This week’s newsletter is a bit different to normal, as it covers something that I’m undecided on myself and want to put out to the readers to see what your take is on it.
Recently, I watched a programme here in the UK where they discussed different health fads taking the world by storm, mainly fuelled by social media content. The one that I wanted to discuss with you today is the carnivore diet. This started to gain real traction several years ago, popularised in particular by Dr Shawn Baker, an orthopaedic surgeon in the US who wrote a bestselling book on it in 2019. Since then, many high-profile celebrities and content creators have adopted this diet and are reporting back how amazing they now feel.
So the carnivore diet consists of eating mainly meat every day, often alongside eggs and some dairy. Now, I know this won’t be a diet many of you following a vegan lifestyle would ever consider, for genuine ethical, environmental or health reasons of your own, so this week’s focus won’t be for everyone. But I wanted to look at it properly and hear what you think, whatever side of this you sit on.
When I think about it, there can be several reasons someone might feel good on this diet, and one of the main ones is that they’ve cut out many other types of foods, like ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and gluten-containing foods. They’ve also cut out legumes and vegetables, some of which can be problematic for some people. This may be why people following this diet say their long-standing gut issues have resolved and they generally feel much better.
Instinctively, I ask the question about fibre and how you can maintain regular bowel movements eating like this, but those who follow the diet report it isn’t the issue you’d expect.
Going back to the programme, they discussed the issue of this diet raising LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, and the established link between LDL and heart disease risk. I wasn’t really surprised by this analysis, even though I know that view is sometimes challenged in some natural health spaces. But it does emerge as a possible downside.
Another interesting point that came up is that this TV show generally observed that high-profile individuals following the carnivore diet also tend to be in the same group that’s more likely to go against mainstream narratives about health and wellbeing. Is there an element of rebelliousness going on?
Anyway, back to the idea of the carnivore diet in practice. I’m not sure that I would prefer to eat like that every day, but I do find the evidence compelling as to how amazing it makes people feel. I’ve seen people online but also spoken to people in my professional and personal capacity who also vouch for this diet. Yet, there isn’t currently the science or any long-term study data available to back it up either way.
This is where I wanted to throw it out to you, the readers, to hear what you think.
Do you follow this diet, or have you ever followed it? If so, how does it make you feel? Or are you curious about it and would like to consider it but don’t know enough about the long-term effects or benefits? Or perhaps you think this is a fad best avoided altogether, I’d love to hear that view just as much.
So please get in touch with your thoughts and we can follow this up in future newsletters.
