What a meat-only ‘carnivore diet’ does to your body

BBC comedy show gavin and staceywhen Alison Steadman’s character Pam tries a “low-carb” diet, she serves herself a three-steak dinner – the extra two replace her usual chips and peas.

The sketch may have been a satire of low-carb, but food-focused social media sites are now filled with proponents of the “carnivorous diet,” and some are following Pam’s lead. It seems like it is.

This means all meals and snacks that consist entirely, or at least mostly, of meat, such as beefsteaks, lamb chops, and roast chicken. The only other thing on the plate is butter, cheese and egg sauce, but plants are off the menu.

This way of eating violates all the rules in medical textbooks. So what does it do to the body and why do people do it?

heart attack

It helps to understand why some people are turning to meat-eating, and why less extreme low-carbohydrate versions have also become popular and even accepted by some NHS doctors.

Medical orthodoxy has long advocated that we should limit our intake of meat and satiate ourselves with starchy carbohydrates found in foods such as potatoes, bread, pasta, and rice. This is because it is better than getting your calories from fat, which promotes weight gain. It is also thought that saturated fats, mainly found in meat and animal products, can raise cholesterol levels and cause heart attacks.

The premise behind low carbohydrates is that the driving force behind our food choices is how it affects our “metabolic health,” which may increase our risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It means that it is related to.

Type 2 diabetes is by far the most common form, and most often develops in people who are overweight and have a reduced response to the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin (although it is unclear which problem occurs first). unknown).

This “insulin resistance” results in blood sugar levels becoming too high after meals, putting you at risk for other medical conditions, from heart attack to blindness to leg amputation. Increasing waistlines worldwide mean that the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes is considered one of the major threats to public health.

Type 2 diabetes is usually treated with drugs, but insulin resistance worsens with age, so you need to take more and more drugs to control your blood sugar levels.

More recent low-carbohydrate approaches involve avoiding hyperglycemia by reducing intake of all forms of carbohydrates, including not only sugar but also starchy foods. This is because starch is quickly digested into sugar. This generally also leads to weight loss and reduces insulin resistance.

People who cut out carbohydrates have little choice but to fill up on high-protein and high-fat foods instead. It’s possible to be vegetarian or low-carb, but for meat eaters it usually involves eating more meat, eggs, and creamy sauces.

A standard low-carbohydrate diet is not carnivorous. People typically still eat plant-based foods, such as non-starchy vegetables and low-sugar fruits such as berries. For example, you might make a regular bolognaise sauce and replace the spaghetti with zucchini (zucchini cut into ribbons), or add cauliflower florets to your curry instead of rice.

next level

But some take things further. A low-carbohydrate diet is often defined as consuming less than 130 g of carbohydrates per day (about half the normal amount). A very low-carbohydrate diet means eating less than 50g per day (equivalent to one jacket potato), but in practice potatoes are prohibited and people usually reduce their small carbohydrate allowance to vegetables. is spent on. This is also called the ketogenic diet. This is because when your carbohydrate intake is very low, your cells have to burn fat for fuel instead, a condition called ketosis.

Carnivore has taken low carb to the next level. There is no official definition. For some, this means eating zero carbohydrates per day, while others say that people who eat mostly meat and animal products should be classified as carnivores.

But I’m sure there are plenty of people on social media who say they’re strictly meat eaters. Perhaps hurt by criticism of their diets, carnivores on Instagram and Facebook are busy exchanging dietary advice and discussing health benefits with an enthusiasm bordering on evangelicals. There are many communities that do this.

The health claims are not limited to weight loss and reversing type 2 diabetes, the posters said.

Some people say that going carnivorous has improved their health in a number of ways, including improved mental health, clearer skin, improved intestinal function, and reduced pain. “The number of diseases that people are solving is really amazing,” says Olivia Khwaja, a carnivore who runs one such community for doctors in the United States. Dr. Anthony Chaffeehas 500 members (see box below).

It is unclear what to make of these claims. “We should probably be wary of anyone who suggests that a particular diet or lifestyle could be a miracle cure for all the diseases that afflict us,” says Professor Gunther Kuhnle from the University of Reading.

On the other hand, carnivores and people with more moderately low carbohydrates may find themselves losing weight and combine a new diet with an exercise regimen, which could explain some of the health benefits. Possibly, says Tracy Parker, head of nutrition at the British Heart Foundation.

“Losing weight has side benefits, including lower blood pressure and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes,” she says. “But these diets are so extreme that they come with certain health risks.”

The main long-term concern is that high intakes of saturated fat can clog arteries and cause heart attacks.

In fact, randomized trials comparing people on moderate low-carbohydrate diets to those on low-fat diets generally find that their Bad cholesterol levels rise.

Randomized trials investigating purely meat-based diets have not yet been conducted. There was one warning sign. US study of about 2,000 carnivoresAlthough other blood tests used to assess heart health showed positive results, levels of bad cholesterol were found to be elevated and blood sugar levels did not improve in patients with type 2 diabetes. I was seen.

Dr. Campbell MurdockAccording to a British GP, a small number of low-carb people may experience an increase in bad cholesterol, but it usually only affects slim, muscular people. “Most people who are generally insulin resistant and overweight will have all their cholesterol levels improve,” he says.

fiber

But cholesterol isn’t the only thing to worry about, says Priya Tew. british nutritionista spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. Cutting out whole grains, fruits, and vegetables can lead to a lack of fiber in your diet, which can lead to constipation.

However, Dr. Murdoch says early research suggests that removing fiber completely from plant-based foods can improve symptoms in some people. inflammatory bowel disease.

More worryingly, all medical organizations, including the NHS and the World Health Organization, say eating too much red meat and processed meats such as sausages can increase your risk of colon cancer. “As nutritionists, we suggest people reduce their consumption of processed meat,” says Tew. “When I see people on social media promoting steak for lunch and sausage or bacon for dinner, I get worried.”

However, the cancer risk is not shown in randomized trials, which are the best medical evidence, but only in population studies that show a correlation between consumption of such foods and colon cancer. In some studies, question the link.

Will the prevalence of meat eating bring us a future of healthy eating, or will we be taking dangerous risks to our health? It may be too early to say.

But Tew recommends that anyone thinking of starting out should seek advice from a medical professional rather than an influencer. “People should realize that these diets work for one person, but it’s only one person,” she says. “You don’t know what the effects will be on your body 10 years from now.”

carnivore food diary

Olivia Khwaja, 50, a business consultant from Ascot, has been following a carnivore diet for more than two years. Most days, her dinner is a ribeye steak fried in beef tallow (or tallow), sometimes with a butter or cheese sauce.

“I tend to take butter in stages. I think it depends on whether my body needs it or not,” says Khwaja. “I’m not interested in butter at this point. Steak fat is delicious enough.”

Other meals might be lamb chops or chicken thighs. Sometimes the chicken is breaded, but instead of breadcrumbs, we use ground pork rind flour. “You put it in a little egg, you put it in breaded pork, and you put it in the oven. It’s really crispy and delicious,” she says.

On a typical day, Khwaja skips breakfast and has a late lunch of tinned sardines (fried in butter, of course). Many carnivores follow this approach called “intermittent fasting,” where all meals and snacks are kept within a short window of about six hours during the day. This is thought to increase the time your body burns fat for fuel.

Khwaja did not have her cholesterol levels measured, but several other tests, including blood sugar and blood pressure, showed good results, she said. She doesn’t notice any negative health effects. And in fact, he said he felt better than ever.

Khwaja doesn’t believe that carnivores’ diets are monotonous. “Once you start doing that, your relationship with food completely changes,” she says. “We don’t eat because it looks nice on a plate or because it’s a social thing. We eat purely for our own satiety and absorption of nutrients, and we eat all other foods. When you remove it, it becomes very clear whether you are getting all the nutrients you need.”