The carnivore diet is blowing up right now, and with good reason. Countless people are experiencing benefits that may seem too good to be true. Autoimmune disease, depression, obesity, and gut issues all gone? Really?
Although all those benefits may seem far-fetched, there are simple reasons why the carnivore diet works, and it all revolves around a few basic principles.
So, why does the carnivore diet work so well? Let’s find out!
The biggest mistake people make when trying to lose weight is they force themselves to eat less food, but they feel hungry and tired all the time. Nobody wants to live like this just to lose some pounds.
And after a few months, they quit since it seems near impossible to lose weight. If only there’s a diet that keeps you full all the time while allowing you to shed excess weight. Well, that’s what the carnivore diet specializes in.
When you’re eating a carnivore diet, you’re only eating fat and protein while cutting out all carbs. This is important since carbs spike insulin, which is the fat-storage hormone. Wherever there’s insulin, there’s fat.
But if you’re eating no carbs, your insulin levels would be far lower than someone eating a diet of 40% carbs, which makes weight loss far easier.
Also, insulin doesn’t only store fat, but it blocks the leptin hormone responsible for telling your brain, “I’m full.” So when you avoid carbs, you’ll have less insulin, and your brain would be able to properly read your leptin levels, leading to less hunger.
And this is how weight loss journeys are supposed to be. Nobody wants to fight tooth and nail just to lose a few pounds. But on a carnivore diet, you’re working with your body to burn fat and lose weight.
This is a helpful benefit for anyone who’s working long hours and needs to emphasize productivity.
On an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Joe reports the benefits he experienced on the carnivore diet. His favorite benefit was the high and stable energy levels that allowed him to get through his busy schedule without much hassle.
When eating a standard American diet with over 40% carbs, your blood glucose levels are always sky-high after eating. But fast forward a few hours, and you’re left feeling tired and mentally drained. This is usually when people drink a few cups of coffee to power them through the day.
But coffee only addresses the symptom, not the root of the problem.
When you eat a lot of carbs, your blood sugar and energy levels are all over the place, and this is what leads to that famous afternoon slump.
But by only eating fats and protein and avoiding carbs and other processed foods, your energy levels are more stable since your blood glucose levels aren’t jumping up and down. You’ll have more energy during the afternoon, which makes getting work done easier.
92% of the US population is deficient in at least one nutrient. This is due to the high amounts of processed foods we eat. Most people eat a ton of fast foods and rarely any nutrient-dense foods like beef, eggs, organ meats, and fish.
And the only thing you can eat on a carnivore diet is these nutrient-dense animal products, so you can bet you’ll fix any nutrient deficiencies real fast. For example, one egg contains 11 different nutrients. Some include;
Another practical benefit is that the nutrients found in animal products are bioavailable, which means your body can easily absorb them. Nutrients in supplements and plant products normally aren’t easily absorbed by our bodies.
For example, the iron your body gets from plants is called non-heme iron, and it’s quite hard to make proper use of it since it isn’t bioavailable. But the iron you get from animals is called heme iron, and it’s easily absorbed. Think of it as getting more bang for your buck.
Another example is vitamin A. Vitamin A found in plants is in the form of Beta-Carotene. Your body can’t use it since your liver first needs to convert this Beta-Carotene to Retinol, which is the bioavailable form of vitamin A. But your liver can only convert so much Beta-Carotene at once.
When you eat foods like beef liver, eggs, salmon, and cod liver oil, you’re eating vitamin A in its most bioavailable form since your liver doesn’t have to convert anything.
One of the biggest reasons why people hate dieting is how complicated it is. For example, although keto is an amazing diet, it has a steep learning curb. There are keto fruits, vegetables, nuts, and animal products, but others aren’t keto-friendly. The same goes for the paleo and Atkins diet.
And if you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, you’ll also need to count macros and calories, which can cause unnecessary headaches.
But the carnivore diet is so simple.
Eat animal products; ignore everything else. Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. It can’t get easier than that.
This is helpful if you’re busy and looking for an easy diet to stick to that helps you lose weight and build muscle.
Inflammation is the cause of all chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. And the biggest reason why the carnivore diet works is that it removes all inflammation-causing processed foods.
Inflammation is your body’s natural defense mechanism since it can prevent infection and bacteria from spreading. It also slows down the speed at which you lose blood when you’re injured, but it’s not something you want happening in your body all the time.
Think of your inflammation as your body’s fight or flight mode. Yeah, it helps you when you’re in trouble, but being in fight or flight mode for long is dangerous.
And unfortunately, most of us are constantly inflamed since we’re eating lots of toxic processed foods which our bodies think are poison. So in response to this threat, it triggers inflammation, but it never stops. This is chronic inflammation, and it’s the root of all diseases.
But when you’re eating a carnivore diet, your body finally has time to relax and stop fighting toxins all the time. This greatly reduces your risk of developing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even memory-related disease like Alzheimer’s disease.
If you’re looking for a diet that’s super easy to follow, then the carnivore diet is for you since the only thing you can eat is animal products, and there’s no need to count calories or macros.
It also increases nutrient density and prevents you from eating inflammation-causing processed foods. This can explain most of the benefits people experience on this diet, like weight loss, increased muscle mass, and more stable energy levels.
Yaseen Sadan is a personal trainer turned professional copywriter and founder of Sell Using Words. He helps small businesses increase their leads and sales by writing SEO-friendly blogs, sales emails, landing pages, and lead magnets. Feel free to visit his website, add him on LinkedIn and check him out on Facebook.