Reviewed by Dr. Eric Westman, MD, MHS (December 2025)
Introduction
You’ve heard the stories of autoimmune remission, effortless weight loss, and boundless energy. You might even be trying it yourself and feeling better than you have in decades.
But then, a quiet voice of doubt creeps in, often amplified by concerned family members or sensationalized headlines…
“Sure, you feel good now, but what about in five years?”
“You can’t live without vegetables forever, can you?”
“Aren’t you going to have a heart attack with all that red meat?”
These are valid concerns. For more than half a century, public health advice has warned us to limit red meat and saturated fat, and has anointed fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as the undisputed champions of health and longevity. The idea of doing the complete opposite of what’s recommended by leading health and medical organizations feels inherently risky.
But feeling better shouldn’t be scary. If a way of eating reverses chronic disease, eliminates obesity, and restores vitality, it’s reasonable to ask whether the diet is unsafe, or if our definition of safety is outdated.
This article explores the safety profile of long-term carnivore diets, addresses the most common fears, and explains why thousands of people aren’t just surviving on this diet for years—they’re thriving.
Why People Question the Safety of Carnivore
The skepticism surrounding the carnivore diet isn’t surprising. It flies in the face of almost every dietary guideline released since the 1970s. When you look at why people fear an all-animal diet, it usually boils down to three deeply ingrained cultural narratives.
The “Saturated Fat Kills” Narrative
For decades, we’ve been told that saturated fat clogs arteries like grease in a kitchen pipe. This “Diet-Heart Hypothesis” suggested that eating saturated fat raises cholesterol, and high cholesterol causes heart disease.
Because carnivore is naturally high in saturated fat (from beef, bacon, butter, and tallow), the immediate assumption is that it’s a heart attack waiting to happen. However, modern nutritional science is undergoing a massive correction as more and more studies conclude that saturated fat is not associated with increased risk for heart disease—and that, in fact, overdoing carbohydrate intake plays a much bigger role in increasing cardiovascular disease risk.
The “Plants Are Essential” Belief
You’ve heard all your life that you need “eat your fruits and veggies” in order to get vitamins and minerals. The logic follows that if you remove all plant foods from your diet, you’ll inevitably develop scurvy or other severe deficiencies. You rarely hear the truth—that animal products not only contain every essential nutrient humans need to survive, but they provide them in forms that are more bioavailable compared to what’s found in plants. It’s a myth that a carnivore diet is inherently “unbalanced.”
The Media Echo Chamber
Headlines love extremes—the more sensational, the better. A diet that eliminates all plant foods is easy to label as “dangerous” or a “fad.” Most mainstream articles criticizing carnivore focus on short-term observational studies of people eating processed meats (like hot dogs) alongside soda and fries, rather than looking at populations eating whole, unprocessed animal foods without the sugar and starch.
Common Long-Term Concerns (And What Research Suggests)
When you strip away the fearmongering and look at physiology, the supposed “dangers” of long-term carnivore turn out to be misconceptions.
Heart Health and Cholesterol
This is the big one. Yes, LDL-cholesterol sometimes rises on a carnivore diet. In the old paradigm, this would be cause for panic.
However, context matters. On a carnivore diet, while LDL-cholesterol may go up, other crucial markers of heart health typically improve dramatically:
- Triglycerides plummet: High triglycerides are a major risk factor for heart disease—and the major culprit behind elevated triglycerides is excess sugar and carb intake, not animal fat.
- HDL (“Good”) cholesterol rises: This is protective and indicates good metabolic health. When triglycerides decrease and HDL increases, this makes for a lower ratio, which indicates better cardiovascular health.
- Insulin resistance reverses: Insulin resistance is arguably the biggest driver of arterial damage—and carnivore diets help to improve insulin sensitivity.
- Blood pressure normalizes: Carnivore diets help many people completely discontinue blood pressure medications.
Emerging science suggests that, independent of other factors, high LDL-cholesterol is not the villain it’s made out to be, especially in the absence of insulin resistance and inflammation.
Nutrient Adequacy
“But where do you get your vitamin C?”
This is the most common question. The truth is, nutrient requirements are not static; they change based on what you’re eating. Glucose (sugar) and vitamin C compete for the same transporters in the body, so it’s hypothesized that when you eliminate carbohydrates/sugar from your diet, your requirement for vitamin C drops significantly.
