The Carnivore Diet

The dangers of "wellness" influencers and nutrition micro trends

By: Ava Pravlik

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Credit: @the_carnivore_lifestyle on Instagram

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Fruit is bad for you — too much sugar. Don’t eat before noon, but don’t eat after 6 p.m. Carbs will make you fat. Or maybe fat will make you fat? Forget all the rules and eat intuitively, but make sure you stay in a calorie deficit.

In the age of social media and “wellness influencers” who brand themselves as health experts without any legitimate qualifications, we are constantly bombarded with new diet trends and conflicting rules surrounding nutrition. Currently trending on TikTok is the “carnivore diet”: a regimen consisting of only animal products. Scroll through the hashtag #carnivore for a few minutes and you’ll probably find a shredded gym bro eating steak and eggs off a wood cutting board, attributing his gains to a diet that excludes anything plant-based. (Side note: Is the wood cutting board absolutely essential, or can we use a regular plate instead?)

The trend seems to have taken root primarily in the gym community. Weight lifters chasing higher muscle mass and lower body fat percentages are inclined to follow a diet that packs in as much protein as possible, ignoring the health benefits that come from fruits and vegetables.

This “protein obsession” and narrow-minded goal of putting on muscle mass quickly poses a serious risk to the long-term health of those following the carnivore diet.

The diet is backed only by pseudoscience that is perpetuated and validated on social media by “wellness” influencers, whose credibility comes solely from their physiques. 

The rise of nutrition-related micro trends on social media is a serious ethical dilemma. In the face of so much misinformation, it’s important to consider the basic laws of body chemistry and thermodynamics; weight gain comes from an excess of energy (calories) and not from the carbs in your banana. Yet carnivore diet influencers in particular are quick to demonize the carbohydrates and sugars found in fruit. Impressionable social media users are prone to absorb this misinformation as they blindly follow the advice of influencers with their dream physiques. 

Weight loss can be achieved only through an energy deficit; eating high volumes of low calorie foods (like fruits and vegetables) makes this process significantly easier. Protein is needed to build muscle, but a healthy diet contains micronutrients found in plant-based foods. Ignoring these micronutrients leaves our bodies susceptible to vitamin deficiencies and chronic diseases. 

In the end, it’s important to remember that putting on muscle and losing body fat takes time. The carnivore diet has no place in anyone’s kitchen, regardless of their gym goals. But don’t throw away your wood cutting board just yet; it will work just fine for chopping up some fresh produce.

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Ava is a third-year Advertising major and French minor at UF. In her free time she enjoys long-distance running, cooking, and of course writing.