Going Carnivore as a Teenager | Is it Wise? What’s the Benefits?

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January 12, 2020

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Are you a teenager curious about switching up your diet? Or are you a parent curious about the thought of your teenager trying the carnivore diet? Is it even wise and does it have benefits? I don’t think it’s an easy answer because diets can be very nuanced but I think this post can help with a little direction.

From what I have read, watched, and in my own carnivore diet practice there appear to be many benefits to the carnivore diet. At least in the short term.

From what I have found there isn’t a whole lot of data on the long term benefits of the carnivore diet or actual studies directed strictly toward teenagers but none the less I have found some information regarding the carnivore diet and the potential effects it could have on teenagers.

Is the Carnivore Diet Safe for Non Adults?

Hmmm, so is the carnivore diet safe for non-adults? When reading the book, “The Carnivore Diet” by Dr. Shawn Baker (Bookshop.org link) he says, “children also can follow the carnivore diet. Certainly, they would have historically followed this eating style. Children don’t have any different nutrition requirements than adults. In other words, kids require the same essential things that we do.”

Ok, he was talking about “children” and not “teenagers” but I think it would qualify as the same difference.

Let’s take a look at some of the potential benefits of the carnivore diet in relation to teenagers.

The Elimination Factor

The carnivore diet is basically the ultimate elimination diet and what I mean is that when you eat only meat you are essentially eliminating all the other potentially harmful foods like sugar, refined grains, vegetable oils, GMO foods, synthetically altered flavors and straight up chemicals.

Also from what I have read and from my personal experience plant foods can cause serious damage from allergies to autoimmune disorders. I did some research on plant foods and their potential dangers in this post, “10 Chemicals in Plant Food Slowly Killing You.”

But back to sugar. I’m pretty sure sugar is one the most unhealthy foods on the planet and when I was a teenager I ate a ton of it. 7-11 was down the street from my high school and daily Slurpees and Snickers bars were the norm.

I’m sure it caused some problems with my health. Maybe acne, gut problems, and general energy issues and I was unable to gain a whole lot of weight. I wish I was privy to the carnivore diet back then!

Mood, Anxiety and Mental Health

In the US and Western Countries mental health seems to be a major issue as it’s mentioned in the news daily. Also way back in 2013 there was a study done showing that 6% of US teens take psychiatric medications, (ADHD and depression were the most common issues.) I wonder what it’s up to now?

What if adding meat to your diet would help? What if more specifically the carnivore diet helps? What if the elimination of plants helped?

Dr. Georgia Ede MD wrote an amazing article in Psychology Today titled, “The Carnivore Diet for Mental Health? How plant-free diets affect the brain.”

Her writing shares her experience in working with patients that have mental disorders and how a plant-free diet helped them.

Dr. Ede says, “I have consulted with many people who report significant mental health benefits on low-plant and plant-free diets. While I am not at liberty to share the details of these confidential cases, numerous compelling, public first-hand personal accounts of psychiatric conditions resolving on all-meat diets exist.”

Dr. Shawn Baker also talks about the mental and behavioral benefits a lot and often mentions anecdotal situations where people write to him explaining the improvements in their mood and mental issues.

He goes on to provide the numerous nutrients found in meat that are associated with better mood and mental function. Here are just a few of the nutrients in meat that have been studied in relation to mental health:

Carnosine
Carnitine
Creatine
Taurine

And here are a few of the studies that show the potential mental benefits of these nutrients.

Here is a great video of Dr. Georgia Ede discussing mental health and the relationship to diet titled “The Brain Needs Meat: Mental Health Benefits of the Carnivore Diet.”

Acne

I had acne as a teen and it was such a bummer. It messed up my self-esteem and made me feel horrible.

I tried prescription Retinol-A and Clearasil soap and everything in between. Could my acne have been prevented with a better diet? Could an elimination diet like the carnivore diet helped? Perhaps!

When researching the carnivore diet I ran across Frank Tufano’s YouTube channel and he had a few posts speaking on the acne issue. He suffered from acne as a teen as well and even today gets outbreaks. He goes into detail on what he believes causes acne and how the carnivore diet can help prevent or treat it.

His hypothesis is that acne is the result of inflammation within the body which can be caused by the foods you consume. He mentions plant-based foods, rancid cod liver oil, and dairy are potential culprits.

While on the carnivore diet this is what he does to treat his acne:

Eliminate high inflammatory foods like dairy
Increase high retinoic acid foods like liver/organ meat (side note: Acutane the prescription-strength acne medication has the synthetic form of retinoic acid)
Stay hydrated and make sure you consume enough electrolytes
Get some sunshine
Adequate sleep and de-stress

One more side note, Frank Tufano has a great book called, “Ancestral Indigenous Diet, Achieving Native Health in a Modern World”, which I just finished reading. It was very informative.

Other keto and carnivore diet doctors agree that diet plays a role with acne. Most advise reducing the inflammatory foods. Others talk about autoimmune disorders and bacterial overgrowth infections being potential culprits. It seems though that most will recommend an elimination-style diet to help treat acne. I wish I knew all this as a teen!

Here Dr. Ken Berry shares a few ways to improve acne problems with diet.

Acne medication and pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars every year with their meds. What if something as simple as the carnivore diet was able to help just as well? Just another crazy thought.

Carnivore Diet Family-All Beef for Past 17 Years!

This is an interesting article of a family that has been eating primarily all beef for the past 17 years. The reason they began a carnivore diet was that the wife had Lyme disease and she found relief when consuming only red meat.

So the whole family adopted the diet and apparently they all had major benefits.

According to Joe, the husband, “This blew us away: fatty red meat, the very thing that had been demonized by the entire health community was giving her strength.”

Check out their article here:

Carnivore Family Has Eaten A Zero Carb, All-Beef Diet For The Past 17 Years

Eating Disorders like Orthorexia

I was thinking that there could be a downside to the carnivore diet or any diet for that matter and that is “Orthorexia”.

Orthorexia is the term for a condition that includes symptoms of obsessive behavior in the pursuit of a healthy diet. This could turn into a major problem. Some of the issues arise when people become too obsessed with their diet and become anti-social or get extreme anxiety with food decisions. It’s similar to bulimia or anorexia.

There is a whole list of symptoms and if you want to know more then check out this site “Timberline Knolls” as they are a treatment center for people with eating disorders.

Is the Carnivore Diet Wise for Teenagers?

To me there isn’t a blanket answer on whether it’s wise for a teenager to adopt a carnivore diet. I think what is wise is educating teenagers on the benefits of eating meat and how eliminating harmful foods can affect their health.

When I was growing up the propaganda being spewed from big agriculture companies was everywhere and meat was just considered unhealthy and the reason people were getting heart attacks and cancer. Nowadays we are seeing the truth reemerge. Things like meat, salt, fiber, and cholesterol are all being reconsidered.

What I think is wise for teenagers is to do their own investigation into the carnivore diet and read this book, “The Carnivore Diet” by Dr. Shawn Baker or check out some YouTube channels by these guys: Frank Tufano, Dr.Paul Saladino, and Dr. Ken Berry. Then make a decision on what you want to do with your health.

I wish I had known what I know now when I was at that age, as I’m pretty sure I would have fewer health issues today and probably would have been a better athlete, student, and human in general.

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.