THE CARNIVORE DIET BENEFITS
The carnivore diet is incredibly strict. That’s why it works so well. But some people end up trying a modified carnivore diet and find that it’s just as powerful without being so restrictive. In fact, a carnivore-adjacent diet could actually lead to better results depending on your goals.
The beauty of going carnivore is in how much flexibility you get. This regimen is not one-size-fits-all. There are many ways you can tweak the carnivore diet food list to make it work for you. We’re going to highlight three modifications you can try below.
The Carnivore Diet as It’s Written
You have to have a solid grasp on the carnivore diet in its purest form to understand the “why” behind modifying it. The standard carnivore diet is exactly what it sounds like. Meat, salt, water. Nothing else. Some people choose to include eggs and dairy products as well - they’re technically animal-derived, after all.
But the common theme across the carnivore diet is what you don’t eat: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, or anything else plant-based and processed. The idea is that these food groups are inflammatory. They cause more harm than good in the digestive system. You’re removing all the most common food irritants at once:
- Gluten
- Lectins
- Oxalates
- Excess fiber
Not to mention the seed oils, sugar, and other junk found in processed foods. This can lead to improvements in energy levels, mental clarity, autoimmune symptoms, weight management, and much, much more.
When You May Want to Try a Carnivore-Adjacent Diet
Strict carnivore is tough to commit to. The typical carnivore diet plan gets quite bland after a while. Just meat and eggs every day. The idea of a modified carnivore diet is quite compelling.
Maybe you’ve already tried the standard carnivore diet and felt the cravings come up firsthand. Or, perhaps you’re an athlete worried about how you’ll perform and recover when you take carbs entirely out of the picture.
We’ve also found that a lot of people find it easier to transition by first following a carnivore-adjacent diet, then committing to a fully meat-based diet as the body adapts. You’re a lot more likely to stick with it this way than if you’d go from cereal and takeout to ribeye and eggs.
But there’s another case in which modifying the carnivore diet makes sense. You’ve tried the 30-day carnivore diet as an elimination phase and identified which foods trigger symptoms. Now, you can add back in one food at a time to see if it’s behind flare-ups or if it’s safe to consume long-term. This doesn’t mean you can start eating chips or cookies again. But maybe certain nuts, some fruits, specific vegetables - these types of foods may not be harmful.
Honestly, the key takeaway is you want to make the carnivore diet work for you so that you can stick with it for the long haul. The closer you can get to how the diet was written, the better - but there is plenty room for nuance and interpretation!
Modified Carnivore Diet Regimens You Can Consider
There are four modified carnivore diets in particular we’ve seen work really well.
1. The Meat and Fruit Diet
Trying the carnivore diet with fruit is really common. Dr. Paul Saladino popularized the regimen. He noticed that his energy and training performance got better when adding natural carbs to his strict carnivore regimen. Fruit has all sorts of important micronutrients, too.
The key caveat is that meat must be the core tenet of the diet. Fruit comes second. Think of it as a supplement. The type of fruit matters, too. Berries, citrus, bananas, and avocados are your best bet because they have more of the good nutrients you want with less sugar.
This is a good carnivore-adjacent diet if you’re an athlete, super active, or just feel a little flat and underfueled during training. The fruit is a great way to cope with cravings because it’s sweet and juicy.
2. The Ancestral Diet
This unique approach to “nose-to-tail” animal eating is another modification of the standard carnivore diet. It basically entails eating everything the animal has to offer - not just its muscle meat. Organ meats, bone marrow, and rendered fats as well.
Then, there’s a narrow list of plant foods included in the regimen - specifically, those that pre-agricultural humans would have come across during certain seasons.
But what really makes this modified carnivore diet special is how much it encourages organ meats. Brain, pancreas, heart, liver, spleen - these are all a wealth of nutrients that you won’t get anywhere else while on the carnivore diet.
3. The Ketovore Diet
We see keto and carnivore compared all the time. The ketovore diet brings them together for the best of both worlds. It keeps you in ketosis (where your body must burn its internal fat stores as fuel) while allowing you to eat non-meat foods such as:
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Hard cheeses
- Eggs
- Sometimes avocado/coconut oil
As you can see, the diet still remains pretty strict. No processed junk or even vegetables. The additions are high-fat, low-carb. This keeps you in ketosis while simultaneously keeping your inflammatory response mellow.
4. The Greenish Carnivore Diet
This is by far the most flexible carnivore-adjacent diet on this list. Meat is still the center of every meal. But you can add low-carb veggies to the plate as well. That includes leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and even asparagus. These are low-starch options.
This is a good option if you genuinely enjoy vegetables and want something crunchy in your daily routine. You can start here, let your eating patterns stabilize, and then remove individual foods one at a time to figure out what serves you and what is only holding you back.
Just be aware that the more plant foods you add, the less benefit you’ll see from the “elimination effect” that makes the carnivore diet so powerful in the first place. The whole point of removing these plant-based foods is to consume fewer anti-nutrients.
5. The Carnivore Diet With Seafood
We know what you’re thinking - isn’t seafood technically on the carnivore diet already? Depends on who you ask! Some people say yes, others say no. But at any rate, this is a modification we see talked about all the time, and for good reason.
Seafood brings you a wealth of variety - salmon, tilapia, cod, halibut, crab, shrimp, mussels, and more. These can help keep the diet a little more exciting, and you’ll get more nutrients that you don’t get from land animals.
You Need the Right Nutrients No Matter How You Follow the Carnivore Diet!
One thing we want to leave you with today is the importance of nutrient density. Whether you run the strict regimen or try a carnivore-adjacent diet, the quality of your meat cannot be overlooked. Grass-fed, regeneratively raised, and minimally processed is the way to go.
This is true not just of your bigger meals but your snacks, too. You cannot settle for less than the best carnivore diet snacks. Not only will this provide essential fuel between meals, but it’ll help you keep cravings at bay so you stay on track.
Carnivore Snax makes unique carnivore chips that start out light and airy before melting in your mouth, giving way to tantalizing flavors that will satisfy your taste buds. They’re just two ingredients - regeneratively raised meat and Redmond Real Salt. That’s it!
Plus, there are so many varieties to choose from, so you’ll never get bored. Steak chips made from New York strip or pork chips with that heritage pork crunch. We have ribeye chips, brisket chips, and much, much more.
No matter which modified carnivore diet you choose, set yourself up for success. Add our meat chips to your carnivore diet shopping list and see what keeps customers coming back for more!
References
- Lennerz BS, Mey JT, Henn OH, Ludwig DS. "Behavioral Characteristics and Self-Reported Health Status among 2029 Adults Consuming a 'Carnivore Diet.'" Current Developments in Nutrition. 2021;5(12):nzab133. PubMed
- Saladino P. "Animal-Based Diet." PaulSaladinoMD.com. paulsaladinomd.com
