The Carnivore Diet | Food List, Benefits, and Side Effects

Our brains function off of glucose – of course it's important!

Your body depends on carbs for energy. Your brain is mainly fuelled by glucose and carbs give your muscles energy. To diet culture’s disbelief- carbohydrates are not bad. Refined carbs in fast food, sugary beverages, and chocolate bars are nothing like the carbs in whole grains, beans, fruit, and veg. They’re broken down and digested completely differently. Plus – imagine never having a chocolate in your life again? No thank you.

No carbs = no veg

Following a zero-carbohydrate diet means eliminating all types of vegetables. Vegetables provide different nutrients for the body, all of which serve different functions. Eliminating vegetables means eliminating micronutrients, fibre, and a whole lot of goodness in your body. This is definitely not sustainable, nor is it healthy.

Pricey

The carnivore diet is also very heavy on the budget. Leaders in the carnivore diet recommend that you only choose the highest quality of meat, such as grass-fed beef, and wild line-caught salmon – this isn't sustainable on the bank balance for most of us.

Increases saturated fats

The carnivore diet is high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Given that the 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.¹⁰ Eating a lot of these foods such as processed meats can lead to excessive sodium intake, which has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, kidney disease, and other negative health outcomes.¹¹

Carnivore Diet Foods

• Red meat
• White meat
• Offal (i.e., organ meat)
• Animal fat (i.e., lard)
• Poultry
• Fish
• Seafood
• Eggs
• Dairy (optional)

While meat is nutritious and provides micronutrients and its own set of benefits, 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.⁸  Diets that are rich in plant-based foods have been associated with a lower risk of certain chronic conditions too.⁹

Are There Any Benefits to the Carnivore Diet?

Since the carnivore diet excludes many refined carbs such as biscuits, cakes, and pastries, it’s likely that you’ll be consuming fewer energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods by default. These foods are low in beneficial nutrients and often high in calories. Thus, they should be limited in a healthy, balanced diet. This is by no means to say biscuits, cake, and pastries every now and then is a bad thing, they have plenty of mental benefits - moderation is key.

Meat can certainly play a role in a healthy eating plan, however, focusing on just meat is certainly not beneficial as there is no fibre. You can lose weight on the carnivore diet because it is an extreme diet that deprives you of adequate nutrition. Extreme weight loss is never good for the body as it’s likely to increase more weight in the future, as such, restrictive diets are seldom sustainable in nature.

The Verdict

The carnivore diet is a fad based on no scientific evidence and there have been no studies to prove any benefit. By cutting out whole food groups from your diet, you will deprive your body of essential nutrients. Extreme dieting is damaging for the body and your mind, putting you at increased risk of disordered eating and long-term health problems. There’s also a good chance that you’ll put that weight right back on because you can’t be a carnivore forever and it is certainly not sustainable.