Inside Robert F Kennedy Jr's controversial diet of red meat and fermented foodsPublished 16:13 2 Feb 2026 GMT The politician has even roped his wife into helping him achieve his diet goalsby Ella Scott Robert F Kennedy Jr, Secretary of Health and Human Services, has never shied away from discussing his controversial diet ideas with the public. Last month alone, the 72-year-old shared new US dietary guidelines, proclaiming that the ‘war on saturated fats’ was over, and presenting the idea that American’s should eat copious amounts of meat and cheese while keeping whole grain consumption to a minimum. Now, the environmental lawyer has defended the eyebrow-raising carnivore diet, claiming it has helped him lose a large amount of ‘visceral fat’. What is the carnivore diet?The carnivore plan is a restrictive diet usually consisting of meat, fish, eggs, seafood, and some more meat-derived products, such as cheese and butter, as per Harvard Health. Shannon Haynes, RD, a registered dietitian at Backus Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut, explained that the extreme ketogenic grub explicitly restricts carbohydrates, alleging that the body gets its energy by ‘burning fat instead’. “[It’s] supposed to speed up the breakdown of fat, improve blood sugar and decrease inflammation,” she told Hartford Healthcare. However, studies suggest that the carnivore diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies, increase inflammation risk due to the copious amount of red meat consumed, and put stress on the kidneys. Dr Mia Kazanjian, a board-certified radiologist in Connecticut, told Fox News Digital that anyone thinking of embarking on the idea should speak to a doctor first. "As a physician focused on cancer prevention, I recommend a Mediterranean diet, largely plant-based, with whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins, for optimal health and longevity," she added. RFK Jr defends the carnivore dietIn a new interview with USA Today’s Extremely Normal show, RFK Jr has admitted he is ‘on a carnivore diet’. “I only eat meat or fermented foods,” he said, adding that his daily meal plan ‘may not be right for other people’ and that he didn’t want to ‘make [himself] a role model for what people should do and shouldn't do’. As well as claiming to have lost fat by solely consuming meat, animal-based products, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, the Republican alleged his diet had helped improve his cognitive ability. The politician celebrated his 72nd birthday last month with a plate of steak (X/@HHSGov) "The way I feel, my mental clarity, my word retrieval, I had noticeable improvements, and you can attribute some of that to placebo effect, but I lost 20 pounds in 20 days when I switched to this diet,” he claimed. However, he acknowledged that some of the so-called ‘enormous benefits’ could be put down to a placebo effect. Does the carnivore diet help you lose weight?Yasi Ansari, senior dietitian at UCLA Health Santa Monica, has spoken about RFK Jr’s weight-loss claims. “Technically, it’s possible to lose visceral fat on any diet in the short term," she told USA Today. "Anytime we restrict calories or significantly change the diet, we may see reductions in visceral fat in the short-term.” However, she added: “The long-term health benefits of consuming a diet rich in fibre from whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, chickpeas and lentils − alongside lean proteins − far outweigh the short-term results that may be seen with a highly restrictive, fad diet.” RFK Jr's fermented foodsAs well as tucking into plates of meaty madness, the father-of-six apparently enlists the help of his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, to carry fermented foods around for him. Cheryl Hines reportedly carries around fermented foods for her husband (David Crotty/Getty Images) "I’ll have my little clutch, one of my good bags that I only take out every once in a while because I want to keep them nice, and he’ll hand me a bag of sauerkraut and say, 'Can you put this in your bag?'" the 60-year-old Curb Your Enthusiasm star said to The Cut. In January, the Washington DC native celebrated his 72nd birthday with a plate of steak, rather than a traditional sweet cake. “No cake, just steak. Happy Birthday @SecKennedy! We are so grateful for your leadership and determination to Make America Healthy Again,” wrote the official X account for the Department of Health and Human Services. ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.foodbible.com/news/celebrity/rfk-jr-carnivore-diet-fermented-foods-explained-951518-20260202
My latest blood work is in and I’m surprised at some of the results. Now let me preface anything I say with I know that these results are based on comparisons to an average of people who eat the SAD so I don’t think it can be held as a completely accurate assessment.
So I had a blood test done at my sixth month mark on carnivore so this one is nearly at my one year mark.
Total cholesterol then was 299 and this time it was 269.
LDL was 225 and now 190.
Wouldn’t bother me a bit if it would just stay up there.
Trigs was 87 and now 66. [emoji106]
HDL was 57 and now 66. [emoji106]
That gives me a ratio of 1. [emoji106]
All of the other markers we within the averages of what is
considered average or normal except sodium and potassium. My sodium was 139 and now 133. The average is supposed to be 135-145. So it’s not terribly low in my opinion but with the supplements I take and all of the salt I eat I’m surprised to see it low. My doctor thinks I’m drinking too
much water but I guess I’m still flushing out electrolytes but then my potassium levels were a little elevated potassium was 4.7 and now 5.9 with the average range to be 3.5-5.3. So that doesn’t quite fit with the flushing theory.
Another surprise was my A1c. It was 5.2 but now 5.6. Other than basic fluctuations I’m not sure how to explain that increase. Maybe I fasted too long. I had be fasting for about 18-19 hours.
My estimated glucose was also elevated. Was 103 but now 114. Same phenomenon as the A1c?
So my doc wants me to stop taking my potassium supplement and stop drinking so much water. I only drink about 4-6 16 ounce glasses a day. That doesn’t seem excessive to me.
Anyways I found it all to be very interesting.
I stopped taking my Keto Chow mineral supplements today and will just put Redmonds salt in my water and I will continue taking my magnesium supplement.
From what seems to be recommended for daily sodium intake I’ll be putting about a tablespoon of salt in my water everyday as well as salting my food liberally. Of course I’ll spread that out throughout the day.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk