Jump to content
  • Carnivore Talk
    Carnivore Talk

    The Many Benefits of a Carnivore Diet

    Dietary trends currently range from plant-based diets to low carbohydrate or ketogenic lifestyles, but the carnivore diet is one diet that is gaining much attention. This attention comes both in the form of praise from those who have tried it and is also a topic of criticism for those who haven’t. This nearly no-carb way of eating involves consuming only meat and animal-based products and eliminating all plant-based and processed foods. While conventional mainstream nutritional advice is designed to scare you into believing that such a diet is a serious health risk, the scientific evidence as well as the personal experiences of many individuals points to several potential benefits. These benefits include weight loss, reduced inflammation, a marked improvement in overall health, and sometimes the complete reversal of chronic diseases and digestive health issues. Let's expand upon some of the many advantages of the carnivore diet.


    Simplicity and Elimination of Food Sensitivities

    One of the primary benefits of the carnivore diet is this is about as simple as a diet can get. Hungry? Eat meat. There is no more anxiety surrounding the complexity of meal planning and having to look up or invent some creative “recipe” for your next meal.

    It’s also simple in that it helps you learn what constitutes essential, nutrient dense food. This knowledge allows you to dismiss and eliminate unessential junk foods. When you focus solely on animal-based foods, you will avoid the potential allergenic reactions associated with various plant-based foods. For individuals with known food sensitivities or allergies, the carnivore diet can provide relief from digestive discomfort and other symptoms.


    High-Quality Protein Intake

    The carnivore diet places a heavy emphasis on protein consumption, which could be advantageous for individuals looking to build and maintain lean muscle mass. Animal-based sources of protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, and dairy, are of the highest quality. Protein is essential for muscle maintenance, immune function, and overall bodily repair, and animal-based proteins are complete because they contain all the essential amino acids that the body needs. Plant-based proteins often lack key amino acids, making them incomplete.


    Nutrient Density

    Animal-based proteins are generally more bioavailable, meaning the body can more efficiently absorb and utilize the nutrients they contain. Animal-based foods are naturally richer in important nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. Plant foods can contain anti-nutrients that hinder nutrient absorption, so you benefit more from eating meat than you do plants.


    Weight Loss

    The carnivore diet can be an effective weight loss strategy. Animal products are often rich in quality protein and healthy fat, both of which makes you feel full and satisfied. They are also nutritious and contain everything your body needs. Not only will you feel satiated for longer, you will notice reduced food cravings. That’s right, you are less likely to get chronically hungry or get the munchies when on a carnivore diet. Many people on the carnivore diet eventually find themselves naturally intermittent fasting, consuming just one or two large meals per day.


    Anti-Inflammatory Effects

    The carnivore diet is an anti-inflammatory diet just like other low carb and ketogenic diets can be. There are several studies that show that low carb diets can reduce inflammation. A carnivore diet is the ultimate low carb diet, almost even zero-carb. Decreased inflammation benefits individuals with autoimmune conditions. By eliminating plant foods, which can contain compounds that some individuals are sensitive to, such as lectins, phytates, and oxalates, the carnivore diet can lead to a reduction in inflammatory markers in the body.


    Improved Gut Health

    The carnivore diet may improve your gut health. For those with sensitive digestive systems or gastrointestinal disorders, eliminating complex carbohydrates and plant fibers could provide relief from digestive symptoms and discomfort. Such fibers is known to irritate the gut and cause inflammation and is often the cause of constipation. Gluten, too, can increase the production of a protein that damages your digestive tract. Then there are the defense chemicals and anti-nutrients found in plants, such as lectins, saponins, phytates, and oxalates, which interfere with nutrient absorption and digestion. All these things combined can contribute to the overgrowth of harmful bacteria.

    A carnivore diet on the other hand can help improve your gut health by providing you what you need to strengthen and repair your gut lining. This is due to animal-based foods being rich in omega-3 fatty acids, glutamine, collagen, and other gut-healthy nutrients.
     

    Potential Mental Clarity

    The carnivore diet can enhance your mental clarity, focus, and mood, because you eliminate inflammatory foods like sugar and seed oils, as well as cognitive disruptors found in some plant foods. You in turn focus on nutrient dense foods with high-quality fats that lead to improved brain health. Mental issues are most often rooted in inflammation and nutrient deficiencies, and not necessarily in chemical imbalances. Many living a carnivore diet lifestyle have reversed mental health disorders such as depression as well as others.
     

    There is much more that could be added to this list. We could talk about improved sleep, enhanced testosterone and libido, better insulin sensitivity, a healthier heart, rejuvenated skin, and more energy. The carnivore diet promotes optimal health by emphasizing nutrient-dense animal products, which are complete sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals. It can stabilize blood sugar, enhance mitochondrial function, reduce inflammation, and address potential food sensitivities. Many doctors and nutritionists say that this is the way humans were meant to eat, and indeed the way they did eat long before the era of processed foods and the diseases they brought with them.

