Carnivore diet

The carnivore diet (also called a zero carb diet) is a high-protein fad diet in which only animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy are consumed.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The carnivore diet is associated with pseudoscientific health claims.^[2] The diet lacks dietary fiber, can lead to deficiencies of vitamins, and can increase the risk of chronic diseases.^[3][4][6][7] The lion diet is a highly restrictive form of the carnivore diet, in which only beef is eaten. A recent fad inspired by the carnivore diet is the animal-based diet in which fruit, honey and raw dairy are added.^[8]

The idea of an exclusive meat diet can be traced to the German writer Bernard Moncriff, author of The Philosophy of the Stomach: Or, An Exclusively Animal Diet in 1856, who spent a year living on only beef and milk.^[9] In the 1870s, Italian physician Arnaldo Cantani prescribed his diabetic patients an exclusive animal-based diet.^[10][11] In the 1880s an American, James H. Salisbury, advocated a meat diet consisting of 2 to 4 pounds of lean beef and 3 to 5 pints of hot water daily for 4 to 12 weeks.^[12] It became known as the meat and hot water diet, or Salisbury diet.^[13]

In 2018, the carnivore diet was promoted on social media by former orthopaedic surgeon Shawn Baker, who wrote the book The Carnivore Diet.^[14] Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila were also vocal adherents of this diet.^[3][15][16] Peterson and his daughter follow a strict type of carnivore diet termed the lion diet, in which only beef, salt, and water are consumed.^[16][17][18] The 'lion diet' became a viral fad on TikTok.^[19][20]

In April 2023, skeptic and neurologist Steven Novella described the carnivore diet as the latest fad diet to have achieved popularity.^[2] Because of its high cost Novella described the diet as one for "select elites", adding what he said was a further unsavory aspect to its harmful and pseudoscientific basis.^[2] The carnivore diet advertised by meat influencers on social media platforms has been described as a fringe movement.^[21]

Another position within the carnivore community has been labelled carnivore traditionalism which argues that "It's not the cow, it's the how".^[22] Carnivore traditionalism defends livestock raised through "regenerative" methods and encourages the consumption of vast amounts of eggs and grass-fed beef from small traditional farms in opposition to industrial livestock production.^[22]

Because of its restrictive nature, some carnivore diet advocates have since switched to an animal-based diet that allows limited plant foods. The animal-based diet popularized by Paul Saladino in 2024 is based on red meat but allows fruit, honey and raw dairy.^[8][23][24] Raw Egg Nationalist, a far-right influencer, has promoted a raw food version of the animal-based diet.^[25]

People following a carnivore diet consume high-protein animal-based products, such as beef, pork, poultry, and seafood.^[1][3][5] Some may eat dairy products and eggs.^[5] All fruits, legumes, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds are strictly excluded.^[5]

The carnivore diet is often confused with Inuit cuisine. Primary differences include a high proportion of organs in the Inuit diet, high seafood content, and consumption of raw meat, all of which are not typical for the fad carnivore diet.^[26] Inuit cuisine is also not exclusively composed of animal products, as the Inuit would consume plant products they acquired from gathering.^[27][28][29]

There is no clinical evidence that the carnivore diet provides any health benefits.^[3][17][18] Dietitians dismiss the carnivore diet as an extreme fad diet,^[3][4] which has attracted criticism from dietitians and physicians as being potentially dangerous to health (see Meat § Health).^[15][17][18]

It also raises levels of LDL cholesterol, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.^[4] Carnivore diets exclude fruits and vegetables which supply micronutrients. They are also low in dietary fiber, possibly causing constipation.^[4][7][5] A carnivore diet high in red meat increases the risks of colon cancer and gout.^[7][30][31] The high protein intake of a carnivore diet can lead to impaired kidney function.^[32]

Criticism also derives from concerns about greenhouse gas emissions associated with large-scale livestock farming required to produce meats commercially, and the potential for such emissions to worsen climate change (see environmental impact of meat production).^[15][17][18]

• Carnivore
• Lectin-free diet
• Monotrophic diet
• Paleo diet

Template:Low-carbohydrate diets

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