Will eating an all-meat Carnivore Diet clog your arteries and make you unhealthy over time? I get asked this question so often and you have to look at the broader subject to be able to answer it effectively. Anytime you’re on a diet that is too restrictive means you’re going to be deficient in other minerals and nutrients that your body needs. It’s exceedingly difficult to be on any restrictive diet and think you’re getting everything nutrients-wise from that diet. Restrictive means you are eliminating something and elimination most of the time can cause deficiency from a nutritional aspect.
The Carnivore Diet is one of the most restrictive diets on the market. While it includes meat, fish, eggs, and limits mostly all dairy products, it excludes a lot of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. It does include minimal low-lactose dairy products. The controversial belief is that the carnivore diet is what our ancestors used to hunt and eat, which was meat and fish. And, that mythical theory is that high-carb diets in our society is the cause of all chronic diseases. It’s an interesting controversial theory, but the science says that it’s simply not true.
Let’s look at the specific foods you can eat and cannot eat:
Foods you CAN eat on the Carnivore Diet:
- Beef
- Chicken
- Pork
- Lamb
- Turkey
- Wild game
- Salmon
- Fish
- Sardines
The Fluids you can drink are water and broth, but you cannot drink tea, coffee, or any drink from plants.The benefits of the Carnivore Diet are that it eliminates cookies, pastries, sodas, cakes, and any sugary cheat food. The weaknesses of the Carnivore Diet are that it is prominently just animal food products. And animal foods are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Saturated fat raises your LDL which is your bad cholesterol which makes you at considerable risk for heart disease. Most of the foods on the Carnivore Diet are high in sodium and anything that is high in sodium puts you at substantial risk for stroke, heart attack, clogged arteries, high blood pressure and so many other bad health issues.
Foods You CANNOT eat:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Grains
- Nuts and Seeds
- Alcohol
- Sugary Beverages
- Legumes
- High lactose dairy like milk or yogurt
Eliminating plant-based foods from any diet is one of the unhealthiest things you can do. And unfortunately, the Carnivore Diet eliminates plant-based foods. Now what happens when you eliminate plant-based foods? Well, you are at a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes, cancer, heart disease and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. The minerals and fiber you get from plant-based foods is tremendous for your digestive system and gut health. But it also has a powerful antioxidant effect. And that powerful antioxidant is needed to fight off so many diseases to help keep you healthier.
The people that are advocates of the Carnivore Diet claim it helps with weight loss and other health studies but there are no scientific studies to validate the claim. The bottom line is a balanced approach is always the most sensible to eat so you are getting every important vitamin and mineral in your body. Balance is key to living a healthy life.
At Ethical, we appreciate that you’re here to commit and we’re here to help make it easy for you! If you’re struggling to exercise or need a plan to commit to, we have fitness and nutrition programs designed to target your whole body, meet you where you’re at right now and level up with you as your fitness becomes more advanced. Various programs from our popular 21-day Get Fit to the Ultimate Twelve Weeks Home Workout and Diet Plan will ensure you’re getting the most out of your workouts. And trust us – there’s no magic pill to do it for you.
Take Care,
Obi Obadike
