To think ‘carnivore’ diet must be unhealthy really?

[Naranja]

People who literally just eat meat and maybe eggs if they feel like it. I know a couple of them and I just think it sounds awful.

I can almost handle the idea of keto/low carb (although generally I think everything in moderation is way healthier!) but carnivore?? We aren’t made to just eat meat?

One person I know literally eats raw steak sometimes.... not steak tartare in a restaurant, literally buys steak from a super market and chops it up to eat it raw.

Am I missing something?? How is this not seen as dreadfully unhealthy?

OP, you are in the wrong place for advice on this. If you are genuinly interested, then do your own research (plenty of information online) and join some carnivore groups to ask your specific questions there.

@amaya. I’m not interested in doing it myself - more baffled by why people would do it, how it’s not seen as terribly unhealthy and also a slight vent because I am fed up of those people being so self righteous about how amazing their diet is! Seems bizarre to me!

Well as no primate has evolved to be entirely carnivorous and as fruit, veg etc is essential for gut health, I doubt it’s at all healthy!

I have personally never met a person following a carnivore diet, but if you are seeking advice on it, or are interested in it, (or wish to know why people do it/how can it be healthy etc) then why not ask the carnivores themselves? They are the people who have all the info you need. Probably 99.5% or so of mumsnet will be as clueless as you are, and can only offer their uninformed personal opinions.

What’s your Aibu?

You know that the only difference between steak tartare in a restaurant an draw steak from the butchers is some herbs and seasoning, right?
I agree that purely eating meat and no veg is bad for you, but if your measure of ‘bad’ is eating raw Steak against a restaurant ‘steak tartare’ then YABU

I can’t handle kids of fibre. So for me yes it’s great.

Humans are pretty amazing and can thrive on a wide variety of diets, hence our geographical spread.

No veg is probably not good for you long term,, but I'm not sure many people are taking it to that extreme. There seem to be a lot more meat and leafy greens types than no veg at all types.

I was under the impression carnivore or nearly carnivore is used to help put type 2 diabetes into remission or deal with other metabolic problems.

Personally I eat very low carb bordering on keto because I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Low carb means I can mostly eliminate the sugar my body struggles to process and put my blood glucose readings into the non diabetic range. Plus lose weight easily, nice side effect!

Carnivore means no carbs so is very good for controlling type 2 diabetes. I'm not sure I'd want to do it as I'd personally be too worried about nutrition lost from not eating veg and getting bored of what I'm eating, but having said that there's quite a few sources out there saying it is safe and even very good for the body. So who knows, I think reserving judgement over things you've done little research about or have any personal experience is probably wise.

I was under the impression carnivore or nearly carnivore is used to help put type 2 diabetes into remission or deal with other metabolic problems.

Carnivore means no carbs so is very good for controlling type 2 diabetes

Nope. Carnivorous dieters consume far more protein than they need and the body converts excess protein into glucose. Many carnivorous dieters have significantly elevated blood glucose levels, predisposing them to type 2 diabetes.

High fat diets with moderate protein and low carb are best for diabetes prevention as fat is an alternative energy source to glucose but cannot be converted into it.

Inuit diet historically was virtually entirely meat, so one group of humans has flourished on a carnivore diet. However it requires a high fat intake too (there are reports of European explorers in the Arctic dying after prolonged meat only diet as a result of them refusing the fatelemnt of the carcass). Heart disease etc expected from a high fat diet are at low levels in the Inuit, however as mentioned above there are scientific papers suggesting they are at greater risk of Type II diabetes.

well the obvious thing is if the OP were to ask them they would just rave in about it and how fab it is going by people I have seen on things like paleo groups online...and how it is the way people used to eat..hmmm

I would worry about no fibre, fruit and veggies...seems very unhealthy to me

Also I have read conflicted things about the Inuit some that they did have heart disease after all

Watch the game changers documentary on Netflix!

There is a whole guide on it here which might help

www.healthline.com/nutrition/carnivore-diet#downsides

I do vegetarian keto. It can be done! I feel the best I’ve ever done in my life.

@Naranja, you are literally overusing the word literally.

I know someone who has eaten nothing but meat for a year. They did feel great and met all their fitness goals but now they’re pretty ill with suspected gout.

I’m certain as they can be that they have an eating disorder so I think this is just the latest form of it

It has no scientific basis. www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-nutrition/carnivore-diet-beefy-leap-faith

join some carnivore groups to ask your specific questions there

Going to get a really balanced answer there

My DH was doing this for a while ( no weight problems at all , just believing a load of YouTube videos about making you live until 100 ) - it’s Keto taken to another level. Lots of stuff about how early man didn’t eat any plant material at all ( not sure how they got the energy to go out and hunt, then).

It was too hard on the digestion and was too hard to keep in Ketosis as the protein balance is too high - and hello, resurgence of gout. . Also completely antisocial if you are part of a family and having some kind of normal, non obsessive life.

Why arent you outraged at vegans cutting out so much? That is unhealthy too surely, but trendy so no one dares say anything.

A vegan diet is in no way as restrictive as only eating meat though is it?

For me I don't have a choice . I used to be vegetarian.,became quite ill and am fiber intolerant.
I am very restricted on fruit,nuts and veg.
If it was not for meat and poultry I could not survive .

not if you eat raw meat, then you don't get too much protein

Humans are omnivores, different foods have different concentrations of nutrients. It's incredibly difficult to exclude food groups and stay healthy.

For example - you can get calcium from diary products but also vegetable products like kale and spinach BUT it isn't absorbed in the same way as with diary produce. (If you don't believe me google bio-availability of calcium abstract and you will get hundreds of papers)
We will have an epidemic of women who have osteoporosis in 20 years time as they're "diary-free" for spurious reasons.

You cannot. be vegan and get all your essential amino acids and you cannot eat just meat and eggs and get all your vitamins and minerals.
It's faddy and annoying when you get preachy people.