Carnivore diet
dws00
Posts: 159 Member
Anyone have any experience with the carnivore diet? Good or bad? Thanks.
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Replies
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Anyone???1
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Fiber is an important nutrient for humans.21
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You can try asking in the Low Carber group. Carnivore is a pretty extreme and restrictive way to eat, I would think relatively few people have experience with it.7
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I have heard Jordan Peterson and his daughter love it for managing autoimmune issues. I have heard Shawn Baker talk about how great he feels on it (apparently his blood work didn't come back great though...). There are some good Joe Rogan podcasts with both of them.
Personally I don't think it's a sustainable diet for most people so I don't see the point in doing it but each to their own.9 -
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another NON sustainable or healthy diet for most. Plus, I prefer my meat cooked.
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concordancia wrote: »Fiber is an important nutrient for humans.
I couldn't imagine the constipation effect!6 -
lalalacroix wrote: »
I couldn't imagine the constipation effect!
? I don't get it. Carnivores generally eat the stomach content of prey as well. You know wolves are chowing down their rodents whole. What am I missing?6 -
I mean I like meat and cheese as much as the next person. But it doesn't sound healthy or sustainable. Supposedly people can get thier micronutrients from bone broth and such, but I find it hard to believe nutritional deficiancies wont creep up along the way. I mean I guess if it really worked for you as a lifetime WOE, you could supplement with a multivitamin. But I personally would get very bored of nothing but meat and dairy quick.4
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? I don't get it. Carnivores generally eat the stomach content of prey as well. You know wolves are chowing down their rodents whole. What am I missing?
? I don't get it. Carnivores generally eat the stomach content of prey as well. You know wolves are chowing down their rodents whole. What am I missing?
You're missing that this is a diet plan, I guess. I don't believe people following a carnivore diet are actually hunting down prey and eating the entire animal, including stomach contents.16 -
There is a group for it, I think.
I couldn't do it myself. I am convinced that vegetables are healthy, as well as tasty.9 -
You're missing that this is a diet plan, I guess. I don't believe people following a carnivore diet are actually hunting down prey and eating the entire animal, including stomach contents.
Sorry, just saying that carnivores eat veggies and grass as well. But I guess carnivore stands for I don't like vegetable matter, lol.2 -
concordancia wrote: »Fiber is an important nutrient for humans.
The few that have come through here have said that wasn't important on an all meat diet. I have no idea why that would be the case or not.
OP:
From what I remember reading (accuracy is not guaranteed here) you have to eat certain organs in order to maintain nutrition. I have no idea how often, if that is true, or if that is enough.
So there are obviously a lot of concerns here. It is highly restrictive. Meat is higher calorie so you might find yourself eating more to stay full. You may have a genetic disposition for high cholesterol from food. Last but not least is maintaining nutrition. You would need regular doctors appointments and in-depth blood work to make sure you are okay.
This is not a decision to make lightly. A badly researched and implemented drastic change in nutrition could lead to a hospital visit or worse.
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Sorry, just saying that carnivores eat veggies and grass as well. But I guess carnivore stands for I don't like vegetable matter, lol.
Eh? I like veggies fine, but if I follow a way of eating that doesn't allow veggies, then no veggies...or grass....or trees and flowers.
Sounds awfully restrictive to me.1 -
Sorry, just saying that carnivores eat veggies and grass as well. But I guess carnivore stands for I don't like vegetable matter, lol.
Yep, just like the Paleo diet doesn't have you eating just like Paleolithic man, the Carnivore diet doesn't have you eating just like a carnivore. I doubt either would get much bandwidth if they did! They're just catchy names.7 -
Yes, there is a group on MFP. Fiber is necessary to best digest other plants, but not for carnivores. And carnivores don't eat "vegetables and grass" - that does not even make sense to anyone who understands what the word "carnivore" means.
ETA: I see many people who have never eaten carnivore, never looked into it, and don't even understand that carnivores don't eat "vegetables and grass" seem to believe themselves as experts. OP, if you go carnivore, you should expect this as the norm. And yes, I know many will "woo" this simply because they don't understand it and are unhappy about their lack of understanding... just not enough to be willing to learn.13 -
T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »Yes, there is a group on MFP. Fiber is necessary to best digest other plants, but not for carnivores. And carnivores don't eat "vegetables and grass" - that does not even make sense to anyone who understands what the word "carnivore" means.
Just gonna leave this here:
"Some carnivores, called obligate carnivores, depend only on meat for survival. Their bodies cannot digest plants properly. Plants do not provide enough nutrients for obligate carnivores. All cats, from small house cats to huge tigers, are obligate carnivores.
