The Carnivore Diet Exposed: Shocking Benefits, Hidden Risks, and Essential Facts You Must Know!

The carnivore diet has emerged as a controversial dietary approach, gaining traction on social media and sparking interest among those seeking weight loss and potential health benefits. This restrictive diet centers exclusively on animal products, eliminating all plant-based foods. While proponents tout its effectiveness for weight loss, blood sugar management, and mental clarity, experts raise concerns about potential long-term health risks. This article delves into the specifics of the carnivore diet, exploring its potential benefits, drawbacks, and overall impact on health.

What is the Carnivore Diet?

The carnivore diet is an extreme form of low-carb eating that eliminates all plant-based foods, focusing solely on meat, fish, eggs, and animal-derived products like butter and cheese. It is essentially a more restrictive version of the ketogenic diet, which emphasizes fat and protein while minimizing carbohydrates. The diet's roots can be traced to ancestral eating patterns, with proponents arguing that early humans thrived primarily on animal-based diets. However, scientific research on the long-term effects of such a restrictive eating plan remains limited.

Registered dietitian Kate Patton, RD, LD, explains that the carnivore diet aims to avoid all carbohydrates by filling your plate only with food sourced from animals. In doing so, it disregards most of the classic building blocks recommended for a balanced diet. The no-carb goal pushes the carnivore diet a step beyond other protein-heavy eating plans, like the keto and Atkins diets, which include at least some carbs.

What Can You Eat on the Carnivore Diet?

The suggested carnivore diet menu features:

Beef, pork, poultry, and other barnyard-based meats
Fish and seafood
Wild game (like venison)
Eggs
Limited full-fat dairy-based products (like cheese and butter)
Water

Almost everything else found in the grocery store is ignored. That includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts - which covers A LOT of foods often celebrated for their nutritional value. The carnivore diet also recommends against eating highly processed meats, such as sausages or deli meats, given the additives.

Specifically, someone on the carnivore diet can eat:

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.

What is 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.

Potential 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. Some people report positive outcomes from following the carnivore diet, including:

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. The carnivore diet 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. A carnivore diet is the most ketogenic diet because it allows for almost no carbs.
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.
Simplified eating habits: With no need to count calories or worry about food variety, some find the diet easier to follow.

One study that attempted to do so was published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition in 2021. The “carnivore diet,” based on animal foods and excluding most or all plant foods, has attracted recent popular attention. A social media survey was conducted 30 March-24 June, 2020 among adults self-identifying as consuming a carnivore diet for ≥6 mo. A total of 2029 respondents (median age: 44 y, 67% male) reported consuming a carnivore diet for 14 mo (IQR: 9-20 mo), motivated primarily by health reasons (93%). Red meat consumption was reported as daily or more often by 85%. Under 10% reported consuming vegetables, fruits, or grains more often than monthly, and 37% denied vitamin supplement use. Prevalence of adverse symptoms was low (<1% to 5.5%). Symptoms included gastrointestinal (3.1%-5.5%), muscular (0.3%-4.0%), and dermatologic (0.1%-1.9%). Participants reported high levels of satisfaction and improvements in overall health (95%), well-being (66%-91%), various medical conditions (48%-98%), and median [IQR] BMI (in kg/m2) (from 27.2 [23.5-31.9] to 24.3 [22.1-27.0]). Among a subset reporting current lipids, LDL-cholesterol was markedly elevated (172 mg/dL), whereas HDL-cholesterol (68 mg/dL) and triglycerides (68 mg/dL) were optimal. Contrary to common expectations, adults consuming a carnivore diet experienced few adverse effects and instead reported health benefits and high satisfaction. Cardiovascular disease risk factors were variably affected.

Risks and Drawbacks of the Carnivore Diet

Going to a meat-based diet can bring side effects that negatively affect your health. While the diet may offer short-term benefits, nutrition specialists and other medical professionals express concerns about potential health risks, including:

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. The disadvantage of all keto diets is they tend to raise LDL cholesterol levels in both the short and long term. Too much saturated fat can increase levels of bad cholesterol (known as non-HDL cholesterol) in the blood. Both high cholesterol and high blood pressure raise the risk of developing coronary heart disease and having a heart attack or stroke. Extreme diets high in saturated fat and low in fibre are known to raise cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
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.
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. The diet contains virtually no fibre, which is a type of carbohydrate only found in plant-based foods that cannot be completely digested.
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. Other longer-term concerns about keto diets, especially the carnivore diet, include the increased risk of kidney stones, gout, and osteoporosis.
Nutrient deficiencies: A meat-only diet lacks essential vitamins and minerals found in plant-based foods, such as fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants, which are crucial for gut and immune health. The carnivore diet eliminates all foods except meat and animal products. Thus, it’s low in vitamin C, folate, has no fiber, and is difficult to maintain.

Long-Term Wellness and Sustainability

One of the biggest concerns about the carnivore diet is whether it supports long-term health. The absence of plant-based foods raises concerns about deficits in fiber and phytonutrients that support heart health, digestion, and disease prevention. Cutting out entire food groups can make it difficult to maintain balanced eating habits over time, potentially leading to disordered eating patterns.

Jill Darminio, RD, CNSC, system clinical nutrition manager at Inspira Health, notes that most nutrition specialists recommend a balanced diet rich in nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein. Instead of extreme dietary restrictions, prioritizing high-quality protein sources while incorporating nutrient-rich plant foods for overall wellness is a more sustainable approach for your long-term health.

Sample Carnivore Diet Menu

Here’s a five-day sample menu for the carnivore diet:

Day 1

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, sardines
Lunch: turkey burger patty, salmon jerky, beef tips
Dinner: filet mignon, crab, chicken liver
Snacks: a small amount of Parmesan cheese, jerky

Day 2

Breakfast: shrimp, eggs, a small glass of heavy cream
Lunch: strip steak, tuna fish, beef jerky
Dinner: lamb chops, scallops, beef liver
Snacks: a small amount of hard Cheddar cheese, bone broth

Day 3

Breakfast: eggs, salmon, turkey sausage
Lunch: sweetbreads, pork chops, mackerel
Dinner: turkey burger patty, a small amount of Parmesan cheese, bone marrow
Snacks: hard-boiled eggs, shrimp

Day 4

Breakfast: trout, shredded chicken, bacon
Lunch: beef meatballs, small amount Cheddar cheese, salmon jerky
Dinner: crab cooked in lard, filet mignon
Snacks: sardines, beef jerky

Day 5

Breakfast: eggs, chicken and turkey sausage links
Lunch: lamb roast, chicken liver, pork chop
Dinner: flank steak, scallops cooked in butter, a small glass of heavy cream
Snacks: bone broth, turkey jerky

Is the Carnivore Diet Worth Trying?

Kate Patton doesn’t mince words when it comes to this question: “In my opinion, no.” Instead, she recommends eating in a way that maximizes the benefits of different food groups. Focus on filling your plate with a range of whole foods like fruits, vegetables, grains and lean meats. There may be some benefit in limiting carbs, especially simple carbs high in added sugar (like white bread and baked goods). But it’s not ideal for your body to cut out all carbs. “The key is moderation,” emphasizes Patton.

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