The carnivore diet, a highly restrictive eating plan, has gained attention as a potential weight loss strategy and a way to address certain health issues. This article delves into the specifics of the carnivore diet, providing a detailed food list, exploring potential benefits and drawbacks, and offering guidance for those considering this extreme approach to eating.
What is the Carnivore Diet?
The carnivore diet is essentially an all-meat diet, based on the idea that our early human ancestors were carnivores. This latest extreme diet limits its followers to meat, fish, eggs, and a few select animal products-and as close to zero carbs as possible. The carnivore diet involves eating animal products like beef, poultry, pork, fish, eggs, butter, and a few low-lactose dairy products. It excludes pretty much everything else, meaning fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
Understanding the Nuances
Within a general meat-based eating plan, there are a few nuances. For instance, the nose-to-tail carnivore diet focuses on whole-animal eating including organ meats, while the carnivore-adjacent diet allows for 10 to 20% of daily calories to come from a select group of plant-based foods. Many carnivore dieters are also fans of intermittent fasting, in some cases limiting their food consumption to just one single meal a day.
Carnivore Diet Food List: What You Can Eat
The carnivore diet includes only animal products and excludes all other foods. On a carnivore diet, you cut carbohydrates and eat nothing but meat and other animal products, like beef, chicken, pork, fish, and eggs. Foods allowed on the carnivore diet:
- 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.
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Here is a more extensive list of foods allowed:
- Beef: Brisket, Chuck roast, Ground beef, Steaks like New York strip, ribeye, skirt, porterhouse, and T-bone
- Chicken and pork: Chicken breast, thighs, drumsticks, and wings, Rotisserie chicken, Pork butt, Pork chops, Bacon, Pork ribs, Pork shoulder
- Lamb: Lamb chops, Lamb shanks, Ground lamb
- Seafood: Fish like salmon, trout, and mackerel, Clams, Crabs, Mussels, Oysters, Scallops, Shrimp, Lobster
- Organ meats: Liver, Kidneys, Tongue, Oxtail, Heart, Feet, Cheeks
- Foods to eat in limited amounts: Cheese, Eggs, Heavy cream, Milk, Yogurt, Bacon, Sausage, Cured meats
Foods to Avoid on 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
Weight Loss
Any diet that excludes carbohydrates commonly leads to some weight loss-at least at first. The carnivore diet restricts sugar and most processed foods-meaning calorie-dense foods like candy, cookies, ice cream, chips, and soda are off the menu. Cutting out those foods may lead to weight loss. The idea is that by cutting all carbs, your body will burn fat for energy and you’ll lose weight.
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.
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Therefore, following the carnivore diet would likely cause you to feel fuller and eat fewer calories overall - at least in the short term.
Potential Benefits Based on Anecdotal Evidence
The carnivore diet claims to promote weight loss. Its other supposed benefits are for improving heart health, autoimmune issues, blood sugar control, and mood. Yet Baker only links to “success stories,” not medical research, to confirm these benefits.
It’s hard to know if or how this diet might improve health, since there’s been very little research on the subject. One study surveyed more than 2,000 people who said they’d followed a carnivore diet for nine to 20 months. People in the study reported improvements like: Lower body mass index (BMI), More energy, Better sleep, More strength and endurance, Improved memory and focus. Most people with diabetes in the study were able to lower the dose of their diabetes medicine or go off it entirely. Overall, they said they were happy with this way of eating. One problem with this study was that the researchers didn’t know exactly what people ate. They also didn’t measure their nutrient levels or check their health. They based their results on survey answers alone. The authors say we need more research to better understand the carnivore diet.
Potential Risks and Drawbacks of the Carnivore Diet
Nutritional Deficiencies
The carnivore diet doesn’t align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommends that adults get 45% to 65% of their daily calories from carbohydrates. By cutting out entire food groups, this diet could leave you short on important vitamins and minerals. For example, vegetables are sources of fiber, potassium, vitamins A and C, and folate.
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.
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Heart Health Concerns
Consuming a lot of saturated fat may raise cholesterol levels, and many foods encouraged on the carnivore diet, like bacon and cured meats, are high in sodium.
Animal-based diets are high in saturated fat, which can raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. That’s the unhealthy kind of cholesterol that increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. And processed meats, which the diet allows, are high in salt, which can raise blood pressure.
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.
Lack of Fiber
Not getting enough fiber from your diet could cause constipation. Interestingly, people who have tried this diet reported the opposite side effect: diarrhea. A high-fat, high-protein diet may cause loose poop because it changes the balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut.
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.
Other Potential Side Effects
People who eat this way also complain of headaches, nausea, and a lack of energy.
Long-Term Sustainability
While this diet can probably help you lose weight, it also can lead to nutrient deficiencies and is not sustainable, says Kathleen Zelman, MPH, a registered dietitian nutritionist. “You just can’t stay on it very long.” The carnivore diet is too restrictive - and too boring - to follow long-term. Eventually food cravings are going to kick in. “You’re going to want a sandwich. You’re going to want a piece of whole-grain bread. And you’re going to want to have some cereal, some fruit, or a salad,” she says.
Plus, the highly restrictive nature of the carnivore diet makes it difficult to follow long term.
Gut Health
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.
Who Should Avoid the Carnivore Diet?
This diet isn’t safe during pregnancy or while breastfeeding because it will leave you short on the nutrients that both you and your growing baby need. If you have kidney disease, the high protein content may be too much for your kidneys to process, Zelman says. Also avoid this diet if you have diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure because of the high saturated fat and sodium content. Fad diets are never a good idea for people who have had eating disorders. Such a restrictive diet could trigger unhealthy eating patterns, Zelman says.
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.
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
Carnivore Diet Snacks
On a plan as restrictive as the carnivore diet, you’ll need to eat a hearty amount of permitted food to meet your daily energy needs-and that means carnivore diet snacks will come in handy.
If you get hungry and want a snack, here are some ideas:
- Cheese sticks
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Salmon jerky
- Sardines
- Skinless chicken wings
Recipes
Here are a few recipes based on the carnivore diet:
- Scrambled eggs with turkey. Cut 1/2 pound turkey breast into small pieces. Cook in a skillet until browned. Whisk three large eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Move the turkey to one side of the skillet and pour the eggs onto the other side. Scramble the eggs and mix them with the turkey until the mixture is cooked through.
- Salmon patties. Cook three slices of turkey bacon and crumble. Mix bacon, two cans of salmon, 1 teaspoon of salt, and two whisked eggs in a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of dill. Form into burger-sized patties. Cook in butter until browned.
- Carnivore chicken casserole. Put 1 pound of cubed rotisserie chicken into a food processor and process until chopped very fine. Add 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup of sour cream, and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Process until fully combined. Add 1 tablespoon of taco or Cajun seasoning and mix again. Put the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes
Carnivore Diet vs. Other Diets
Carnivore Diet vs. Keto Diet
The carnivore diet and the keto diet are similar in that they both limit carbohydrates and encourage eating fat. 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. While some keto diets can emphasize the intake of healthier mono- and polyunsaturated fats, that's not the case with carnivore diets. The disadvantage of all keto diets is they tend to raise LDL cholesterol levels in both the short and long term.
Carnivore Diet vs. Paleo Diet
Looking at the carnivore diet, the keto diet, and the Paleo diet, the latter is clearly the most flexible option. Of these three diet plans, Paleo is the least restrictive, allowing adherents to eat nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, and many beverages along with animal protein.