If you are exploring the carnivore diet, you have probably asked yourself, “What can I drink?” While meat takes center stage on this way of eating, beverages like alcohol can be a bit trickier to navigate. For many, a diet does not feel complete without understanding if and how alcohol fits in, and the carnivore diet is no exception. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or just curious about what is allowed, understanding how alcohol fits into a carnivore lifestyle is important for staying on track. This comprehensive guide explores the most important and basic facts about alcohol and the carnivore diet. From choosing the most diet-friendly drinks to understanding the impact alcohol has on your body. Whether you are curious about wine, beer, spirits, or simply looking for sugar-free alternatives, you will find the insights you need to make informed decisions.
Understanding the Carnivore Diet
The carnivore diet focuses on animal-based foods, eggs, and fish. Adherents primarily consume meat, with some variations allowing for the inclusion of dairy products. Strict carnivore dieters only consume water, milk, and bone broth. The first principle is to focus on animal products. The second principle is to avoid plant-based foods. The essence of the carnivore diet is to focus on protein and fat and eliminate sugar and carbs.
The carnivore diet has become popular in recent years, praised as a natural remedy providing key nutrients. It has led to health transformations for many-including improving blood sugar levels, aiding in weight loss, and enhancing digestion, among other benefits.
Alcohol and the Carnivore Diet: Is It Compatible?
While most traditional diets offer some freedom for indulgence, the carnivore diet is notoriously restrictive. If you are beginning to learn about the carnivore diet, it indicates your interest in your health. For a strict carnivore diet, you should avoid alcoholic drinks. However, alcohol can be part of the diet plan if you choose wisely. The key is to stick with drinks that align with the diet’s principles: low-carb, sugar-free, and as unprocessed as possible. For other variations of the carnivore diet, the answer depends on how strictly you adhere to it. Some people beginning or on the keto diet are not too strict. You can drink alcoholic drinks with fewer carbohydrates. However, this is also controversial among carnivores. If you follow a carnivore diet, choose lower-impact alcoholic drinks.
Why Sugar and Carbs Matter
Most alcoholic beverages are brewed or fermented using grains, fruits, or sugar. While these ingredients give alcohol its signature flavors, they also make options incompatible with a carnivore diet. According to research, sugars and carbs in alcohol can spike blood sugar levels, disrupt ketosis, and even lead to cravings that derail your progress. For those on a carnivore diet, it is important to avoid:
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- Sugary cocktails
- Sweetened mixers
- High-carb beverages (e.g., beer)
Instead, you should focus on options that are pure, clean, and free of added ingredients.
Best Alcohol Choices on the Carnivore Diet
If you want to stick to your carnivore diet while enjoying an occasional drink, sugar-free beverages are your best bet. Here are some examples of sugar-free or low-carb alcoholic beverages:
- Vodka or tequila with soda water and a twist of lime
- Dry red or white wine
- Whiskey on the rocks
- Champagne labeled “Brut”
Spirits and Their Suitability
Pure distilled spirits are excellent choices because they are carb-free and sugar-free. These are made through a distillation process that removes most carbs, leaving behind a pure alcoholic beverage. Some examples are:
- Tequila
- Rum
- Vodka
- Gin
- Whiskey
Be cautious of flavored or sweetened liquors. Options like flavored vodkas, spiced rums, and cream liqueurs often contain added sugars that are incompatible with the carnivore diet. Always check labels to ensure your choice is free of unnecessary additives.
Wine on the Carnivore Diet
Wine can be enjoyed on a carnivore diet, but not all wines are created equal. Sweet wines like Moscato, dessert wines, and some sparkling wines are high in sugar and carbs, making them unsuitable for a carnivore diet. These wines can spike your blood sugar levels and knock your body out of ketosis.
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Dry red and white wines are the best options for carnivore enthusiasts. Look for terms like “dry” or “brut” on the label to guide your choice. Below are some varieties with fewer carbs per glass and little to no residual sugar.
