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On December 17, 2023 while listening to various YouTube videos, I happened to come upon a
2020 interview that Diet Doctor
Bret Scher had made with Dr. Ken Berry. An Ancestrally Appropriate Diet: the concept
intrigued me. Dr. Berry was talking about his former overweight and near-diabetes state of
health when he came upon the carnivore way of eating. This was my introduction to carnivore.
Other videos that weekend included ones by Drs. Anthony Chaffee and Shawn Baker, among
others. Payday had just occurred and my pantry was full of the usual "healthy" grains and
beans that comprised almost half of my standard eating at the time. I decided to transition
for a month, adding more meat to my diet while limiting the holidays sweets. So around
January 17 is when I date my full-time start to this. I began to compile notes of what I
had come across and what I was learning. I toyed with the idea of someday adding at least
some of them to this website. And now here it is: an ongoing compilation of my personal and
others' knowledge gained on this journey. (NOTE: I do not use LLM or AI to help me write or edit. I do old-fashioned long-hand research into PubMed, Refseek, and study references that are sometimes mentioned on the various FB carnivore groups or YouTube videos or comments. These I copy and paste and then flesh out myself. Sometimes comments to my postings are incorporated in these notes. I am not a medical professional and I do not give medical advice. This "Carnivore WOE (Way of Eating)" section of my website is a free educational source of recommended alternative medicine therapy through dietary changes. If you have any personal questions, please consult one or more of the Professionals listed. No payment or gifts have been received for any of the material to be on or off of these pages.) |
What is Carnivore? Food Choices Documentation -- Modern Humans Documentation -- Ancient Humans Historical References Professional/Clinical Teachers Influencers Some Facebook Groups Some Reddit Subreddits Some Podcasts My Way of Eating Observations and Other Notes Conditions Addressed Successfully |
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What is Carnivore? The carnivore way of eating is a ketogenic elimination diet consisting of at least 70% animal-based foodstuffs. A ketogenic diet has higher amounts of fat (60-70%) and protein (20-35%), and small amounts of carbohydrates (5-10%, equalling no more than 50 grams per day) than a standard diet. An elimination diet is one in which most foods are removed and then a few slowly added back in to see what dis-ease triggers come from which foods. The "Lion Diet" is the most extreme version of carnivore consisting of nothing but beef or other ruminant animal meat, water, and salt. In between the "Lion" and a more animal-based regimen is what the majority of carnivores use. Sometimes those of us who eat even a few carbs are referred to as "dirty" carnivores -- we wear that with pride. (The relatively few raw meat eaters can be militant about their choice, as can some Lion Dieters who claim that theirs is the only true form of carnivore.) Whichever version is used as an elimination diet, the body can get a rest from the standard wide range of foods which can contain inflammatory properties, allowing the body to be able to naturally detox and heal. After satisfactory progress is made, the person can choose if he or she wants to carefully and slowly add back in some of the eliminated foods to see what personal reactions may then occur. Judiciously adding a few foodstuffs back in can pinpoint the kind and range of dis-eases these foods were unknowingly resulting in in the first place. Obligate carnivores are animals that are biologically required to eat meat to get essential nutrients for their survival. Examples are cats, snakes, crocodilians, sharks, weasels, seals, toothed whales, birds of prey, spiders, and dragonflies. Facultative carnivores (aka mesocarnivores) primarily eat meat with the 30-70% balance of their diet consisting of non-vertebrate foods which may include insects, fungi, fruits, other plant material, and any other food that is available to them. Examples are dogs, most bears, and raccoons. All facultative carnivores are omnivores, but not all omnivores are facultative carnivores. And herbivores usually have multi-chambered stomachs and longer digestive tracts to be able to ferment and break down the virtually 100% plant foods they need to eat. An estimated 40 to 65% of all animals are carnivores. Many of these are also termed predators or scavengers. In addition, there are at least 800 carnivorous species of plants, and another 300 that are protocarnivorous -- plants that do not produce their own digestive enzymes but rely on internal food webs or microbes to digest their captured prey. Hypercarnivores are animals whose diet consists of at least 70% meat. All obligate carnivores are