The Carnivore Diet vs. the Keto Diet

by Scott Mulvaney

So what is all of this buzz around Carnivore vs. Keto? The buzz isn’t that new actually. It can be traced back to its origins in 1923 with Dr. Russell Wilder. He worked with treatments to impact Epilepsy, Cancer, and Alzheimer’s. Keto relates to his Ketogenic Therapy, which became the Ketogenic Diet, now the Keto Diet. This is well explained at the CharlieFoundation.org

Ketogenic influence has increased in popularity over other buzzes like Paleo since Paleo has become heavily diluted and incorrectly marketed. Many people get them confused due to the marketing and food companies jumping on the bandwagon and trying to make a buck off of the buzz. Many publications are crossing the relationships in a confusing way too. It is okay if you’re confused, after all, the big buzzwords these days now include Keto, Ketogenic, Carnivore, Paleo, Paleolithic, NSNG (No Sugar No Grains) Low Carb, LCHF (Low Carb High Fat), and more.

I want to preface the rest of this article by reminding you that each of us are at a different place on the health education timeline. What might be working already for me, might not work for you… just yet. It’s important that people realize that there are short-term vs. long-term decisions here. I.e., fad diets (short) vs. lifestyle choices (long). Legitimate and sustainable healthy lifestyle transformations happen with a proper allotment of time. Choose your steps and changes that will create a sustainable, positive change.

Another quick note on “DIET.” This term has become a bad four-letter word due to marketing turning it into short-term psychological impacts on our mindset. A “LIFESTYLE” change is what you’re really looking for, especially if you’re living an unhealthy lifestyle with daily energy impairment, health problems, medical issues, etc. Committing to healthier lifestyle choices could bring you improved energy, alertness, awareness, stress reduction, and more.

I’ve always been a person living in a somewhat of a Keto Lifestyle, I just didn’t know it. Over the recent years, I had barely eaten bread, so I simply stopped. This allowed me to move and get cleaner into a No Sugar No Grains Lifestyle. I live a pretty ketogenic lifestyle. Meaning, I am more fat-adapted. I’m just not always in a pure state of healthy ketosis. Fat, healthy fats, are your body’s preferred source of long-burning energy.

70% of our diet aka fuel intake, should be roughly centered around healthy fats if you’re looking to live more ketogenic. What are healthy fats? Coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, or even avocado oil are all great sources. Other natural sources of healthy fats include heavy whipping cream, grass-fed butter, half and half, etc. Those dairy-based sources of fat are not overly processed like traditional milk. So their whole fat purity reigns supreme. When you cut the fat, you’re left with lactose aka milk sugars.

Now whether we’re talking Paleo, Keto, or Carnivore, it’s important to remind ourselves to try and source our food aka fuel as clean as possible. So finding grass fed, chemical free, hormone free, etc. will help us reduce our daily toxic exposure. Unfortunately, not all food companies have to clarify this on their labels. So if you can source whole food solutions from farms and markets you know care about this, then you’re winning. Fun note, a chemical-free muffin is still a muffin and is not Keto, it’s converted to an unhealthy sugar bomb.

Now let’s help clarify the simplicity of a Carnivore. Carnivores are actually simply focusing on wild game, red meat sources, and then beef as the foundation if those aren’t available. These red meat sources are actually super rich in minerals and vitamins overtop of other meats like chicken or turkey. An excellent reference on this would be Dr. Shawn Baker MD of the Carnivore Training System at Shawn-Baker.com. I also recommend checking out Dr. Anthony Jay Ph.D. of AJConsultingCompany.com. He is starting the first 100% Carnivore Study, to analyze the impacts of a 100% red meat lifestyle for 90 days. He’ll be measuring the before and after effects on the length of our Telomeres of our DNA which determine aging.

So are you Keto, Carnivore, or Paleo? I can only dive so deep in this short article. The most important thing we can take away is that we need to get back to our roots, away from manufactured “food,” and start finding the healthy lifestyle choices to improve our lives. Yes, I live a marriage of Paleo / Keto / Carnivore / NSNG / LCHF lifestyles. So I’m not 100% Carnivore since I’m currently consuming avocados, pasture-raised eggs, bacon, and lots of red meat, other well-sourced Keto-friendly products.

It takes 28 days to build a habit, it takes 30 days to prove you can implement potentially sustainable actions to a healthier lifestyle. To tell you the truth, be prepared at 90 days, but actually, 120 days to establish a legitimately sustainable body and lifestyle transformation.

So take your health seriously my friend and give yourself time to commit and to see these transitions happen. So you could read these benefits for years to come.

 


 

Disclaimer… The information provided above is my own research, opinions, and experiences. Scott Mulvaney (LIVETHEFUEL) is not liable for any personal decisions. Please always consult a professional doctor when appropriate, especially if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.

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