You might think I have lost my mind.
It's no secret that there are plenty of anecdotes of those who have improved their health, subjectively or objectively, from eating a carnivore diet. Many
of such individuals think that "we" (evidence-based nutrition respecters) ignore their reports or think they are lying. Not at all.
The truth is... I think many people would improve elements of their healthy by transitioning to a carnivore diet.
Carnivore is a restrictive diet. You have a limited choice of foods, and many of those foods tend to be very filling. Therefore, by cutting out all of the foods that people tend to overeat most often and replacing them with foods that keep you full, you will likely lose weight. Weight loss itself can improve many aspects of health.
Therefore, it's not
surprising that some people report such positive outcomes eating only meat.
They reduce their calorie intake.
They increase their protein intake.
They remove foods that cause them to overeat.
Do I think you would be more likely to get lean while eating this diet vs eating like the average person, i.e. a diet rich in refined carbs, added fats, sugars, salt, and processed foods? Yes, of course.
But, the question is... at what cost?
You see, any dietary change we enact should typically be viewed with a long-term perspective. This doesn't mean every change needs to be one that is sustainable, but the bulk of your dietary changes should be. Therefore, if one takes the approach of eating carnivore for decades, what downsides might occur?
- possible nutrient deficiencies in the
absence of supplementation or addition of some plant foods to the diet
- increased risk of colorectal cancer ± other cancers, based on evidence of increased risk with high red meat intakes, especially processed red meat
- increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, based on evidence of increased risk with elevated ApoB & LDL, which regularly occurs on such diets
These are probably the three main concerns that arise, and while there are others, the honest truth is that many of the potential risks (and benefits) are simply unknown. We know that fatty meats tend to consistently be associated with worse health outcomes, and it is likely that some of these mechanisms and negative outcomes are not fully understood at this time. Similarly, some of the positive anecdotes may also be the result of mechanisms and positive
outcomes that are not fully understood.
Instead of jumping to radical diets, why not adopt a sensible approach? It doesn't have to be "meat only" vs "as much processed junk as you want". Our suggestions at Triage are pretty reasonable and flexible, enabling you to tweak your diet toward one that suits you best. Here's a brief summary of where to start:
1.) Eat 2-4 meals per day. You could eat less, or more, but this number works well for most people. For example, I typically have 2 main meals and one additional snack (including protein) or small meal.
2.) At each meal, aim for at least 25-35g protein, but across the day, aim for at least 1.6g protein per kg of bodyweight. If you are 70kg, that's approximately 110g protein per day. If you have 3 x 35g protein meals, you're pretty much there. The bigger (more muscular especially) you are, the more you need.
3.) Eat carbs in accordance with activity levels. The more active you are, the more you will benefit from. Having carbs at each meal is perfectly fine, and we prefer that most of your carbs come from fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, whole-grains, and complex carbohydrate sources. Mostly unprocessed sources.
4.) Choose leaner protein sources vs fattier sources, especially if consuming meat. You can eat meat / animal foods as part of a health-promoting diet, but eating lots of animal fat (e.g. fat on steak, butter) isn't the best option for fat intake. Instead, aim to get your fat sources from unsaturated fats, such as avocados, nuts, olive oil, seeds, oily fish, etc.
5.) Limit consumption of fast food (e.g. burgers, pizza, fried foods), calorie-dense processed foods (e.g. chocolate, crisps, sweets), alcohol, with occasional consumption being okay within the context of a calorie-appropriate diet. Although, alcohol is probably best kept as low as possible independent of calories.
Learn more about nutrition science and its application in the Triage Nutrition Certification.
