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The carnivore diet continues growing in popularity based on social media influencers, but doctors are torn on the health effects associated with the diet. Due to its extreme nature, concerns are called as people begin starting the carnivore diet earlier on in life, with eyebrows getting raised about claims of parents feeding their babies a strictly carnivore diet (1).
The carnivore diet is a restrictive meal plan that only allows eating of animal products–namely, meat and water. It is also called the “zero carb diet,” since no carbs are eaten in the diet.
The carnivore diet follows the same philosophy of the keto diet, but it takes the diet to the extreme. Like keto, the body burns fat instead of carbs, leading to a state of “ketosis.” Any type of fat can be consumed, as long as it comes from meat, so there is a high likelihood for consuming saturated fats. Unlike the keto diet, however, the carnivore diet allows for no carbs, not a limited amount of carbs (2).
Like any diet, consult a doctor before beginning the carnivore diet.
Because of its restrictive nature, some people will modify the carnivore diet to allow for dairy or coffee. However, in its traditional form, the only foods eaten on the carnivore diet are as follows:
Some people allow for seasonings on the diet, as long as they are zero carb seasonings. Meats eaten should not be heavily processed, like sausage.
No other foods are permitted on the carnivore diet, including but not limited to:
Fruits
Vegetables
Dairy
Legumes
Grains
nuts/seeds
Alcohol
Sugars
Beverages other than water
Despite its restrictions, some people are proponents of the diet due to the health benefits. Further research needs to be conducted over any positive long-term benefits associated with the carnivore diet, but some positive health effects associated with the carnivore diet include:
Weight loss: Like the keto and Atkins diet, your body does not have carbs to burn for energy. Instead, it burns fat. This can increase your metabolism and lead to weight loss.
Blood sugar: Without sugary and high carb foods, you can prevent blood sugar spikes.
Chronic disease prevention: Some chronic diseases are directly linked to sugar consumption. By cutting out sugar, you can reduce your risk of certain chronic diseases (4).
Despite some positive health effects, the carnivore diet is restrictive and comes with risks. First, because the carnivore diet completely eliminates carbohydrates, it is impossible to eat a balanced diet. The lack of nutrients in a meat-only diet can be linked to dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps, and general weakness (4).
Additionally, eating purely meat will increase the quantity of saturated fats you eat daily, which can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. Eating high amounts of red meat can also increase your risk of colon and rectal cancer, lead to digestive problems like constipation, harm your kidneys, and increase your risk of gout and osteoporosis (2).
The carnivore diet consists of eating only meat,fish, eggs, and poultry, all of which are acidic foods (5). Eating exclusively meat means you are eating an exclusively acidic diet. If you want to avoid eating only acidity on the day-to-day while following the carnivore diet, changing your normal drinking water to alkaline water is your only option. Drinking alkaline water will allow your body a much needed break from its all-acidic diet, and alkaline water is easy to make at home.
With the help of an alkalizing water pitcher, like the Seychelle Gen 2 Dual pH2O water pitcher, you can easily convert your tap water to clean, fresh alkaline water.
The carnivore diet is a no-carb, all-meat diet that is growing in popularity. Some people report weight loss and lower blood sugar by following the carnivore diet. However, many doctors warn against following the carnivore diet in the long term, since it can lead to cancer, high cholesterol, muscle cramps, kidney failure, and constipation. The carnivore diet is a fully acidic diet, but by drinking alkaline water, you can begin to balance out the acidity caused by the alkaline diet.
Does the carnivore diet make your body acidic?
The carnivore diet is exclusively acidic, which may impact your body’s pH levels. A highly acidic diet is known to decrease the pH of your urine, which comes with negative health effects.
Can your body be alkaline if you eat meat?
By following a balanced diet, including meat, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, your body can still be alkaline.
What do you eat in a carnivore diet?
The carnivore diet consists of eating meat, poultry, fish, other animal products, and water.
References
Dierdre Bardolf,Fox News,https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/doctors-divided-diet-trend-has-babies-licking-butter-gumming-ribeye-steak
Howard LeWine,Harvard Health,https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/what-is-the-carnivore-diet
Marie Johnson,Healthline,https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/carnivore-diet#foods-to-eat
Cleveland Clinic,https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-carnivore-diet
Jared Meacham,Healthline,https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/the-alkaline-diet-myth