hypercarnivores, but not all hypercarnivores are obligate carnivores. The difference between humans and true hypercarnivores is that fat is far more important to our survival than it is to that of hypercarnivores. Early humans, especially, had to exercise far greater selectivity than hypercarnivores with regard to the species, age, sex, reproductive state, and overall condition of the animals they targeted and the body parts they processed and consumed. At times and in contexts where plant foods were scarce or unavailable, hunting wasn't just a matter of opportunistically killing an animal and bringing home the meat. To survive the coldest months of the year, hunters had to provide fat in substantial quantities on a regular basis -- in fact, as much as 60% or more of total calories. Humans in the fall ate the fatty animals (which had put on weight to last the winter), along with some seasonal berries and other plants so that the humans could survive through the winter into the sprintime with its bounties. It can be and has been debated whether humans are carnivores or omnivores. With the range of health and living environments humans have shown, there simply is no single perfect diet for everyone. Despite the carnivore way of eating being shown to be optimal for many people, especially those with various otherwise untreatable autoimmune dis-eases, for the general population a more facultative carnivore/omnivore diet seems to be the best choice. But without the ultraprocessed "foods" and debilitating types of plants so common today. Some people say that there is no way the world's population can all become carnivore. That is a strawman argument which doesn't matter: many people will not change their diets because of long-standing religious or cultural or familial beliefs, personal philosophical feelings, local availability including seasonality, local pricing, addiction to sugars and sweeteners, or because of adherence to the authoritarian models of medicine. Fine, they do them. There is plenty of meat for the rest of us. The carnivore way of eating is high-fat, medium-protein, and zero or ultra-low carbohydrate (less than 20 grams per day). This results in a decreased need for insulin, which on the "Standard American Diet" (SAD), aka "Standard Australian Diet" or simply "Standard Western Diet" is constant and elevated due to daily carbohydrate ingestion of up to 300+ grams per day. To become "fat adapted" one needs to be on a carnivore way of eating for at least 90 days. By that time, you no longer experience "hangriness" between meals, sleepiness after meals (especially lunch), and you can go for several hours without needing to snack. The constant standard need to eat throughout the day -- partly pushed by commercial "Big Food" -- goes away and the inflammation resulting from large amounts of circulating glucose from carbohydrates being continually chased after by high amounts of insulin becomes a thing of the past for many on the carnivore way of eating. Blood sugar crashes after meals is also just a memory. Most carnivores gravitate naturally to just needing one meal a day (OMAD) or two (2MAD) instead of "three squares" plus snacking. The common advice is to eat a meal until you are comfortably stuffed, and then end right there. Eat again when you are actually hungry. We are very much aware that our home and work schedules do not always allow the latitude each person may require for an optimal way of eating. There is actually great flexibility with this way of eating. This Ancestrally Appropriate Diet is the way of eating on which humans evolved. It is simply the Perfect Human Diet. Many of us follow a high-fat, moderate-protein approach because fat provides much of our energy when carbohydrates are removed. You can eat mostly meat without being strictly carnivore. There's nothing wrong with choosing a different approach. Keto, ketovore, and animal-based diets all have their own variations. Carbohydrates don't provide satiation; they are a short-term fuel. Hence you have to continually ingest them ("need to snack"). Beef, butter, bacon, and eggs (BBBE) are protein and fat that do provide satiation; they are a long-term fuel which helps you feel full. You no longer need to snack because you are no longer constantly hungry. (Although the old habit of eating when bored does need to be broken sometimes...) Think of all the genuine nutrient-dense meat that truly satiates you which you can buy with the money you save from not having to purchase snack foods and chips, candies and sweets, gums and breath mints, baked goods and pastries, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, specialty coffees or teas, desserts, pasta and noodle dishes, grains and starchy vegetables, fat-free or zero-sugar foods, or fried fast foods. No need then for the majority of over-the-counter treatments or prescription meds, either. Meat is 85-95% digested by our bodies. (That works out to only 2-5 oz left over