You may have heard of the carnivore diet and the claims that it is beneficial to our health.
Many dietary trends, such as paleo and Atkins diets, advocate a high-protein, low-carb intake. But the carnivorous diet takes this tendency to the extreme.
So what is it, and is it bad for your health?
What is the carnivore diet?
As the name suggests, the carnivore diet involves only eating meat and animal products.
There is no official definition, but followers of this diet advocate eating red meat, pork, chicken and other poultry, eggs, fish and shellfish. Some low-lactose dairy can be included, such as cheese and yogurt.
Generally, all plant foods are excluded. So no fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, or nuts and seeds.
An example of what you might eat on a typical day might be:
Breakfast: eggs and bacon (no toast)
Lunch: lamb burger (without bun)
Dinner: rib eye steak (no sides)
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Are there any nutritional benefits?
The short answer is no.
It may be theoretically possible to obtain all essential vitamins and minerals from animal products. For example, lean red meat it is a good source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12, while oily fish is a good source of essential fatty acids, such as omega-3.
But unless your diet is very well planned, eating only animal meat could lead to insufficient intake of certain vitamins and minerals. This is especially the case for vitamin C and folate, where the main dietary sources are fruitsvegetables and whole grains.
Importantly, dietary fiber is notably absent from a carnivorous diet. This is a problem because a low fiber diet it can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer.
To avoid any deficiency in the diet, the Australian guide to healthy eating recommends eating from the five basic food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats and dairy.
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It’s bad for your health?
Most likely.
Most of the evidence for the benefits of this diet is anecdotal, based on personal experience, rather than scientific evidence.
a recent Article identified self-reported health benefits and high satisfaction among adults who followed a meat-eating diet for six months or longer. However, since the study involved asking people how much they liked a diet they had chosen to follow, we can’t conclude much from their findings.
When it comes to high-protein diets in general, we know that the quantity and quality of protein matters.
Research tells us that maintaining a high-protein diet for a long period of time (six months or more) could affect the ability of our liver, intestine and kidneys to detoxify ammonia, which is the waste product produced by our body during digestion of proteins.
For example, 12 months randomized controlled trial looked at how protein affects kidney function. The researchers prescribed the adults either an Atkins diet (30% of total energy intake from protein) or a control diet (15% of total energy intake from protein, which is close to the typical australian diet).
The trial reported an increase in creatinine clearance (a product of protein digestion) in adults on the Atkins diet at 12 months, but not at 24 months. This could suggest that after a while, the kidneys became less able to remove potentially harmful byproducts of excess protein, leading to kidney injury.
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However, due to the limited selection of foods, the high cost of meat, the repetitive nature of many high-protein diets, and concerns about whether it would be ethical, there are not many long-term trials.
That said, evidence from large, long-term observational studies tells us that diets high in red meat and processed meat increase our risk of heart disease And more cancers.
While one person can maintain a carnivorous diet for months, or even years, without health complications, it certainly won’t be the case for everyone.
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How much meat is too much?
For an adult, a high protein diet it is generally defined as consuming 2 grams or more of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
So for a 80kg male this would be 160g of protein per day. And what does 160g of protein look like in whole foods? This is the equivalent of six medium-sized lamb chops a day (550g of meat).
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When we compare this to national guidelines, the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend that the average adult eat a maximum of 455g of cooked lean red meat per week (or 65g per day, equivalent to a small lamb chop).
Specifically for heart health, heart foundation recommends eating less than 350 g of cooked, unprocessed red meat per week (50 g per day).
So what’s the verdict?
the strongest evidence shows that eating a diet rich in whole plant foods, such as fruits and vegetables, with a moderate amount of lean, unprocessed red meat, poultry, and fish is good for our health.
For this reason, the Mediterranean diet it has become ubiquitous with a healthy diet.
If you are considering trying a high-protein diet, it is recommended that you first consult a health professional, such as a registered practicing dietitian.
