Can You Eat Sugar on a Carnivore Diet? Yay or Nay?

The carnivore diet consists of eating only animal-based foods like meat, some dairy, eggs, and either milk or water for beverages. This means that sugar is not allowed on the carnivore diet.

In fact according to carnivore diet doctors and proponents of high fat, low carb diets they find sugar to be one of the biggest culprits of dietary challenges and metabolic disease. In this article we will take a look at what they are saying and see what’s up with sugar and why it’s not allowed in the carnivore diet protocol.

Let’s take a look at sugar, why it’s potentially dangerous, and how it applies to a carnivore diet.

(If you are new to the carnivore diet I highly suggest this book by Dr. Shawn Baker titled, “The Carnivore Diet.”)

What is Sugar?

Sugar is an interesting thing as the term “sugar” is a large umbrella with many molecular compounds underneath it. Things like glucose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, carbohydrates, corn syrup just to name a few are all in the sugar family.

Check out Wikipedia for further details on sugar.

Sugar is Poison?

Most doctors in the ketogenic and carnivore diet world seem to agree that sugar is poison as well as most unnatural food additives and flavorings…look at the ingredients in a standard pack of gum. as well as most unnatural food additives and flavorings…look at the ingredients in a standard pack of gum. .

They believe heavy consumption of sugar can lead to many diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s, inflammation, acne, fatty liver, maybe cancer, and probably even more.

Crazy Sugar Statistics

While watching Dr. Berg’s You Tube video on sugar I jotted down some stats. He says that 26% of US teens are pre-diabetic. The United States has the worst problem when compared to the rest of the world. Also the US consumes the highest fructose corn syrup!

To get a visual of how much sugar is consumed think of sugar cubes. Here are some popular foods with their average sugar cube amounts.

1. Snickers Bar= 10 cubes
2. Can of Coke= 13 cubes
3. Red Bull= 11 cubes
4. Sprite= 13 cubes
5. 32 oz of Gatorade= 22 cubes

Dr. Berg also mentions that the average US person consumes 30-31 teaspoons of sugar per week which is basically a bag of sugar every 2 weeks. Crazy!

Dr. Robert Lutsig in his Ted Talk mentions that in the US over 30% of the population is obese and of that 80% are sick…meaning around 57 million people have issues.

People complain about the healthcare crisis. In my opinion, throwing more money in the system and raising taxes isn’t going to fix it but what potentially can is the education of diet and a new food pyramid with meat at the top and sugar eliminated. (Just my opinion though.)

Sugar and Cancer?

Dr. Ken Berry likes to mention a few sugar and cancer cell facts.

1. Cancer cells grown in Petri dishes at labs for studying are fed sugar. Not protein, not fat but sugar.
2. Pub Med studies show a correlation between sugar and the speed at which cancer cells grow. Basically more sugar equals faster cell growth.
3. When getting a cat scan to detect cancer the patient is given a contrast agent attached to sugar. This agent is sucked up by the cancer cells and that’s how they see where the cancer is.

Short List of Sugar and Cancer Related Studies and Pub Med Articles

1. Sugars in diet and risk of cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study
2. Sugar-free, cancer-free?
3. A sucrose-enriched diet promotes tumorigenesis in mammary gland in part through the 12-lipoxygenase pathway
4. Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the treatment and prevention of cancer?
5. Consumption of Sugars, Sugary Foods, and Sugary Beverages in Relation to Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.

Here is a quote taken from the “Consumption of Sugars” study.

It says, “In two of five studies on added sugars, a 60-95% increased cancer risk was observed with higher intakes. In 8 of 15 studies on sugary foods and beverages, a 23-200% higher cancer risk was observed with higher sugary beverage consumption.

In conclusion, most studies were indicative of a null association, but suggestive detrimental associations were reported for added sugars and sugary beverages.”

What Sugar Does

According to Ketogenic Diet proponent, Dr. Ken Berry, sugar plays a destructive part in human nutrition. He says when you eat a lot of sugar you spike your blood sugar levels which in turn spikes insulin, therefore, making it a challenge for your body to burn fat and instead prompts it store fat.

He says the overconsumption of sugar leads to chronically high levels of insulin which leads to diseases.

What Foods Have Sugar?

Most people are confused about sugar, myself included, as it is found in so many foods even those we used to consider healthy. Here is a small list of foods with sugar that we probably don’t consider sugary.

1. Fruit Juice
2. Potato Chips
3. Tortilla Chips
4. Bread (All Kinds)
5. Fruit and Fruit Smoothies
6. Pasta
7. Cereal
8. Biscuits
9. Pancakes
10. Waffles
11. Muffins
12. Milk
13. Ketchup
14. Sauces

A lot of this stuff is at the top of the food pyramid. Just goes to show how false and inadequate governments can be…my opinion!

Sugar Addiction

Dr. Ken Berry speak in length about sugar addiction and how it is a real thing. He says when you eat sugar you get a spike in dopamine which increases pleasure. Even simple things like eating chips can produce this dopamine hit.

He says it’s similar to cocaine but just not as physiologically powerful. He likes to bring up though that it can be just as bad as he points to all the diseases associated with sugar when compared to cocaine. There are way more people on earth with sugar-related diseases!

Big pharma and big food industries are in no rush to fix this problem as they profit billions. Why would they want to fix the sugar problem and compromise their stock value?

Sugar and the Carnivore Diet

As you can see sugar is a potential culprit to good health. When on the carnivore diet sugar is eliminated along with many other less than healthy food items. The reason the carnivore diet can be so effective with health-related challenges is due to the elimination factor.

Disclaimer: The carnivore diet isn’t easy and is not for everyone. I’ve done it and regularly go on 3-6 month strict meat only protocols. The results for me have been tremendous. However it’s something you should speak to your doctor about before trying. I’m not handing out nutritional or medical advice.

When I went on the carnivore diet I made plenty of mistakes which prompted me to write, “Top 11 Carnivore Diet Mistakes.”

In my opinion one of the reasons the carnivore diet is good for treating sugar addiction is that it keeps you full and decreases the cravings for sugar and carbs over time.

The carnivore diet is loaded with heavy fat content and in turn this keeps you satiated. The general rule throughout the community is to eat until you are full. No calories counting or weighing food portions…super easy!

If you catch a craving I suggest eating some grass-fed, sugar-free jerky or Biltong. What’s Biltong? Basically tasty air-dried beef.

The carnivore diet type doctors say that with the absence of sugar your body will begin to use fat as a source of energy and in time ketones which are very efficient energy particles. Also people see improved mental function when in ketosis which I’m told is possible even on a carnivore diet.

I go into detail and show some of the potential benefits of a carnivore diet in this article wrote called, “11 Benefits of a Carnivore Diet | #9 Will Surprise You.”

Things to be aware of if you are new to this diet. You may experience flu-like symptoms, also known as the keto flu. This can happen for a few days but most people get over in under a week’s time. However everyone is different.

One other suggestion is to clean out your kitchen! Go and donate the non-carnivore friendly items to a homeless shelter. Get rid of the poisonous sugar and tortilla chips. Oh and remember milk has lactose which is sugar too.

If you are curious about the carnivore diet and want to learn more then I suggest reading my crazy and more in-depth story about it called, “The Carnivore Diet 101: a Meaty Resource.”

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or dietician or nutritionist. 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.

References

Sugars in diet and risk of cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study
Sugar free, cancer free?
Sucrose-enriched diet promotes tumorigenesis in mammary gland in part through the 12-lipoxygenase pathway
Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the treatment and prevention of cancer?
Consumption of Sugars, Sugary Foods, and Sugary Beverages in Relation to Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.