What Is A Carnivore Diet, Its Benefits, Risks & Food List

A carnivore person only eats non-vegetarian or animal food, which includes beef, poultry, fish, and organ meat including liver, kidney and even brain. Following a carnivore diet is not easy and needs motivation. A carnivore diet includes a lot of protein, fat and no carbohydrate in your daily meals. People following a carnivore diet are often those who are trying to address any autoimmune condition or attempt to lose weight. Consuming only meats also helps with other health ailments, such as fatigue and digestive health.

The food list of carnivore diet includes:

• Poultry.
• Organ meat.
• Lard.
• Bone marrow.
• Fish.
• Butter.
• Salt and pepper.
• Water.

Anything, which is not meat, cannot be included in a carnivore diet. Foods that are not included in a carnivore diet are:

• Vegetables.
• Fruits.
• Bread.
• Pasta.
• Legumes.
• Pasta.
• Seeds.

Weight Loss Benefits of Carnivore Diet. Carnivore diet helps in weight loss, as it maintains the blood sugar level. The carbohydrates in the diet are converted into fat rather than being used as energy, which leads to weight gain. Animal diet lacks sufficient carbohydrates, which helps maintain the blood sugar level. Being high in fat, a carnivore diet keeps you satiated for longer periods of time, preventing overeating and helping with weight loss.

Improves Mental Health with Carnivore Diet. The brain is composed of 50% of fat; and eating a diet rich in fats and protein (carnivore diet), adds to its health. Rich content of vitamin D and omega 3 fats in the animal diet (carnivore diet) contributes to brain health. Carnivore diet is known to increase focus, enhance mood and improve mental clarity.

Increase Bone Strength with Carnivore Diet. Animal diet is rich in vitamin D content, which is important to maintain bone health. Vitamin D helps in calcium absorption in the bone and other than sunlight, animal meat is the only richest source of vitamin D.

A Carnivore Diet Decreases Inflammation. Carnivore diet is rich in antioxidants, vitamin E, beta carotene, vitamin C and omega 3 Fats. There are also great sources of CLA (conjugated linolenic acid). CLA is known for its benefits in weight management and improving body composition and health by decreasing inflammation. Carnivore diet also gives a boost to the immune system.

Improves Digestive Health. Certain studies show that a few people who had been put on an only carnivore diet displayed improvement in the digestive problems; which returned when carnivore diet was discontinued.

Gastric Cancer. Fiber is an important nutrient for colonic health. Carnivore diet is low in fiber; and hence red and processed meats are linked to an increased risk of gastric cancer. Eating a lot of meat protein is also known to stress out the kidneys.

Low Nutrients. Eating just one type of meal such as Carnivore Diet, can lead to deficiency in certain nutrients in the body. A plant diet is rich in Vitamin C and vitamin E, which an animal diet or carnivore diet lacks. Following a carnivore diet causes deficiency of these nutrients and its related disorders.

Eating Disorders. Restricting and labelling food as good or bad all the time (as in carnivore diet) leads to disordered eating behaviour. It can also call for eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge eating.

Lack of Well Being. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables and different variety of food, is known to bring in happiness, life satisfaction and feeling of well-being. It keeps the nutritional deficiencies away and keeps you in good space of life. Following a strictly carnivore diet keeps you away from this feeling.

For health, it’s ok to experiment with the food you eat and follow carnivore diet, but make sure it does not harm your body. Just because a trend is going on, you need not follow the crowd. Keep a diet restriction short termed and shift on to the other to keep you away from unwanted risk factors of following strictly a single diet.