What is the Carnivore Diet and who is it for?
The carnivore diet has been getting some popularity out there in the wild west of social media land. The wellness world is abuzz with biohacks and the gym-bros are of course - loving it.
Maybe you’ve thought about trying it out yourself?
A deep gut re-set they say… maybe that sounds like just what you need if you’re struggling with autoimmune flares and reacting to so many different plant foods.
Here’s what I want you to know, as a naturopath that has seen the functional side to the aftermath: Carnivore diets can be a great tool short term in very specific situations. But I do not recommend this as a lifestyle. For women especially, carnivore diets will have a price to pay.
Let’s break down what carnivore is, when it may be the right call, and why your gut needs fibre long term.
What is the carnivore diet?
It’s exactly as it sounds - a T-rex diet. You only eat animal products. Meat, fish, eggs and sometimes dairy depending on how strict you feel like being.
What you can eat on carnivore:
Beef, lamb, pork, chicken fish.
Eggs
Animal Fats (tallow, & lard)
Bone broths, meat stocks and organ meats.
Salt and water
On a more relaxed framework you may be including:
Dairy like grassfed butter, cream, and some cheeses if you can tolerate them.
Honey - technically animal derived - some need it for the carb boost.
Salt and Pepper and although the purists will say no herbs and spices a relaxed framework may let them in for flavours sake.
What you avoid when following carnivore:
All plant foods - Vegetables, fruits, grains legumes
All fibre is out
All carbohydrates are out… except minimal carbs in maybe dairy or honey.
But why??
Well, the theory is that plants contain “anti-nutrients” and inflammatory compounds - like lectins, oxalate and phytates. They point out that these can cause digestive issues and stimulate autoimmune flares. By eliminating all plants you can remove these triggers and give your gut a “break”.
Like I said, valid in some cases for short term relief… But not for everyone.
When carnivore may work for you:
I’m not here to demonise any protocols - I believe there's a time and a place for lots of things and I do love the premise of lots of benefits of the foods included in the plan. There are situations where this is a valuable approach as a SHORT TERM therapeutic tool.
Severe Autoimmune flares - If you are in the middle of a Crohn’s flare, severe eczema or debilitating autoimmune reaction, carnivore is a severe elimination diet that can give digestive relief in some cases, for 4-12 weeks whilst you navigate the root causes.
Extreme Gut issues - reactive to plant foods, so inflamed you need to remove everything to work on restoring the gut microbiome and healing your mucosa. This is a reset not a long term solution and always under supervision.
Who carnivore diet is not for:
Women trying to "get healthy" or lose weight
Stressed, burnt-out mums (you're adding MORE stress)
Anyone with a history of disordered eating
Long-term lifestyle approach
Anyone who thinks it's a permanent solution
What happens to women on long term carnivore diets?
What works for men often crashes women's bodies out.
Women’s bodies are different - we need to stop treating them the same as men.
Women are more sensitive to calorie restriction, carbohydrate restriction and stress.
We have evolved to:
Carry and nourish babies (even if you're done having kids, your body doesn't know that)
Maintain monthly hormonal cycles and fluctuate across the month
Store more body fat for reproduction
Respond differently to stress
When you eliminate carbs long-term, women's bodies interpret this as FAMINE.
And your body responds by shutting down non-essential systems.
Hormones crash:
Cortisol spikes (stress hormone - because your body thinks you're starving)
Progesterone drops (body sacrifices it to make cortisol instead)
Thyroid slows (T4 → T3 conversion decreases, reverse T3 increases, metabolism crashes)
Sex hormones tank (oestrogen, testosterone drop)
What this looks like in real life:
Dead libido (no sex hormones = no sex drive)
Lost or irregular period (hypothalamic amenorrhoea)
Can't sleep (cortisol elevated at night, serotonin is depleted)
Exhausted but wired
Rage and irritability (high cortisol, low progesterone)
Hair falling out (thyroid slowing, nutrient deficiencies)
The Paradox: Can't lose weight (body in survival mode, metabolism slows)
“But I’m trying everything!” Women often go carnivore to lose weight, but long-term restriction puts the body into survival mode and makes weight loss HARDER.