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Merlot
- Pinot Noir
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chardonnay
Beer on the Carnivore Diet
Beer lovers may face a bigger challenge on the carnivore diet. Most beers are brewed from grains, making them high in carbs and unsuitable for this lifestyle. Traditional beers are carb-heavy, with ingredients like barley and wheat, contributing to their high carbohydrate content. Drinking beer can quickly exceed your daily carb limit and interfere with ketosis.
If you can’t give up beer entirely, look for low-carb or keto-friendly options that contain fewer carbs per serving such as Michelob Ultra or select light beers. But they should still be consumed in moderation.
Detailed Look at Specific Alcoholic Beverages
Whiskey
Whiskey, one of the world’s top five spirits, is made from fermented barley, corn, rye, and wheat. This amber or brown distilled alcohol has a 40% ABV. Whiskey is technically allowed on other carnivore diets and contains zero grams of sugars or carbs. However, whiskey is a controversial drink.
Vodka
Vodka originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is mainly made from water and ethanol. Finally, people will filter and dilute the pure alcohol with water. A 4 fl oz serving of vodka averagely has 259 calories and 0 g of carbs. It doesn’t have too many flavors, colorings, or other chemical ingredients. While vodka is allowed on the carnivore diet, it can also be harmful to your health if you drink too much.
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Tequila
Tequila is a distilled spirit with an alcohol content of 35 - 55% ABV. Fermented agave plants make it.
- Blanco: White tequila.
- Añejo: Tequila ages for more than a year but not more than 3 years.
- Extra Añejo: Aged tequila.
- Cristalino: Made from Extra Añejo, filtered to remove impurities and color.
Tequila does not include other ingredients and has only one ingredient, blue agave. Therefore, it does not harm the dietary principles of carnivores. The nutritional information of 4 fl oz Tequila averagely includes 257 calories. However, like with rum, some tequila producers add sugar or flavorings into their tequilas.
Gin
Gin is a distilled alcoholic beverage flavored with juniper berries. In the United States, they define Gin as an alcoholic beverage with an alcohol content of no less than 40% ABV. To produce Gin, people will distill a fermented mixture of barley, grain, and juniper berries. Gin sold on the market has an alcohol concentration of 35 - 55%. Their main ingredients are ethanol and water. During the distillation process, we removed carbs and sugar. There are averagely 295 calories in 4 fl oz of Gin.
Dry Wine
The process of making dry wine is similar to other types of wine. First, they will select grapes suitable for wine in the wine-growing regions. Next, they will press the fermented grape juice. Carnivores can have dry wine in their diet because it has little to no sugar. In addition, this diet allows us to aim for drinks with natural ingredients, high in energy, low carb. There are averagely 179 calories and 1.29 grams of sugar in 4 fl oz dry wine.
Beverages to Avoid
Stay away from regular beer/wine. These types of alcohol are very high in carbs and sugar. Don't mix energy drinks with alcohol. Energy drinks enhance the taste of alcohol. However, it increases the carbohydrate content in alcohol.
Non-Alcoholic Options
Someone invented non-alcoholic beer in the 20th century. With traditional beer flavors, non-alcoholic beer averagely has 99 calories and 20 carbs per 12 fl oz. It's a good choice for carnivore dieters who want to reduce beer consumption. The alcohol separation process removes sugar and carbs.
Non-alcoholic wine, like its beer counterpart, has little to no alcohol. It tastes similar to traditional wine. Non-alcoholic wine was originally made for religious purposes by Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch. Like regular wine, people ferment and age it. Some in the strict carnivore community argue that it is too high in sugar and carbohydrates. Most people consider it acceptable because alcohol isolation removes most of the carbs and sugar.
The Impact of Alcohol on Your Body While on the Carnivore Diet
Alcohol is often seen as a way to relax or celebrate, but it is essential to also understand how it interacts with your body. While an occasional drink might seem harmless, studies show there are several effects to consider before pouring that glass.
