For years, they swore by it. Steak for breakfast, ribeyes for dinner, and nothing else. The carnivore diet—eating only animal products while eliminating all plants—became the ultimate symbol of anti-mainstream nutrition rebellion. Influencers built empires selling books, supplements, and coaching programs around the promise that meat-only eating could cure everything from depression to autoimmune diseases.
Then, one by one, they started adding carbs back.
Not quietly. Not without consequences. And certainly not without backlash from the communities they built.
The Rise and Fall of "Dr. Carnivore"
Paul Saladino, MD, didn't just promote the carnivore diet—he became its face. Known as "Carnivore MD," Saladino wrote The Carnivore Code in 2019, describing plants as "poison" and building a following of 2.8 million on Instagram by preaching the gospel of meat-only eating.
In 2018, Saladino began a strict carnivore diet of meat, organs, salt, and eggs, claiming it cured his lifelong eczema and asthma. For 18 months, he was all-in.
Then his body started breaking down.
The Health Problems Nobody Talked About
By 2020, Saladino was experiencing serious issues:
- Plummeting testosterone levels
- Persistent sleep disturbances
- Heart palpitations
- Muscle cramps
- Electrolyte imbalances
In a 2024 interview with Thomas DeLauer, Saladino admitted: "I started to think, maybe long-term ketosis is not great for me... probably not a great thing for most humans."
The man who built his career telling people vegetables were toxic was now eating 300 grams of carbs daily—mostly from fruit and honey.
"It's humbling. You put your thoughts into cement. And then you change your thoughts," Saladino told DeLauer. "I've learned that including carbohydrates in my diet improved my health."
The Science Saladino Ignored (Until He Couldn't)
Registered dietitian Sydney Greene wasn't surprised by Saladino's health collapse. "Dr. Saladino was possibly deficient in nutrients that are responsible for producing important hormones like testosterone and melatonin," Greene explained.
The carnivore diet eliminates:
- Fiber (essential for gut health and waste elimination)
- Phytonutrients (thousands of compounds that modulate inflammation and gene expression)
- Most micronutrients naturally found in plants
- Antioxidants that support immune function
Research shows that cutting out plants entirely risks eliminating a massive range of micronutrients proven to support health. Long-term ketosis can have detrimental effects on cardiovascular function, hormone production, and overall metabolic health.
The Electrolyte Crisis
One of the most damaging effects? Severe electrolyte imbalances.
Saladino explained in transcripts: "The massive profound electrolyte problems that people get on long-term ketogenic diets are almost certainly due to a lack of insulin signaling at the level of the kidney... people in the ketogenic space are trying to hold on to minerals by including massive amounts of salt in their diet but it just doesn't work because you need an insulin signal at the level of the kidney."
In other words, without carbohydrates to trigger insulin, your kidneys flush out sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium—no matter how much salt you consume.
It Wasn't Just Saladino
Dave Asprey: The Father of Biohacking
Dave Asprey, creator of Bulletproof Coffee and known as the "Father of Biohacking," tried carnivore for three months.
The results? "I was exhausted every morning. According to my sleep monitor EEG equipment, I was waking up 10 to 12 times per night without knowing it," Asprey reported. He also experienced significant gastrointestinal discomfort.
The lack of carbs and fiber wrecked his gut health and destroyed his sleep quality—two metrics he'd spent his career optimizing.
Joe Rogan: The Most Public Experiment
Joe Rogan, with his platform of millions, tried the carnivore diet multiple times and documented everything on Instagram.
In January 2020, Rogan went all-in for 30 days. He ate eggs and bacon for breakfast, grass-fed elk and beef for dinner, and took "lots of vitamins and supplements" to compensate for missing nutrients.
The results:
- Lost 12 pounds
- "Amazing" stable energy
- Improved vitiligo symptoms
The catch: "Explosive uber diarrhea" for the first two weeks. Rogan posted on Instagram: "I haven't shit my pants yet, but I've come to accept that if I keep going with this diet it's just a matter of time before we lose a battle."
By 2023, Rogan modified his approach, adding fruit to his carnivore month. And in interviews, he admitted: "The problem that I had with pure carnivore was that I workout very hard... when I workout very hard with pure carnivore, I was struggling."
Even one of the most physically fit podcasters in the world couldn't maintain performance on meat alone.
Liver King: The Ultimate Betrayal
Brian Johnson, known as Liver King, built a massive following promoting an "ancestral lifestyle" centered on raw organ meats and the carnivore diet. His physique became the poster child for meat-based eating.
Until leaked emails revealed he was spending $11,000+ monthly on steroids.
In a 2025 Netflix documentary Untold: The Liver King, Johnson denounced the carnivore diet and his promotion of it—admitting the entire thing was a performance enhanced not by diet, but by pharmaceutical intervention.
The Peterson Family Paradox
Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila became the carnivore diet's most famous advocates. Mikhaila claimed the "Lion Diet"—eating only beef, salt, and water—cured her severe rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and fatigue.
Her father followed suit, claiming miraculous health improvements.
- In 2019, Tammy Peterson (Jordan's wife) was diagnosed with kidney cancer—which is specifically linked to high meat consumption
- Jordan Peterson attended rehab for antidepressant dependence in 2020
- Mikhaila conveniently omitted her mother's cancer diagnosis while promoting the diet
Meanwhile, she charged $599 annually for "personal daily access" to her Lion Diet coaching program, claiming it could make people "superhumans."
Jack Gilbert, faculty director at the University of Chicago's Microbiome Center, told The Atlantic the Lion Diet is "a terribly, terribly bad idea," adding: "If she does not die of colon cancer or some other severe cardiometabolic disease, the life—I can't imagine."
