8 carnivore diet myths debunked by researcher

Meat enthusiasts have long endorsed the "carnivore diet," a meal plan that includes consuming only animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs — but the program is frowned upon by some who embrace plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes.

A Harvard medical student and researcher, Nick Norwitz, recently released a video in which he debunked eight myths surrounding the carnivore diet. (See the video at the top of this article.)

Norwitz — a self-described "academician" with a PhD in metabolic health, who is currently finishing his medical degree — told Fox News Digital that he's always had a passion for sharing his "joy and interest" in science.

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See Norwitz's eight myths below — followed by input and perspective from other health experts.

Norwitz noted there are several research studies showing the benefits of the carnivore diet, including a Harvard study of 2,029 participants that found "high levels of satisfaction and improvements in overall health, well-being and various medical conditions."

Other research that Norwitz himself conducted showed that the diet helped to alleviate inflammatory bowel disease and restrictive eating disorders, he said.

While he called the results "impressive" and claimed that thousands of people have benefited from the carnivore diet, Norwitz noted that randomized controlled trials have not been conducted.

"These trials will need to be completed before conventional medicine can recommend a carnivore diet as a metabolic health prevention for any specific disorder," he says in his video.

Some claim that a carnivore diet could increase the risk of scurvy due to a vitamin C deficiency, Norwitz said.

"While it’s true it's difficult to meet the RDA daily dose of 75 to 90 milligrams of vitamin C by eating only meat, there are about 25 micrograms per gram of vitamin C in fresh, grass-fed beef, so eating about 2 pounds of meat daily should give you about 18 milligrams of vitamin C."

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While this is still well below the recommended daily amount, Norwitz went on, "that doesn't necessarily mean one will develop a vitamin C deficiency or the associated medical condition, which is scurvy."

When Norwitz himself did a six-month carnivore diet experiment and then tested his vitamin C levels, he found they were normal, even bordering on being high. He explains the science behind that result in the video.

While it is true that a majority of the nutrition a person consumes on a carnivore diet will be absorbed in the small intestine, leading to an overall decline in fecal mass, "you will still poop," Norwitz said in the video.

"Some studies suggest that fiber elimination can actually help manage the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation," he added.

This doesn’t mean fiber is bad or that long-term zero-fiber diets wouldn't have negative consequences on the microbiome, he noted.

"Your microbiome are generally most resilient and healthy when they're diverse," he said. "There are many, like me, who feel better on low- or no-fiber diets, so it's a legitimate individual choice."

Norwitz disputes this claim, noting that as the body adapts to carbohydrate restriction, the capacity to burn fat increases. 

"A new study of Iron Man athletes has debunked the idea that the body needs a high intake of carbohydrates during intense exercise to maintain peak performance," he said.

Norwitz goes into greater detail about the association between diet and athletic performance in his video, as does another doctor.

While Norwitz acknowledges that a diet rich in red meat and saturated fat can increase LDL ("bad") cholesterol and its associated marker (ApoB), which is a risk factor for heart disease, the extent to which a carnivore diet affects those levels is "highly individual."

"Some people even see LDL cholesterol and ApoB decrease, and many don't see any change," he says in the video.

There are many risk factors for heart disease beyond cholesterol, Norwitz noted. These include visceral fat, insulin resistance, inflammation triglycerides and HDL, all of which could actually be improved on very low-carbohydrate diets. 

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"So a carnivore diet does not implicitly increase heart disease risk — but the bottom line here is that different people respond differently," he said.

Norwitz recommends that people track their biomarkers and consider their individual cases rather than making assumptions. "I'm not saying dismiss risk — I'm saying get informed about your personal risk." 

Eating disorders are defined as "restrictive eating patterns that impair physical or mental health," Norwitz noted. 

"So if a person cures or goes into remission from a debilitating chronic disease — be that obesity, diabetes, depression, schizophrenia, inflammatory bowel disease — using a carnivore diet, then the diet clearly had a positive impact on physical or mental health and is not an eating disorder by definition."

Instead, Norwitz said it should be considered an "adaptive eating pattern."

"Not eating normally is not an eating disorder — in fact, I'd say standard American diet eating patterns could themselves reflect a form of eating disorder," he said.

Following recent research that suggests red meat intake is linked to dementia, Norwitz said this data is "misleading."

The study in question lumped together different types of food, he noted, adding that there was "tremendous healthy user bias."     

"Participants who consumed more red meat had a higher prevalence of current smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes, and lower levels of dietary quality education, socioeconomic status and physical activity," Norwitz says in the video.

Actually, he adds, "unprocessed red meat intake was not linked to dementia or cognitive decline — just processed red meat intake, but this was somewhat overlooked in the study itself."

Overall, the researcher said, while a carnivore diet may be beneficial for some, it’s not necessarily the best choice for everyone — "and it doesn't mean that fiber or fruit is bad, or that someone else can't succeed on a plant-based or even a vegan diet."

The diet warrants "further scientific exploration," Norwitz said. 

There is no "one size fits all" dietary solution, Norwitz said, adding that "context and nuance are essential." 

"However, I do feel the carnivore diet is misunderstood, and that red meat and animal-based foods often get unfairly scapegoated and thrown under the ‘big food bus.’"

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News' senior medical analyst, shared thoughts on the carnivore diet with Fox News Digital.

"The advantage is that meat is a high-packed source of calories from fat and a lot of protein, so it can help you lose weight," he said. "But I think it is unhealthy. Too many saturated animal fats are bad for the heart and the diet is high in cholesterol."

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Siegel instead recommends opting for the Mediterranean diet, which is heavy in vegetables, nuts and olive oil. "With its unsaturated fats and antioxidants, it is much healthier," he said.

Dr. Georgia Ede, a Harvard-trained, board-certified psychiatrist specializing in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry, said she has found carnivore diets to be "indispensable tools" in her clinical practice.

The diet could potentially help identify food sensitivities, resolve chronic constipation and IBS symptoms, quiet food addiction and binge-eating, and break weight loss plateaus, according to Ede. 

"The hypothesis that meat is dangerous to human health has driven a long and passionate hunt for evidence against meat that has thus far come up empty-handed," the doctor, who is also the author of "Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind," told Fox News Digital.

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"In my research, I have yet to find a credible, plausible health argument against including meat of any kind, red or otherwise, in the human diet," she went on. 

"Meat, seafood, poultry and eggs are the safest, healthiest, most nutritious foods we can eat."

Ede added, "It’s not possible to say with scientific certainty whether this dietary pattern (or any dietary pattern, for that matter) is ideal for everyone, but my clinical and personal experience tell me that a well-formulated carnivore diet can be uniquely healing for some of us."

The doctor did acknowledge that adhering to carnivore diets poses potential challenges. 

"These include the potential for boredom that can come from the relative lack of variety, the social challenges of eating in a way that may make others feel uncomfortable, and the logistical challenges of finding meat, seafood, poultry, and/or egg dishes prepared simply enough to be suitable for the diet, especially when traveling or eating at others’ homes," she told Fox News Digital.