Potential Effects of Alcohol on Ketosis
If you want to maintain ketosis, alcohol can be a stumbling block. When you drink, your liver prioritizes metabolizing alcohol over other functions, including processing fats for energy. This can temporarily stop ketosis and slow down your progress. Alcohol displaces fat-burning. The liver prioritizes breaking down alcohol, it delays processing fats, which is essential for sustaining ketosis.
Alcohol Impacts Fat Metabolism
Instead of supporting fat-burning, alcohol provides empty calories that do not contribute to energy or nutritional needs. Regular consumption can interfere with fat metabolism, making it harder to achieve your health goals. Alcohol is known to interfere with the body's ability to metabolize dietary fats. When alcohol enters your system, it becomes the primary source of energy instead of fats and proteins, which could negatively impact weight loss or maintenance efforts on a carnivore diet plan.
Inflammation and Energy Levels
Alcohol can cause inflammation in the body. This can lead to bloating and general lack of energy levels; counterproductive for those looking to feel their best on the carnivore diet.
Alcohol and Cravings
Alcohol can stimulate your appetite and cravings, particularly for carbohydrates and sweets, which are off-limits on the carnivore diet. These cravings can complicate adherence to the strict no-carb protocol of the carnivore diet, leading to potential diet setbacks. Interestingly, food cravings can also cause you to crave alcohol. Alcohol also increases cravings and lowers inhibition. Many people like to consume high-carb foods after drinking, which can make it harder for you to stick to the Carnivore Diet.
Alcohol and the Liver
On the Carnivore Diet, you need to eat large amounts of fatty meats, which are processed in the liver. Also, many people follow the carnivore diet to help ease digestive issues. Once alcohol is in your bloodstream, it travels to your liver, where it is initially converted into acetaldehyde by enzymes. This is a toxic compound and is responsible for many of the harmful effects of drinking alcohol. This process of breaking down alcohol requires a lot of energy and disrupts the normal energy cycles of your cells. Moreover, chronic alcohol consumption can lead to significant health issues like fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome due to the constant need for the liver to metabolize alcohol at the expense of other metabolic processes.
Hormonal Imbalances and Sleep
For carnivore dieters, hormonal imbalances can hinder progress by affecting everything from muscle synthesis and exercise recovery to fat storage and hunger levels. Sleep deprivation can compromise the benefits of the carnivore diet, such as by making you hungrier, less motivated, and more moody and fatigued. Quality sleep is especially important on a diet that relies heavily on control, and it's extra important when adapting to the diet and dealing with "carnivore flu" symptoms.
How Alcohol Processing Differs on Carnivore vs. Standard Diets
On a standard diet that includes carbohydrates, the body uses carbs as a primary energy source, and alcohol is metabolized in the context of higher glycogen stores. Since the carnivore diet consists exclusively of animal products, glycogen stores are typically lower. The liver, which is responsible for metabolizing both alcohol and glycogen, may prioritize alcohol metabolism. Normally, the consumption of carbs can cause spikes in blood sugar levels, which are then moderated by insulin. While this might suggest a lesser impact on blood sugar variability, the body's need to maintain blood sugar levels through gluconeogenesis (creation of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources like protein) might be affected. Regardless of your exact diet, alcohol metabolism can significantly interrupt the fat-burning process. The liver's diversion to alcohol processing reduces its ability to produce ketones from fats, which are crucial for energy on a low-carb diet.
The Side Effects of Alcohol on the Carnivore Diet
It takes about three weeks for your body to recover from the effects of alcohol, and you can regain your energy. Alcohol can affect human metabolism in different ways. Studies show that consuming too much alcohol can reduce the rate of metabolism, meaning how fast the body can turn food into energy . A slow metabolism means the body cannot burn calories efficiently, which can cause weight gain, fatigue, low energy levels, difficulty losing weight, and hormonal imbalances. Consuming alcohol can have negative impacts on the central nervous system, causing changes in gene expression and the performance of neuronal circuits. It means that after some time, our brain gets used to alcohol and cannot function properly without it, which can lead to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and addiction. Studies show that excessive use of alcohol can disrupt multi-organ interactions, which causes inflammation and organ damage . It can also cause intestinal inflammation, which can change the composition and function of intestinal microbiota, which can damage the intestinal immune function.
