Carnivore diet, the latest wellness fad of the year, is being enthusiastically tried by weight loss aspirants across all age groups, thanks to its growing popularity among influencers who are vouching for its myriad benefits. Proponents of this eating pattern say it helps them stay alert and energetic. Many claim their skin issues are resolved, courtesy the diet. Considering the diet’s high protein appeal, many end up losing pesky pounds, which has added to its followers. Carnivore diet includes meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, fish, and some dairy products. It restricts all vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts.
However, the diet also has a problematic side to it which could land people in trouble. A Dallas-based content creator – Eve Catherine shared her experience in a TikTok video and informed her followers how following carnivore diet landed her in a hospital.
In the video, she shared that she was eating two or three eggs for breakfast, high-protein yogurt for lunch, and a New York strip steak for dinner.
At first her doctor during her annual check-up noticed high protein levels in her urine. However, she did not think much of it. Soon, she landed in hospital after getting shocker one morning.
“I literally woke up one day and I was peeing straight blood,” the 23-year-old influencer recalled. She admitted that she was once “addicted to protein.” She was then put on morphine at the hospital and passed a kidney stone.
What went wrong
What she experienced was due to high protein levels in her body. According to Mayo Clinic, high protein diets can worsen kidney function in people with kidney disease which means the body is not able to filter protein waste products efficiently.
A single-patient study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition discussed how a patient who followed the diet after coming to know about it from YouTube went through kidney complications. The 68 year-old man lost two-stone while only eating meat.
The tests performed a year after revealed the earliest stages of forming the painful crystals. Experts said he was at an elevated risk of all three types of major kidney stones – those formed of calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, and uric acid, and these were now at ‘levels consistent with stone growth’.
After being convinced by doctors to quit the diet, an examination after one year revealed him to be kidney stone free. Eating foods rich in fibre can help feed good bacteria in the gut, thereby hindering kidney stone formation.
The other risks of high protein diets include constipation, headaches, foul breath, increased risk of heart disease among others.
After facing the consequences of the diet, The Tiktoker couldn’t help but say – “the carnivore diet is so stupid.”
Experts have warned about the inflammatory nature of carnivore diet and how it could speed up aging.
“Don’t eat too much protein, OK?” Eve Catherine said. “Don’t neglect your fiber intake.”
(Pictures courtesy: iStock)
