Can You Have Mayo on the Carnivore Diet?

Yes, if you want to, and if you can tolerate it, and you still feel good after adding it in, and no previous health issues raise their ugly heads again.

Because of some plant matter ingredients, traditional mayonnaise is not carnivore diet approved, but I don’t think you will be thrown out of Facebook groups like World Carnivore Tribe and Carnivore Diet Success Stories if you admit to having a bit of mayo on your burger occasionally.

We aren’t hyper dogmatic.

Could mayonnaise prevent healing, or cause a weight-loss stall on a carnivore diet?

Yes and yes as what I’ve found when it comes to food anything is possible and we are all different.

Mayo and its ingredients may hurt you and maybe not me. Perhaps it’s not allowing me to lose weight but you don’t have a problem. It’s a touchy situation.

Look Carnivore Guru’s and booksellers must have a UPS (Unique Selling Point), so they have to have strong opinions on everything to drive sales.

But us normal folk can be a bit more sensible about things and make real-world choices and adjustments.

Some people can’t get away with the texture, and some people would fight everyone in a supermarket for the last jar of mayo Walking Dead style.

What is Carnivore?

As you might expect it is all about the meat and fish, with other animal products thrown in.

You also avoid all those pesky plant foods. Which is great, as it naturally lowers your carb intake, eliminates your consumption of seed oils, and really ramps up your consumption of nutrient-dense bioavailable food.

If you are brand new to the carnivore diet I would highly recommend one of my favorite carnivore books. It’s appropriately called “The Carnivore Diet” and was written by Dr. Shawn Baker.

What is Mayo?

Mayo is a condiment which provides a different flavor to enhance the meal you are eating, as well as providing a different texture and additional moisture to that meal.

Condiments are a big area of contention within the carnivore diet community, as a lot of condiments are technically plant-based.

Spices for example are usually ground up roots or seeds. So, they are off the table for some, but others think because they use them in small doses and they increase their adherence they are acceptable.

We really expand on the idea of condiments and how to pertain to the carnivore diet in this article:

• Are Condiments Allowed on the Carnivore Diet?

Personally, cumin, paprika, and any of the taco meat spices drive my stomach crazy so I no longer use them.

Is all mayo the same?

Absolutely not. Our food chain is broken, and profit-driven, the more processed and the more ingredients a final product has, generally means more profit for the company and more doctor visits for you.

So, if Mayo has to be on the table for you, then I would recommend the following rules:

Make your own

This enables you to know exactly what is in it, as you have control over the ingredients you put into it and you can determine the quality of those ingredients.

I am a firm believer in buying ingredients, and not buying products made from agricultural conglomerates.

Buy high-quality keto brand mayo

If you don’t want to make your own, buying a Keto brand is the next best option.

A traditional Mayo is not Carnivore, but it can be Keto.

So, buy a keto brand, as they will be closer to your philosophy than a mainstream brand like Heinz.

For example, a Keto brand will likely use avocado oil or olive oil, whereas a brand like Heinz will likely use Canola and Palm Oil.

Some health studies have even shown that canola oil can have a negative impact on memory and learning in Alzheimer’s patients. (1)

Plus palm oil is really bad for the environment. (2)

Brands like Primal Kitchen would be a much smarter option.

Ditch mainstream brands

By far the worst option but some people may not have the time to make their own or can’t afford to buy the more expensive keto brands.

So, bog-standard supermarket mayo it is. I would advise caution with this option, and really be mindful of how you feel after having it as there are often a lot of added sweeteners and preservatives in supermarket shelf mayo.

How to make your own

This recipe is about as close to carnivore as you can get, and it is from Keto Focus:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup bacon grease
• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• Salt to taste

You just whisk the egg yolk and vinegar together, then slowly add the grease whilst whisking, then whisk in the mustard and salt, it’s as easy as that. You can also use a food processor.

Why I chose this recipe

Looking at mayo through a carnivore lens, I found this recipe ticked a lot of boxes. Let’s have a look at the ingredients and put a little context into the recipe.

Egg Yolks

These are carnivore approved and are nutritional powerbombs.

As always, the general rule is to buy the best quality eggs you can afford, ideally from a local farm so you know how the chickens are raised and what they are fed.

Try to stay away from soy fed chicken eggs.

Apple Cider Vinegar

A lot of recipes use generic vinegar or lemon juice. I think apple cider vinegar is a better option, especially if you get the good quality stuff that contains the “mother”.

Whilst not carnivore, apple cider vinegar has been shown to have a number of digestive health benefits and is likely less harmful than the other options.

My go-to brand for Apple Cider Vinegar is Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar With the Mother.

Bacon Grease

Who doesn’t like bacon grease!!! Nearly all mayo recipes use fruit or seed oils.

As a carnivore you will want it to be as carnivore as possible, so using an animal equivalent to oil is the best option.

If you are too busy to collect and render your own animal fats for cooking you can always cheet and buy some great grass-fed pre-made batches. I have purchased these in the past.

1. Epic Pork Fat
2. Epic Beef Tallow
3. Epic Duck Fat

Side note: my favorite fat to cook with is duck fat. It has a great taste and I prefer it to beef tallow.

Mustard

It is needed to bring flavor to the mayo, but mustard is plant-based as its main ingredient is the mustard plant obviously.

Warning: some people working within a strict carnivore diet will want to refrain from eating mustard.

Salt

Use a high-quality rock salt, like Redmond Real Salt. Redmond sources their salt from a salt bed in Utah so you know it is free of toxins and microplastics which can be found from salt sourced from the ocean.

The other cool thing about Redmond is that they offer our readers a 15% discount. Either use WILD at checkout or this link should do the trick:

• Redmond Real Salt

Redmond also has other salt-based products like toothpaste, Re-Lyte electrolyte mixes, and even bentonite clay. So check them out!

To sum it up. If you can make your own make it, if not by a high-quality keto appropriate brand, and the worst option is to buy a cheap jar from the supermarket.

Conclusion

The carnivore diet advocates and functional medicine docs usually say, “the sicker you are, the stricter you should be.”

If you are on a carnivore diet because you are looking to gain its healing benefits, then mayo might not be a great idea until you are fully healed.

If you are just looking for a bit of weight loss, and better control of your hormones like insulin then some homemade mayo now and again shouldn’t cause too many problems.

Especially if having it increases your adherence significantly, then that is probably a net benefit over you falling off the carnivore wagon.

It’s all in the detail, so you will have to experiment and find your own path to optimal health.

Where to start and get motivated

Get up to speed with some of our more popular articles:

• Carnivore Diet 101: A Meaty Resource From a Practitioner
• 11 Reasons to Quit Coffee on a Carnivore Diet (#7 is a Surprise)
• Top 11 Carnivore Diet Mistakes

Get a carnivore diet coach at MeatRX. They are super affordable and will help you come up with a game plan. You can even book me as your coach!

And finally, subscribe to our YouTube channel where you will find fun carnivorous content. It’s called the Wild Lumens YouTube Channel!

We wish you luck and success with whatever approach you take!

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. This is not medical advice.

Resources

1. Canola oil linked to worsened memory and learning ability in Alzheimer’s
2. The Reasons Why Palm Oil Is So Controversial