If the idea of sitting down with a large, juicy ribeye for breakfast appeals to you, you may have found your new diet: the carnivore diet.
What exactly is the carnivore diet and how does it work?
While there is no official definition, the carnivorous diet is a diet that includes only foods from animals that walked, swam, or flew. While it may be a trend, the people who follow it are due to a strong motivating factor. Often to treat an autoimmune disease or to try to lose weight.
The carnivore diet is often a step that many people take after trying the paleo diet or the ketogenic diet . The paleo diet is based on fresh fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meats, and seafood, while eliminating added sugars, grains, dairy, and legumes.
For its part, the ketogenic diet, also called “keto”, is a diet very high in fat, moderate in protein and very low in carbohydrates. Not everyone enjoys eating that much fat on a keto diet, and can instead go for a high protein diet like the carnivore.
Food list of a carnivorous diet: what to eat and avoid
A meat-only diet is self-explanatory – you’re only going to eat meat. However, as in all diets, not everything is black and white.
Basic foods of the carnivorous diet
- Red meat (beef, pork, lamb), with an emphasis on fattier cuts of meat to get enough calories. Other options include:
- Organ meats
- Poultry
- Fish
- Eggs
- Lard
- Butter
- Chicken soup
Acceptable foods in the carnivorous diet
Foods that might be acceptable to some people interpret the basis of the carnivorous diet as “coming from an animal” include:
- Milk
- Yoghurt
- Cheese
- Coffee and Tea: These are plant-based, but some people keep them in the diet.
Foods not allowed in the carnivorous diet
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Seeds
- Walnuts
- Vegetables
- Bread
- Pasta
- Grain
- Anything other than meat is not allowed on the carnivore diet.
Benefits and risks of a meat-based diet
The carnivorous diet has been gaining popularity as an anti-inflammatory diet for people with autoimmune conditions, particularly in light of some of the post-diet data. Many people have claimed that they have been cured of depression thanks to a diet based on beef, water and salt.
It is one of the most extreme diets to eliminate fat , since much of the food is not included. The popularity of the carnivore diet has spread to a more general diet for weight loss.
It is important to note that this diet is so new that there is no research on the positive health effects – whether it can actually reduce the symptoms of autoimmune diseases, or whether it is a reliable method of discovering food intolerances or aiding weight loss.
The risks of the carnivorous diet depend on whether the method is followed to lose weight or to treat an autoimmune or inflammatory condition.
That said, the carnivore diet has many downsides: Eating only one food group is a problem , no matter which one (even if it’s just vegetables). Limiting yourself to all meats can deplete the nutrients that are abundant in plants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, and that are totally necessary for the body.
