What Are the Carnivore Diet Health Risks You Need to Know?
“There are a lot of downsides to the carnivore diet,” says Liz Weinandy, MPH, RDN, a dietitian at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “We have multiple food groups for a reason: They each provide us with a range of nutrients.” Humans are omnivores, which means we derive nutrients from a variety of foods, both animal- and plant-based. Eating only one food group is a problem, no matter which one (even if it’s just vegetables). Limiting yourself to all meat can cause you to run low in certain nutrients that are abundant in plants, likevitamin Candvitamin E, Weinandy says.
Although some anecdotal reports suggest thatconstipationisn’t a problem on a carnivore diet, you are missing out onfiber, a nutrient important for colonic health, says Weinandy. Plus, a diet high in red and processed meats has been linked to an increased risk of gastric cancer.(A meta-analysis of 42 studies reported that while case-control studies on red and processed meat consumption do show this association, cohort studies — a type of observational study — do not.)Eating a large amount of meat protein can also put undue stress on kidneys.
Another consideration: Extreme restriction or labeling foods “good” or “bad” can also set off disordered-eating behaviors or full-blowneating disorders, Weinandy says.
What’s more, eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables has been scientifically linked to increased happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being.
What if You Opt for Lean Meats, Like Fish and Poultry?
Practically speaking, you’d have to eat a lot of lean protein to get enough calories in a day. Focusing on lean poultry or fish like chicken breast and cod may also prevent you from entering ketosis, which is a goal of many people who go on very low or zero-carb diets for weight loss. If you want to be in ketosis, you’ll need to opt for fattier meats rather than filling up on skinless chicken breasts, but again, there is limited research on how healthy this is overall.
