Is a Carnivor diet good for you?

[Boblell]

I recently started on a Carnivor diet and I have lost some weight. However, the voice of reason (my wife) feels that all this red meat is bad for you, particularly if you have heart issues. I've had my aortic valve replaced in 2017 and an aortic repair behind the heart in 2019. My abdominal aorta is at 3.1 and monitord every year. Does anyone have any advice I can consider please?

[Hidden]

Honestly, steer clear of red meat 🥩. Get yr protein from other sources…and have the red meat as a treat now and again.

Check out the saturated fat in a pan/dish after you’ve cooked red meat….it’s a no brainer bud.

[Boblell in reply to Hidden]

Appreciate your reply. Looks like the Mrs was right (again). Many thanks.

[Blearyeyed]

Although reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing lean sources of protein in the diet can be good for you, diets like the Carnivore Diet, especially if you only eat red meat can be harmful. The true Carnivore Diet is even more restrictive than Keto and encourages virtually zero carbs.

This does not allow for the fact that the body actually requires some carb intake each day for normal body functioning .

It also means that you do not get the essential vitamins and minerals and soluble fibre that the body requires to perform the tasks to keep the heart, body and mind healthy.

If you choose to increase protein choose options like fish, chicken , lean pork, eggs , dairy , pulses, nuts and a varied amount of plant based proteins with occasional red meat like venison or lean steak.

Include a wide variety of fruit and vegetables , particularly green leafy varieties.

Reduce processed sugar to occasional treats , avoid artificial sweeteners and ready meals , processed foods and foods high in saturated fats.

Choose healthy fats instead.

Drink more water each day too.

Very restrictive low carbohydrate diets and extended fasting are actually counterproductive to healthy and sustainable weight loss and can cause the YoYoing effect that occurs.

It is better to eat smaller portions of complex carbohydrates and only have the "white" or simple carbohydrates for occasional treats.

Creating a "Diet for Life" , ensuring that you don't eat more calories than the body requires each day with a good variety of foods is far better in the long run.

[Hidden in reply to Blearyeyed]

I find I function better interval fasting. Not for extended periods…. Basically, I eat after I train..not earning it.. no food. Everybody’s body is different but my body receives macro & micro’s when it’s craving them ie hunger. I’m starting to listen to my body more now. I cocked up not listening on the pre amble symptoms to my HA but boy I listen now 👂🏻

[Boblell in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thank you for that comprehensive reply Bleary-eyed. Much appreciated.

[RufusScamp]

We are omnivores after millennia of evolution. A mixed diet, avoiding refined carbs, and with plenty of fruit and veg is probably the best thing as far as I can see. (I am not a qualified dietician.)

[Boblell in reply to RufusScamp]

Makes sense though. Thanks

[irishwife93]

My husband was recently assigned a nutritionist and she’s recommended we fill half our plate with vegetables, and a quarter with lean protein, and the remaining quarter with whole grain carbs. Took a while to get used to eating so much veg but we both feel good. We eat red meat very seldom and when we do we try and go for lean cuts. I’ve also been told that pork is considered to be red meat. Chicken and fish are much better options! But red meat is good for iron so don’t cut it out completely.

[Boblell in reply to irishwife93]

Thank you.

[Captain_Birdseye]

Personally, I'd avoid any diets that tell you to avoid whole food groups. A varied diet, with moderate portions is always going to be the healthier option and ensures you get all the required nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to function.

It goes without saying, take any allergies or intolerance into account, and don't overindulge in processed foods, including refined carbs.

[Letsallhope1]

Carnivore diet is a suicide attempt if you have heart issues.

We are not carnivores and although you do lose weight (of course! Who would not lose weight without carbs intake?!) it is not a healthy diet.

