Paul Saladino, a physician and author of “The Carnivore Norm,” claims that most plants are “inedible, if not poisonous to humans.” “Forget about leaves and fibrous tubers and go hunting!” he commands in his book. (Since publishing “The Carnivore Code” in 2020, Saladino has reintroduced carbohydrates like fruit and honey into his diet.)
But as a 2023 New Yorker article detailing the carnivore epidemic noted, studies of Neanderthals show that their diets included dates, tubers, and other leafy foods in addition to meat. There was evidence that it was. According to Duke University evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer, who is quoted in the article, humans are “opportunistic omnivores” who “eat whatever is available, mostly plants and animals (and It is a mixture of honey).
The New Yorker also highlighted the work of biologists David Lobenheimer and Stephen J. Simpson, who found that diets high in protein negatively impact animal longevity. “Sexy, lean mice that ate a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had the shortest lifespans of all mice,” the scientists wrote in 2014. “They made a nice-looking middle-aged corpse.”
Author Dan Buettner, who identified five regions around the world where people live the longest, said a diet centered on whole foods and plant-based diets leads to longer, healthier lives.
“I don't know of any culture in the history of the world that lived a long time primarily on meat,” Buettner said by phone from Italy. He was conducting further research in what he dubbed the “Blue Zone” in Italy.
For some, becoming a carnivore appears to be an aspect of an optimization culture that seeks self-improvement through so-called biohacking and other methods. For some people, eating beefsteak, which is a luxury item in many parts of the world, may be a way to express their masculinity and achieve success. It's worth noting that even though fish is part of the diet, online promoters post videos almost exclusively of eating red meat.
