 | The Carnivore Diet, is the latest incarnation of the controversial low carb diet, but differs from previous versions by taking "low carb" to its farthest extreme and consuming zero plants at all. (With the possible exception of coffee.) Why should you care about this? |
There is no published science on the long term impact of following a diet that entirely excludes eating anything from a plant. However published evidence does suggest that low carb diets in general increase all cause mortality when followed long term. Proponents of the Carnivore Diet counter that there are health benefits to a diet that completely eliminates plants (that is a zero-carb diet.) They say this NEW version’s health benefits are not reflected in the current science because thus far it's only examined traditional low carb diets. They reason that since all plants contain dangerous phytochemicals (which they believe harm us), that low carb diets allowing some leafy greens or nuts, don’t reflect the benefits they have personally experienced when they completely eliminated all plant foods.
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Science strongly suggests that as people eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more meat their health and longevity decline. So the idea that this trend would suddenly and sharply reverse when people decrease their plant-eating to zero is hard to imagine. Even if it were to somehow turn out that consuming zero plants is much healthier than Atkins, Paleo, South Beech, Keto etc., There is a bigger problem that needs to be discussed.
I find it curious that so many people who are outspoken when it comes to vaccines remain silent when it comes to diet. Why is it politically correct to not only speak up but actually to try to force everyone – even when it violates their religious freedom -- to get vaccinated, (justified because not doing so puts everyone at risk) yet it's politically incorrect to simply point out that someone's meat habit is putting the whole planet at risk? None of the mandated vaccines that confer herd immunity -- even have a theoretical threat of disability or death to more than a tiny fraction of humanity as an unintended consequence of individuals choosing not to get them. On the other hand, most scientific predictions suggest that the majority of humanity could eventually perish as a result of climate change, species extinction and resource depletion if we fail to reverse course quickly....and people eating meat is contributing to all of these problems.
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Science strongly suggests that as people eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more meat their health and longevity decline. So the idea that this trend would suddenly and sharply reverse when people decrease their plant-eating to zero is hard to imagine. Even if it were to somehow turn out that consuming zero plants is much healthier than Atkins, Paleo, South Beech, Keto etc., There is a bigger problem that needs to be discussed.
I find it curious that so many people who are outspoken when it comes to vaccines remain silent when it comes to diet. Why is it politically correct to not only speak up but actually to try to force everyone – even when it violates their religious freedom -- to get vaccinated, (justified because not doing so puts everyone at risk) yet it's politically incorrect to simply point out that someone's meat habit is putting the whole planet at risk? None of the mandated vaccines that confer herd immunity -- even have a theoretical threat of disability or death to more than a tiny fraction of humanity as an unintended consequence of individuals choosing not to get them. On the other hand, most scientific predictions suggest that the majority of humanity could eventually perish as a result of climate change, species extinction and resource depletion if we fail to reverse course quickly....and people eating meat is contributing to all of these problems.
That is why I take very seriously the anecdotal reports of people who have tried the Carnivore Diet and are now evangelical about its benefits. Claims that it improved gut issues, mood, energy or reversed autoimmune disease can be seductive to those not feeling well – or who are anxious to be validated in their desire to continue eating meat.
So I have been asking myself this question: How can eating no fiber, no phytochemicals and lots of animal flesh actually leave some people feeling better when overwhelmingly the science suggests that long-term, they are at increased risk of dying? (Some drugs present a similar sort of paradox too.)
The answer may be two-fold. First many people choose a carnivore diet either to lose weight or to address gut symptoms, and it is likely that the diet can be helpful to both of these. When someone with gut issues entirely stops eating FODMAPS/fiber/carbs It gives their gut a chance to rest and repair. This can happen from either a fast, or from a meat-only diet, because meat digestion happens in a different part of the gut than plants. This can feel miraculous.
But an all-meat diet introduces a problem that fasting does not. What we eat actually alters our gut microbiome. Not only does animal protein select for an entirely different set of gut microbes, but once established and fed an all-meat diet, meat-eating microbes out-compete and possibly eliminate microbes that allow us to digest fiber. Published science shows that the gut microbes of meat-eaters up-regulate inflammation all over the body too. Worse still – after one looses the microbes that are better adapted to plant-eating, (and lower inflammation) eating ANY plants is likely to trigger even worse gut symptoms than were experienced prior to eliminating plants. Now the wanna-be carnivore is feels really stuck.
But here's an even the more likely explanation of why some are becoming evangelical of a Carnivore Diet. A tiny molecule called BHB, is naturally produced when people eat very few carbs. BHB acts in the brain to cause euphoria and decrease anxiety as this terrific article explains.
According to World Watch Institute Animal agriculture is a leading driver of every category of environmental destruction that now threatens the human future. So it’s not only ok for people of conscience to raise alarm bells about their friend’s, family and neighbor’s choice of diet – Speaking up is now a matter of fundamental social justice.
So I have been asking myself this question: How can eating no fiber, no phytochemicals and lots of animal flesh actually leave some people feeling better when overwhelmingly the science suggests that long-term, they are at increased risk of dying? (Some drugs present a similar sort of paradox too.)
The answer may be two-fold. First many people choose a carnivore diet either to lose weight or to address gut symptoms, and it is likely that the diet can be helpful to both of these. When someone with gut issues entirely stops eating FODMAPS/fiber/carbs It gives their gut a chance to rest and repair. This can happen from either a fast, or from a meat-only diet, because meat digestion happens in a different part of the gut than plants. This can feel miraculous.
But an all-meat diet introduces a problem that fasting does not. What we eat actually alters our gut microbiome. Not only does animal protein select for an entirely different set of gut microbes, but once established and fed an all-meat diet, meat-eating microbes out-compete and possibly eliminate microbes that allow us to digest fiber. Published science shows that the gut microbes of meat-eaters up-regulate inflammation all over the body too. Worse still – after one looses the microbes that are better adapted to plant-eating, (and lower inflammation) eating ANY plants is likely to trigger even worse gut symptoms than were experienced prior to eliminating plants. Now the wanna-be carnivore is feels really stuck.
But here's an even the more likely explanation of why some are becoming evangelical of a Carnivore Diet. A tiny molecule called BHB, is naturally produced when people eat very few carbs. BHB acts in the brain to cause euphoria and decrease anxiety as this terrific article explains.
According to World Watch Institute Animal agriculture is a leading driver of every category of environmental destruction that now threatens the human future. So it’s not only ok for people of conscience to raise alarm bells about their friend’s, family and neighbor’s choice of diet – Speaking up is now a matter of fundamental social justice.
