The carnivore diet is not new. It allows only meat, fish, eggs and some dairy. Cultures from the Inuit to the Masai lived mostly on meat for generations. It cuts out all added sugar and refined carbohydrate. But it also drops fiber, and greater fiber intake lowers the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer.
The carnivore diet has swept through pop culture like a whirlwind. It came hot on the heels of other diets like the ketogenic and paleo diets. Some critics have given it extremely harsh reviews, while some fans swear by it. Will it stand the test of time? Is it worth all the hype? In this article, we look at whether it works and whether it will last.
- Where did this diet come from?
The Carnivore Diet is a restrictive diet. It only includes meat, fish, and other animal foods like eggs and certain dairy products. It excludes all other foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. Its fans also recommend cutting out or limiting the daily intake of foods that may contain lactose — a sugar found in milk and dairy products — such as butter and hard cheeses.
The Carnivore Diet comes from a controversial belief. The belief is that human ancestral populations ate mostly meat and fish, and that high-carb diets are to blame for today’s high rates of chronic disease.
Carnivore ancestors?
The world has yet to produce a civilization that has eaten a vegan diet from childhood through death. On the other hand, recorded history holds many examples of societies that lived mostly on meat for decades, lifetimes, and generations. These societies came from a variety of cultural, ethnic and geographic backgrounds. What exactly did these meat-eating cultures eat? And how healthy or unhealthy were they?
Some of the ancient cultures that ate mostly meat are:
- The Inuit of the Canadian Arctic thrived on fish, seal, walrus and whale meat.
- The Chukotka of the Russian Arctic lived on caribou meat, marine animals and fish.
- The Masai, Samburu, and Rendille warriors of East Africa survived on diets made up mainly of milk and meat.
- The steppe nomads of Mongolia ate mostly meat and dairy products.
- The Sioux of South Dakota enjoyed a diet of buffalo meat.
- The Brazilian Gauchos nourished themselves with beef.
The studies on these communities strongly support claims that early man survived mainly on meat. No one disputes that our early ancestors ate meat. But a meat-only diet is quite unlikely.
Anthropological evidence contradicts the carnivore claim that early humans did not eat carbs. There’s archaeological evidence from at least 30,000 years ago — that’s 20,000 years before the agricultural revolution. It shows stone tools that look like mortars and pestles, which people used to grind up seeds and grain. It is possible that both Neanderthals and Paleolithic peoples ate barley, beans, and tubers.
Also, copies of amylase genes are often highly selected for within our genome. The only purpose of these genes is to make enzymes that digest carbohydrates. That suggests starchy foods were important throughout our evolutionary history. This contradicts an ancestral all-meat diet, or even an ultra-low-carb one. That is because such copies are not strongly selected for within any meat-eating species.
That said, there is still some scientific debate about the diet of Neanderthals. Neanderthals are partly ancestral to some people of Eurasian ancestry. There are some exceptionally high levels of δ15N in some Neanderthal remains. These would indicate high levels of meat-eating. Perhaps that meant high levels of rotten meat-eating, or perhaps not.
Who Is Shawn Baker and what’s His Role in the Popularity of the Carnivore Diet?
Shawn Baker is one of the earliest carnivore diet proponents. He is an orthopedic surgeon and a major leader in the carnivore diet movement. He authored a book released in early 2018, fittingly titled The Carnivore Diet.
However, Baker’s medical license has since been revoked. The New Mexico Medical Board ordered the “voluntary and permanent surrender” of his medical license in 2017. “This action was based on failure to report adverse action taken by a healthcare entity and incompetence to practice as a licensee,” the report reads. He is still a central figure in the zero-carb, all-meat movement.
Does the carnivore diet’s current popularity come from traditional practices? Or is it based only on the diet being practical, solving some health issues and being a lifestyle of choice? These questions are still up for discussion.
- Why you should start this diet as early as today…
Fans of this diet praise it for curing or helping them manage fairly severe chronic conditions. These include Type 2 Diabetes, brain fog, digestive issues and autoimmune issues, just to name a few. Most of this evidence is anecdotal (based on personal stories). Still, let us look at some benefits of this diet:
- The carnivore diet cuts out all added sugar – Sugar is bad for you. Here’s why:
- It can glycate (bind to) and stick to cholesterol particles. That can lead to atherosclerosis
- It’s highly glycemic. Sugar spikes insulin and can lead to insulin resistance over time.
- When your body breaks it down, it makes AGEs. These lead to aging, chronic disease, and diabetes
- Glucose causes oxidative stress and inflammation, and it can produce reactive oxygen species. Oxidative stress plays a role in almost every disease.
