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9/21/2019

31 Comments

Does the Carnivore Diet Ruin Your Gut Microbiome?

 
carnivore diet gut microbiome

You’ve heard the expression, “you are what you eat.” It’s been a guiding aphorism in the popular discourse on food's effect on the body - and a pretty good one at that. But researchers are increasingly concluding that we’re less what we eat, and more what the bacteria in our gut eat.

The microbiome - the community of organisms that live mainly in the lower bowel - has an outsized effect on our health, able to do things like lower cholesterol, reduce feelings of anxiety, and even reprogram our cells. 

Because it’s so essential, the question of how diet affects it naturally arises. There are growing noises that the carnivore diet could harm the human microbiome, but should we listen to them? Let’s take a look.

What is the carnivore diet?

The carnivore diet is predicated on the idea that humans thrive most when eating a diet entirely comprised of animal food. Those on the carnivore diet eat meat, milk, and eggs and eschew all other foods of plant origin, including beans, grains, fruits and vegetables. 

compare carnivore diet

READ MORE: WHAT IS THE CARNIVORE DIET?

The carnivore diet is different from both the paleo and Atkins diets. The driving force behind the paleo diet is that people should eat foods that their paleolithic ancestors ate, including some green veggies and the occasional helping of nuts and seeds. The Atkins diet is similar, focusing on animal foods, but it allows people to derive fat calories from plants, such as oils. 

The carnivore diet has a similar driving force as the paleo diet in the sense that it tries to mimic the food eaten by ancestral communities. Followers of the former, however, are less accepting of the idea that early humans derived substantial calories from plants. Most energy, the thinking goes, came from meat and fish, so these should form the vast bulk of the diet. People, the reasoning goes, aren’t biologically adapted to consuming the majority of their calories in the form of starches so they should avoid them.

What is the gut microbiome?

The gut microbiome is the name that scientists give to the community of bacteria that live in the small intestine and colon. It comprises a vast number of different types of species of bacteria, each competing with the others to derive energy from indigestible elements of the food we eat. 

The microbiome appears to have extreme importance in the lives of most vertebrates: everything from people to lizards. Bacteria and their hosts live in a mutually beneficial relationship. Animal guts provide bacteria with food that they can eat, and in return, animals get beneficial fatty acids and comfortable stools.

Cows provide an excellent example of what's going on here. Cattle can’t digest the grass they eat directly. They haven't evolved the requisite mechanisms to do so themselves.

cow stomach

The cool thing, though, is that they don’t have to. Instead, they co-opt bacteria that live in their gut to do the job for them. These bacterial specialists break down the indigestible plant sugars in their fodder, churning out fatty acids that the cows can then absorb for energy. 

The colony of bacteria living in the stomach comes in a variety of flavors.  Researchers call these flavors an “enterotype.” Having a healthy enterotype means that a person has a community of bacteria living in their gut that affect their overall health positively. An unhealthy enterotype is the reverse - it negatively affects health. The accusation is that the carnivore diet leads to one of these harmful enterotypes, wrecking the health of the human host. But is it true?

Do you need a diverse gut microbiome if you don't eat plants? 

Different species of bacteria in the gut eat both plant and animal matter. If you preferentially eat one type of food more than another, the balance of species in the stomach will change. 

Carnivores, like lions, have dramatically different gut microbiomes than hippos. Lions need bacteria that breaks down indigestible elements in meat, while hippos need those that’ll help them break down grass and reeds. 

Picture

Evidence suggests that people who eat more plants, like vegans, have more diverse colonies of gut bacteria compared to their meat-eating counterparts. Those on the carnivore diet, like predatory animals, by contrast, don’t require the same range of gut bacteria to break down food residues. They no longer need all the specialists to attack starches and indigestible sugars in plant matter that regular people eat. The flesh of one animal is, at a chemical level, identical to that of another, so fewer species are required. 

While it might seem that having a diverse microbiome would be beneficial, there’s no reason ahead of time to assume that this is the case. Specialist bacteria that breakdown plant cells might have positive effects, but they could also be entirely negative. We just don’t know at this point.

Is it healthy in the long term?

Changing your gut microbiome is a significant undertaking that requires a wholesale change in the food you eat. Making changes around the edges of your diet is unlikely to impact the diversity of species in your gut substantially. Most colonies of bacteria can survive on meager amounts of the food that they prefer. 

Whether the enterotype that results from the carnivore diet is healthy or not isn’t known yet by science. The long-term studies haven’t yet been done. There is, however, enticing early evidence that suggests that a less diverse gut microbiome could be beneficial for health. 

Researchers at the Institue of Agrochemistry and Food Technology in Valencia, Spain, found evidence that the diversity of gut bacteria might negatively affect health. Their study reviewed numerous findings throughout the scientific literature that seem to indicate that gut microbiota changes correlate with mental health issues. The evidence is not conclusive, but cutting out plants could be a possible strategy for those who have mental health conditions. The researchers said that a greater understanding of the mechanisms of gut flora diversity was needed before conducting interventions in human subjects.

Wrapping up

Right now, we don’t know the long-term effects of adopting the carnivore diet on the human microbiome. There’s a conspicuous lack of research in the scientific literature. What we do know, however, is that many historical populations lived on something like the carnivore diet in the eons before the neolithic revolution. What’s more, we have shining examples today of people who are thriving on the carnivore diet without any of the issues that mainstream science might predict. 

There are hundreds of veteran carnivores like Shawn Baker, Amber O'Hearne, Jordan Peterson, and Mikayla Peterson who seem to be doing well but we need more research. When and where that research will come depends heavily on the carnivore diet gaining significant traction in the nutrition science community. At present, the mainstream view is that humanity would be best served eating something like the DASH or Meditteranean diet. While individual researchers are looking into the diet of groups like the Inuit and the Maasai who eat primarily animal products, it’s not the norm.

The connection between the carnivore diet and the microbiome appears strong. There’s compelling evidence that switching to an animal food-based diet swiftly alters the composition of bacteria living in the gut. Beyond that, however, there’s little research on its merits, other than the smattering of studies we discussed above. At the moment, the best “evidence” that we have for the effectiveness of the carnivore diet and its safety long-term are the self experimenters. So far, it seems like people like Amber O’Hearne, Jordan Peterson, and Mikayla Peterson are doing well. Whether they continue to do so will be of great interest to the community of people living on this diet.
31 Comments
Paula Higgleton-Wood link
1/1/2020 11:02:18 pm

Interesting article. I’ve read up a lot about the gut microbiome and got sucked into the idea of feeding it specifically so I was taking lots of fibre supplements like potato starch, psyllium husk powder etc. Since going carnivore (approx 1 month ago) my digestion is much better! No more wind, GERD, heartburn, stomach pain, constipation, or excess hunger. I was taking antacids on a daily basis before this. I feel 100 times better eating this way and I’m looking forward to seeing other positive health benefits as I progress through this way of eating.

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Dan link
1/11/2020 08:11:25 am

Currently writing a blog on fiber and how we don't actually need it for gut health. Quite the opposite :)

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Gabriel
1/11/2020 08:05:53 am

Concise, understandable and up to date. Keep going. Thank you

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Dan link
1/11/2020 08:10:13 am

Thanks, Gabriel!

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Jonathan
2/23/2020 05:49:48 am

Thanks for the breakdown, it is something I struggle with being on the first month of the carnivore diet.
I am currently looking for ways to improve the microbiome with a strict carnivore diet.
The benefits started to out weigh the downsides of the diet. But now are going in the other direction.
Unfortunately I don't know what my next option is. I am just trying to adjust as best as I can with my side effects.
I have been on less than a shoe string budget, any resources to improve the gut on the C.diet?
I have had to stop drinking water currently 1hour before meals and 2hours after the meals to avoid ending up in the bathroom. Leaving me feeling dehydrated and frustrated
Any guidance would be welcomed and appreciated.

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Dan
2/23/2020 06:16:00 am

Reduce your fat intake. Sounds like you're taking on more than you can handle right now.

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lywilla link
5/20/2020 05:07:46 am

By accident I found adding unfiltered unpasteurized mother in tact vinegar my carnivore bowel problems disappeared. I had been experiencing chronic diarrhea. Normal. I wish someone would research biome change but I expect no money to do this. All we can do is report improvement and no one accepts as science.

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Ingegerd
9/14/2020 07:17:48 pm

To avoid cellular dehydration, take 1/8 tsp of a natural salt on the tongue to be absorbed, by the buccal mucosa, per every 12-16 oz of water you drink.

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Angela
5/8/2021 04:16:32 pm

Reduce your protein intake. It’s very important to get enough fat and to not consume too much protein. (We found this out when my son had serious negative effects from too high protein consumption.) We knew it was important to increase fat but whenever we tried it caused diarrhea. So we had to eat more protein to get enough calories. Finally, we found valuable information on the Paleo Medicina (English site - clinic in Hungary) and cut our protein way back (200-260 grams) and were able to eat more fat (100-150 grams) without diarrhea. This also eliminated other negative effects.