Plenty of fresh fruit and veggies will still help you lose weight if that’s what you’re after and I guarantee that will make you feel soo much better (and your arteries will be happier too) 😉

[Boblell in reply to Letsallhope1]

Thank you

[DWizza]

weight loss from just eating meat will initially be water weight not fat. That weight comes back when you eat carbs again . Get a balanced nutrition plan, Mediterranean diet is always put forward by BHF nutritionists for a reason .. if fat loss is your goal you will need to create a calorie deficit over a long enough period to use up your fat stores. You can work out your daily calories aligned to your general activity levels by using an online free calculator. I did this about 5 years ago , tracked my calories , upped my lean protein and built muscles . No gimmicks , just sticking to a calorie deficit 70-80% of the time. I weighed my food for months , learned so much about calories , portion sizes , nutrients , calories in vs out. Plus how valuable general movement is throughout the day , we burn the most calories by just being active through the day (step count , fidgeting, housework etc) rather than in a gym ( should be used for strength/performance/body composition). Non exercise activity thermogenesis NEAT is your friend . 🤣

[Boblell in reply to DWizza]

Thank you for that, makes perfect sense. I need to stop looking at all these YouTube videos from so called doctors advocating all these fads!

[JeremiahObadiah]

Gosh, I would have thought you should be doing just about the opposite of a carnivorous eating regime, namely a plant based wholefood diet.

My personal opinion is you should be aiming to eat as much and as varied vegetables as you can, fruit but not in the same quantities as the veg, add in seeds, some nuts, some whole grain like brown rice or whole cous cous , limit strictly any simple carbs( white flour based foods, cakes/pasta and obviously sugar), avoid alcohol in any large or frequent amount, eat fish, some oily,some white but not every day, limit any meats but totally avoid any cured/cold meats and no bacon. And move more, go for a walk each day and make it incrementally longer or faster, gently and gradually over a period of weeks/months until you can walk comfortably as far as you could ever wish to in a day.

Just added -also be aware of quantity and limit but not necessarily avoid such things as cheese/eggs/dairy and coconut milk coconut cream.

Also be very aware of salt in foods and limit/avoid. Bread and snack food is surprisingly salted.

Best wishes for onward health and happiness to you and your wife.

[Boblell in reply to JeremiahObadiah]

Many thanks Jeremiah, much appreciated.

[Raspberryapplepie]

Dr Eric Westman has just done a study on heart failure patients with very interesting results,look him up,also look up Dr ken Berry, Dr Shawn Baker and Anthony Chaffee, please do this things are changing, Cheers Tony

[Blearyeyed in reply to Raspberryapplepie]

Just interested , you haven't filled in your Bio which conditions do you have yourself?I've taken a brief look at the credits and work of these people.

I'm sorry to say that I am not very trusting of their theories and works in general as options for people recovering from certain conditions or with chronic health issues.

Keto and Meat Heavy diets may be something that the generally healthy person might choose to try (even though they are seldom successful or healthy in the long term) but they are not appropriate for people with many different health conditions, even for a limited period, and can be quite harmful , especially because of the nutritional requirements we have whilst taking certain medications.

Just as going entirely vegan or plant based isn't necessarily the healthiest option for numerous people with certain combinations of health conditions and medication requirements either.

My personal opinion is , " Eat for Life : Don't Fad About!"

But I understand everyone needs to make their own decisions at the end of the day, take care , Bee

[Boblell in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thanks Bee. I will update my bio. I had a aortic valve replaced in 2017 and an aortic repair behind my heart in 2019, not even sure what that procedure was? Certainly more serious than the valve. I think I have taken from this 'everything in moderation' and lay off the highly processed and refined food!

[Blearyeyed in reply to Boblell]

Oh , Sorry , I was replying about updating the Bio to Raspberryapplepie because I noticed they were a new member and hadn't written anything on their Bio page yet.It is helpful if other members can see something in the Bio to make sure they don't suggest something to someone which wouldn't be right for them.

Take care , Bee

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Blearyeyed]

d0 y0uR oWn rEsUrcH!!!

[Boblell in reply to Raspberryapplepie]

Thanks Tony. I have viewed a number of YouTube videos of these doctors and to be honest it's what put me onto thinking originally the carnivor diet must have some merit. I'm not 100% sure now after receiving all the comments to my original question!!

[AlfredV]

Lots of different advice here in the answers, some of it contradictory, some seems good, others toe the official line and so on and so on. It can be difficult to know what is best.

For many, heart disease is a result of metabolic dysfunction which is very much a modern disease, so my approach is based around what our ancestors did, or in other words, what did we evolve to thrive upon.

