Carnivore Diet vs Paleo Diet (Which is Better?)

One person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease. 10% of the population has diabetes. We’re doing something wrong here.

If we start eating less processed foods or, better yet, removing them altogether, we would see those numbers decline quickly.

We can all agree that cutting out processed foods will improve our health, and that is what the carnivore and paleo diets advocate for. But which is better? Let’s find out.

What Are The Carnivore And Paleo Diets?

The premise behind both carnivore and paleo is that they remove all processed foods. This might sound insignificant, but it has several positive impacts on our health.

What is the Carnivore Diet?

The carnivore diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It involves removing all fruit, vegetables, and high carb processed foods.

Because the carnivore diet is a low-carb diet, your body will enter a state of ketosis. Ketosis is when your body burns fat for energy, not glucose. This is great for people trying to lose weight.

The US carnivores believe that cutting out everything except animal products will increase nutrient density and reduce chronic inflammation caused by processed foods.

What is the Paleo Diet?

The paleo diet, or commonly referred to as the “caveman diet, “ aims to emulate what early humans ate. There is an emphasis put on whole foods like fruit, vegetables, wild-caught fish, eggs, and grass-fed meats. It removes all processed foods, grains, and dairy products.

Simply put, if a caveman couldn’t eat it, you can’t. Paleo dieters believe that modern foods cannot be adequately digested by our bodies, leading to allergies, digestion issues, and chronic inflammation.

What Does The Carnivore Diet And Paleo Diet Have In Common?

Both carnivore and paleo diets share similar principles and philosophies. These are;

• Both diets believe in eating natural, nutrient-dense foods and cutting out all processed junk.
• Both diets promote weight loss because you aren’t eating processed foods. This means your pancreas doesn’t have to work hard to produce lots of insulin. Your insulin levels will be lower, and since insulin is the fat-storage, less insulin means quicker weight loss.
• Both diets are good at managing diabetes. When you avoid high-carb processed foods, your pancreas no longer has to produce lots of insulin to transport that glucose from your bloodstream to your cells; therefore, your blood glucose levels will be lower.

Now that we’ve covered the similarities between the carnivore and paleo diets let go through some differences.

Differences Between The Carnivore And Paleo Diets

• The carnivore diet is superior to the paleo diet at treating digestive and autoimmune diseases like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
• The paleo diet often contains more carbs than the carnivore diet. This makes it better for people struggling with low blood sugar levels.
• Studies show that low-carb diets are better for weight loss and heart health than diets containing moderate to high amounts of carbs.
• The paleo diet doesn’t advocate for a specific macronutrient ratio, making it less restrictive and easier to stick to.
• The carnivore diet is better at managing food intolerances and allergies since it’s an elimination diet.

The Benefits Of The Carnivore And Paleo Diets

The carnivore and paleo diets both offer benefits that can improve your overall quality of life. Most of their benefits are linked to their removal of all inflammation-causing processed foods and replacing them with nutrient-dense whole foods.

Let’s go through some of these benefits.

1. The Carnivore Diet Puts you into Ketosis

If you’re trying to lose weight, the carnivore diet will help you reach your goals. This is because it contains zero carbs, forcing your body to start burning fat for energy.

Eating a zero-carb diet also lowers your insulin levels resulting in quicker fat loss.

2. The Paleo Diet is not Restrictive

Some paleo dieters eat a high-carb diet full of plants while limiting their fat consumption. Others eat a high-fat diet filled with meats while sprinkling in some veggies here and there. There’s no right or wrong way of doing paleo; you only need to avoid eating processed foods.

3. They Both Increase Nutrient Density

The average person eats a ton of processed foods that contain little to no nutrients. This is why 92% of Americans are nutrient deficient. The carnivore and paleo diets replace all processed foods with whole foods that are rich in nutrients like…

• Vitamin A
• Zinc
• Iron
• And vitamin B12.

Fixing your nutrient deficiencies will have an immediate positive impact on your life since your body now has the fuel needed to function optimally.

4. They Both Reduce Chronic Inflammation

Inflammation is your body’s natural response to a threat. Inflammation is good, but not when you’re constantly inflamed. We call it chronic inflammation. When you eat processed foods, your body thinks it’s under attack and triggers inflammation to defend itself. And when you’re eating junk all the time, your body is always under attack and it stays in this state of inflammation, sometimes for decades.

This leads to chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

What Diet Is Best For Me?

We all know the answer to this question.

It depends.

If you’re someone who is obese or overweight and trying to lose fat, then go with the carnivore diet. The carnivore diet is a zero-carb diet. When you aren’t consuming carbs, your body will be forced to burn fat for energy. This makes your weight loss journey a lot easier.

Another reason the carnivore diet works well for weight loss is that it balances your hormones. When you avoid carbs, your body doesn’t have to make much insulin, and low insulin levels are linked to quicker and easier weight loss.

Also, when your insulin levels are too high, it blocks hormones like leptin that’s responsible for making you feel full.

Now, if you’re a healthy and reasonably athletic guy or gal and you just want to cut out junk food, then the paleo diet might be a better choice. It’s less restrictive, and it doesn’t take much discipline to stick to.

Lastly, if you’re a diabetic or pre-diabetic who is struggling to manage your blood glucose levels, the carnivore diet will be your best bet. It eliminates all carbs from your diet which is great for diabetics since your blood glucose level will be lower. Also, less glucose means your pancreas doesn’t need to work itself to death and produces lots of insulin.

Conclusion

The “Perfect Diet” is a myth. There is no such thing. However, both the carnivore and paleo diets improve your health by cutting out all inflammation-causing processed food while replacing them with quality, nutrient-dense foods. 

Let me know in the comments below.