Can You Drink Coffee On The Carnivore Diet? (Why and Why not?)

By :

Date :

February 22, 2019

Can you drink coffee on the carnivore diet?

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made on our website. If you make a purchase through links from this website, we may get a small share of the sale from Amazon and other similar affiliate programs. You can read our complete legal information for more details. By using this site, you agree the information contained here is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, consult your doctor. NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.

Most people enjoy a nice cup of coffee in the morning to get going, which brings us to the question. Is coffee allowed on the carnivore diet? The short answer is a flat-out “no”; otherwise, you are not practicing a true carnivore diet.

The carnivore diet is essentially a hardcore elimination diet that removes all plant-based foods and allows only the consumption of meat, salt, and water as a beverage.

Coffee is derived from coffee beans which are plant matter.

But for the sake of debate and to help make educated decisions let’s look at the pros and cons of coffee and how they would relate to the carnivore diet.

Hopefully, this will help you decide if kicking the habit is worth it or not.

Carnivore Diet Philosophy

The idea of the carnivore diet is that by eliminating plant-based foods from your diet, you will reduce specific stressors like histamines, oxalates, phytic acids (anti-nutrients), and essentially all the naturally produced pesticides that plants create to keep critters like bugs, fungi, bacteria, and humans from eating them.

When humans eat plants or plant matter over extended periods of time, they can potentially develop autoimmune issues, food sensitivities, increased inflammation, and even allergies.

Some people experience significant relief and reduced symptoms from eliminating plant foods.

Also, people on the carnivore diet (after their adaptation period) have experienced better sleep and increased energy. To learn more about carnivores, check out our carnivore diet guide called “Carnivore Diet 101: A Meaty Resource”.

So, if the carnivore diet is the ideal diet, potentially offering better energy, then why would you need coffee? Maybe it has nutritional benefits?

Some Reasons On Why Coffee Is Good For You

Flat out, coffee has a good amount of antioxidants. Antioxidants have been a hot topic for many years, and according to some studies, they are excellent at reducing the risk of certain diseases.

The idea is that our bodies and cells are threatened and attacked by free radicals, which are molecules with unpaired electrons. These free radicals get a little crazy and wreak havoc on protein and DNA. When you drop antioxidants into your bloodstream, they essentially go around disarming the free radicals.

Some researchers and doctors say disarmament of free radicals helps reduce aging and may reduce the chances of developing cancer…but this is all highly debatable because a lot of the studies are based on epidemiology.

Also, the US Department of Health and Human Services has recently said, “Considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies indicates that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer. However, information from recent clinical trials is less clear. In recent years, large-scale, randomized clinical trials reached inconsistent conclusions.” (1)

One other point: Coffee has more antioxidants than any other food group. (2)

However, depending on who you talk to, antioxidants have downfalls.

Coffee Has Vitamins and Nutrients

It’s a bit obvious, but yes, coffee does have a fair amount of vitamins and nutrients (but this ain’t nothing compared to meat.)

This is what you would find in an eight-ounce cup:

Vitamin B1 2% of DV
Vitamin B2 11% of DV
Vitamin B3 2% of DV
Vitamin B6 6% of DV
Folate 1% of DV
Phosphorus 1% of DV
Magnesium 2% of DV
Potassium 3% of DV
Manganese 3% of DV

Some Coffee Studies To Help You Feel Better About Drinking It

Here are a few stats based on studies that appear to show coffee has some benefits by reducing the risk of certain diseases and ailments. But I would like to point out that most of these studies are based on epidemiology which is incapable of proving causation.

These kinds of studies do not have a control. It’s basically taking food questionnaires from people and going off their word.

These studies are so flawed that Dr. Georgie Ede of Diagnosis Diet wrote an informative article on them.

She sums it up by saying, “the problem is that the lion’s share of mainstream nutrition advice comes to us not from biochemistry, physiology, or other scientific fields, but rather from the field of nutrition epidemiology, which is not scientific at all. In fact, epidemiology is arguably the least reliable of all the methods researchers can use to study human nutrition.” (3)

The Problem with Epidemiological Studies

Here are a few stats I found interesting:

20-30% lower risk of premature death
Decreases the chance of women getting depression and also decreases the chance of suicide from such depression
Decreased chance of getting Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, strokes, heart disease, and some cancers like colorectal
Decreases chances of developing liver cirrhosis (scared up/damaged liver), yet this is debatable.
Reduces chances of developing diabetes by 23-50%
Reduced risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 65%
Reduced risk of Parkinson’s by up to 32-60%
Reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes by up to 23-67%
Reduced risk of Liver Disease by 84% (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)

Caffeine is a drug

Yep, caffeine is a drug. In fact, it’s the most consumed psychoactive drug on the planet. People are straight-up addicted.

