Can A Carnivore Diet Help My IBS?

How eating only meat could improve your digestion.

Kyle Mackie on Unsplash

You just finished lunch, returned to your office for your big meeting, and then it starts. The stomach rumbles. Your IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is acting up again. The rumbles are followed by belly pain and a quick walk to the bathroom in hopes of ridding this inconvenience. Unfortunately, the relief effort takes longer than expected, and you’re late for your meeting. For many people, this is what IBS can look like. Some experience diarrhea, some constipation, and some even experience a mixture of both. I know someone who had a job interview on the toilet because of how bad their IBS got. Regardless, it can hamper one’s quality of life.

Many people look for dietary and lifestyle-based strategies to support their IBS. Some people turn to a paleo-like diet, others add probiotics or digestive enzymes, and some even turn to a Carnivore Diet to try to help.

I did a carnivore-ish diet for about two months, meaning 90% of my diet was animal-based — muscle and organ meat, fish, eggs, bone broth, animal fat — and what Carnivore MD, Paul Saladino, considers low-toxicity plant foods (squash, avocado, berries, lettuce) made up the other 10%. Some carnivore folk advocate for only eating muscle meat. That’s right, ground beef and ribeye for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. How could eating all that meat, particularly red meat, improve IBS? Are there other, less restrictive options that can work just as well? Can plants be that bad your my gut?

Plant Elimination

If eating only meat makes your digestion feel better, to me, that means you have an underlying gut issue. A carnivore diet eliminates five of the seven most common food allergies: wheat, soy, dairy, peanuts, and tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc..). Some even eliminate eggs and all fish — the other two common allergens.

It‘s basically the most extreme version of an elimination diet, specifically for those with IBS, the extreme version of a Low FODMAP diet. But when you’ve eliminated so much, it’s hard to tell what the main culprit(s) are.

From a carnivore’s perspective, plants have compounds that can harm humans. In Paul Saladino’s book, The Carnivore Code, he talks about the potentially harmful properties of plant compounds such as turmeric, sulforaphane, and catechins (1). If you’ve kept up with the health space over the last several years, you know this opinion is pretty unpopular. Turmeric — a spice — is often touted for its anti-inflammatory benefits, sulforaphane — found in broccoli — is praised for its anti-cancer effects, and catechins — found in green tea — are viewed as having a multitude of benefits for humans.

Carnivores and the Gut Microbiome

Every time we eat, we affect our microbiome. If we only eat meat in one meal, we favor the growth of organisms that like to feed off of amino acids and, potentially, ketones. If we eat a meal with plant foods and fiber, we favor the growth of organisms that feed off the fiber. If you were to open up a coffee shop, you’d attract people who liked coffee. If you opened a tea shop, you’d attract people who want tea. Opening up a coffee & tea shop would be the equivalent of eating plants & animals, favoring the growth of many organisms and attracting a more diverse group of people.

Recent evidence shows that we can have a massive shift in the gut microbiome in just five days by switching to a more animal-based diet (2). This means that some people who “go carnivore” can notice differences in how they feel in less than a week. Why would we care to shift the microbiome? One of the current theories behind IBS is an altered gut microbiome, termed dysbiosis (3). Theoretically, if we can change the microbiome, we can affect one’s IBS. Aside from antibiotics, diet is the quickest way to alter the biome.

As researchers have stated: “To observe a profound effect, the dietary change has to be dramatic” (3).

I’d say going carnivore and removing all plants is pretty dramatic. Going low FODMAP is also pretty dramatic, but potentially more sustainable than carnivore — more on that later.

Stepwise Approach

Suppose eliminating all your favorite plant foods scares you, no worries! The best kind of dietary habits is the ones you can sustain. I like to follow a three-step approach for elimination diets, from least-to-most restrictive:

1. Paleo-Like Diet — Emphasizes meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, and seeds. Removes potentially problematic foods such as grains, nightshades, dairy, legumes, and added sugars.
2. Low FODMAP Diet — Removes foods with carbohydrates & fiber that can be difficult to digest, such as yogurt, wheat, cruciferous vegetables, and sugar alcohols.
3. Carnivore Diet — Animal-based diet, little-to-no plant intake.

The key with any elimination diet is short-term removal (3–6 weeks) and then reintroduction with the goal of reaching the broadest diet possible.

This requires a very thorough, planned-out, individual approach, which can be difficult for many people to implement on their own. That’s why I recommend seeking a Functional Medicine Practitioner, preferably one specializing in gut and IBS cases.

In my clinical practice, I rarely ever utilize a carnivore diet anymore. Most people don’t need to be that restrictive in order to see results. I’m also concerned about it’s longterm application; we just don’t have enough data on the long-term gut health effects of not eating any plant material — fiber, polyphenols, or antioxidants. For many people, focusing on foods to include, can be just an powerful, if not more, for improving gut health.

As always, Trust in Your Gut.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Do not apply any of the information in this article without first speaking with your doctor.

Text-References

1. Saladino, P. The Carnivore Code. 1st Edition. Fundamental Press; 2020.
2. David LA, Maurice CF, Carmody RN, et al. Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature. 2014;505(7484):559–563. doi:10.1038/nature12820.
3. Enck P, Aziz Q, Barbara G, et al. Irritable bowel syndrome. Nat Rev Dis Primers.2014; 2(16014). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2016.1