     

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.


  • Guests and Visitors who aren't members can comment on these Articles by clicking HERE.

  • Would you be interested in contributing insightful and engaging articles that could benefit the low carb, keto, and carnivore community?
    Register or sign in to your account and then you can message us for detailed information.

  • Welcome to our Carnivore / Ketovore / Keto Online Community!

    Welcome to Carnivore Talk! An online community of people who have discovered the benefits of an animal-based ketogenic diet with the goal of losing weight, optimizing their health, and supporting and encouraging one another. We warmly welcome you! [Read More]

  • Latest Topics

  • Recent Posts

    • It sounds like this is the only path then. Before starting my diet, like everyone, I was able to eat what I wanted but all that came with the consequences I wish to reverse. 90 days seems like a long time to endure, and I fear getting bored with not being able to change up the flavors as much as I'd like to. I understand the concept and it makes sense. Apparently, our physiology changes during the 90 days and we have to start over with things we may have been able to eat before with no problem to ensure there isn't a new undiscovered problem waiting to manifest itself. This makes perfect sense. Like I said. I just don't want to become bored with the limited flavors that only salt yields. I love eggs and I used to add a ton of things to them, especially omelets. Bacon is another one of my all-time favorites.  If I can eat some of these processed deli meats during my 90-day journey, that would help relieve some of potential boredom. When I checked at the grocery store, it seemed like over 95% of the meats were cured with some sugar or dextrose. It was a shocker for me. Right now, I don't think I am sensitive at all to it. But that could change after 90 days. All in all, I am jazzed for this diet, and I really want to do it correctly. I will have to keep watching YT for recipes that are allowed during the 90 days of total elimination. Thanks for answering, it really helps out.
    • Your confusion is totally understandable Steven. I felt the same way in the beginning. What I came to understand was there are no set rules to eating this way because it all boils down to individuality. What works for my physiology may not work for yours. Remember, this is an elimination diet. Start with a foundation of clean meats, salt and water. Stay clean for 90 days. Introduce something that you like for few days and see how it affects you. No problems? It can stay. Issues m? It’s gone forever. Build on it from there, slowly. You have to build your own diet/lifestyle plan according to your needs, not anyone else’s. I personally avoid all sugars and sugar alternatives but if a little sneaks in once in awhile I don’t worry about it. In something like sugars used in a cured meat it’s not that much. I make my own bacon and before carnivore my brine/cure required a lot of brown sugar and maple syrup but after the curing process was over most of it was rinsed off. There was still some residual sugar but considering the slight amount on the surface of each slice I don’t believe it’s enough to do much harm unless you are super sensitive to it. With all that being said I still avoid sugar as much as possible. If given a choice I wall always go without. The only items I allow in my diet that are not carnivore is one cup of bulletproof tea in the morning and some spices. Those spices must be sugar and sweetener free. I eat meat of any kind, eggs, cheese , cream and yogurt sparingly and pork rinds fried in lard. The only fats I use are ghee, lard and tallow, which I make myself. I do not allow vegetables, seeds, seed oils and sugar (if at all possible) Now here is a concession that I might make if I went to a restaurant and there were no steaks or any meats that weren’t clean enough to suit me. I would consider jalapeño poppers as long as they’re not breaded and deep fried. Bacon wrapped and stuffed with cream cheese is tolerable for me and doesn’t affect me but I would only eat that I’d there was no other alternative. Find your path, just start from a clean foundation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    • Okay. I'm a noob at this (well, sort of. Like I said before, I did do Adkins for a couple of years with no problems). The way I understand it, the goal is to reduce your carbs to zero as well as get through the transition eating only animal products. I prefer to jump right in like @Geezy did and get on with it. So far, I haven't had any sugars or carbs and have made up my mind to eliminate everything that is not animal based (Milk is animal based but has lactose, so it is out). In my research and quest for further understanding, I watch a lot of YT videos on tips and tricks to navigate through this new adventure. This is where I am coming into some confusion, and I know there are variations of the carnivore diet. But some of the stuff I've seen others do has me scratching my head. So, I am assuming I am missing something and therefore the confusion. The bottom line is I see others eating stuff that has been processed with sugars or dextrose, etc. To my understanding, that would be a red flag to go that direction. For instance this ham:    When I scan the shelves, I see something like this and it interests me. So I start checking the label. From the ingredient list, it tells me this one is off limits. But then if you go to the nutritional label:  
    • Yeah, and they're only targeting the USA. China and India are some of the worst polluters in the world (way more than us) and somehow, they get a pass. There's just something wrong with that picture.
    • My cows say… I fart in your general direction. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Please Sign In or Sign Up