Carnivore Diet for Women (7 Benefits of Meat for the Ladies)

A few years after I had started the carnivore diet, my wife decided to join me and transition to an all-meat regimen to keep me company.

Before she did that, we talked to our nutritionist and spent weeks scouring studies and research papers to see how the zero-carbs diet affects women, especially when it comes to hormonal balance.

Here’s what we found.

Quick Summary

What is a Carnivore Diet?

A carnivore diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet focused on eating animal foods. You can eat all kinds of meat, dairy, seafood, and organ meats. The rule is if the food comes from an animal, you can eat it.

This diet eliminates a lot of the foods that cause inflammation in people. Plus, it’s rich in healing amino acids, so it can improve conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disease, eczema, and autoimmune diseases [1].

Plant foods aren’t allowed on a carnivore diet, but you can have butter, cream, and bone marrow. Bone broth is among the few allowed drinks, but tea and coffee should be avoided.

While the carnivore diet is strict when it comes to food, there aren’t any restrictions on the portion size, the number of meals, or the number of calories you can eat.

What Should Women Eat on a Carnivore Diet?

Here’s what women should eat on a carnivore diet: 

• Animal meat — Beef, chicken, poultry, turkey, lamb, pork, and others. Meat with more fat is preferred so the body can get energy from fat, the same as on a ketogenic diet.
• Organs — From all animals, including chicken livers, spleen, pork kidneys, etc.
• Fish — Salmon, sardines, crab, herring, shrimp, lobster, and others. Same as with meat, you should choose fatty fish. 
• Animal products — Eggs, lard, fat, bone marrow, bone broth.
• Dairy — Heavy cream, butter, ghee, hard cheese
• Spices — Salt, pepper, herbs. 

Processed meats and plants should be avoided.

Also, women should eat extra fish to get the most out of this diet. Fish is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the skin, and anti-inflammatory [2]. For example, salmon, mackerel, and shrimp are especially rich in Omega-3.

An added bonus is that they have fewer calories than other meat types, making them ideal for fat loss.

Women should also eat organ meat, such as the liver because it’s rich in retinol [3]. Raw milk and goat milk can help reduce inflammation in women, too.

Benefits of a Carnivore Diet for Women

It's important to note that the quality of meat is crucial for the success of this diet. Selecting meat from trusted and reputable sources, such as ButcherBox, is essential for those following a carnivore diet.

Let’s break this down even further and see the science behind the benefits of meat for the ladies.

1. Weight Loss

This is one of the most effective diets for weight loss for women. About 70% to 80% of calories come from fat and only 5% from carbs. In other words, you’re eating low-carb, so the body burns stored fat for energy, similar to keto diets.

Low-carb diets help reduce body weight [4]. You’re eating only meat, which means you’ll feel full for longer.

Moreover, you’ll have fewer cravings and decreased appetite. Even though you’ll drastically reduce the calories, you won’t feel hungry because you’ll be eating foods high in fat and proteins.

Most women report weight loss on the carnivore diet within a couple of months, especially after the first few weeks.

2. Improves the Skin

The carnivore diet for women is full of foods that improve skin appearance and health.

This is an all-meat diet, so you’re eating nutrient-rich foods such as beef, fish, and chicken. These foods are rich in zinc which can heal wounds and protects against advanced aging [5].

Plus, I talked about how Omega-3 fatty acids help with skin inflammation. If you eat fish, you’re less likely to struggle with pimples.

Egg yolks and liver are rich in retinol. Retinol is one of the main ingredients in beauty products, and you can get it naturally if you eat carnivore diet from the food list. Retinol can unclog pores, exfoliate the skin, and increase collagen [6]. This results in fresher, plumper-looking skin.

Finally, this diet entails consuming bone broth. While more research is needed on bone broth, many users report it can decrease cellulite and make the skin more supple.

“Animal meat and organs are the most nutrient-rich and bioavailable foods on the planet. They’ve been incredibly vilified for the last 60 years, but they’re an integral part of every healthy human diet.”
- Dr. Paul Saladino for the U.S.News

3. It’s Anti-Aging

A carnivore diet is also anti-aging because it has foods rich in collagen - a protein in the body that plays a critical role in the function and structure of bones, connective tissue, and skin [7].

It’s especially important for women who are sensitive to the effects of aging and seek more elasticity and hydration. As women age, their bodies produce less collagen, which leads to dry skin and wrinkles. This is where the carnivore diet comes in.

Collagen is found in animals’ connective tissues. Carnivore dieters eat foods such as chicken skin, pork skin, fish, and beef, all of which are rich in collagen.

Drinking bone broth is also an excellent idea. Bone broth is good for the skin because it contains gelatin, and gelatin is derived from processed collagen [8].

