What Is the Animal-Based Diet?
The Animal-Based (AB) Diet is centered around eating the most optimal foods for humans – meat, organs and animal fats. Over million years of human evolution, these nutrient-dense foods kept our species physically strong, mentally sharp and free from modern-day diseases such as obesity, diabetes and depression. By choosing animal-based foods over less nutritious options like leafy greens, root vegetables, seeds and grains, we can heal, thrive, and unlock our true power.
Why Eat an Animal-Based Diet?
For millions of years, our hunter-gather ancestors thrived on an animal-based diet consisted of meat, organs, and fat. This is because before the advent of agriculture, our ancestors would very rarely get access to large amounts of carbohydrates. Their choices were between fibrous plants and animals. Compared to plant foods, animal foods provide more nutrients and kept our ancestors fuller for longer, making it the preferred choice of food when available. Therefore, the animal-based diet is believed to be the most natural diet for humans – one our bodies preferred and thrived on.
All that changed with the blink of an eye – the growth of agriculture shifted our main source of food from animal products to carbs with its availability, and we are now led by big food companies to believe that cereal bars, oatmeal, and beyond burgers are good for us. In just a few thousand years, we lost touch with our primal instincts and forgot what it felt like to eat nutritious food. Instead, we fed ourselves sugars and processed foods that led us to modern-day diseases and then spent tons of money on medications when all we really needed was to change our diet.
But don’t worry, the animal-based diet can help you restore your health and reclaim your human right to be healthy. The animal-based diet has helped people cure or improve the symptoms of many health issues. Some health benefits of the animal-based diet include –
- Improves insulin sensitivity and lowers blood sugar.
- Improves gut health and decreases bloating.
- Helps with weight loss.
- Alleviates autoimmune diseases (such as eczema, psoriasis, arthritis, etc.)
- Cures inflammation and bacterial infection.
- Reduces anxiety and depression.
- Regulates period, eases PMS symptoms and cramps.
- Helps with eating disorder and creates food freedom.
- Increases libido.
- Creates endless energy.
What To Eat?
Basically, you can eat anything that comes from an animal on an animal-based diet. Easy enough, right?
However, when it comes to optimizing the ideal fat-to-protein ratio, the different types and cuts of meat to eat, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Some people prefer to eat only red meat while others include white meat like chicken and fish. Some people prefer high fat, eat organs and incorporate dairy products, while others steer clear from that. This is because everyone is different and it’s important to experiment and listen to your body to figure out what works best for you.
Still, here are some general guidelines to help you get started on the animal-based diet:
- The majority of your calorie intake should come from meat and fat.
- Moderate dairy (if you can tolerate it).
- Extremely low carb
As long as you adhere to the general rules above, you should be able to see benefits from the animal-based diet fairly soon. The food pyramid below offers more information on the types of food to eat on the animal-based diet. Let’s take a closer look together!
1st Layer – All You Can Eat
Ruminant Meat
At the bottom of the food pyramid is ruminant meat, i.e., beef, lamb, goat, deer, elk, etc. The majority of your diet should come from ruminant meat because compared to other animal-based foods, it is richer in vitamins and minerals (such as iron, zinc, and vitamin B12) and contains more healthy fats. It is also less likely to cause allergic reactions and inflammation.
Animal Fat
Fat is an important and often overlooked part of the animal-based diet. It is the main energy source for humanity before we started consuming excess amounts of carbs. When you start to go very low-carb on the animal-based diet, your body will enter ketosis and start using fat as the main fuel. If you don’t eat enough fat, you might suffer from fatigue and headaches and be unable to tap into the full benefit of this diet.
So how much fat should you eat? It varies for different people, but a good place to start is by eating “fatty cuts of meat” – think ribeye or 80/20 ground beef. If you eat a leaner cut, you can add in some tallow, suet or ghee to up your fat intake. It might take some time to figure out the best fat-to-protein ratio for you, but most people on the animal-based diet tend to feel better when they increase their fat intake than the other way around.
The first tier of the animal-based food pyramid is also a great place to start if you are using the diet as an elimination diet to heal your gut or figure out food sensitivities. You can start from the bottom of the pyramid and slowly work your way up as you introduce new foods. For example, eat only beef and beef fat for a few weeks before introducing new foods one at a time. See how your body reacts and decide if you want to include the new food in your diet.
2nd Layer – Eat If You Want
Non-Ruminant Meat
Most people in the animal-based community consider non-ruminant meat such as chicken and pork as sub-optimal. They are less nutritious compared to ruminant meat and have a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, which could cause inflammation. Still, chicken and pork can be delicious and often more affordable than ruminant meats, so if your body can tolerate them, they are great addition to the animal-based diet.