after a 32 oz/day intake.) Very little waste is left, along with a little intestinal lining which is constantly being renewed. Bowel movements every few days to maybe once a week. What comes out is mostly small, relatively odorless scat, not the huge smelly plugs of nondigestible fiber. No more bloating or constipation. Because meat is not fermentable (and it does NOT "rot" in your colon), it cannot feed pathogens. People who have had a colostomy before becoming carnivore can readily identify the remains of plant foods in their colostomy bags by sight and smell and volume (much gas produced). Animal foodstuffs, however, only become a mild, unidentifiable, gas-free, somewhat thick liquid. Protein poisoning ("rabbit starvation") is the result of a high-protein low-fat diet if you don't have any extra fat on your own body to use. Lack of energy, hair loss, and rapid weight loss are only three of the many resulting conditions. Our livers have a limited capacity to upregulate the key enzymes required to synthesize urea, resulting in a buildup of ammonia and excess amino acids in the blood, causing "protein poisoning." This limitation sets an absolute "protein ceiling" on human diets which is estimated at ~ 250-300 g per day (dependent on body weight). A person eating only lean meats will die of protein toxicity within 2 to 3 weeks, following a period of prolonged lethargy, nausea and diarrhea. Some claim that this is the result of being in ketosis too long and your body is shutting down because of this stress state (!). Adding carbohydrates back in will ease this situation -- but more so simply by just increasing/adding fat so this becomes a proper 70-80% fat calorie ketogenic diet. The carnivore way of eating is not a calorie deficit diet as some people claim. You are getting whole-food nutrition without any ultra-processed foods or without including blood glucose-triggering showers of insulin. Keto-fueled instead of using glucose. Unfortunately, the mainstream articles are the standard western diet interpretation of nutrition and what they think carnivores are facing. Walking the walk, and eating the meat, we know it is not correct. But for many, the word of old-school medical authorities is gospel and damnation to those who don't believe and follow it. There have been so many more recent studies which show that a lot of the nutritional data from 40, 50, 60 or more years ago was cherry-picked or erroneously/deliberately misinterpreted to satisfy a bias for one theory over another. Anyone who has never tried this for even a few months doesn't know squat and doesn't have to be listened to. "I don't have to check it out because I don't want to ruin my health" or "My doctor recommends a balanced diet with lean meat and lots of whole grains and fruits and vegetables." What about all the multiple-year carnivores around? If there were major short-term or medium-term problems we would have seen and heard about plenty of them by now. Just about any of us who've been carnivore for at least 6 months has more personal experience and actual knowledge of nutrition and biochemical evidence than even the longest practicing standard-education doctor who gets his/her information from summaries of food-frequency diary epidemiological studies -- often provided by pharmaceutical company representatives. The Blue Zones Health and Longevity hypothesis has been debunked and shown to be outdated data which was cherry picked. : Meat consumption in these areas was actually higher than initially reported. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2024/sep/ucl-demographers-work-debunking-blue-zone-regions-exceptional-lifespans-wins-ig-nobel-prize ; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12048395/ ; https://greekreporter.com/2025/01/17/blue-zone-founder-defend-concept-validity-impact/ ; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12709677/. Perhaps the carnivore diet "is a potential medical intervention for people in need. It functions at its core as one of the most extreme elimination diets possible. You remove almost every potential dietary trigger in one swoop. And for individuals whose immune systems are reacting to specific plant compounds this can be transformative. And I will admit, this is certainly an area where strong human evidence is desperately limited. But that's not something to hide from or brush under the rug. It's something to hold up as a deficiency in the scientific literature." (Nick Norwitz, MD, PhD, October 2026) Virtually all the research on fiber, cancer, RDAs, etc. is based on the vast population that follows a more-or-less standard glucose/carb-heavy western mixed diet. Admittedly, there is very, very little official clinical data for carnivores and zero-fiber. The unadjusted transfer of results (including lab values) from one diet to another has not been proven. For example, the assumption is that the Recommended Daily Allowances of nutrients (RDAs) established