Jenny McCarthy, the actress, television personality, and "Masked Singer" judge, has been open about her struggles with diet and health. Her journey has taken her from a disastrous attempt at veganism to embracing a carnivore diet. This article will explore McCarthy's experiences, the potential benefits and risks of both vegan and carnivore diets, and the importance of personalized nutrition.
McCarthy's Vegan Mishap
McCarthy revealed on the "Heal Squad x Maria Menounos" podcast that she "almost died" after switching to a plant-based diet. She described feeling like a "mess," exhausted, and fatigued. "I tried vegan and I almost died. I literally almost died," she told host Maria Menounos. She attributed her negative experience to her existing health conditions, including celiac disease, a dairy issue, and a soy allergy. "I can’t have carbs and everything is a carb," she explained.
According to McCarthy, eliminating animal products while simultaneously trying to get enough calories was nearly impossible due to her food intolerances. The vegan diet, which eliminates all animal products, including meat, eggs, seafood, poultry, dairy products, honey, and other animal derivatives like gelatin, consists mainly of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, according to Jamie Mok, a Los Angeles-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Deborah Salvatore, a registered dietitian and director of graduate nutrition programs at Long Island University, noted that McCarthy's food allergies combined with celiac disease adversely impacted her vegan diet. Salvatore, who has an extensive background in celiac disease but was not involved in McCarthy's case, said it was likely that "her body was under a continuous immune response that was damaging her small intestine, which led to decreased surface area within the small intestine, causing malabsorption of both macro- and micronutrients." "The vegan diet was the cherry on top - the perfect storm for malnutrition/nutritional deficiencies, in my opinion," Salvatore told Fox News Digital.
Embracing the Carnivore Diet
After her experience with veganism, McCarthy consulted with her "functional medicine doctor," who advised her to "go full carnivore." This meant adopting a meal plan consisting exclusively of animal byproducts such as meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and fish. McCarthy said she was initially hesitant, stating, "I was like, ‘Ugh, okay,’ I mean I’m from Chicago so I can handle it but it just felt very low vibrational [and] heavy for me."
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However, she found that the carnivore diet had a positive impact on her health. "It changed my energy and my digestion," she said. "Now that I started carnivore, I literally go every day without a laxative," she added. McCarthy is also "healing" from the fungal infection Candida, Hashimoto’s disease - a chronic autoimmune condition that impacts the thyroid gland - and Leaky gut syndrome. “Healing leaky gut and candida can take years - it 100 percent takes years,” she said.
Potential Benefits and Risks of Vegan and Carnivore Diets
While McCarthy found success with the carnivore diet after struggling with veganism, it's important to note that both diets have potential benefits and risks.
Vegan Diet
Research indicates that a well-balanced vegan diet can offer numerous health benefits, such as reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, according to Mok. However, a poorly planned vegan diet can lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients like vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, and protein, potentially resulting in conditions like anemia and osteoporosis, Mok said.
Those making drastic diet changes need to monitor their body for reactions, experts say. "Persistent fatigue, weakness or muscle loss, hair thinning, brittle nails, mood changes, digestive issues, frequent illnesses, skin problems, unintended weight fluctuations and intense cravings can all signal that your diet might require adjustments," Mok told Fox News Digital.
Carnivore Diet
The carnivore diet consists exclusively of animal byproducts such as meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and fish. While McCarthy touts the carnivore diet as a game changer for her digestion, experts warn of potential health risks. According to doctors from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the high-protein nature of the carnivore diet could lead to an increased risk of kidney stones. When protein intake skyrockets, the body produces more uric acid, which can crystallize to form kidney stones. Larger kidney stones can block the urinary tract, leading to potentially fatal infections and sepsis.
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Another major concern is cholesterol. A diet heavy in red meat and animal fats can raise LDL - “bad” - cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease. The carnivore diet can also disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to digestive issues like bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. Fiber is crucial for maintaining gut health. Since meat has no fiber and the carnivore diet eliminates fruits, vegetables, and grains - which are rich in fiber - the carnivore diet can disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to digestive issues like bloating, constipation and diarrhea.
By cutting out all fruits, vegetables, and grains, people on this diet might miss out on essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. A Florida man made headlines when the carnivore diet made yellow ooze appear on his hands. Called xanthelasma, the condition is caused by high cholesterol levels or other fats in the blood.
A 2021 study of over 2,000 adults who followed the meal plan for over a year found - surprisingly - high levels of satisfaction among the participants with no adverse cardiovascular effects. However, they did report some digestive issues.
The Importance of Personalized Nutrition
McCarthy emphasized that a carnivore diet might not work for everyone - just like a vegan diet didn’t work for her. "Some people work [and] heal better on a vegan diet and some people don’t," McCarthy said. "It’s what you believe and you have to follow your intuition and then also follow what your blood says or what your body says."
Jenny's story demonstrates the challenges many Americans face due to food allergies and food sensitivities," said Vanessa King, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Hawaii. To help ensure adequate nutrition, registered dietitian nutritionists can help with meal planning, finding food substitutes and label reading, said King.
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When it comes to deciding if you should follow a restrictive diet of any kind, it is best to do so under the guidance of a healthcare professional, several dietitians told Fox News Digital. Those making drastic diet changes need to monitor their body for reactions, experts say.
A vegan diet can be a "healthful and realistic diet," Salvatore said - but individuals need to be vigilant that the body's nutritional needs are being met. When we pair veganism with a gluten-free diet, we must exchange the whole-grain products with gluten-free whole grains like amaranth, buckwheat, gluten-free oats, millet, brown rice and quinoa," Salvatore said.
Although a vegan diet has fewer saturated fats, a meat-based diet also has benefits, said Laura Feldman, a registered dietitian and director of the undergraduate Didactic Program in Dietetics at Long Island University. Animal foods such as meat, dairy, eggs and fish are an excellent way to get essential nutrients such as protein, iron, calcium and zinc," Feldman told Fox News Digital. Often, a person would have to eat a larger portion of food to get the same amount of many of these nutrients from plant-based sources.