Is the carnivore diet as healthy as it is being claimed to be?
| Sep 24, 2018, 17:15 IST
Much like the pre-existing diet fads, a new one has now emerged and this one claims to be a 'carnivore diet'. It basically prohibits eating plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables and encourages eating meat and meat-based products like eggs, cheese, butter etc. It also prohibits drinking all kinds of drinks including coffee, tea, alchohol and other beverages and only encourages drinking water.
This one is like the keto diet, however, it is a more severe version of it. In the keto diet, you are encouraged to eat plant-based foods alongside meat, but this one restricts you from eating anything but meat. Now, the question that arose from this was can eating meat, morning, noon and night, really be good for health? The answer according to most nutritionists - NO.
“One thing you can’t ignore is there are some nutrients you just can’t get from meat,” says leading Harley Street nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert. "Folate, vitamins C and E all pretty much only come from veggies – that’s why sailors used to get scurvy with not enough vitamin C in their largely fish diets. Then there’s fibre. The carnivore diet has none of it, yet we know fibre promotes good gut health and research suggests your microbiome impacts everything from digestion to your immune system to your mood. You need fibre, and meat can’t give it to you,” Lambert added.
Well, it looks like the key here is to eat both food types, but in moderation. Stay tuned for more updates.
This one is like the keto diet, however, it is a more severe version of it. In the keto diet, you are encouraged to eat plant-based foods alongside meat, but this one restricts you from eating anything but meat. Now, the question that arose from this was can eating meat, morning, noon and night, really be good for health? The answer according to most nutritionists - NO.
“One thing you can’t ignore is there are some nutrients you just can’t get from meat,” says leading Harley Street nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert. "Folate, vitamins C and E all pretty much only come from veggies – that’s why sailors used to get scurvy with not enough vitamin C in their largely fish diets. Then there’s fibre. The carnivore diet has none of it, yet we know fibre promotes good gut health and research suggests your microbiome impacts everything from digestion to your immune system to your mood. You need fibre, and meat can’t give it to you,” Lambert added.
Well, it looks like the key here is to eat both food types, but in moderation. Stay tuned for more updates.