Seafood
Seafood is a great source of nutrient and protein. It’s in the second layer because many people have some type of seafood allergies so it can be tricky if you’re trying to figure out what you can and cannot tolerate. Also, you’ll want to avoid fish that are prone to heavy metal toxicity such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel. Other than that, if you enjoy seafood, then by all means incorporate it in your animal-based diet.
Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein, healthy fats, and essential vitamins and minerals. Many animal-based people love including eggs as a regular part of their diet. But like seafood, eggs trigger allergic reactions in many people, so it’s best to try eliminating it for a while before adding it back to your diet.
Organs
The view in the animal-based community is quite divided when it comes to eating organs. From an anthropological standpoint, it is most likely that our ancestors ate organs. After all, our ancestors wouldn’t have wasted any edible parts from an animal! However, many people claim that they get all the nutrients from their food, and whether they eat organs or not does not make a difference, while others claim that organs are nature’s multivitamin and supercharges them. The best way is to try it and decide for yourself. It’s worth trying it especially if you are trying to heal from chronic health issues or doing animal-based long term. If the thought of eating organs make you gag, there are also plenty of organ supplements out there, although it could get expensive in the long run.
Together, more than 80% of your diet should come from the two bottom layers of the animal-based food pyramid. You don’t need to count calories or carefully measure everything you eat. If you simply fill up on meat, fat, organs and eggs, and view anything beyond these two layers as a snack or occasional treat, you’re on the right track towards feeling your best.
3rd Layer – Eat with Moderation
Dairy
Dairy is another controversial category among the animal-based community. Although it is technically animal-based, opponents of dairy argue that it’s not something our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed, since they didn’t milk cow or make cheese back then. This is another category only you can decide whether to include in your diet or not. If you are lactose intolerant, then it’s better to stay clear from it. If you do decide to eat dairy, just keep in mind that lactose is sugar, so don’t consume too much if you are insulin resistant. Moreover, dairy products can be quite addictive, making it less than ideal for those who are trying to heal from eating disorder or gain food freedom.
The bottom line is – dairy is processed and therefore not as natural as other animal-based foods. Consume them in moderation if you can tolerate it.
4th Layer – Eat with Caution
Fruit
Finally, we’ve made it to the top of the animal-based food pyramid – fruits. This is another heated debate among the animal-based community. Supporters of fruits argue that fruit is the only part of a plant that is evolved for animal consumption, since plants rely on animals to spread their seeds for them after eating plants, whereas opponents warn against the higher sugar content in fruits.
Both sides are right – our ancestors definitely ate some fruits, but the environment back then was very different. The fruits our ancestors could forage back then were seasonal, whereas modern fruits are available almost year-round. Also, fruits back then were not genetically engineered to be as sweet as modern fruits, making the sugar content available to our ancestors much lower. With this in mind, it’s better to steer away from fruits if you are insulin resistant or diabetic. Stick to a carnivore diet until you have healed, then you can consider adding fruits to your diet.
If you are metabolically healthy and very active, it’s generally ok to consume some fruits. Some people may even feel better when they add fruits to their diet. Focus on low-toxicity fruits such as berries, avocado, squash, and olives, eat what’s local and in season, and treat it as a treat, rather than a staple.
What about Vegetables?
You might be wondering – why can we eat fruits but not vegetables? This is because plants (leaves, stems, roots and seeds) contain antinutrients that are harmful to the human body. Think about it this way, plants can’t run away from predators, so in order to pass down their DNA, they’ve developed defense chemicals such as tannins, lectins and oxalates to keep animals from over-consuming them. These antinutrients can cause inflammation, gut problems, and discomfort for many people. People generally see a significant improvement in their symptoms when they eliminate vegetables in their diet.
How Long Should I Eat Animal-Based?
The answer to this question really depends on your goals. Many people use it as a temporary elimination diet to figure out food sensitivities, lose weight, or heal from gut issues, autoimmune disorders, or metabolic diseases. While you can certainly re-introduce non-animal foods to your diet after you’ve reached your goals, many people feel so good on the diet that they just make it part of their lifestyle.
If you want to try the animal-based diet, give it at least three months. It will take some time for your body to adjust before you start seeing the benefits. After three months, you can re-evaluate and decide whether to extend it or not. Chances are, you would feel so much better and want to try it for longer!
I hope this guide provided you with the basic information to get started on the animal-based diet. You can start with following the animal-based food pyramid, and as your body gets more used to the diet, you can slowly tweak the diet to your own liking and figure out the optimal food pyramid for you. It’s important to listen to your body. After all, the goal of the diet is not only to heal, but also to reconnect with your body and understand what is best for your unique body composition.