Most carnivores are not obligate carnivores. A hypercarnivore is an organism that depends on animals for at least 70 percent of its diet. Plants, fungi, and other nutrients make up the rest of their food. All obligate carnivores, including cats, are hypercarnivores. Sea stars, which prey mostly on clams and oysters, are also hypercarnivores.
Mesocarnivores depend on animal meat for at least 50 percent of their diet. Foxes are mesocarnivores. They also eat fruits, vegetables, and fungi.
Hypocarnivores depend on animal meat for less than 30 percent of their diet. Most species of bears are hypocarnivores. They eat meat, fish, berries, nuts, and even the roots and bulbs of plants. Hypocarnivores such as bears are also considered omnivores."
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/carnivore/19 -
My cats eat grass when they don’t feel well.BecomingBane wrote: »
Just gonna leave this here:
"Some carnivores, called obligate carnivores, depend only on meat for survival. Their bodies cannot digest plants properly. Plants do not provide enough nutrients for obligate carnivores. All cats, from small house cats to huge tigers, are obligate carnivores.
Most carnivores are not obligate carnivores. A hypercarnivore is an organism that depends on animals for at least 70 percent of its diet. Plants, fungi, and other nutrients make up the rest of their food. All obligate carnivores, including cats, are hypercarnivores. Sea stars, which prey mostly on clams and oysters, are also hypercarnivores.
Mesocarnivores depend on animal meat for at least 50 percent of their diet. Foxes are mesocarnivores. They also eat fruits, vegetables, and fungi.
Hypocarnivores depend on animal meat for less than 30 percent of their diet. Most species of bears are hypocarnivores. They eat meat, fish, berries, nuts, and even the roots and bulbs of plants. Hypocarnivores such as bears are also considered omnivores."
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/carnivore/
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BecomingBane wrote: »
Just gonna leave this here:
"Some carnivores, called obligate carnivores, depend only on meat for survival. Their bodies cannot digest plants properly. Plants do not provide enough nutrients for obligate carnivores. All cats, from small house cats to huge tigers, are obligate carnivores.
Most carnivores are not obligate carnivores. A hypercarnivore is an organism that depends on animals for at least 70 percent of its diet. Plants, fungi, and other nutrients make up the rest of their food. All obligate carnivores, including cats, are hypercarnivores. Sea stars, which prey mostly on clams and oysters, are also hypercarnivores.
Mesocarnivores depend on animal meat for at least 50 percent of their diet. Foxes are mesocarnivores. They also eat fruits, vegetables, and fungi.
Hypocarnivores depend on animal meat for less than 30 percent of their diet. Most species of bears are hypocarnivores. They eat meat, fish, berries, nuts, and even the roots and bulbs of plants. Hypocarnivores such as bears are also considered omnivores."
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/carnivore/
Thanks for that!2 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »My cats eat grass when they don’t feel well.
Mine too, but cats eat grass to make them vomit, usually. Not quite the same.8 -
BecomingBane wrote: »
Just gonna leave this here:
"Some carnivores, called obligate carnivores, depend only on meat for survival. Their bodies cannot digest plants properly. Plants do not provide enough nutrients for obligate carnivores. All cats, from small house cats to huge tigers, are obligate carnivores.
Most carnivores are not obligate carnivores. A hypercarnivore is an organism that depends on animals for at least 70 percent of its diet. Plants, fungi, and other nutrients make up the rest of their food. All obligate carnivores, including cats, are hypercarnivores. Sea stars, which prey mostly on clams and oysters, are also hypercarnivores.
Mesocarnivores depend on animal meat for at least 50 percent of their diet. Foxes are mesocarnivores. They also eat fruits, vegetables, and fungi.
Hypocarnivores depend on animal meat for less than 30 percent of their diet. Most species of bears are hypocarnivores. They eat meat, fish, berries, nuts, and even the roots and bulbs of plants. Hypocarnivores such as bears are also considered omnivores."
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/carnivore/
By that definition, vegans are carnivores... specifically hypocarnivores since less than 30% of their diet comes from animal meat.
A simple dictionary definition:an animal (such as a dog, fox, crocodile, or shark) that feeds primarily or exclusively on animal matter
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnivore5 -
T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »
By that definition, vegans are carnivores... specifically hypocarnivores since less than 30% of their diet comes from animal meat.