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TE
12/10/2021 09:13:52 pm

I know that when I take a. Boulardii probiotics helped with diarrhea

dan
12/23/2022 08:14:51 pm

How do you reduce protein intake if you are on carnivore? Literally, protein is all you have 24/7

Chris
5/17/2021 05:57:53 pm

There is a supplement called Kapex that I used to help my body digest fat. I was carnivore for 6 weeks and still getting the runs after meals. The fat was going straight through me. My body didn’t know what to do with it. When I started using kapex that problem completely stopped within a day or so. I think it has lipase in it? Good luck

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Sophie
8/20/2020 07:29:29 am

Anyone know how carnivore helps with C.Diff infection? I recently contracted it while taking antibiotics for something else and have now been given yet more antibiotics to clear it and instructed ot eat dry white toast, porridge, crackers and boiled potatoes:'( totally going back on my wonderful carnivore diet which saw me lose 15lbs during my first 2 weeks! I know a healthy (not necessarily diverse) gut microbiome is the key to avoiding reccurrance of C.Diff and I am terrified this will come back when the antibiotics used to treat it finish.

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Renske Poortman
1/24/2023 11:52:37 pm

I'm replying kind of late but you could go to rebekka s farmer on YouTube or Instagram... She has concurred c diff and a ton of anther health issues.

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Andrea link
4/1/2023 04:58:15 am

Hi Sophie- I’ve been 95% CV for over 2 years. About 2 wks ago I was diagnosed with C-Diff too. Did a 10 day course of Vancomycin which destroys all your gut biome. I’m 6 days out from my last dose- I think it may be coming back. CV & Keto put my IBS into remission. I’m taking Florastor & some other probiotic’s to rebuild my biome.
I didn’t take any antibiotics previously to trigger the C Diff. I’m not an elderly person or have had any hospitalizations. I’m seriously wondering if the lack of gut biome diversity may have made me susceptible to C-Diff. The CV influencers & docs should start focusing on building your immunity and that should start with gut biome. We need more information for sure. I’m searching for other CV folks like us who are dealing with C- diff. I don’t want to take anymore Vanco- or antibiotic’s since it’s a vicious cycle.

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Howard Kaplan
9/15/2020 08:47:47 pm

If someone could give me an example of a bacterium that uses waste from animal foods as a fuel, I'd love to hear it. To my knowledge--and that may be the problem--the only fuels bacteria use are glucose, cellulose, and organic solvents. I know of no carnivore consuming any of those. Animal foods are wholly digested in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine--that's where your nutrition is derived. The colon serves to eliminate the small amounts of waste that remains. What purpose would bacteria serve in there?

People are so obsessed with the microbiome that they can't imagine that it might have never been intended in the first place. My theory is that it only exists in beings eating plant matter. There is none in a carnivore, just as there would be no bacteria in their mouths either. They serve no purpose and have no fuel source.

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Ralph
8/31/2022 03:48:19 pm

Howard, do you follow a carnivore diet? If so, how long have you been on it? Do you know how it would work with someone (me) with diabetes and heart disease? I've read of reversal of diabetes by fixing the gut microbiome.

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Emily
1/18/2023 10:50:49 am

Carnivore animals do have a gut microbiome. All animals have many of them. We have a mouth biome, skin biome, vaginal biome etc. Microbes are literally everywhere on us and in our environmentand there are so many that can live in harsh environments. They eat far more than what you've listed. There are microbes that live in underground steam vents with boiling hot water! If a carcus is rotting on the ground, microbes are what is breaking it down, making it eventually disappear. I think the bacteria that break down protien are called proteolytic. But the microbiome doesn't only consist of bacteria. It consist of many microbes like fungus/yeasts, harmless worms and even beneficial parasites that train the immune system to prevent autoimmunity.
If the only role of the colon was to eliminate waste, it would be MUCH shorter, like a carnivores animal. Based on our anatomy, we are definitely omnivores. That is very clear, even if we are only meant to eat plants for survival. Some of us just don't do well with plants because we have an overabundance of harmful bacteria that are starved out by avoiding plant foods. Healthy people have a microbime that was properly established in the early yrs of life, and so they have an abundance of beneficial microbes. When they eat plants that feed a potentially harmful microbe, it doesn't multiply out of control. it is kept in check by the other microbes in the Gut.
We don't know exactly what the proteolytic bacteria are doing there, but they are there, along with other microbes that break down animal products. Think of all of the microbes in something like kefir. They wouldn't take up residence in the milk if there was nothing to eat. Yes there is lactose(milk sugar)but they also break down protiens and fats present in the milk. They likely produce metabolites that are potentially beneficial to us, just like some of the plant eaters do. Many microbes secrete substances that kill competing microbes which keeps the bad guys out. They send signals to eachother, to the gut lining and to the immune system. One example of a beneficial substance produced by proteolytic bacteria,
is spermidine. They produce many substances and do many other things that we don't yet understand. If you are looking for a really good book on the topic, check out, Ed Yongs, I Contain Multitudes. It is my fav book. Just remember that we are not rodents and our guts are not comparable. One of my biggest pet peves is that dietary recommendations are made to humans based on rodents. When human gut microbes are transplanted into mice, certain key species can not survive. This proves that we are not intended to eat the same, yet many experts push a healthy rodent diet as a healthy human diet. I think that this is why they're is so much confusion.