Why Your Gut NEEDS Fibre (You Can't Avoid It Forever)
Your gut microbiome NEEDS fibre to survive.
What Fibre Actually Does
Fibre isn't just "roughage" that helps you poop (though it does that too).
Fibre is FOOD for your beneficial gut bacteria.
Your gut contains trillions of bacteria - your microbiome. The beneficial ones (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia, Faecalibacterium) need fibre to survive and thrive.
When you feed your beneficial bacteria fibre, they ferment it and produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs):
Butyrate: Feeds your colon cells, anti-inflammatory, strengthens gut barrier, supports immune function
Acetate: Regulates appetite and metabolism
Propionate: Regulates blood sugar, supports your liver function for natural detoxification pathways.
These SCFAs are ESSENTIAL for:
Gut barrier integrity (preventing leaky gut)
Immune regulation (70% of your immune system lives in your gut)
Inflammation control
Hormone metabolism (gut bacteria helps to metabolise oestrogen)
Mood regulation (gut-brain axis)
You cannot have a healthy gut microbiome without fibre. Period.
What Happens When You Eliminate Fibre
When you go carnivore long-term and eliminate ALL fibre:
Your beneficial bacteria starve.
And when they starve:
Dysbiosis develops (imbalance - pathogenic bacteria overgrow)
You lose microbial diversity (research shows carnivore dieters lose diversity rapidly)
Inflammation increases (no butyrate production)
Gut barrier weakens (leaky gut)
Immune dysfunction (your gut can't regulate immunity properly)
Mood issues (gut-brain axis disrupted - serotonin, GABA production affected)
Hormone problems (gut bacteria can't metabolise oestrogen properly)
Studies show that long-term carnivore dieters have significantly reduced microbial diversity compared to people eating a varied diet.
If you kill your good guys off off with starvation of fibre or heavy antimicrobial protocols you don’t grow them back - we have strains from birth and we can’t just replace them with a ‘multi probiotic strain formula’ - it doesn’t work like that!
We NEED diversity for health. Your microbiome should look like a thriving rainforest - hundreds of species working together.
Carnivore turns it into a desert.
"But I Can't Tolerate Fibre" - What's Actually Happening
There’s a lot of fear when increasing fibre, or carbs. The is the objection I hear most: "But Dania, I literally CAN'T eat fibre. It makes me bloat, hurt, and feel awful. Carnivore is the only thing that makes me feel better."
I believe you.
But here's what's ACTUALLY happening:
If you can't tolerate fibre, something is BROKEN in your gut ecosystem.
Usually one or more of these:
1. SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)
Bacteria growing in the WRONG place (small intestine instead of colon). When you eat fibre, bacteria ferment it too early in digestion → bloating, pain, gas.
My Solution: Treat the SIBO (antimicrobials, specific protocols), THEN reintroduce fibre gradually.
2. Dysbiosis (Imbalanced Gut Bacteria)
Too many pathogenic bacteria, not enough beneficial. When pathogenic bacteria ferment fibre, they produce different gases (hydrogen sulfide, methane).
My Solution: Rebalance the microbiome (targeted probiotics, selective microbials), then fibre tolerance improves.
3. Low Stomach Acid / Poor Digestion
Food not breaking down properly in the stomach reaches gut bacteria partially digested. Bacteria have to work harder, produce more gas.
My Solution: Support digestive function (HCl supplementation if needed, digestive enzymes), then fibre tolerance improves.
4. Gut Inflammation / Leaky Gut
Inflamed, damaged gut lining is SENSITIVE to everything. Fibre can feel irritating to already-inflamed tissue.
My Solution: Heal the gut lining (L-glutamine, zinc carnosine, bone broth, slippery elm), THEN reintroduce fibre gently.
5. Too Much Fibre Too Fast
Going from low-fibre carnivore to high-fibre overnight. Your gut bacteria need time to ADAPT and build up the right populations.
My Solution: Start low, go SLOW. Well-cooked vegetables first. Not raw - Small amounts. Gradually increase over weeks/months.
The Take Away
If you can't tolerate fibre, something is BROKEN in your gut.
The answer isn't to avoid fibre forever and let your microbiome die.
The answer is to FIX your gut so you CAN eat fibre again.
