We’ve been told our whole lives that fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are the keys to a healthy diet. But what if that’s all wrong, and the true key to health lies in animal-based products and nothing else?
That’s the idea behind the carnivore diet, an extreme eating regimen that limits people to only meat, eggs, and certain dairy products.
Again, it sounds crazy considering that countless scientific studies have found that diets high in red meats lead to cancer and other diseases. Despite that, countless people have preached the benefits of a carnivore diet—saying it’s helped them lose weight, heal their digestive tracts, increased their testosterone, and more.
The latest celebrity to endorse the diet is popular podcast host and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. In an Instagram post, he revealed that sticking to it for the month of January helped him shed 12 pounds and lose his belly and love handles. He added, “Lots of aches and pains went away, and I have improvements in my vitiligo. I’m impressed.” Vitiligo is a skin condition Rogan suffers from, which causes skin discoloration.
Take a look at Rogan’s results.
Rogan’s unsure if he’ll continue the carnivore diet, but called the month “very beneficial.” It should also be noted he admits the diet made him take several trips to the bathroom, which is apparently normal on the diet.
“The explosive uber diarrhea stopped around 2 weeks in. It’s been totally normal last two weeks,” he wrote.
Rogan’s far from the only celebrity to try the carnivore diet. Here are four other big-time names who ate like cavemen.
Mikhaila and Jordan Peterson
The father-daughter duo might be the most famous names to adopt the carnivore diet, and Mikhaila could very well be considered the first carnivore diet influencer. Besides updating her own health journey on her Instagram, Mikhaila has posted photos of people who have followed her advice to adopt the diet and found success on it. She created “The Lion Diet,” which promises to transform people’s health if they only eat meat.
Mikhaila suffered from many health issues growing up, only finding relief when she dropped everything but animal products from her diet.
Jordan Peterson, a controversial political speaker and psychologist, told Rogan on a podcast appearance that his lifelong ailments—depression, gastric reflux, and mood swings—disappeared when his daughter convinced him to go on the diet.
“I’m certainly intellectually at my best,” he said. “I’m stronger, I can swim better, and my gum disease is gone. It’s like, what the hell?”
There appear to be no signs of either giving up on the diet any time soon
The Buff Dudes
Brothers Hudson & Brandon White—aka the Buff Dudes—have taken on many challenges, which they’ve shared with their more than 2 million YouTube subscribers. Late last year they showed what life on the carnivore diet looks like.
Both adopted the regimen for 30 days, tracked how it made them feel, and in their usual comedic way documented it on YouTube.
The White brothers said they were surprised to find their energy levels did not drop when they removed carbs from their diet, and appreciated that eating carnivore made them pay close attention to what’s in their food. They also found it had little impact on their workouts.
However, both rated it a “no flex” because they enjoy having a variety of foods—fruits and vegetables—in their diet. In other words, it’s just not for everyone.
Chris and Mark Bell
Sensing a theme here? Carnivorous eating seems to be a family affair, and that’s especially true for brothers Mark and Chris Bell.
Chris might be one of the earliest adopters of carnivore eating; He told onnit.com he started in 1994, when he lost 20 pounds in two weeks by eating just red meat and water. He kept it up for two years after that, and after a hiatus picked it up again in January 2018 while researching his documentary, The War on Carbs.
Chris Bell admits that he sometimes eats fruit when he’s craving it—but 99 percent of the time, he’s all carnivore.
Mark “The Meathead Millionaire” Bell, a legendary powerlifter and inventor of the bench press aid The Slingshot, is also a carnivore diet enthusiast. He’s not as strict as his brother, though you wouldn’t know that scrolling through his Instagram.
Shawn Baker
We’ve saved the best for last. Baker, an orthopedic surgeon and champion indoor rower, wrote the book on the carnivore diet—no, literally, he wrote a book called The Carnivore Diet. He also runs meatex.com, a website that helps people get healthy through, you guessed it, animal products. There are hundreds of transformation stories on his site.
Baker himself has been carnivore for some time, and he says it’s what has fueled his athletic accomplishments. He’s also one of the most vocal supporters of the carnivore diet, and his Instagram is filled with rants against veganism.
