The Carnivore Diet Is Incomplete.

Many people are devout carnivores, some incorporate other foods in their diet. But, is carnivore the ideal diet?

Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash

A few years ago, my brother and I both adopted a carnivorous diet - unbeknownst to one another. When he would visit, we’d have extensive conversations about diet & health.

My brother is much younger than me, and still in college. At the time, he was sold on the sort of carnivorous diet popularized by the likes of Paul Saladino and Shawn Baker.

Beef, bacon, eggs, butter…oh, and honey. Eating honey, in his mind, is just as carnivorous as dairy. I don’t disagree.

He and I came to this diet from different perspectives. My brother was in search of the natural order, and how to best align himself with it.

I had been struggling with an autoimmune disease for a couple of years before. My intention was to test an elimination diet. That is to say, if my condition was a result of what I was eating…then, it stands to reason that this carnivore diet may solve the underlying problem.

To my pleasant surprise, within a few months all my symptoms resolved - without medication. This November will mark the 3rd year in which I have been completely symptom-free.

No. I have not been on a strict carnivore diet for all 3 of these years.

Personal History

During one of our conversations, I told my brother that I do not know the reality of these diets with certainty. Despite how good we both felt, and how positively our bodies had responded. The reality was, we stumbled upon a good strategy with many benefits, and no perceivable side-effects.

Regardless of our positive results, however, I insisted we stay humble. There could be more to nutrition than simply being carnivorous.

During the early period of this elimination diet, my brother asked me a question that went something like this…

Would you reject the notion that a carnivorous diet is the best?

He did not appreciate my uncertainty. As for any devout carnivore, it was almost a betrayal.

I insisted:

• We do not know for certain why we saw improvements, we can only infer.

• We do not know for certain if it’s the ideal diet for everyone.

• We do not know if there is a specific time & place for carnivore.

All we know is we tried a diet and things got better.

Carnivore is Incomplete

Recently, I started experimenting with another diet.

After spending months bulking up on muscle, I thought it was time to start trimming the fat. This led me to learning more about cutting and optimizing metabolism without losing muscle mass.

In the process I stumbled upon a diet that has become popular in the world of Ray Peat (Peaters) cultists - for lack of a better word. There are several biochemical and metabolic pathways to consider with use of this diet, but overall it goes something like this:

• 7AM to 3PM: consume fruits and fruit sugar including honey, dates, and orange juice

• 3PM to 7PM: Fast & exercise

• 7-9PM: Dinner heavy in protein & fat