REQUIRES TO FUNCTION, LONG-TERM?

THERE ARE EIGHT MICRONUTRIENTS NOT FOUND IN MEAT: VITAMIN C, VITAMIN E, VITAMIN K, CALCIUM, VITAMIN A, FOLATE, MANGANESE, AND MAGNESIUM.

Including dairy in a carnivore diet will add vitamin K and calcium, while organ meats such as liver, kidney, and heart will give you adequate vitamin A, folate, manganese, and magnesium, leaving just vitamins C and E, which can be taken as supplements. If more than 35 to 40 percent of your diet is protein, you’ll overtax your liver, so fatty cuts of meat are recommended to add more calories and keep you satiated. But cutting out all plant foods means eliminating the beneficial phytonutrients such as the curcumin, betacarotene, and resveratrol produced by plants to protect themselves from insects and disease. Consuming these plant “toxins” triggers a process called hormesis, an acute stressor that forces us to adapt and become stronger. Ingesting phytonutrients has been shown to reduce inflammation, strengthen immunity, repair DNA damage, and increase your body’s natural detoxification process.

My final comment about the value of the carnivore diet concerns elements that aren’t part of the plan. Meats may include toxins such as antibiotics, heavy metals, dioxins, and hormones. Purchasing meats that are “100 percent certified organic” or “free range, no antibiotics”, and “raised without added hormones”, will ensure that you’re not ingesting hormones and antibiotics with your meat - but environmental pollutants such as dioxins and heavy metals will vary depending on where the animal was raised. Because fat accumulates toxins, eating fattier cuts will increase your own toxin load. If you’re consuming fish, eating smaller, wild fish such as mackerel, sardines, and salmon will reduce environmental toxins such as heavy metals and dioxins. And if you’re eating dairy, consuming the organic variety will reduce your exposure to antibiotics and growth hormones.

THE CARNIVORE DIET IS LIKELY SAFE IN THE SHORT-TERM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU INCLUDE DAIRY, ORGAN MEATS, AND POSSIBLY A VITAMIN C AND E SUPPLEMENT. HOWEVER, I WOULDN’T RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS.

I don’t believe every human on this earth is designed to eat the same thing, all the time. Many factors determine what you should eat: genetics, health, food preferences, culture, and your social activities. For long-term health, instead of choosing an all-or-nothing diet try aiming for 50 percent calories from plants and 50 percent from animal sources. If you’re considering trying the carnivore diet to deal with a specific issue such as an autoimmune disease, weight management, gastrointestinal discomfort, high blood sugars, or high blood pressure, think about other, well-studied therapeutic options such as the paleo autoimmune diet, the paleo diet, the and the ketogenic diet. You may also want to investigate intermittent fasting or the fasting mimicking diet.

Find something that will work for you long-term and meet your personal goals. After all, you know your body best.