The Real Impact of The Carnivore Diet
The carnivore diet is all the rage in 2024, but how does it impact your gut health?
This blog post will break down some key research on how eating only animal-based foods affects the gut microbiome and certain gut conditions like SIBO, IMO, and ISO. Let's dive deeper!
The Carnivore Diet and Your Gut
If you’re on a carnivore diet—meaning you’re eating mostly or only animal products like meat, eggs, and dairy—your gut microbiome could be taking a hit. Research shows that people who cut out fruits, veggies, and fiber often have less diversity in their gut bacteria. This lack of diversity can lead to an imbalance called dysbiosis, where harmful bacteria, like Proteobacteria, increase while helpful bacteria, such as Faecalibacterium, which reduce inflammation, get wiped out.
This imbalance can happen fast. Studies show that within 24 hours of starting a carnivore diet, the levels of inflammatory bacteria rise, and beneficial bacteria decline.
Without these good bacteria, your body doesn’t produce as many short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), like butyrate, which are crucial for gut health. Without SCFAs, you increase your risk of digestive problems, inflammation, and even conditions like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
The Carnivore Diet and SIBO
Potential Benefits
Some research suggests that the carnivore diet may help ease SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) symptoms. SIBO is often linked to the fermentation of undigested carbohydrates in the small intestine, causing bloating and diarrhea. By cutting out carbs, proponents of the carnivore diet argue that it deprives the bacteria in the small intestine of their primary food source, potentially reducing bacterial overgrowth.
Study Findings: A small observational study found that participants on a zero-carb carnivore diet for four weeks tested negative for SIBO after the diet. Most participants also showed improvement in hydrogen and methane breath tests, which are used to diagnose SIBO. What the study doesn't want you to know is that many people report that symptoms return when they reintroduce carbohydrates, meaning the underlying bacterial issue might not be fully resolved.
Limitations and Risks
It’s important to note that while some people may feel better on the carnivore diet, it’s usually a short-term fix.
That's because we know that sticking with the carnivore diet for too long inevitably leads to dysbiosis, where your gut loses even more good bacteria due to a lack of fiber and plant-based foods. This could end up making your gut health worse over time and promoting changes in your gut bacteria that are hard to fix.
The Carnivore Diet and IMO/ISO
Impact on Methane and Sulfide Producers
In addition to SIBO, the carnivore diet can also affect conditions like Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO) and Intestinal Sulfide Overproduction (ISO):
IMO: This condition is linked to an overproduction of methane gas caused by methanogenic archaea (really ancient form of bacteria). Because the carnivore diet eliminates fermentable carbs, it may reduce the food supply for these methane producers, potentially lowering methane levels.
ISO: In ISO, sulfide-producing bacteria thrive on protein fermentation. While the carnivore diet provides plenty of protein, it lacks the fiber that helps balance gut bacteria. Long-term high protein intake without fiber might lead to increased sulfide production in some people, making ISO symptoms worse.
The Role of Fermented Foods and Fiber
Fiber and fermented foods are essential for feeding your gut’s beneficial bacteria. Soluble fiber from fruits, veggies, and whole grains helps produce SCFAs like butyrate, which keeps your gut healthy. Fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut also boost microbiome diversity and help reduce inflammation.
However, if you have SIBO, you need to be cautious about adding too much fiber or fermented foods too quickly. Going overboard can lead to bloating and discomfort, which is why it’s crucial to work with a healthcare provider to gradually introduce these foods.
The Downside of Over-Restricting Fiber
Staying on a fiber-free diet, like the carnivore diet, for too long can make it difficult to bring fiber-rich foods back into your diet later. Your good gut bacteria may starve off, leading to more digestive problems like bloating, constipation, or diarrhea when you try to eat fruits, veggies, or grains again. Gradually reintroducing these foods is the best way to help your gut regain its strength and balance, but the carnivore diet can make even gradual reintroductions difficult, if not impossible. Trust me, we've seen it more times than we'd like to count at The Center For Ultra Health!
Takeaway
The carnivore diet may provide temporary relief for some people with SIBO by cutting out carbohydrates, but it can harm your gut health in the long term by reducing microbiome diversity.
Fermented foods and fiber are vital for maintaining a healthy gut, and while they need to be introduced carefully for people with SIBO, they remain crucial for gut healing.
Dieter beware: if you’re following the carnivore diet, it’s essential to monitor your gut health and understand the risks of sticking with it long-term, especially if you have conditions like SIBO, IMO, or ISO. You have to ask yourself whether the short-term benefit of treating symptoms like bloating is worth the potential long-term problem of bringing back healthier foods because they bloat you more than ever.