One cup of coffee can have anywhere between 30 and 300 milligrams of caffeine. The amount of caffeine depends on the beans and how the coffee bean was roasted.

A dark roast has less caffeine when compared to a light roast. The reason being a dark roast is cooked longer, which burns more of the caffeine away.

The benefits of caffeine

Caffeine is considered an “upper” and has been shown to boost mental function and clarity, help mood enhancement, create quicker reaction times, and overall help with certain cognitive functions. (13)

And while on the topic of drugs, we discuss how cannabis, aka marijuana, is applied to a carnivore diet here.

Some Reasons Why Coffee May Be Bad for You

As you know, if you do drugs too often, you will create a tolerance level, and the only way to get previous effects is to keep increasing the dosage. With coffee, over time, the beneficial effects will slowly start to disappear, and you will find yourself drinking a whole pot or two every day.

Some people start to see coffee more as a crutch and figure quitting is a great idea, yet they soon find out that this drug has withdrawals. Common withdrawal side effects are headaches, irritability, and brain fog.

Why you may want to quit:

Causes anxiety
Can stress adrenal glands
Can increase cortisol
Can increase blood pressure
Some people get panic attacks
Not good for sleep (Stop drinking after 2 pm)
Some people get heart palpitations
Contains trace amounts of acrylamide. This substance is a carcinogenic compound. Apparently, coffee doesn’t have threatening levels, though. (14)

Need some further reasons to quit? We have more in this article:

11 Reasons to Quit Coffee on a Carnivore Diet (#7 is a Surprise)

Nasty Moldy Mycotoxins

Overexposure to certain molds has negatively affected humans and created chronic health problems. Whole industries and products are created for mold reduction and remediation.

The reason mold is a health culprit is because it produces what’s called mycotoxins. These mycotoxins can be found in most plant-based food products like cereal, nuts, beans, and even spices.

When it comes to coffee, there are two types of mycotoxins that stand out.

Aflatoxin B1, which is a carcinogen
Ochratoxin A is also a carcinogen but way weaker

The cool thing is that small amounts of mycotoxins are quickly neutralized by your liver, assuming you have a functional liver. (15)

Are you concerned about mycotoxins in your coffee? Well, check out Kion Coffee which tests its coffee for mold and pesticides. They use organic beans and have a good reputation for quality.

Kion is my go-to brand for coffee and other amino acid supplements. It’s Ben Greenfield’s company, so you know it’s high quality! Check them out, and you will see what I’m talking about…plus you will get a 10% discount sitewide with this link!

Mycotoxins can be found in Coffee!

Over the past few years, coffee contaminated with moldy mycotoxins has been a hot topic and highly debated.

Some people claim that low-quality coffee contains higher levels of mold and mycotoxins, which may create specific unwanted symptoms for those who drink it. Some of those symptoms are brain fog, headaches, body aches, and low energy—the opposite of what coffee is supposed to do for you.

Joe Rogan has had several Podcasts with health experts and coffee specialists speaking on the subject. Perhaps the most famous was when Dave Asprey of BulletProof was on and claimed 70% of coffee is contaminated with mold.

This prompted Joe to do his own test in which he privately had four different brands of coffee tested. He tested bags of coffee from Whole Foods, Bulletproof Coffee, Starbucks, and Cave Man Coffee.

It turns out none of these brands tested positive for mold or mycotoxins. Mr. Asprey appeared to be full of it.

Joe Rogan Exposes Dave Asprey and Bulletproof Coffee for False Claims on Mycotoxins

There have been other more extensive studies, like one that found that 33% of all green coffee beans coming from Brazil have low levels of Ochratoxin A.

Also, 45% of coffee from commercially available coffee roasters had some level of Ochratoxin A.

Also, one should know that decaf generally tests the highest for mold but roasting coffee can decrease levels by 42-55%.

Mold and mycotoxins are not new to coffee growers, and they have their own methods to mitigate the problem called “wet processing.”

The other crazy thing is that caffeine is a natural inhibitor of mycotoxins. (16)

What Coffee to Buy and Drink?

Yet, if you’ve read this far and want to switch to a very high-quality coffee brand, then I suggest KION. KION does its own mycotoxin testing to be on the safe side and offer some of the highest quality and best-tasting beans around.

Plus, our readers get a 10% discount on first purchases, a 15% discount on bundles, and a 20% fist time discount on subscriptions. Just use this link or type in WILDLUMENS at checkout.

