices in the carnivore diet community.
Read also: The Carnivore Diet: An Autoimmune Solution?
Bella Ma: The Steak and Butter Gal
Bella Ma, a 27-year-old meatfluencer in Seattle with 319,000 YouTube subscribers who posts under the moniker Steak and Butter Gal, says it’s a “misconception” to think of this community as mostly men. “If you really look deeper, it’s predominantly women. Around 60 percent of my followers are women. I’m a female content creator, so I think naturally I’ll have more women. Ma describes herself as a “high-fat” carnivore: For the past nearly six years, she claims to have consumed a diet of just fatty beef, butter, eggs, and seafood. In her videos, Ma is typically seen chomping on sticks of butter as a snack, hunks of steak, or eating a dozen eggs in one sitting. Prior to going animal-based, Ma was vegan. “I’d gained a lot of weight as a freshman,” she explains. “I did a search and saw a lot of influencers touting a diet of raw fruit and raw plants. hits, you eat whatever cooked carbs - like starches, rice, oatmeal.
Melody: Experimentation and Personalization
Melody, mentioned earlier, represents a more adaptive approach to the carnivore diet. Similarly, Melody was vegetarian for two years prior to following an all-meat diet. Her willingness to experiment and incorporate additional foods after an initial period of strict adherence highlights the diverse ways individuals approach this diet.
Alexandra Kay: A Moderate Approach
Alexandra Kay, a 35-year-old lifestyle influencer, took a more measured approach to the carnivore diet. Alexandra Kay says she went on the carnivore diet to address her low energy, low mood, cellulite, and thinning hair among other symptoms she was experiencing. Initially, Kay had planned to do the diet for 14 days, explaining her reasons for going on the carnivore diet in a video hashtagged “two-week transformation.” She decided to extend it to 30 days after she’d completed the first two weeks. “I’m doing these 30 days to heal and to get answers,” she says. After a 30-day trial, Kay reported weight loss and reduced facial inflammation. Kay believes that taking this more moderate approach will allow her to work out if the carnivore diet is right for her. “There is definitely a learning curve to making sure this diet fits your lifestyle,” she says. “But I’m open to seeing what happens.”
Liver King: Ancestral Living and Controversy
Brian Michael Johnson (born March 2, 1978), known by his online alias Liver King, is an American health and fitness social media influencer and businessman. He is known for promoting what he calls an "ancestral lifestyle", claiming it was responsible for his bodybuilder physique, and included the consumption of raw organ meats, a practice for which Johnson has received criticism from medical professionals. Though he claimed to not rely on anabolic steroids or other supplements, it was revealed in 2022 that Johnson had been spending more than $11,000 a month on steroids to achieve his physique. Johnson's influence extends beyond diet, encompassing a broader philosophy of "ancestral living." However, his credibility has been significantly tarnished by revelations of steroid use and subsequent legal issues. On June 24, 2025, the Austin Police Department arrested Johnson on a charge of terroristic threat, a Class B misdemeanor.
Criticisms and Concerns
The carnivore diet has faced considerable criticism from health professionals and nutritionists. Lauren McNeill, a plant-based dietician and author of The Simple Vegan Kitchen, sees things differently. McNeill stresses that there is no evidence to support the claim that a carnivore diet is good for our health. (Also, there’s the devastating impact that eating meat has on the environment. McNeill dismisses the claim often made by meatfluencers that an all-meat diet is the key to “healing the gut.” “When we’re following the carnivore diet, we’re really limiting that diversity that we’re feeding our gut microbiome, and that can lead to a whole host of negative effects,” she says. “So things like constipation, bloating, and stomach upset, then just increasing risk for other diseases as well.
Read also: The Carnivore Diet's Impact on Sleep
Nutritional Deficiencies
Eliminating entire food groups, such as grains, fruits, and vegetables, can lead to significant nutritional deficiencies. As McNeill sees it, it’s unsurprising that people like Ma might have struggled to achieve a balanced diet while vegan. “If people are following vegetarian or vegan diets, they naturally might be eating fewer calories than someone who is eating an omnivorous diet, because those plant-based foods are naturally lower in calories,” she says. There is documentation that people who have been chronically on the carnivore diet actually developed scurvy. Isn’t that wild? To meet your minimum vitamin C needed to prevent scurvy, we’re talking about a quarter cup of orange juice a day. That’s it! You can imagine if you’re on something that’s eliminating all these food groups, you’re eliminating other nutrients in your diet. So, again, you have a risk of falling short in so many categories where you really could end up with malnutrition.
Gut Health Concerns
The carnivore diet's impact on gut health is another area of concern. McNeill dismisses the claim often made by meatfluencers that an all-meat diet is the key to “healing the gut.” “When we’re following the carnivore diet, we’re really limiting that diversity that we’re feeding our gut microbiome, and that can lead to a whole host of negative effects,” she says. “So things like constipation, bloating, and stomach upset, then just increasing risk for other diseases as well.
Potential Negative Side Effects
Not everyone experiences positive outcomes on the carnivore diet. Tocher, 27, took her friend’s advice and began to eat a diet of just meat, eggs, dairy, and fish. Within a few weeks, she says, she lost seven pounds. “At first it wasn’t so bad, but as the months went on, everything made me bloat and gassy,” she says. “I had a loss of appetite, stomach cramps, nausea, and headaches. I even gained all the weight back that I had lost and then some extra weight on top of that. The symptoms Tocher experienced from the carnivore diet aren’t surprising. Higher meat intake has been linked to headaches - a.k.a. a “hot-dog headache” - upset stomach, nausea, and weight gain. Research has also shown that diets that are higher in animal products can result in worse menstrual pain - another side effect Tocher says she experienced while being on the carnivore diet.
The Importance of Balance
Boston University nutrition professor Dr. Joan Salge-Blake joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath to talk about all things protein. She emphasizes the importance of a balanced diet that includes carbohydrates and healthy fats, not just protein. It’s a real balance. It’s a balance on your plate, a balance in your diet to make sure that there’s carbohydrates in your diet, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein - animal sources but also plant sources like beans - and dairy products to give you some good sources of not only protein, but calcium, and to get fruits and vegetables in your diet. You need a balance on your plate. She also points out that the carnivore diet goes totally opposite to what we know is a really healthy diet.
The Role of Social Media and Misinformation
Education surrounding nutrition is sorely lacking, which partly explains why meatfluencers have been able to plug the gaps with misinformation. Similarly, McNeill sees the rise of the carnivore diet as linked to a frustration with the health-care system. “It makes people tend to want to go in the complete opposite direction or to see things in black and white. But there’s a lot of value in the gray area,” she says.
Read also: Troubleshooting Carnivore Diet Diarrhea
Primal Living Influencers
Venturing into the realm of Primal living on Instagram unveils a thriving community ready to inspire with their holistic approach to life. Start your journey by exploring popular hashtags like #PrimalLiving, #PaleoDiet, or #GrainFree. These tags can lead you to influencers who embody the lifestyle, sharing insights on nutrition, fitness, and sustainable living practices. Engaging with posts or participating in discussions under these hashtags can also highlight active and influential community members. For a more dialed-in approach, check out local or regional Primal living meetups and events-often, influencers and enthusiasts gather here. If navigating this landscape sounds complex, consider using a tool like Influencer Hero, which can refine your search by specific interests, locations, and demographic details of the influencer's audience.
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