These are some of the collagen benefits:

• Prevents hair loss
• Stronger nails
• Prevents loss of bone, which is especially important for midlife women
• Provides skin elasticity for fewer wrinkles and skin aging
• Improves the appearance of cellulite

4. Delays Menopause

A carnivore diet is rich in protein and fish, and it’s proven that these can delay menopause by several years [9].

Moreover, Vitamin D can also postpone menopause by 17% compared to women who don’t consume this vitamin [10]. Meat, eggs, and milk are all rich in Vitamin D, and all these are eaten on a carnivore diet.

Also, this diet is a zero-carb diet but is rich in protein, iron, minerals, and vitamins. These can help the body have a correct hormonal balance, resulting in postponed menopause.

A carnivore diet is also helpful for women who’ve already started menopause. This diet is rich in protein. Women going through menopause are losing bone and muscle mass, and protein can help prevent this. You’ll have more strength and energy in menopause on a carnivore diet.

Finally, overweight women go into menopause earlier than women with normal weight [11]. A carnivore diet helps lose weight, which can also delay menopause.

5. Improves Insulin Resistance

Insulin moves glucose out of the bloodstream and into your cells, where it’s used for energy. But, when you eat a lot of carbs, the sugar will spike in the blood, and your cells can become insulin resistant.

Insulin resistance can create a domino effect and lead to inflammation, hormone disruption, and other health disorders, such as obesity, eczema, and brittle bones, especially as women age.

A carnivore diet means cutting out carbs which decreases insulin and hormone levels [12]. There’s no insulin resistance, and blood sugar levels are in normal ranges thanks to weight loss and lean muscle mass gain.

6. Helps PCOS

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects how women's ovaries work. It leads to:

• Irregular periods — The ovaries don’t release eggs regularly. 
• Excess androgen — High levels of male hormones in women’s bodies.
• Polycystic ovaries — The ovaries are enlarged.

Moreover, PCOS can lead to insulin resistance and dominance of testosterone in women. You need to curb high blood sugar and insulin to fight PCOS.

Research suggests treating insulin resistance is great for fighting PCOS, and I already talked about above how a carnivore diet helps insulin resistance.

There’s evidence that keto diets can alleviate the symptoms of PCOS and balance the hormones [13]. Considering how similar keto is to a carnivore diet, it’s highly likely that a carnivore diet can do the same.

7. Restores Metabolism

Men experience weight loss faster than women. Moreover, as women age, their metabolism slows down. Eating meats can help restore metabolism.

A carnivore diet works similarly to a keto diet. Eating carnivore means eating animal foods and healthy fats. Because of this, the body can’t produce enough blood sugar for energy, so it’s forced to use stored fat for energy.

Moreover, a carnivore diet is rich in other nutrients, such as zinc, riboflavin, and vitamins B6 and B12, all of which enhance calorie-incinerating abilities.

Overall, a carnivore diet can restore dead metabolism and help you lose weight.

You Might Also Like: Carnivore Diet Studies

Carnivore Diet and Hormones

The carnivore diet for women is an anti-inflammatory diet, and it has a lot of nutrition that’s easy to absorb. This helps shed excess body fat and helps balance out the hormones.

Carnivore Diet and PMS Symptoms

Hormones fluctuate throughout the month, and most women experience higher levels of hunger before their cycle starts. This is because progesterone rises before the cycle starts and increases the appetite. Moreover, serotonin goes down, so many women feel irritable and tired.

A carnivore diet can help with PMS symptoms. This diet increases energy levels, so women feel more active and are generally in a better mood.

Also, a carnivore diet reduces inflammation. It can even help with depression and fatigue, which are common PMS symptoms.

Finally, cravings are another common PMS symptom. In case you can’t deal with cravings, carnivore foods can help. For example, the liver can lower or completely extinguish cravings [14].

Carnivore Diet and Fertility

Carnivore diet regulates hormones and is anti-inflammatory, which can result in increased fertility, or a return of fertility.

Here’s how a carnivore diet supports fertility:

• You aren’t eating processed foods with sugar which are inflammatory.
• You aren’t eating grains, legumes, and starch that are inflammatory.
• There’s no excess fiber that causes excess heat and inflames reproductive organs.
• You aren’t consuming inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids from seed oils.
• Cells are nourished with monounsaturated and saturated fats.
• Intake of vital nutrients is increased from foods such as beef liver, salmon roe, and other organs.

FAQs

References:

1. https://academic.oup.com/cdn/article/5/12/nzab133/6415894
2. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00122/full#
3. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-vitamin-a
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537084/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4321209/
6. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23293-retinol#:
7. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262881