Metabolic and Mental Health
How to Benefit from Ketosis in a Keto-Carnivore Diet
I summarize my years of experience and observations, including takeaway points for those who plan to try this lifestyle.
Introduction and Context
Millions of people have been successfully using ketogenic diets for centuries. We now understand that humans evolved with the power of ketosis, serving them as an alternative energy source during famines.
As I documented before, ketogenic diets with time-restricted eating regimens tick the boxes of health requirements from my experience, reviews, and observations.
I benefited from ketogenic diets for several years during my transition. However, since my body had problems with plants, I had to move to an animal-based eating regimen.
Then the carnivore diet looked like the only viable option.
Reviewing anthropological studies, especially those related to Inuits and some African tribes who survived and thrived only with animal products for centuries, my confidence in carnivore diets increased.
Since animal products include substantial protein, which breaks ketosis, my solution was to adapt to a keto-carnivore version that provides more fat and less protein. I don’t consume any carbohydrates for health reasons.
Diet is not a religion for me. Instead, I see it as a health matter. I made keto-carnivore a lifestyle choice. I don’t see it as a diet anymore. It makes me healthy and happy.
Practicing the keto-carnivore diet for many years, I am open-minded to other ketogenic diets and plant-based diets. I support the keto-vegan diet as some of my friends thrive on plant-based ketogenic diets.
Purpose of the Article
Mentioning the keto-carnivore diet in numerous health articles, subscribers of my content are curious about this diet. They want to learn about it.
Interestingly, some readers never heard about the keto-carnivore diet.
And some readers heard rumors or read content about its being an unhealthy diet. So I was wondering how those people know without trying it. They just make assumptions as there are no significant studies on this diet yet.
Even though this diet might not be for everyone, I disagree with the assumptions about its being unhealthy as it has been a diet for many people in carnivore communities and the healthiest diet for me so far.
I aim to introduce the basics and provide an independent review of this exciting diet leveraging my years of personal experience and observations in health, fitness, and nutrition communities.
What is Keto-Carnivore Diet?
Even though the name keto-carnivore is relatively new, this diet started with the evolution of humans, according to anthropologists.
Humans survived famines using the stored fat as energy. Our ancestors obtained nutrients and energy from animal products when no plants were available.
Being able to digest both plants and animals gave a competitive advantage to humans to evolve as intelligent beings. So, some people prefer plants and some animals for food.
Keto-carnivore is a combination of the ketogenic and carnivore diets. This diet uses two macronutrients: proteins and fats. These macronutrients come from animal products such as beef, lamb, pork, fish, seafood, poultry, dairy, and eggs.
The key difference between keto-carnivore and classical carnivore is the additional fat consumption in the keto version.
For example, 75% of my calories come from healthy animal fats and 25% from proteins in the keto-carnivore diet.
In comparison, another friend who uses classical carnivore gets 70% of calories from proteins and 30% from fats.
In a nutshell, people practicing keto-carnivore consume more fat to stay in ketosis. I explained the metabolic and mental health benefits of ketosis in this article titled Why and How to Enter Ketosis via Lifestyle Choices.
Why I Choose Keto-Carnivore Diet?
I tried numerous diets in my younger years, including calorie-restricted, vegan, vegetarian, fruitarian, and ketogenic.
In those days, my nutrients mainly come from plants and carbohydrates. However, I was diagnosed as carb-intolerant, so high-carb diets caused me severe issues.
I introduced my experience in January 2020 in an article titled My Perspectives on Keto-Carnivore Diet Based on Experience.
In that story, I explained how a keto-carnivore lifestyle with time-restricted eating transformed my health and fitness.
One of my dietary goals is to increase the nutritional value of food. My previous diets lacked some key nutrients causing severe health conditions.
Diet is a tool for me to reduce the risks of major diseases that I introduced in this story titled Reduce the Risks of Major Diseases with Healthy Lifestyle Habits.
In addition, the keto-carnivore diet simplified my life. Dealing with plant foods and finding seasonal products was a hassle.
In addition, I had to supplement with many nutrients. Despite all my care, my health declined on plant-based diets. They were not for my genetic make-up. I had to accept the fact.
What Foods to Eat in Keto-Carnivore Diet?
All edible meats, including fish, seafood, milk, and eggs, are suitable for this diet. However, I removed dairy and eggs for other reasons. I shared my experience with eggs in this story: I Don’t Eat Eggs Anymore, But I Still Adore Them.
The only difference in the keto-carnivore diet is to eat more fat and less protein than the classical carnivore diet.
In addition to fatty muscle meats from various animals, organ meats are more suitable for this lifestyle as they are fattier and nutrient-dense.
I always choose fatty meat and add at least one type of organ meat like liver, heart, kidney, and brain in this diet.
In addition, as meat has high protein when cooking stake or liver, I add a spoon of tallow to increase the amount of fat in my meals to keep me in ketosis.
Beef liver is the best organ meat for me, as I explained in this story titled Despite Its Poor Reputation, Beef Liver Became My favorite Food for Health Reasons.
The Importance of Healthy Fats for Metabolism
I shared my experience with high-fat diets in an article titled Eating 200g Fats Daily for Decades Helps Me Thrive. Learning about fat myths and acting against them contributed to a prosperous life for me.
Since people in carnivore diets don’t consume fiber, the closest replace is fat, especially from a bowel movements perspective. Healthy animal fats can prevent constipation based on the experience of people in this diet.
For example, I have been on a zero-fiber diet for years but never experienced constipation due to consuming sufficient fats with meat. My body does not need fiber, even though it might be necessary for other people.
As there are only negligible carbs in this diet, consuming adequate fats is crucial to providing the required energy to the body.
Protein is critical for health. However, excessive protein is risky for the body.
As I get older, I consume more healthy fats and moderate protein in a time-restricted way to reduce the frequent activation of mTOR. My goal is to reduce the risk of cancer.
Too much and too frequent protein consumption can activate mTOR and cause more muscles to grow and feed the cancer cells. I prefer lean muscles. Thus, fats give the required energy, and moderate protein keeps my lean muscles.
As there is still fear of cholesterol in high-fat diets despite the decline of the cholesterol hypothesis, I documented my reviews and perspectives in an article titled Cholesterol Paradox and How It Impacted My Health Positively.
Benefits of Keto-Carnivore Diet from My Experience
The keto-carnivore diet provided me with an excellent hormonal and neurotransmitter balance by addressing the nutritional deficiencies.
For example, here are the hormonal benefits:
1 — Made my body insulin sensitive
2 — Made my body leptin sensitive
3 — Reduced elevated cortisol levels
4 — Increased testosterone and growth hormones
5 — Provided essential nutrients for neurotransmitters.
When my hormones and neurotransmitters got balanced, my physical and mental energy levels increased.
When my Vitamin B12 levels increased, my mild anemia disappeared.
When Vitamin D, bioavailable calcium (from bone broths), and Vitamin K2 levels increased, I gained better bone health, and symptoms of arthritis disappeared.
Consequently, I gained mental clarity and formed a defined body. I even eliminated loose skin after starting the keto-carnivore diet, as the nutrients and satiety contributed to it.
In addition, I gained abs after 50 years even though I was chubby and never had abs in my younger years despite excessive calory cutting and performing intense workouts, including cardio.
Nowadays, despite my old age, I keep my form with one meal a day and moderate exercise.
In addition, my dental health significantly improved. Since I started the keto-carnivore diet, I did not need any assistance from my dentist. She is not happy about it, but I am.
Isn’t just eating animal products boring?
This is the most frequently asked question to me.
My short answer is: I never had a dull moment in the keto-carnivore diet.
Even though the products look limited, the options are endless if we use our creativity to combine them.
The best part, I don’t have any food cravings as my body gets the necessary nutrients. I feel satisfied. I can easily notice the difference between physical and emotional hunger. In the past, I mainly felt emotional hunger, forcing me to eat even after consuming significant food.
Sometimes even if I don’t even eat for several days, I still have energy as this diet made my body fat adapted.
Why is time-restricted eating good in this diet?
I have two reasons to use time-restricted eating.
The first one is to reduce insulin spikes caused by protein to make the body insulin sensitive. Therefore, I eat one meal a day. As I mentioned before, I cut breakfasts years ago and gained copious benefits.
The second one is to prevent excessive mTOR activation. My goal is to reduce cancer risks. Too much and too frequent protein consumption can activate mTOR repeatedly.
In addition, intermittent and long-term fasting provides me with many more benefits, as I explained in this story titled What If We Can Package Fasting as a Therapeutic Tool.
What to Avoid and Cautions to Take
Obviously, plant-based and high-carb foods are avoided by the people practicing keto-carnivore diets.
Avoiding excessive protein and nutritional deficiencies is a critical caution.
As consuming too much, protein might cause health issues, consuming adequate fat is essential. Thus, fatty meats are preferable in this diet. Therefore, adding organ meats is essential.
Bone broth is beneficial as it balances glycine and methionine levels. I create my broth weekly by buying a bag of bones for $2 and cooking it for 24 hours in a slow cooker.
Plus, soft bones provide bioavailable calcium and other minerals.
From my experience, ketogenic diets require the additional need for sodium and magnesium. This requirement also applies to keto-carnivore.
Adding salt to food is easy. However, as magnesium is a critical mineral, I supplement it through the skin using Epsom Salts.
The most important issue is the danger of burned meat. Therefore, we need to refrain from overcooking meat, especially in barbeques. I prefer a low-heating oven to cook meat.
Can anyone use this diet?
Keto-carnivore diet might not suit some people. Especially those with underlying health conditions need to make an assessment before starting this diet.
Therefore, obtaining consent from qualified healthcare professionals is critical before trying a keto-carnivore diet.
People allergic to animal products cannot use this diet as the primary food comes from animals like beef, lamb, poultry, pork, fish, dairy, and eggs.
The keto carnivore diet is not suitable for those who follow plant-based diets.
However, its equivalent for plant-eaters is a keto-vegan diet which I plan to introduce in another article.
Takeaways for Keto-Carnivore Diet Users
As I covered most of the points, I only summarise the critical items for those who just started a keto-carnivore diet.
1 — Just eating muscle meat does not give necessary nutrients to the body. Therefore, organ meats are needed.
2 — As consuming too much protein might cause health issues, consuming adequate fat is essential. Thus, fatty meats are needed in this diet. If you don’t like fatty meat, you may consider including tallow or butter.
3 — As the body consumes more sodium in ketogenic diets adding extra salt might be necessary for some. Meat has enough sodium, but people who consume more fat might need additional salt.
4 — Also, as animal-based foods are relatively low in magnesium, getting additional magnesium from other sources is essential. I use Epsom Salts which gives magnesium through the skin.
5 — Cooking meat is important. But one of the most critical points is not burning meat to prevent carcinogens.
6 — Even though some people love processed meats, studies indicate the health risks thus, I refrain from processed meats. Fresh meat is delicious and more nutritious.
7— Since meat and fat provide significant calories, it is helpful to practice time-restricted eating to reduce calories and gain health benefits from ketosis and autophagy for better health.
Conclusions
The keto-carnivore diet provided me with noticeable health benefits. Therefore, I aim to create awareness for those interested in this type of diet.
I know that the keto-carnivore diet does not suit everyone.
Therefore, I want to conclude this story by highlighting the importance of a personalized diet for health and well-being.
As each of us is unique, we need to customize our diets based on our body types, nutritional requirements, and lifestyle goals.
I haven’t come across a single diet that meets the requirements of everyone. Consequently, I see diet as a health and well-being matter rather than a philosophical, ethical, political, or economic matter.
I don’t see a point in arguing about diets. I never recommend my diet to anyone, including my loved ones and friends.
We need to respect everyone’s diet and expect the same from others. However, sharing our experiences can contribute to the body of knowledge.
We all benefit from the experiences of others. For example, I enjoy reading stories written by vegan friends as I share my findings with those who practice plant-based diets in my circles.
I also wrote about the keto-vegan diet within the ketosis context.
Keto-Vegan 101: How to Benefit from Ketosis in Plant-Based Diets
Here Is Why and How Hilda Thrived in an Omnivorous and Concurrent Lifestyle.
How to Enter Ketosis in a Keto-Omnivore Diet Safely and Quickly
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
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