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Shawn Baker, a cheerleader for the carnivore diet, has stated that he doesn’t know the long-term effects that a high-meat diet is having on people’s health.
Baker is an emblematic promoter of the carnivore diet, and has hundreds of thousands of followers across social media.
The admission came in a head-to-head debate with vegan doctor Garth Davis. “I don’t know if my diet is going to make someone live longer,” Baker said.
Carnivore diet not backed by science
Baker regularly posts pro-carnivore diet content and encourages his followers to choose a meat-heavy lifestyle.
Despite this, he admitted in the debate that he is not aware of the carnivore diet’s long-term health effects. “I don’t know if it’s going to either prevent or increase the likelihood of some disease,” he said. “We just don’t have the data that shows that.”
Followers of the carnivore diet eat only meat, though some may eat eggs and dairy products. Diets heavy in these foods have been associated with various negative health outcomes.
In contrast, plant-based diets have regularly outperformed other diets for a wide range of health markers.
Social media “for entertainment purposes only”
As well as admitting that he has no idea about the carnivore diet’s long-term health effects, Baker said in the debate that his “social media is kind of for entertainment purposes only in many ways.”
Responding to the comments on Instagram, a vegan doctor named Dr Matthew Nagra urged Baker’s fans to see that those promoting high meat consumption are unaware of its long-term effects.
He said that the best available evidence suggests that a carnivore diet will increase risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease compared to many other diets.
“There’s no way [Baker] doesn’t know that people are going to take what he says and actually implement it into their lifestyle,” Dr Nagra said.
“You can bet that he will not be held accountable if you follow his advice and end up suffering a heart attack.”
In a response message to Dr Nagra, Baker doubled down on his admission. “He says that I said I don’t know the long-term outcome of a carnivore diet, which is true,” Baker said in a video posted on X.
Baker went on to repeat that “in no way, no shape or form can we make assessments good or bad about how long a carnivore diet will last over the long term.”
