Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 31
What is a High-Protein Diet?
A high-protein diet (HPD) is
exactly what it sounds like—an
ea琀椀ng plan that priori琀椀ses
foods rich in protein. These
typically include:
• Meat and poultry
• Fish and seafood
• Eggs
• Dairy products
• Beans, peas, and len琀椀ls
• Nuts and seeds
• Soy products
These diets aren’t new.
Remember the Atkins craze?
That, along with plans like the
S琀椀llman, Dukan, and Grapefruit
diets, have promoted high
protein and restricted
carbohydrates for decades.
ENTER:
The Carnivore Diet
The carnivore diet takes the
high-protein concept to the
extreme. It’s a version of a
high-protein diet—but with a
twist: you only eat animal-based
foods. That means meat, eggs,
some dairy, and water.
No fruits. No vegetables. No
grains, legumes, nuts, or even
condiments. For this reason, it’s
o昀琀en dubbed a “zero-carb” diet.
Technically, a carnivore is
an animal—or person—that
feeds primarily or exclusively
on meat. The carnivore diet
adopts this principle by
elimina琀椀ng all plant-based
foods. It’s considered a subset
of the keto diet, where the
body enters a state called
ketosis—burning fat for energy
instead of carbohydrates.
This approach has recently
gone viral, driven by
in昀氀uencers like Shawn Baker,
a former orthopaedic surgeon
and author of The Carnivore
Diet. His book claims that
ea琀椀ng like our ancestors—
focusing on meat, 昀椀sh, eggs,
and dairy—can improve
diges琀椀on and mental clarity.
Social media pla琀昀orms like
TikTok and YouTube have
ampli昀椀ed the movement,
with “mea琀昀luencers” sharing
drama琀椀c transforma琀椀ons and
personal tes琀椀monials.
What are the
claimed benefits?
Supporters of the carnivore
diet claim it helps them:
• Lose weight, especially
stubborn fat
• Reduce bloa琀椀ng
and in昀氀amma琀椀on
• Improve energy levels,
mood, focus, and sleep
• Manage chronic health
issues like diabetes and
autoimmune condi琀椀ons
One study found that
par琀椀cipants not only
reported reduc琀椀ons in BMI,
but also improvements
in energy, sleep quality,
memory, physical strength,
and reduced reliance on
medica琀椀ons for condi琀椀ons
such as diabetes (PMC study).
However, much of
the support remains
anecdotal. While early
昀椀ndings are promising, further
research is needed to assess
the diet’s long-term safety
and e昀昀ec琀椀veness.
