Recently an unusual eating program has gained some traction and popularity. It’s called “the carnivore diet”. As the name implies, it’s meat only. The man who came up with the idea, an MD named Sean Baker, writes in his book “The Carnivore Diet”, that “everything a human being needs to survive can be found in flesh foods”.
While plant nutrients are obviously not going to be available to carnivore dieters, Dr. Baker states that they aren’t necessary for survival and accurately points out that much of what passes for phytonutrition also has anti-nutrient effects. As far as vitamin C, found abundantly in botanicals goes, baker claims that meat contains small amounts of the essential nutrient and that’s all that’s needed for anti-oxidation and to maintain the health of connective tissue. For fiber, which meat does not contain, the good doctor “poo poos” its importance, saying bowel function appears to be adequate among meat-eating cultures and carnivorous animals.
He makes no mention of the microbiome support properties of fiber, nor the short-chain fatty acids that are produced from the insoluble kind or the immune benefits provided by the soluble form. Finally, baker’s book contains no discussion of the hormones, antibiotics and grain-based feed that ordinarily grazing livestock must endure. All in all baker’s case for a meat-only diet is less than persuasive, but, as with all health and dietary protocols, it’s best to experiment on your own and always respect biochemical individuality and the specific needs of your body.
