With so many diets out there, it can be difficult to discern one from another. However, the Keto Carnivore Diet is pretty easy to remember. Just think meat, and more meat. Also some salt and water, sure. But mostly ... meat.
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The Keto Carnivore Diet and is also frequently known as the Jordan Peterson Carnivore Diet. Why, you ask? Because one of its chief proponents is Jordan Peterson, the frequently controversial Canadian author, psychologist and public speaker. He has become synonymous with this wild diet because he claims it helped to remedy many of his daughter’s health problems, including rheumatoid arthritis, bipolar disorder, Lyme disease, psoriasis, hypersomnia and eczema.
Peterson insisted that his daughter, Mikhaila, was “cured” by the Keto Carnivore Diet while a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast. And, just like that, he became the face (and de facto name) of this diet.
What Is the Jordan Peterson Diet?
The Jordan Peterson diet – or, the Keto Carnivore Diet – begins with a two-month “cleanse” (we’re leaning heavily on those quotation marks). That involves consuming nothing but meat, water and some salt. Also known as the Lion Diet, this is an elimination diet that is meant to reset your body. After two months on this elimination meat-and-salt only diet, you can begin to add some greens, but not many. Most of your calorie intake is supposed to come from meat, if you follow this diet properly.
That means, of course, it is essentially a very restrictive keto diet. In such diets, most calories come from fats, some come from protein, and very few come from carbohydrates. These diets are widely recognized as an effective way to lose weigh. Indeed, Peterson told Rogan he lost some 50 pounds by following the diet. He also claimed the diet helped him to sleep better, to feel mentally sharper and to have healthier gums.
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The thing is, for most people, a keto diet should only be used to lose weight before a more normal, balanced diet is resumed. There are numerous benefits that come with getting yourself down to a healthy weight. But those will be offset for most people by the lack of nutrients in a diet virtually devoid of fruits, vegetables, and healthy sources of complex carbohydrates.
Can You Follow a Keto Carnivore Diet Long-Term?
If you’re wondering if a Jordan Peterson-style diet is sustainable indefinitely, the answer is yes. Look no further than the Inuit peoples of the far north of Canada, the United States and Greenland. Or the Masai people of Kenya and Tanzania. For countless generations, these cultures (and others) have lived on a primarily meat diet.
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But should you embrace this diet completely and indefinitely? Probably not. And certainly not without the guidance of a physician or trained nutritionist. It’s far too easy to jump onto the bandwagon of the latest fad diet without considering the potential larger implications. It’s always important to have a plan for a diet’s implementation, and to know when you will stop following the diet.
If you do start on the Jordan Peterson diet, after having consulted a physician or nutrition expert, it’s a good idea to set a target healthy weight at which you will begin to phase in other foods. Also pay close attention to your health and how you feel while following the diet. Your body will give you a warning, if one is merited.
The Biggest Gut-Check to Keep in Mind
Let’s operate for a moment under the premise promoted by Jordan Peterson and others, and take it for granted that early modern humans lived on a diet consisting primarily of meat. And yes, this does require overlooking how our molars are perfectly adapted to the grinding often required of plants, starches and some fruits. The big question is, then, how long did they live?
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Even well into the 19th century, average life expectancy was little more than 40 years. In the prehistoric ages, the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, living to age 30 would mark you as an elder. Granted, medicine and hygiene were nonexistent, and the world was a dangerous place for those at the mercy of weather, predators and starvation.
But still, perhaps the fact that our short-lived ancestors survived largely by eating meat is not all that compelling of a reason for us to do the same. If a resident of a mountain cave or sun-drenched savanna had been offered a chopped salad and melon medley, might he have gladly taken it as a trade for his hunk of mastodon? We’re willing to bet yes.
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