Our ancestors ate meat and it was available all year round. They didn't eat bread, pasta, rice or refined sugar. They didn't use vegetable oil. Their access to fruit and vegetables was seasonal, and what was available was quite different from what our farmers produce today - apples weren't sweet and bananas (where they grew) mainly consisted of stone-like seeds with very little flesh.

In a modern world we cannot get close to our ancestral diet, but we can certainly avoid the things that are nothing at all like what they would have eaten. I don't accept the idea that eating the foods that humans have thrived on for many thousands of years are at the route of our modern diseases and ailments.

Some might say our ancestors had short life expectancies, which is true, but then there were many things that would kill them and infant mortality was high. Yes - there were people who lived into old age.

This is the route I follow and it is working for me. Don't take it as medical or dietary advice.

[Boblell in reply to AlfredV]

Thanks Alfred, you make some relevant points there. Thanks again.

[Goldfish7]

you just have to do a lot of research online. If you are going carnivore you also need to ensure the meat you are eating is high quality and grass fed to ensure you are getting all of the vitamins, minerals and enzymes you need from the meat. I think the idea is that good quality meat contains all the nutrients you need in a very bioavailable way ie. Already processed by the animal. Im guessing eons ago we would have eaten a lot more meat prior to inventing farming. Some veg doesnt make it easy to process into its constituent parts and may have mildly toxic effects as a defense mechanism apparently.

Ive not tried a carnivor diet myself or read deeply enough around the subject to know what its strengths and weaknesses are. Hope you have success on whatever 'diet' you are on.

P.P.S. Im not convinced that red meat is bad for you, or animal fat, but think sugar, processed carbs, excessive carbs and the avoidance of cholesteral containing foods is probably bad for you looking at a lot of research.

[Boblell in reply to Goldfish7]

I tend to agree. Thanks Goldfish7

[Autumn_Leaves]

As you can tell, different people have different ideas about what a “healthy diet” is, and whatever you choose to do, you’ll always find a social media personality who is promoting that particular way of eating. Those who sell books, supplements and subscriptions are running a business, they’re not practicing medicine and even if they were, they’re not your doctor. They have no idea who you are or what your medical history is. They will all have a disclaimer somewhere that people should always consult their own healthcare providers.

I could tell you about my own dietary choices but I don’t believe there is one right diet that “everybody” should eat. All I know is what works for me. I’m nowhere near overweight and never have been, I’ve had lifelong low cholesterol (due to good genetics), low BP and low hbA1c. My doctors look at my bloodwork and say “whatever you’re doing, just carry on”. I still developed AF. No diet is going to make you immortal. There’s no holy grail. There’s no miracle diet.

[Boblell in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Your right. We are all different! Many thanks

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Completely agree with your post, Autumn-Leaves - speaking as a life-long skinny-minnie who always had a healthy attitude to food and who also now has a couple of heart attacks and a triple by-pass under her belt!👍😅 I'd go a bit further and term some of those on-line social media 'personalities' to be utter charlatans! 😠

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Cee-Cee1]

They have their own products to sell, whether it’s supplements, books, meal plans, subscriptions etc etc. They are not in the business of treating illnesses. Anyone can quote a random study that appears to back up their position, but you need to consider that study in the context of the entire body of evidence over the longer term, and most of us don’t have the level of specialist knowledge and experience necessary to understand an entire field of academic inquiry. People need to stop kidding themselves about this. Charlatans might seem sort of science-y but there is often no evidence of any substance to back up their claims. The best “diet” (and I hate that word) is the one we can sustain and ENJOY and keeps us well for the rest of our lives.

[Tigger_2]

We were and still are, omnivores.

We have canine teeth designed to tear meat.

Low fat red meat should be a treat.

My advice is to hedge your bets and have a mixed diet of protein, carbohydrates and some vegetable oils.

Probably as close as you can get to our ancestor's diet.

Instead of going out to hunt for protein, walk to the supermarket, and no walk, no meat.

[Dollywow1999]

Ok....do look up this older man on YouTube his videos ....his name is Semiretired Bob.....he has been on the carnivore journey now for over 15 months and his videos step by step show you where he was at in the beginning till now .....he's also had heart bypass surgery and severe gout for years now not so!!! And he was at a point of no walking and no standing over 10 minutes!!! Fascinating