A simple dictionary definition:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnivore
I can't help that you disagree with scientific classification. This is another instance of facts being greater than your personal opinion, though.10 -
BecomingBane wrote: »
I can't help that you disagree with scientific classification. This is another instance of facts being greater than your personal opinion, though.
Even if you go off the definition that includes vegans as carnivores, that doesn't change the fact tha we are talking about a specific WOE. Just like you can't claim to be eating a keto diet when you eat a dozen pop-tarts every day, you can't say you follow the carnivore WOE and also eat a bunch of salads. Or, you could say about anything, I suppose... that doesn't make it so. There are clear parameters about what is or is not carnivore. I'm really loose whereas some carnivore purists are on the opposite side if the spectrum. I personally believe it is ok to do carnivore as it works for you. Still, there is a difference between omnivores and carnivores. A WOE with "grass" (salad) is not a carnivore WOE.4 -
I haven't tried this diet, but then...humans aren't carnivores, humans are omnivores, so yeah, too restrictive for good health.9
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I have heard Jordan Peterson and his daughter love it for managing autoimmune issues.
A close friend of mine also uses a carnivore-like diet to manage her autoimmune disease. However, even though that WOE helps her feel better, she can't manage it 100% of the time. It's too restrictive. She's been experimenting with introducing very small amounts of plants.0 -
IMO just another extreme fad diet...10
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T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »
Even if you go off the definition that includes vegans as carnivores, that doesn't change the fact tha we are talking about a specific WOE. Just like you can't claim to be eating a keto diet when you eat a dozen pop-tarts every day, you can't say you follow the carnivore WOE and also eat a bunch of salads. Or, you could say about anything, I suppose... that doesn't make it so. There are clear parameters about what is or is not carnivore. I'm really loose whereas some carnivore purists are on the opposite side if the spectrum. I personally believe it is ok to do carnivore as it works for you. Still, there is a difference between omnivores and carnivores. A WOE with "grass" (salad) is not a carnivore WOE.
The poster who mentioned eating grass (from stomach contents of prey) was talking about the common understanding of predators in the wild who eat prey whole, including any vegetation they are currently digesting. While that might not be the exact type of carnivore whoever packaged Carnivore as a WOE was thinking of, I don't think it's fair to classify it as "not making sense".
No one here is suggesting that vegans could theoretically be carnivores, just explaining to one poster that the "Carnivore Diet" has a specific set of rules that don't necessarily match exactly what the average person thinks of as the eating pattern of a carnivorous animal.9 -
The poster who mentioned eating grass (from stomach contents of prey) was talking about the common understanding of predators in the wild who eat prey whole, including any vegetation they are currently digesting. While that might not be the exact type of carnivore whoever packaged Carnivore as a WOE was thinking of, I don't think it's fair to classify it as "not making sense".
No one here is suggesting that vegans could theoretically be carnivores, just explaining to one poster that the "Carnivore Diet" has a specific set of rules that don't necessarily match exactly what the average person thinks of as the eating pattern of a carnivorous animal.
Thanks for clarifying. Yes, in the wild, I suppose some plant matter at various states of digestion are consumed by carnivores. I'm not sure the percentages, but many of us human carnivores still add seasonings and spices to our meat. Whether that is more or less plant material than a wild carnivore eats, on average, probably depends on a lot of factors that are tough to measure.
The definition that includes omnivores and vegans as carnivores is quite clear, even with ranges in percentage of diets. No minimum was included, so that is why vegans fit the definition presented for carnivores. Regardless, this conversation is about those of us who eat exclusively or almost exclusively from animals.5 -
BTW, pork chitterlings, livers, bladders, and ground meats (including ground digestive parts) are all carnivore-friendly.2
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T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »Yes, there is a group on MFP. Fiber is necessary to best digest other plants, but not for carnivores. And carnivores don't eat "vegetables and grass" - that does not even make sense to anyone who understands what the word "carnivore" means.
ETA: I see many people who have never eaten carnivore, never looked into it, and don't even understand that carnivores don't eat "vegetables and grass" seem to believe themselves as experts. OP, if you go carnivore, you should expect this as the norm. And yes, I know many will "woo" this simply because they don't understand it and are unhappy about their lack of understanding... just not enough to be willing to learn.
This is a valid point. Eating this way will certainly be met with resistance in your everyday life. Whether or not it is a healthy lifestyle you will be given a lot of unsolicited advice and your eating will be a subject of much conversation. This will be less understood than veganism. You may find all the new interest in your life to be appealing at first (I wouldn't) but over time you may grow weary of explaining and defending your choices over and over and over and over again. Friends and relatives may consider it a burden to have you over for meals.
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