Healthier Coffee Suggestion

If mold and mycotoxins are scaring you but you are not ready to give up the habit, some people have recommended single-batch coffee. Single-batch is how it sounds; the coffee produced from one crop that isn’t mixed with others which are known as a blend. The idea is that there would be fewer chances for contamination.

Also, coffee grown at higher elevations is supposed to have less chance of mold due to less humidity. Mold thrives in wet and humid environments.

One other suggestion is to stay organic. Try to minimize your exposure to man-made pesticides; you are already ingesting plant-made pesticides, which should be enough.

One big mistake to try not to make is adding anything to your coffee, such as sweets or MCT oils, or protein powders.

We wrote a whole article on oils:

Can You Use Coconut Oil, MCT Oil, and Olive Oil on the Carnivore Diet?

Remember, sugar and sweets are a big no-no.

What I Do When Drinking Coffee

I try to find single-source coffee grown in higher elevations, but if I see a sale at the local grocers and the coffee is organic and looks good, I will try it. Also, remember KION is a top-notch brand and gives our readers a discount.

Plus, KION Has these benefits:

USDA Certified Organic (Top 3% of of all coffee grown worldwide)
Toxin-free: tested for mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides
Sustainable: beans sourced from fair trade and sustainable coffee co-ops.

Andy Drinking Coffee Colombia — That’s me drinking coffee in Colombia at a fully organic coffee plantation. No mycotoxins or pesticides.

My brew technique is a straight-up French Press. I’ll drink it black, but usually, I add Kerry Gold grass-fed butter, a teaspoon or two, and blend it up. It’s just another way to ensure I’m eating enough fat.

Oh yeah, good water is essential too. Tap water is nasty as it has added chemicals and runs through old pipes. Not exactly optimal.

I get water locally from a company that sources it from a spring. They are called Live Water and offer an 11% discount when you use this link.

Quit Coffee on Carnivore Diet?

Now you have seen most of the good and most of the bad when it comes to coffee. The question still remains should you stop drinking coffee on the carnivore diet? If you are trying to obtain optimal benefits and eliminate as many causes of inflammation, I would say lean to yes.

But that brings up a major challenge to those new to the diet.

If you are new to the carnivore diet and have been drinking coffee for some time, you are going to most likely experience some nasty symptoms from the adaptation period of the diet.

What’s the adaptation period? This is in the first couple of weeks of the diet, where you may get something called the keto flu. This flu is just a name and not some kind of infection. You basically get flu-like symptoms, but when your body is adapted, they go away.

This may be even more challenging for a coffee drinker as the withdrawal symptoms from quitting coupled with the keto flu makes it even more difficult.

Some carnivore dieters have recommended quitting coffee after 30 days of being on the diet. This way, you potentially reduce the severity of symptoms.

We went deep and wrote an article with potential remedies and tips if you do start to get a little bit of that keto/carnivore flu.

Keto Flu vs. Carnivore Diet Flu & 7 Possible Remedies

Different levels of coffee on the carnivore diet.

My Experience with Quitting Coffee on Carnivore

I did 12 weeks of a strict carnivore diet but kept drinking coffee every morning. I didn’t really get any major keto-flu symptoms.

However, a month ago, I decided to give up coffee and go full carnivore again (call it a meat cleanse) to see if it had an effect one way or the other. The first two days, I had mild headaches but nothing major. I considered it pretty easy to quit from a symptom/withdrawal point of view but challenging from a want point of view. The hardest part is resisting when you smell coffee.

After a week or so, it was less of an issue. I did 3 weeks of no coffee but can’t tell if I have any health benefits. Sleep was the same, and everything else was similar. Since then, I have gone back to coffee; I just like it in the morning when reading and writing. For now, I’m back on the coffee train.

What Do True Carnivore Dieters Think?

The cool thing about the carnivore diet community is that they could care less. From the advocates, influencers, and chat room moderators, they all don’t care.

In fact, that’s the cool thing about this carnivore community. It’s the exact opposite of what you get when you are in a vegan or vegetarian group. They throw the dogma and BS out the door. The general theme is to do what you can and what’s good for you, as we are all different.

If you are interested in starting the carnivore diet, here is a quick post that will help you get started. Carnivore Diet Starter Kit: 5 Essential Items to Get Going.

Motivation

If you are looking for a little motivation and help along the way, you can book me as your personal carnivore diet coach. I work with Dr. Shawn Baker’s coaching group at MeatRX.

Book Andy here.

Also, if you get a chance, pick up these two books:

Thanks for reading, and as always, please note that I am not a doctor and am not giving out health, nutritional or medical advice. Do your own research and consult with an expert before making any life-changing decisions. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. Consult with and ask your doctor about any diet or medical-related questions. No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition.