Risks of carnivore diet after woman revealed shocking impact only eating meat, eggs and butter had on her body
A woman who follows a carnivore diet risks falling foul of a number of health issues by only eating meat, eggs and butter.
For the past four years Rachel Ashby appears to have been trying to singlehandedly counteract the growing popularity of veganism by eating about 5,000 calories a day for her carnivore diet.
She had spent years trying to lose weight when she came across a video claiming that a carnivore diet could even 'reverse' chronic and autoimmune diseases as well as mental illness.
For breakfast she eats 10 eggs along with a 'chunk of butter and salt', chicken wings for lunch and them two or three ribeye steaks for dinner.
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Three of her four children have also tried the diet, with Rachel saying that they 'always say that their health increases when they do do it'.
However, it's not exactly the epitome of a healthy and balanced diet and she's missing out a whole load of food groups that most dieticians would suggest you need to be eating some of.
The meals that make up a carnivore diet also have people worried about the health impacts eating certain foods and not eating others can cause.
The risks of a carnivore diet
Writing in Health, dietician Jillian Kubala said that low carb diets can benefit the health of certain people including those with Type 2 diabetes but warned there was 'limited evidence' about the benefits the carnivore diet could specifically bring.
She said there were 'several significant downsides to this way of eating', criticising the diet as 'extremely restrictive' in the kinds of foods a person could eat along with bringing a whole host of health risks to the table.
The dietician wrote: "Diets low in produce have been consistently linked with an increased risk of several diseases, including cancer and heart disease, as well as overall mortality risk."
Kubala also warned of the risks of eating lots of red and processed meats, which health experts have long warned is linked to a higher cancer risk.
She said an increased risk of 'colorectal cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and heart disease' has been linked to a diet crammed full of red and processed meats.
A lack of plant based foods is also connected with a number of other health problems including constipation, poor health in your gut, fatigue and a poor mood.
While these issues don't seem to be bothering Rachel very much, there have been plenty of warnings over the health risks associated with a diet that misses out lots of major food groups.
Another criticism of the carnivore diet is the impact it's having on the planet, as eating lots of animal products requires a lot of animals to produce them and that has a big environmental impact.
Topics: Food And Drink, Health, Lifestyle
Joe Harker