Going carnivore will mask the problem by removing the trigger. But you're not HEALING. You're AVOIDING.
And meanwhile, your microbiome is dying. Your hormones are crashing. Your thyroid is slowing.
That's not a solution. That's a trap.
What Your Body Actually Needs
I get you wanting to feel alive again, drop the weight you're holding and feel free from brainfog…
But it’s not going to come through restrictions and not through elimination of entire food groups.
What you really need is:
Enough Food
Don't under-eat. Your body needs nourishment, not punishment.
Protein
Yes, keep this adequate (but you don't need 200g/day). 30g minimum per meal.
Healthy Fats
Essential for hormones. Avocado, olive oil, nuts, fatty fish, grass-fed butter.
Complex Carbohydrates
Your thyroid needs them. Your brain needs them (glucose is primary fuel). Your hormones need them.
Good sources of carbohydrates in most cases:
Sweet potato
White rice, brown rice
Oats
Quinoa
Root vegetables (parsnip, beetroot, carrots)
Fibre-Rich Vegetables
Start with well-cooked if you're sensitive. Build up tolerance gradually.
Variety matters: Different vegetables feed different bacterial strains. Eat the rainbow.
I recommend aiming for at least 30 different types of plant foods across the week, with a goal to reach up to 40 different types for a diverse microbiome diet.
Nutrient Density
Micronutrients support all the pathways your body needs to function.
The Deeper Work (Why Are You Restricting?)
This isn't just about your physiology.
There's a shadow piece to nurture here.
Carnivore is very MASCULINE energy:
Aggressive
Restrictive
Controlled
Disciplined
Hard
The foods it eliminates? Feminine:
Carbs (especially plant foods) represent softness, nourishment, receptivity, pleasure, earth energy
When women eliminate carbs and stay on carnivore long-term, there's often an unconscious attempt to eliminate feminine SOFTNESS from their bodies.
You want to be:
Lean (not soft)
Hard (not curved)
Controlled (not surrendered)
Disciplined (not intuitive)
Somewhere along the way, you learned that:
Soft = weak
Curves = lazy, undisciplined
Feminine bodies = not good enough
This is patriarchal conditioning. Your body - your soft, curved, feminine body - has been weaponised against you.
The restriction isn't just about health. It's about worthiness.
And until you address THAT, no diet will ever be enough.
Let me be really clear about something.
If you're coming to me to lose the last 5kg of belly flab to fit into your old jeans - I'm not your practitioner.
I will NOT sacrifice your sleep, your nervous system, or your hormones for aesthetics.
My priorities in your healing will ALWAYS be:
Nervous system regulation
Gut health
Hormone balance
I believe weight loss is an after-effect when everything is aligned.
Your body will settle where it needs to be. Where it feels SAFE.
And that might be 5-10kg heavier than where diet culture told you to be.
But you'll have:
Energy that lasts all day
Libido (you'll actually want to have sex)
Stable mood (no more rage)
Good sleep (falling asleep and staying asleep)
Clear skin
Healthy hair
A body that WORKS
That's the trade-off.
If you still want the aesthetic result more than the actual healing - I'm not your person.
But if you're ready to come back into RELATIONSHIP with your body?
To heal your gut so you can eat fibre again?
To trust your body's wisdom?
To let your body find its natural set point while everything else WORKS?
Let's talk.
Ready to Heal Your Gut + Hormones?
If you're stuck in the carnivore cycle and your body is screaming at you - dead libido, lost period, can't sleep, hair falling out - I can help.
I work with women to:
Investigate root causes (comprehensive functional testing: stool analysis, hormones, pathology)
Heal the gut so you CAN tolerate fibre again
Support your nervous system and hormones
Address the shadow work (worthiness, control, fear of the feminine)
This isn't a 7-day challenge. This is months of deep work.
But you don't just "manage" symptoms. You HEAL.
Book a free connection call to talk about where you are, where you want to be, and whether working together makes sense.
Disclaimer:
The information shared here is for educational purposes only. Herbs, supplements, and targeted interventions should be guided by a qualified healthcare professional, especially for children. Always seek professional advice before introducing new treatments or making significant changes to your child’s care.