- The carnivore diet can cure leaky gut – Leaky gut is a condition where the tight junctions of the small intestine open. That lets proteins and toxins into the bloodstream. This diet resolves leaky gut by:
- Reducing inflammation, which reverses gut microbiome imbalances
- It is arguably the most nutrient-rich diet on earth, which heals the gut.
- It removes foods that pry the tight junctions in the small intestine open, like lectins and gluten
- The Carnivore Diet Eliminates Refined Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates have had all their fiber removed. Because of that, they are digested very quickly and cause major blood sugar spikes.
This can lead to insulin resistance over time, especially when eaten with fat. They also damage the gut. The gut and colon ferment sugar and carbohydrates, which can make GI issues worse and lead to leaky gut. This is why a well-established treatment for IBS recommends low carbohydrates to starve your bacteria.
Over time, eating refined carbohydrates has been linked to inflammation and obesity. The carnivore diet completely cuts off carbohydrates and may reverse these effects over time.
- Why you should not board this bus…
Medical experts have condemned the carnivore diet as dangerous and unscientific. It is based on anecdotal evidence (personal stories). There is no scientific evidence to support it. Eating only meat deprives the body of needed nutrients and causes vitamin deficiencies.
Carnivore dieters reject and ridicule dietary fiber, which they claim is unhealthy and not needed. In reality, greater dietary fiber intake has been shown to lower the risk of several diseases. These include both cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. They also include type 2 diabetes and some cancers, including bowel and colon cancer.
Fiber has many other health benefits. These include better digestive health and weight management. A lack of dietary fiber is dangerous to the bacteria in the colon. Growing evidence suggests that without enough fiber, colon bacteria eat away and thin the protective mucus lining. That then leads to impaired immune function and inflammation.
Some negative health effects are suspected. These include high levels of LDL cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart disease, and constipation from lack of dietary fiber. They also include folate (vitamin B9), vitamin C and E deficiencies and scurvy.
- Trash it or keep it?
Are you suffering from a severe or incurable condition with poor treatment options? Then the carnivore diet can be an option to try. Without any good scientific evidence pro or con, the benefits to you might be well worth the trip.
Short-term, it is unlikely to cause any harm. However, longer trials could cause some health issues for some people. So anyone thinking about doing this should pay close attention to how their own body responds. If one does not note remarkable improvement over weeks or a few months, it’s very likely not helping. They can then return to a more varied and less restricted low-carb ketogenic diet, knowing that they gave it a shot.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly do you eat on a carnivore diet?
Meat, fish and other animal foods, such as eggs and certain dairy products. Everything else is out: fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. Proponents also recommend eliminating or limiting foods that may contain lactose, the sugar found in milk and dairy products. The result is a diet with no added sugar and no refined carbohydrate at all.
Why do people go on the carnivore diet?
Followers credit it with helping them manage type 2 diabetes, brain fog, digestive issues and autoimmune problems. The diet cuts out all added sugar. Sugar spikes insulin and leads to insulin resistance over time. It removes refined carbohydrates, which cause major blood sugar spikes. And it removes lectins and gluten, the foods that pry open the tight junctions of the small intestine.
What is the difference between keto and carnivore?
Carnivore is the stricter of the two. It allows only animal foods and cuts off carbohydrates completely. A low-carb ketogenic diet is more varied and less restricted. Say you try carnivore and see no remarkable improvement over several weeks or a few months. Then it is likely not helping you. You can return to a low-carb ketogenic diet knowing you gave it a shot.
Related reading
References
- Diagnosis Diet (2019): The History of All-Meat Diets. Retrieved from https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/all-meat-diets/
- Rational Wiki (2019): Carnivore diet. Retrieved from https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Carnivore_diet
- Diet Doctor (2019): Sinking our teeth into the carnivore diet: what’s known, what’s not. Retrieved from https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/carnivore
- Carnivore Aurelius (2019): Carnivore Diet | 16 Reasons It Works. Retrieved from https://carnivoreaurelius.com/carnivore-diet/
- Healthline (2019): What is the Carnivore Diet? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/carnivore-diet#what-it-is
- Everyday Health (2019): On the Carnivore Diet, People Are Eating Only Meat: Here’s What to Know. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/carnivore-diet-benefits-risks-food-list-more/
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
Interventional pain physician, addiction medicine specialist and obesity medicine diplomate.
Licensed in Missouri and Illinois.
Last reviewed June 18, 2026
