Meat or Veg: Which Will Kill Me First?

Along with many other trends that may or may not signal the fall of civilization, social media is hyper-saturated with health and nutrition misinformation and conspiracy theories. It might seem strange to some people why very restrictive diets like the Carnivore Diet and Raw Food Veganism can exert such strong holds on the psychology and behaviors of so many individuals. At their core, these movements exploit people’s confusion about nutrition, and offer an often illusory sense of community and identity, as well as providing a feeling of (misguided) certainty in the confusing landscape of nutrition information.

In this context, it is hard not to feel sympathy for the many people who become entrenched in these belief systems. Conversely, it is also a struggle not to feel some sense of disdain for the various grifters, and genuinely deluded but aggressively confident individuals who promote these diets for personal gain, despite a total lack of expertise or ability to engage with evidence. But in the spirit of fairness, we should try to understand the positions of these individuals, and address legitimate concerns before dismissing these people out of hand.

Let us first consider some of the more grounded point of Raw Food Veganism. Many Vegans choose a plant based diet out of an ethical opposition to eating animals. However, many also believe that consuming animal products is harmful for human health, and it can be difficult to disentangle some of the more legitimate critiques from motivated reasoning.

Although animal products tend to be superior in terms of Amino Acid (AA) availability and total protein content compared to raw food vegan sources, animal products usually come with a higher content of saturated fat. Considering the well established relationship between excessive saturated fat intake and increased serum LDL-cholesterol levels (Hooper et al., 2020; Ruuth et al., 2021; Sacks et al., 2017), and the equally well established subsequent relationship between chronically elevated serum LDL-cholesterol concentrations and increased heart disease and mortality risk (Hooper et al., 2020; Mortensen et al., 2023), it seems wise to be selective about the type and quantity of animal products in your diet. 

A potential positive of Raw Food Veganism is its emphasis on consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Ramezani & colleagues (2024) observed more than a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease related mortality, and cancer related mortality from higher fiber intakes. The idea that most humans in modernized countries should eat more fruits and vegetables is therefore backed by robust evidence.

But it would be silly to claim that the ideas behind Raw Food Veganism are rooted in good science. Since Raw Food Veganism is predicated on the idea that food should be exposed to the bare minimum of heating or processing, much of the potentially available macronutrients in many legumes and vegetables are not released into a digestible form, which means less energy can be absorbed from these foods. Legumes in particular require soaking in water and proper heating to be properly digested, and their amino acid content is pretty reasonable once this has occurred (Ohanenye et al., 2022).

Evolutionary anthropologists have credited cooking as one of the great technological advancements in human development, since cooking raw foods helps to increase the digestible macronutrient content of vegetables, meat, and starches. This increased energy availability of the human diet allowed for more time to devote to planning, building, and cognitive processes. A more sustainable energy intake over several generations is believed to be key in the development of the larger, more fuel intensive brain that characterizes our species.

Musings on the importance of the baked spud on the development of civilization aside, it would seem advisable to cook, or otherwise process or treat, many of the raw foods that we might otherwise want to include in our diet. Examples include meat, milk and dairy products, legumes, whole grains, tubers, vegetables, and seeds. Animal products tend to have higher concentrations, or more readily digestible forms, of many vitamins and minerals compared to plant sources. For example, meat is generally higher in zinc, B-vitamins, and heme-iron, which is a form of iron much more readily absorbed compared to plant sources. Since iron deficiency is a very real concern for women in particular, getting adequate sources from the diet can be challenging at the best of times, and Raw Food Veganism makes that even more difficult. 

All in all, it seems like Raw Food Veganism is a poor option in terms of energy and macronutrient availability, as well as being deficient in certain micronutrients. It’s fair to say that Raw Food Veganism is a diet that would considerably limit an individual’s food options when outside of the home, as well as potentially isolating them from shared experiences with friends and loved ones who may not be so enthused with eating or preparing food for such an idiosyncratic diet. Any potential benefits related to a reduced saturated fat intake and increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fiber could be achieved with a less-extreme vegan, or vegetarian diet. Therefore, it is difficult to recommend a Raw Food Veganism diet from an evidence-based perspective.

Let us now extend the same charity to some of the more ‘reasonable’ arguments of the Carnivore Diet. The most extreme version of the Carnivore Diet advocates for the exclusion of all fruits and vegetables and solely consuming animal products, including meat, eggs, some fish, and dairy. One of the primary concerns of Carnivore advocates is that there are specific anti-nutritional compounds present in legumes, grains, vegetables, and some fruits. Despite this concern, it is noteworthy that some prominent Carnivore Diet advocates have instead begun to promote a more 'animal based' diet which allows for the consumption of some fruits and honey. Whether this recommendation is due to boredom with the extremely restrictive diet, or due to the onset of health problems associated with a diet rich in saturated fat and deficient in dietary fiber, is anyone’s guess.

However, there are some scientifically justifiable concerns around the intake of certain anti-nutritional compounds found in some plant foods, such as grains, nuts, legumes, and soy (Gillani et al., 2012). Lectins are a type of protein which can bind with carbohydrates. They are found in high quantities in certain foods, such as potatoes (Gilani et al., 2012). When uncooked, the lectin content of a raw potato can lead to some nasty gastrointestinal effects. However, the proper cooking and treatment of lectin containing foods reduces any potential negative effects. In general, diets that feature a lot of foods which are lectin sources but which are appropriately cooked or processed, tend to be associated with better health outcomes. Some lectin from uncooked sources, such as uncooked tomato, are also well tolerated by most people, and are not consistently associated with any negative health outcomes (Adamcová et a;., 2021; Monteyne et al., 2024; Ramezani, et al., 2024)

Other compounds such as phytates, tannins, and trypsin-inhibitors share similar characteristics with lectins in that they tend to bind with other minerals and macronutrients in the gastrointestinal tract, with the effect of reducing overall nutrient availability (Gilani et al., 2012; Adamcová et al., 2021). But as is the case with Raw Food Veganism, a similar pattern of conveniently ignoring evidence that doesn't align with pre-existing biases emerges in Carnivore rhetoric. Although very high intakes of these compounds are associated with negative health outcomes, the ways in which these foods are generally consumed as part of a mixed diet is not a problem. Indeed, diets that are rich in foods which contain these anti-nutritional compounds (whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds) are consistently associated with better health outcomes (Ramezani, et al., 2024). 

In the spirit of fairness, it is worth pointing out that there remain legitimately grounded public health concerns for populations reliant on one or two staple crops for the majority of their diet due to economic and geographic reasons. However, this concern is less focused around the negative effects of any specific ‘anti-nutrient’ and more so related to nutrient deficiencies caused by the lack of nutritional diversity in a subsistence diet. People experiencing food insecurity due to poverty, famine, and war are also less likely to be able to properly prepare what limited foods they have access to.

Although it should be painfully obvious to point out, nutrient deficiencies as a result of subsistence on one or two minimally processed crops should not be a major topic of concern for the middle class individuals living in ‘developed’ countries with plenty of disposable income to whom the CD is marketed to. More often than not, these individuals are suffering from an excess of dietary options rather than an absence. 

As an Irishman I also feel compelled to mention that the malnourishment and disease seen among the populace during the Irish Famine of the 19th Century was not due to some kind of anti-nutrient toxicity from potato consumption, but rather the lack of calories and nutrients from the absence of a staple crop and primary foodstuff. This scenario is the polar opposite of the primarily middle class ‘worried well’ individuals who spend too much time on social media.

Seed oils are another bogeyman for the Carnivore crowd. Seed oils are a loosely defined term to refer to various oils derived from plant sources. Examples include canola, sunflower, and soybean oil. These oils tend to be high in polyunsaturated omega-6 fats, which are involved in  the regulation of some inflammatory processes. 

Once again, the seed of truth in this matter has been totally obscured by Carnivore influencers. Concerns around seed oils increasing inflammation and contributing to chronic disease have been thoroughly addressed and debunked (Fritsche, 2014). Indeed, replacing saturated fat from butter with polyunsaturated fats from seed oils dramatically lowers cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality risk (Zhang et al., 2025). This is in direct contrast to the beliefs of Carnivore Diet advocates who advocate consuming a diet high in saturated fat.

Again, it is important to extend some sympathy to individuals who fall for these beliefs. The modern environment has resulted in increased average body weight, and a greater prevalence of metabolic disorders and chronic disease risk across the population, and people are rightly concerned and fearful as to why this is happening. However, most of these trends can be largely explained by the following factors:

-Greater availability of, and access to, high calorie, highly processed, hyper-palatable foods, resulting in higher calorie intakes.

-Food industry refinement of processing techniques to maximize particular qualities of food, generally for it to be more appetizing, and thus purchased in greater quantities. 

-A steady increase in standard portion sizes, particularly fast-food portions, over recent decades in developed and developing countries, resulting in higher calorie intakes.

-Cultural and societal shifts over time in individuals' expectations around dining out and meal preparation: food should be tastier, more appetizing, eaten in larger quantities, and fully satisfy us.

Rather than addressing any of these specific issues in an evidence-based manner, Carnivore devotees instead engage in conspiracy thinking and myth-making around an imagined past. In this shared delusion, our ancestors could feast on fatty meats from sundown to sunset. Resembling a group of Crossfit Games finalists, early humans could scarcely leave their caves in the morning without spearing a few wooly mammoths. Charlatans such as the disgraced Brian Johnson, also known as the Liver King, evoke this imagery in their carefully curated social media feeds.

Unsurprisingly, the Liver King is not alone in this grift. Despite the touted benefits and nutritional completeness of the diet, no Carnivore influencers’ profile is complete without a link to an extensive list of untested, unproven, and unregulated supplements intended to further optimize this supposedly optimal diet. It is hard to say whether these people are immune to irony, or simply keen enjoyers. This evoked imagery is at odds with evolutionary evidence. Humans have a dentistry and digestive system that is well suited to an omnivorous diet. Throughout early human history, our extremely adaptable digestive and metabolic systems helped us to survive in vastly different environments, and during periods of scarcity and famine. While there are numerous examples of cultures with rather unique diets due to their environments, an omnivorous diet is the default across most cultures and societies.

There are very real issues around the food industry shaping legislation and bringing more hyper-palatable, highly processed, energy dense foods to the market. However, Carnivore devotees do not engage in any meaningful or useful discussions around legislation and policy reform. Instead, the Carnivore Diet represents a manifestation of rugged individualism, and rejection of mainstream science and expertise. 

At this point, you may be wondering, why spend so much effort going after these fringe diets? Surely, only a small fraction of people would ever fully adopt them. The reality is that the rhetoric around these diets filter into public discourse, and often act as ‘gateway drugs’ to more extreme beliefs around nutrition, the food system, and the motivations of nutrition researchers to vulnerable- and sometimes willfully gullible- individuals. 

You may not know many full-blown Carnivores, but you probably know one or two people who have thrown away their Canola oil and now only cook with butter. You may not know many strict Raw Food Vegans, but you almost certainly know individuals who are obsessed with eating ‘clean’, and who are very averse to any kind of food processing. There is an inevitable process through which the conspiracy belief systems underlying these diets spread and shape the public discourse and understanding of science.

Another seemingly inevitable progression of these dietary tribes is the splintering off of individuals who go on to form new approaches of varying degrees of awfulness. For example, Paul Saladino was a very strict Vegan before adopting the Carnivore Diet. As his health began to suffer, Saladino pivoted to an “animal-based” diet, which allows for the consumption of fruit and honey. While consuming more fruit will almost certainly benefit Saladino’s health, he continues to lack the insight that he has no business dispensing nutrition advice. 

While the charlatans and grifters continue to profit, real people suffer. This can be from the negative psychological, social, and metabolic effects of consuming an extreme and unbalanced diet. But more often than not, the damage is done to people’s world view and ability to think critically. If you can be convinced that giving up vegetables and eating raw organ meat is good for your health, what else can you be convinced of? How can you form a healthy relationship with food if you believe that Tofu isn't healthy because it is processed? Instead of helping people, these diets cause people to fall further into echo chambers, and serve to keep people in a constant state of fear and anxiety around eating a normal diet.

References

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Fritsche K. L. (2014). Linoleic acid, vegetable oils & inflammation. Missouri medicine, 111(1), 41–43.

Gilani, S.G. Wu Xiao, C., & Cockell, K. A. (2012). Impact of antinutritional factors in food proteins on the digestibility of protein and the bioavailability of amino acids and on protein quality. The British journal of nutrition, 108 Suppl 2, S315–S332. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114512002371

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