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Roberto
3/1/2021 07:33:10 am

Honest HATE the stupid POP-UPS on your website that say "So And So from So and So started a free trial"... For that reason alone I say screw you!

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Dan Salcumbe
4/3/2021 04:21:10 am

Then go somewhere else to get your free information lol.

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Paula
4/3/2021 04:08:39 am

I agree ... the popups annoyed me so much as I read that I could hardly read the page.. ugh

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Peter
2/4/2022 03:36:25 pm

I didnt not even notice let alone mind the popups.

Thanks for your hard work!

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Christina M
2/17/2022 02:18:17 pm

Me too with that stupid pop up.... Move it to the right at least.... sheesh

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Ronald Evans
7/28/2022 09:34:29 am

I'm constipated on the carnivore diet. Would more protein or fat help it's because of a medication I'm taking I cannot stop right now.

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Arlin
8/3/2022 07:13:54 am

Try adding more fat. Usually people have diarrhea if they eat too much fat due to a lack of enough bile to digest it all.

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Jo
1/12/2023 12:03:12 pm

I would be interested in seeing an update of this article in light of the last couple of years of new research.

My own personal experience:
5 years of carnivore made me feel somewhat better than before (IBS, food malabsorption and food intolerances).
However, it never made me feel as well as all the high profile carnivore enthusiasts say they feel, and every few months, I experienced a really unpleasant IBS event.

So I recently consulted with a nutritionalist. They suggested a gut microbiome analysis. Very informative. Turns out I have (had) some gut microbes making me prone to colitis and IBS, and my carnivore diet had obviously not starved those out.

So now I have added pre and pro biotics and carefully selected lower carb plant foods to provide fibre (to nourish the new colonies). These are intended to swamp the bad bugs with good bugs.

2 months later I am still mainly carni, but I definitely feel better than I did on strict carnivore.
It is a bit of a shock eating so much carefully selected plant food, but I’m enjoying the variety, my gut is happier, and I feel healthier, over all.

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Dan Salcumbe
1/12/2023 05:09:21 pm

Hey Jo,

I'd love to write about pre and pro biotics in the context of a carnivore diet as I saw similar results to you. Unfortunately, as you say, the science is pretty new and there isn't much to go on. I'll be keeping my eye out though.

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Katie
2/6/2023 10:02:52 pm

Hello Jo! I would be extremely interested in the pro and pre biotics you are taking, as well as what plants you are eating. I am 6 weeks on the carnivore diet, I know that’s not very long. At this point I dislike the diet to the point that I will finish my 90 days I set out for myself, and then start to test plant foods to see how I tolerate them. I am seeing great mental health improvement, but my physical pain and other issues are not improving.
My concern is that the bacteria that would process the plants will have died off and I would not be able to tolerate mostly of not all plants. I was thinking of introducing probiotics to the diet, but without any food they won’t stick around. I feel like it’s a catch 22. I can’t eat the plants because I don’t have the right bacteria, but I can’t take a probiotic because I am not eating plants to feed them. Anyway, if you would be willing to share, I would be very grateful.

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Andrea link
4/1/2023 05:08:00 am

Hi Jo- Your experience is so similar to mine. I had IBS & was in denial. I started Keto about 5 yrs ago and within 6 mos no more IBS symptoms. After 2 yrs I transitioned to CV- I’ve been on that for over 2 yrs. I just got C-Diff which is a bacterial infection of the gut. Just did a 10 course of antibiotics to rid it. I appreciate you sharing your story. I now need to rebuild my biome and think I need more diversity. I will seek out someone I can work with to test my biome. Thank you SO much for sharing your story!

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John
2/9/2023 11:28:08 am

I wanna know what the author has to say about the multipe studies showing:
Increased growth of inflammatory bacteria (Alistipes, Bilophila, and Bacteroides) and decreased growth of anti-inflammatory bacteria (Roseburia, Eubacterium rectale, and Ruminococcus bromii).

Dramatic increases in Bilophila wadsworthia, a bacteria strongly associated with the development of inflammatory bowel diseases, like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

Significantly lower levels of SCFAs butyrate and acetate. (Duh!)
Increased antibiotic resistance in the gut.

Production of more secondary bile salts, which are known to cause colon and liver cancer with the carnivore diet?

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Dan Salcumbe
2/9/2023 05:35:27 pm

Hey John. I have nothing to say about those studies. I've read them but I'm also aware that the gut "experts" self admittedly say they have no idea how the gut microbiome works.

So instead, we experiment and have found that people with gut issues just so happen to do really well on a carnivore diet. They feel better, their symptoms go away and then, when they introduce plant foods back in, they often find trigger foods that were causing their issues in the first place.

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