The LDL Cholesterol Problem Nobody Wants to Discuss
Perhaps the most dangerous aspect ignored by carnivore promoters: dangerously elevated LDL cholesterol.
Shawn Baker, author of The Carnivore Diet and former orthopedic surgeon who had his medical license revoked in 2017 for incompetence, discussed his bloodwork after 15 months on carnivore.
Analyzing Baker's results, YouTuber Mic the Vegan discovered Baker's LDL cholesterol was 149.2 mg/dL—roughly twice the optimal level.
Even worse? The KETO-CTA study followed 100 lean, metabolically healthy adults eating ketogenic diets for one year. Participants with LDL levels above 190 mg/dL showed substantial progression of coronary artery plaque—at rates higher than observed in cohorts of older type 2 diabetics.
Saladino himself acknowledged that even after adding carbs, his LDL remains "above what many people would consider to be optimal."
Why They All Added Carbs Back
The pattern is remarkably consistent. Every major carnivore influencer who's been honest about long-term effects eventually added carbohydrates back—specifically fruit and honey.
Saladino now eats:
- Organs and grass-fed meat
- Raw milk and butter
- Significant calories from fruit, fruit juice, and honey
He calls it an "animal-based diet" instead of carnivore—a rebrand that lets him save face while admitting he was wrong.
The carbs fixed:
- Testosterone levels (from dangerously low back to 800 ng/dL)
- Thyroid function (Free T3 normalized)
- Electrolyte balance (no more dangerous imbalances)
- Sleep quality (insomnia resolved)
- Athletic performance (muscle cramps eliminated)
As Saladino admitted: "When it comes to ketogenic diets and exercise performance, there is a benefit to having carbohydrates. When it comes to thyroid hormone status, there's a benefit. When it comes to electrolyte levels, there's a benefit. And when it comes to sex hormones like testosterone, there is a benefit to having carbohydrates in your diet."
The Real Danger: Misinformation as Business Model
Here's what makes this particularly insidious: these influencers sold books, supplements, and coaching programs based on pseudoscientific claims that the carnivore diet could cure:
- Rheumatoid arthritis (incurable autoimmune disease)
- Depression and anxiety (require professional treatment)
- GERD (actually worsened by carnivore according to research)
- Diabetes (no evidence supporting carnivore as cure)
Saladino co-owns Heart & Soil supplement company with Liver King, selling organ meat capsules. The Petersons monetize the Lion Diet. Baker runs MeatRX coaching. Asprey built an empire on biohacking.
When your business model depends on maintaining dietary dogma, admitting you were wrong becomes expensive.
What About the Success Stories?
To be fair, some people report benefits from carnivore diets—at least initially.
The most likely explanation? Elimination diet effects. When someone has genuine food sensitivities or autoimmune responses to specific plants (lectins, oxalates, histamines), removing those foods temporarily improves symptoms.
But that doesn't mean plants are universally toxic or that meat-only eating is optimal long-term.
As one registered dietitian put it: "I would never recommend this diet to anyone. The fact that a medical doctor was singing the praises of this diet is incredibly unethical. Part of living a healthy life depends on having a varied diet. Including all food groups is important for mental and physical health."
The Inuit Myth
Carnivore advocates love citing the Inuit as proof humans can thrive on meat alone.
But the comparison is completely inaccurate:
- Inuit diets included high proportions of organs (not just muscle meat)
- High seafood content (different fatty acid profile than beef)
- Consumption of raw meat (preserves nutrients lost in cooking)
- They ate plant foods acquired through gathering
The fad carnivore diet bears little resemblance to actual traditional meat-heavy cultures.
The Bottom Line: Dogma Over Data
The carnivore diet influencer ecosystem reveals a troubling pattern: charismatic individuals without formal nutrition training building audiences around extreme dietary dogma, monetizing through books and supplements, then quietly modifying their approach when health consequences become undeniable.
Saladino deserves credit for being transparent about changing his mind. But the damage is done—thousands of followers adopted extreme dietary restrictions based on his initial claims.
As one critic noted: "Some people are hooked on dogma, and the radicalism counts for more than the content." The carnivore movement mirrors the extremism of raw veganism it claims to oppose—just at the opposite end of the spectrum.
What The Science Actually Shows
Despite extensive promotion by influencers, there's no peer-reviewed evidence supporting the carnivore diet's health claims. What we do have:
- Studies showing increased GERD risk on carnivore compared to plant-based diets
- Research demonstrating plaque progression on high-LDL ketogenic diets
- Evidence that eliminating fiber and micronutrients carries long-term health risks
- Data showing elevated cardiovascular disease risk from high meat consumption
The Influencer Playbook
Watch for this pattern:
- Extreme dietary dogma presented as revolutionary truth
- Anecdotal success stories instead of scientific evidence
- Monetization through books, supplements, and coaching
- Dismissal of mainstream medicine and nutrition science
- Quiet modification when health consequences emerge
- Rebranding to save face (carnivore → "animal-based")
What Should You Actually Eat?
The boring truth that doesn't sell books or supplements: most humans thrive on varied diets including both animal and plant foods.
Cultures with exceptional longevity—Japanese, Greek, Sardinian—consume diets significantly based on grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. They're not carnivore. They're not vegan. They're balanced.
If you're dealing with genuine autoimmune issues or food sensitivities, work with actual medical professionals—not Instagram influencers selling organ meat capsules.
And if someone claims their extreme diet can cure everything while selling you a $599/year coaching program? Run.