Furthermore, fresh meat does contain vitamin C—orange juice isn’t the only way to get it! Meat also contains B12, iron, zinc, selenium, and choline. Liver is nature’s multivitamin, packed with vitamins and minerals. There is no essential nutrient found in plants that cannot be found in animal foods—but there are several nutrients in animal foods (like B12, carnosine, creatine, taurine) that are virtually absent in plants.
The Gut Microbiome
Critics argue that without fiber, your gut bacteria will starve, and that this will cause a litany of health problems. It’s true that the microbiome changes on carnivore, but it changes when you change your diet in any way—and more importantly, just because it changes doesn’t automatically imply it’s changed for the worse.
The gut microbiome adapts to the fuel it’s given. Fiber-loving bacteria decrease, while bacteria that digest protein and fat increase. For many people—especially those with IBS, IBD, or other GI issues—this shift is exactly what they need. By removing the fiber that ferments and causes gas, the gut enters a state of rest and repair. A “diverse” microbiome isn’t always better if that diversity is driving symptoms.
Why Some People Thrive Long Term on Carnivore
There are now growing communities of “veteran” carnivores – people who have eaten this way for 5, 10, or even 20+ years. And they aren’t just getting by; they’re often in the best shape of their lives. Why does this sustainability happen?
The “Auto-Regulation” of Weight
Long-term obesity is often a hormonal problem, not a calorie problem. When you eat a diet consisting solely of protein and fat, your body may respond better to the hormones that regulate appetite, such as leptin and ghrelin. You finally stop thinking about food all day. You eat when hungry, stop when full, and maintain a healthy weight effortlessly, without apps or food scales to track every bite.
Chronic Inflammation Stays Low
Inflammation is associated with almost every modern chronic disease, from Alzheimer’s to arthritis. By removing the dietary triggers most likely to cause inflammation, carnivore helps to calm an overactive immune response. This doesn’t just help you feel good today; it protects your tissues and organs for the long haul.
Simplicity Equals Consistency
The best diet is the one you can stick to. Complex diets that require meticulous tracking, weighing, and measuring often fail long-term because of burnout. Carnivore is liberatingly simple. This mental ease reduces stress – another huge factor in long-term health.
What Long-Term Success Actually Depends On
Is carnivore safe long-term? The evidence from long-term adherents and historical data on carnivorous populations (like the Inuit or Maasai) suggests the answer is yes.
However, “safe” doesn’t mean “foolproof.” Eating meat and avoiding plants doesn’t guarantee optimal health. Long-term success requires more than just buying steak.
Personalization is Key
One person might thrive on just beef and salt. Another might need to include eggs and seafood to feel their best. Some do better with higher fat; others need more protein. “Carnivore” is a spectrum, not a rigid dogma. Finding your personal sweet spot is essential for sticking to it for the long term.
Avoiding “Undereating”
A common mistake people run into is simply not eating enough. Because fatty meats can be so satiating, it’s easy to inadvertently undereat calories, leading to hormonal downregulation or fatigue. It can take time to figure out how much your body needs to function best, and how to adjust things when needed.
Monitoring Your Health
Blind faith isn’t a wise strategy. Long-term carnivore should be done with awareness. This means listening to your body’s signals and keeping an eye on your biomarkers to ensure your metabolic health is trending in the right direction.
The Verdict
The fear that carnivore is inherently dangerous is based on outdated science and nutritional mythology. When done correctly, carnivore is a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory, and metabolically restorative way to eat.
Ready to move past the guesswork?
If you want to ensure you’re doing carnivore safely, effectively, and sustainably, don’t go it alone. Get professional guidance and follow a structured plan.
This is exactly what we provide in our Carnivore Made Simple course. Click here to see all the details and to get on the waitlist for the next cohort. You can also download our FREE carnivore guide.
Reviewer Bio
Eric Westman, MD, MHS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University, the Medical Director of Adapt Your Life Academy and the founder of the Duke Keto Medicine Clinic in Durham, North Carolina. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine and has a master’s degree in clinical research. As a past President of the Obesity Medicine Association and a Fellow of the Obesity Society, Dr. Westman was named “Bariatrician of the Year” for his work in advancing the field of obesity medicine. He is a best-selling author of several books relating to ketogenic diets as well as co-author on over 100 peer-reviewed publications related to ketogenic diets, type 2 diabetes, obesity, smoking cessation, and more. He is an internationally recognized expert on the therapeutic use of dietary carbohydrate restriction and has helped thousands of people in his clinic and far beyond, by way of his famous “Page 4” food list.
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