Today, people turn to diets that are high on protein and fat and low on carbs. While the Keto diet was popular for some time, people are now turning to the carnivore diet. However, each time you make an extreme diet change, it is advisable to first learn about its pros and cons.
Importance of Gut Health
There’s a popular misconception that a diet that contains (or made up of) meat is not very good for the gut. Firstly, you need to understand the importance of gut health. Your health and well-being depend on a digestive system that works perfectly, for which gut bacteria play a significant role. A healthy gut means keeping diseases at bay, and in some cases, a dramatic reversal is possible, thanks to a healthy gut.
What’s In a Meat-Only Diet?
As the name suggests, this diet is restrictive in the way you eat as it is based on meat, fish, and other animal foods. This diet does not include any plant-based food as it aims at a carb-free diet, and in this sense, it is somewhat similar to the Keto or Paleo diets.
The popular belief is that today’s high rate of chronic diseases can be directly attributed to diets high on carbs.
A typical carnivore diet includes:
- Meat
- Fish
- Animal Products
- Negligible quantities of low-lactose dairy products
- Water (plenty of it)
Salt and pepper are allowed for seasoning, lest the diet becomes too bland; however, carbs are taboo. Please note that strict followers of this diet cannot include milk, yogurt, and cheese in their food.
How does the Carnivore Diet Help?
You may already know that meat is one of the most nutrient-rich foods ever, although a few nutrients can only be found in plant foods. Going on a predominantly meaty diet can make rapid changes in the microbiota present in your gut. Also known as gut flora, these microbiota are loaded with organisms that are bile-tolerant.
Moreover, the meat-only diet can also decrease the levels of microbes that metabolize plant fibers. This diet also controls the growth of microorganisms responsible for causing inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS) disease.
The significant benefits of this diet include:
Reduced Gastro-Intestinal Symptoms
When a person is affected with IBS, a carnivore-based diet can help reduce the inflammation and other associated symptoms until a clinical investigation can determine the cause for IBS at a deeper level. This diet is considered a low-residue diet as it does not contain fiber, which is good to control inflammation in the gut.
Effective Anti-Inflammatory
A carnivore diet is considered a natural anti-inflammatory as it helps reduce inflammation in the digestive system and in the other areas of the body. This diet is useful for people with autoimmune diseases as it helps calm the system and allows the cells to function normally.
Carnivore diet for Weight Loss
A meat-only diet can be very filling, and people on this diet are satiated, eating fewer calories and go to a state of ketosis, allowing the body to use up the fat within it as fuel. This diet has the same effect a ketogenic diet has and promotes rapid weight loss.
Research studies indicate a lower prevalence of insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes during human evolution when the diet was predominantly based on meat and fish.
Summing it Up
When people turned vegan, the whole world sat up and took notice. Now, it’s probably the turn of a carnivore-based diet, which is attracting attention. At the same time, some experts also believe that you still need plant-fiber to live a healthy life, and the debate rages.