Alcohol can affect the reward/ pleasure centers in the brain. Sugar can similarly affect these centers. Since the stimulations caused by alcohol and sugar in the brain are so similar, studies suggest that consuming sugar can lead to alcohol use . It means that our brain reacts similarly to alcohol and sugar stimulations. Alcohol is high in calories. For example, beer, wine, and spirits contain approximately 150, 125, and 95 calories, respectively. Drinking alcohol with meals or before meals adds more calories to the total calories you gain from food. That is how drinking alcohol can lead to weight gain .
On the Carnivore Diet, you need to eat large amounts of fatty meats, which are processed in the liver.
Tips for Making Informed Choices About Alcohol Consumption on the Carnivore Diet
Drinking alcohol on the carnivore diet is a personal decision that requires thoughtful consideration. By understanding its effects on ketosis, fat metabolism and overall health, you can make choices that support your goals.
- Moderation Matters: Stick to one serving of alcohol to minimize its impact on your body. Overindulging can lead to unwanted side effects (e.g., dehydration) and a higher risk of deviating from your diet. Set boundaries for yourself. Medical studies consider one drink for women and two drinks for men to be the safe limit of alcohol intake.
- Read the Labels: Take the time to read labels and ensure you are choosing sugar-free, low-carb options that align with your carnivore lifestyle.
- Avoid drinking alcohol during the initial adaptation phase of the carnivore diet. Once adapted, occasional drinks may be less disruptive, especially if you choose low-sugar options and stick to only one to two drinks.
- If you choose to drink, do so in moderation to minimize the impact on your diet and metabolic state.
- Alcohol is dehydrating, so increase your water intake when you consume alcohol to help mitigate its effects. Drink plenty of water when drinking alcohol.
- Following alcohol consumption, focusing on nutrient-dense carnivore foods, such as organ meats, fish, and eggs, can help replenish any depleted nutrients and get you back on track. Following alcohol consumption, focusing on nutrient-dense carnivore foods, such as organ meats, fish, and eggs, can help replenish any depleted nutrients and get you back on track.
- Reduce the frequency and amount of alcohol gradually.
Scenarios Where Alcohol Should Be Avoided
- During pregnancy: Alcohol concentration affects your body's metabolism.
- Planning a pregnancy: To be able to get pregnant at any time, your body must be healthy and ready.
- Depression or fear: Alcohol increases excitement and courage.
- Taking medication: It is best to avoid drinking alcohol when taking medication.
If you fall into any of the above categories, stop drinking alcohol temporarily and switch to other drinks. For normal people, drinking too much alcohol can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.
Alcohol Alternatives on the Carnivore Diet
You can drink the following beverages instead of alcohol on the Carnivore Diet:
- Mineral Water: It contains natural or added minerals, which help hydration and electrolyte balance.
- Bone Broth: It contains collagen, gelatin, amino acids (such as glycine and proline), and minerals (like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus), which help joint and gut health. It also helps hydration and contains natural electrolytes (sodium and potassium).
- Club Soda or Sparkling Water: Both are carbonated water. Club soda contains minerals (sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate) with no carbohydrates. Sparkling water is calorie-free.
- Electrolyte Drinks: They support hydration and mineral balance and have no carbohydrates or sugar. They also help recovery after intense physical activities.
- Butter Coffee or Fatty Latte: It is one of the favorite drinks of Carnivores and contains only coffee and butter. It i a good Carnivore-friendly drink as it has no carbohydrates or sugar, contains fat, and can boost energy.
- Plain Tea: It is black tea with no sugar, which has almost zero calories and helps with hydration.
Yes, these alcohol alternatives contain no alcohol, but they are healthy and help you reach your weight loss and health goals on the Carnivore Diet.