On TikTok any crazy thing can become fashionable. This is the case of the carnivore diet, which is promoted in nearly 60,000 videos on this platform. Products of animal origin such as steaks, sausages, eggs and butter are the basis of the diet of its followers, who claim that it helps them lose weight, improve the condition of their skin and combat sagging. But nutritionists warn that it has many more drawbacks than advantages.
“There is no evidence that this diet is beneficial. On the contrary, many studies link a diet based on red and processed meats with serious health problems, such as several types of cancer (mainly colon cancer), and heart disease,” warns the Alícia Foundation’s dietitian-nutritionist, Alba Coll.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the international organizations that has been forceful regarding the risks of consuming processed meat in high quantities. “About 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets rich in these products,” they state on their website, citing the most recent estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Project.
Another practice associated with the carnivore diet is biting into butter, which can give us clues about how unhealthy it is. “In high doses, this food rich in saturated fats can seriously affect our cholesterol levels and translate into cardiovascular problems in the medium-long term,” says Laia Iglesias, dietitian-nutritionist and spokesperson for CoDiNuCat.
The intake of other protein products, such as smoothies or yogurts rich in this macronutrient, is common among supporters of this method, so it is easy for them to take excessive protein. This can also lead to health problems, because organs such as the liver and kidney will have to work harder and kidney pathologies are more likely to appear.
Coll insists that, while it is true that the carnivore diet can be satiating and help you lose weight, this goal can also be achieved with balanced diets that do not exclude healthy foods, such as the Mediterranean diet.
Discarding foods full of nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables and legumes, can lead to a vitamin deficiency. “Vitamin C, for example, is found mainly in peppers, broccoli and citrus fruits. Another example is folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, which is almost not present in meat foods,” says Iglesias.
Liver is one of the meats that contains this substance, but to meet the folic acid requirements it would have to be consumed in large quantities. “Among other inconveniences, we would exceed the consumption of vitamin A, which could cause poisoning,” adds Iglesias.
The fiber present in vegetables is also essential for good intestinal health. “With the carnivore diet, the microbiota can be altered and digestive problems such as constipation may arise. In the end, the main food of the bacteria that make it up is fiber,” says Coll. In the long term, an unbalanced microbiota has also been linked to depression and anxiety.
Added to all these problems, a diet where animal products are the majority is also very harmful to the planet. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states that the livestock sector contributes significantly to total human greenhouse gas emissions.
According to GreenPeace, livestock farming alone emits as much greenhouse gases as all global transportation. “To this we must add other emissions indirectly related to livestock activity, such as those caused by deforestation for the cultivation of feed or the transportation of goods,” they add from this organization.
A recent study has revealed the ocean of misinformation that TikTok can be. According to this research carried out by the health app MyFitnessPal and the University of Dublin, only 2.1% of nutrition content published on the platform is based on scientific evidence. The remaining 97.9% of posts are inaccurate, partially accurate, or have been classified as uncertain.
Given this reality, experts recommend confirming whether we are consuming content produced by qualified dietitians-nutritionists; Do not trust a single expert and consult other sources, distrust those diets that, based on what they promise, seem too good to be true, or compare the information with other information published by prestigious institutions or renowned professionals. And before following a diet or making changes to our diet, adds Coll, “they must be validated by a professional.”
Unfortunately, the healthy diet that professionals promote in their consultations, “is not new nor does it include trendy foods or strange habits of those that are viewed on social networks,” criticizes the communication manager at Alimmenta and a graduate in dietetics and nutrition. , Belén Rubio, who believes that schools should teach a nutrition subject so that young people do not accept “the latest food nonsense that keeps being reposted on networks.”