for people on a high-carb Standard Western Diet automatically apply to someone on an ultra low-carb carnivore diet. The RDAs do NOT apply across the board because of the switch from being the predominant glucose-fueled to the less-studied and recognized ketone-fueled. The changes resulting from the difference in fuel-sources have not been sufficiently evaluated to say we are automatically nutrient deficient. Be aware that most of the reference ranges for lab tests are based on the average from a mostly less-than-healthy population, the "normal" in this country. Very few values for a healing carnivore way of eating have been put forth. The current population is not as healthy as the authorities pretend it to be. The wide-spread use of prescriptions and major presence of chronic illnesses are a big indicator of that. "Normal" does not necessarily signify "healthy." Such an interest in carnivore/ketovore ways of eating as we see these days is also an indication that the status quo and health recommendations of the past 40+ years even when conscientiously adhered to are not working. The carnivore biochemistry does differ a little bit from Standard Western Diet biochemistry, that which essentially all of Western reductionist medicine is based upon and from which "normal" lab values are derived. "Pure" ketogenic lab values for [a new] "normal" health are yet to be fully tabulated. The fact that so many of us carnivores have NOT keeled over from heart disease, gout, scurvy, diabetes, kidney failure, terminal constipation, osteoporosis, cancer, starvation, etc. within a couple of years as old school nutritionists/doctors would have us believe/warn us about but, instead, we have mostly improved seemingly incurable chronic conditions means that this is unexplored and potentially useful country. Definitely follow what your body needs. Each individual has personal requirements based on our age, genetics, epigenetics, previous health, and length of consumption of different foodstuffs. IDEALLY, the Proper Human Diet -- which is a spectrum, NOT a one-size-fits-all -- should supply all the nutrients one needs, but all the variables of our lifestyles detour from the Ideal. That is our adventure, duty, and challenge: what works for me, right now and as changes naturally/occasionally occur in my life? Never a dull or settled moment. Find out what version of a ketogenic diet with daily carb counts down to 20 or 50 works for you. "Your mileage may vary" over time as well. Be well. There are an estimated one to five million carnivores world-wide. While there are very official or published clinical studies or papers on the carnivore way of eating, it is possible to find hundreds of thousands of n=1 study results from testimonials, interviews, and Internet postings/comments. At least 66 years currently for Maggie White, 52 years for the late Augustus Owsley "The Bear" Stanley III (1935-2011, auto accident, carnivore since 1958), over 40 years for Rick Rodriguez, 25 years for Joe and Charlene Anderson, over 20 years for Dr. Anthony Chaffee, 18 years for Dana Spencer Shute and Charles Washington, 17 years for L. Amber O'Hearn and Kelly Hogan, 16 years for Dr. Robert Kiltz, 14 years for Danny Conway, 12 years for Prof. Bart Kay, 11 years for Ede Fox and Dr. Shawn Baker and Dr. Elizabeth Bright, 10 years for Ella Bruce, 9 years for Lauren Knight Hughes and Bella Ma and Raymond Nazon and Miklaila Peterson and Dr. Ken Berry and Dr. Judy Cho and Laura Russell, RN. They are among many, many others, most of whom have more recently started and continue to be healed by the carnivore/zero carb/zero fiber way of eating. Every day we all know people who have followed the officially sanctioned diet but who still develop and die from innumerable diseases. The usual pronouncement is that none of these people ate properly, they should have eaten less or moved more, they should have taken their medications. The old/current system blames failures on the people/patients -- not itself. Carnivores have seen through this b.s. and are actively changing our health. Will we die? Of course, we will -- eventually. But until then we will have less painful and multi-syndrome lives than the average person who appeals to medical authorities to not go outside the official prescribed box of how biology is "supposed" to be. Live in fear of what may happen, take all your side-effects-ridden prescriptions, avoid exposure to the sun, etc. Enjoy your sugar addictions. Instead, WE boldly go forth and discover more quality health. |
