Vegans and vegetarians, you've been trigger-warned. There's a new diet in town, and it shuns all fruits and vegetables. The "carnivore diet," as it is aptly named, involves eating as much meat as possible. Fans of the new trend claim that it improves health and sheds excess weight.
The carnivore diet is essentially the exact opposite of veganism. Instead of sticking exclusively to plant-based foods, people on the carnivore diet abstain from plants and strictly consume animal products — meat, seafood, eggs, and butter included. Repeat: They avoid all plant-based foods.
"I call this a mono diet, which means you're basically eating one food," explains dietitian and writer Abby Langer, RD. "It's meat, eggs, and coffee. Some people will eat dairy, but most believe that the lactose in milk makes it off-limits, because that's sugar. No plant foods are allowed, which means you can’t eat any grains, nuts, seeds, beans, fruits, or vegetables.”
The diet is still fairly new, and it hasn't been studied by nutritionists or scientists yet. Furthermore, there are no official guidelines on how to follow the diet while still getting all the nutrients you need.
Instead, most information about the diet comes from blogs and social media.
One famous devotee is Mikhaila Peterson, the daughter of dubious celebrity psychologist Jordan Peterson. The 26-year-old claims that eating a diet consisting only of beef cured her depression and arthritis.
Yes, you read that correctly. She only eats beef.
"Beef, salt, water and bourbon = cured," Mikhaila's Instagram bio reads. Despite not being a nutritionist herself, she works as a consultant helping others follow the same diet to cure their ailments. Huh.
Some followers of the carnivore diet are less strict than Mikhaila. In addition to beef, they eat other kinds of meat along with other animal products like eggs and cheese.
Following such a strict diet can get boring for some, though it definitely cuts down on your shopping list.
In fact, the lack of variety likely largely accounts for people's weight-loss results on the diet. Since followers eliminate entire food groups from their daily intake, they shed pounds.
But it's neither sustainable nor healthy.
Nutritionists agree that you should be eating a variety of foods from different food groups.
"There's a reason [health experts] say to eat the rainbow," Amy Gorin, RDN, owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition, told Women's Health.
"You need a variety of foods for optimal health. These include fruits and vegetables, healthy fats like avocado and olives, and whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. You get so many important nutrients from these foods — from vitamins and minerals to antioxidants — that are important for good health.”
In other words, your plate should look more like this:
Rather than this:
"You’re essentially cutting out foods that have been proven to be good for you, and that have never proven to be harmful,” agrees Abby Langer.
“The claims of this diet are just so crazy,” Amy says. “Its supporters are saying that vegetables are horrible, and that carbohydrates are toxic. None of this has ever been proven by science, and any studies they’re citing are not credible.”
What do carnivore dieters say in response to those criticisms?
"Obviously, we don’t know what we’re talking about if people can literally survive (and thrive) on an only meat diet. Obviously, we’re missing some key information here," Mikhaila asserted on her blog.
Browsing through hashtags like #meatismedicine and #meatheals will show you that people believe that the carnivore diet will basically cure ALL of your ailments, both mental and physical. They claim amazing results.
“It could be the placebo effect, but it also could just be the result of weight loss," Amy explains. “It literally has no logical explanation — it’s not based in science at all.”
There's also the fact that carnivore dieters can't partake in most social dining engagements. The diet is just too extreme.
"You’re going to be isolating yourself from social situations," Amy says, "and that’s just not okay. Mental and physical health go hand-in-hand in terms of their impact on your health and your life.”
Maybe leave this diet to the internet.