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Carnivore Key Points * Carnivore is a high-fat, medium-protein, ultra-low or no carb diet to restore your system with Beef, Butter, Bacon, and Eggs ; * Any ruminant meat is good: beef, lamb, bison, elk, goat, etc. Add wild-caught fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, and pork if you want to ; * Many people are lactose-intolerant and cannot do liquid milk, cheeses, or other dairy ; * Use butter or ghee, tallow or lard to cook with ; * The lowest additive, least expensive processed meats are still healthier than anything on the Standard Western Diet ; * This is not a quick weight-loss or health-restoring diet. It may take your several months or years to repair the damage caused by many years on your old regimen ; * Transition for one month from your current diet to a more Ketovore one with lots of meat ; * Remove seed oils, ultraprocessed foods, HFCS and other sweeteners, processed grains (including flours, pastas, cereal, oats, and corn), "non-fat" and "sugar-free" products, lean meats, and high oxalate foods (including spinach, rhubarb, okra, beet greens, almonds, bran, and sweet potatoes) ; * Eat until you are comfortably stuffed or else when the food for the meal no longer tastes wonderful, then don't eat again until you are actually hungry again ; * See if a one or two meal a day plan works for you ; * It takes up to 3 months to properly become "fat adapted" ; * If your bowel movements are too runny, cut back a little on the amount of fat you consume ; * If you are constipated, increase the amount of fat you consume ; * Don't worry if you only have a smallish bowel movement only a couple of times a week ; * Low carbs and the resulting lowered insulin levels allow your kidneys to not retain sodium, so you will probably have to salt your food to taste (if you are not salt-sensitive) to help maintain your electrolyte levels ; * Stay hydrated, rested, exposed to unfiltered sunlight, practice grounding, breathe deeply, and move freely in whatever ways you can and choose to -- all as often as possible ; * Research the videos of Drs. Ken Berry, Anthony Chaffee, Shawn Baker, and Tony Hampton, among many others. Read the comments posted. See also the vast library of interviews conducted by Dave Mac on his No Carb Life program ; * Enjoy the many subtle benefits of and improvements from this way of eating. |
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See Also: "The Carnivore Diet and Its Spiritual Dimensions" (https://carnivoredaddy.com/how-the-carnivore-diethe-carnivore-diet-and-its-spiritual-dimensions/). [The entire carnivoredaddy.com website has value.] "One of the biggest misunderstandings about carnivore is the idea that there's a single correct version. Eat the same cuts. Same ratios. Same schedule. Same rules. In reality, carnivores adapt to geography, culture, climate, and access. Humans have always eaten animal-based diets differently depending on where they lived." "Spiritual Carnivores -- Buddhist Ex-Vegetarians Describe Their Experiences With Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Diets (https://openheartopenheart.blogspot.com/2020/05/spiritual-carnivores-buddhist-ex.html?m=1). "Like some other things in buddhism, I think that vegetarian diet is something that the monastic establishment pushed into buddhism and by doing so made an idealistic disservice for those who require more energy than monastics do." "Spirituality and Eating Meat" (https://web.archive.org/web/20250217234505/https://www.meatmydiet.com/spirituality-and-eating-meat/). "The REAL Origin of the Anti-Meat Message," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvGWb20MI1k Cows, pigs, chickens, etc. would never have existed/experienced physical life in the numbers they do today if we didn't want to get the meat and other products from them. We are also then enabling them to see and feel the world through human eyes and muscles. We are/should be thankful for their contributions to our lives and health through nutrient-dense meals that are prepared and eaten with gratitude and love. We thank and bless all the animals who provide us with our meals. And gratitude to the ranchers and butchers who prepare this for us. "The Truth About Long-Term Carnivore | Dr. Eric Berg," Lauren Johnson, 25 Sept 2025. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkFu_Gf4K6E) "If We're Omnivores, EXPLAIN THIS!," Kent Carnivore, 27 Jul 2025. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLNTIAO_zDQ) "What Version of Carnivore Should You Choose?," Jenny Mitich, 9 June, 2024. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByFQL7ZZ2i8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT0pHXwavZg) "The Biggest Arguments Against Carnivore And What the Evidence Actually Shows," Judy Cho | Nutrition with Judy, 27 Aug 2026. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiT0vy6ZMVw) "Every Reason Humans Are Meant To Eat Meat Explain In 17 Minutes," Max German, 2 Jan 2026. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74m7pln-sWU) See Just Eat Meat resources by Michael Golstein. * A definitive website is Travis Statham's Meatrition.com, since at least early 2022. A VERY DEFINITIVE SITE: WhyCarnivore.com, since at least mid-2023. Hardison, S. Alexander "Becoming Human: The Case for Hypercarnivory," June 21, 2025. https://grokipedia.com/page/Carnivore_diet |