A Limpopo man says he has not eaten a single vegetable, fruit or grain in more than seven years, and he reckons it saved his life.
Cobus Kriel, 52, eats nothing but meat, eggs and animal fat, and he is one of a growing crowd of South Africans selling the all-meat “carnivore diet” to thousands of followers online.
But as the meat-only craze spreads, SA dietitians and a fresh batch of 2026 science are warning that nobody yet knows what years of steak-and-butter living does to the body.
The carnivore diet is exactly what it sounds like. “So the carnivore diet consists only of animal products,” Kriel, of Mookgophong, said. “There are no plant-based products in the carnivore diet.”
In practice it means meat, eggs, animal fats and sometimes dairy, and nothing else, which makes it a zero-fibre, very low-carbohydrate, high-fat way of eating.
Kriel eats mostly fatty red meat. “I eat mostly meat, fatty meat, different kinds of cuts. Sometimes I do eat eggs, but I focus mainly on red meat.”
He has no formal nutrition qualification. “Educational background, I only have matric. But I’m very much a person that does self-study.”
He completed a course through MeatRx, the coaching platform founded by carnivore figurehead Shawn Baker, and has coached carnivore and keto clients for six years.
He said the diet reversed his own health problems. “So I’ve reversed my own non-alcoholic fatty liver, hypertension, and headaches with the carnivore diet by doing it correctly,” he said.
He is emphatic that most people who try it get it wrong.”Many people do the carnivore diet wrong,” he said. “Carnivore is not something on a list.”
Do it badly, he warned, and the diet can backfire.
“For instance, you can get high uric acid levels. You can also get high triglyceride levels and you can make your cholesterol go in the wrong direction.”
He runs online bootcamps for clients, currently only in Afrikaans, though he said his coaching can be done in English. Kriel rejects the standard warning that cutting out plants leaves people short of nutrients.
“There is no scientific proof to prove that you will become nutrient deficient on the carnivore diet. There is no scientific proof of that.”
He argues that plant nutrients come bundled with defence chemicals. “The so-called nutrients that are in the plants are tied up with plant toxins, plant defence mechanisms like oxalates and lectins and these cause problems for the body,” he said.
On the fibre question, which he said he is asked constantly, he is equally dismissive. “You do need fibre to feed your gut. No, you don’t,” he said.
He claims ketosis does the job instead. “If you go into ketosis, the ketones will produce beta hydroxybutyrate which will feed your gut,” he said.
He is careful to add a disclaimer, repeatedly. “None of this is medical advice. You should absolutely talk to your doctor.”
He said the caution matters most for people on chronic medication, because the diet can rapidly change what the body needs.
“For instance, type 2 diabetes medication will be too strong if you do the carnival diet and you will feel not good because the medication will take your blood sugar too low. The same with hypertension medication.”
He said clients who work with their doctors have cut or stopped medicines, and pointed to weight-loss and diabetes reversals among the people he coaches. He is also candid that carnivore is not a magic switch, describing an “adaptation phase” of tiredness, cramping and even nausea in the early weeks.
Cost, he said, is lower than people expect. “You don’t have the cold drinks and the takeaways and the snacks anymore. Your grocery trolley is very much empty.”
His pitch to sceptical South Africans is simple. “I would say give it a try. Of course, discuss it with your doctor, but give it a try.”
The scientific and dietetic establishment is a good deal more cautious, and in some cases openly critical. Pharmacy retailer Medirite, in consumer guidance on meat-only eating, acknowledged that animal foods carry real nutritional value.
“It is possible to get a substantial intake of vitamins from a meat diet. For example, chicken is an excellent source of protein and lean meat is equally excellent as an iron source.”
But it flagged the cost of cutting everything else out.
“The problem is that meat only means cutting out fruit, vegetables, grains and fats – all of which are necessary not just for your body but also your mind,” added the company.
It listed potential risks including higher LDL or “bad” cholesterol, greater heart disease risk from excess saturated fat, kidney complications, constipation and bloating from a lack of fibre, and a weakened immune system.
It also took aim at the social-media engine driving the trend. “Fad diets gain a lot of traction on TikTok and Instagram and it’s easy to be swayed by the ‘results’ you see on heavily filtered pictures.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is and nothing replaces the good advice of a medical professional.”
The Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA) was blunt about the underlying science. “Current best available scientific evidence does not support an extreme low carbohydrate diet for reducing the risk of disease,” ADSA said.
It conceded weight loss is possible, but for ordinary reasons. “Low carbohydrate diets may enable some people to lose weight by reducing their total energy intake,” ADSA said.
The trouble, it said, is nutritional balance.
“Achieving a nutritionally adequate and healthy dietary pattern becomes problematic with extreme low carbohydrate diets that emphasise high fat intake from predominantly animal foods and restrict and eliminate many healthy nutrient- and fibre-rich foods,” ADSA said.
ADSA noted that carbohydrates are currently recommended to make up between 45 and 65% of total energy intake, with anything below 45% classed as low-carbohydrate.
The newest research lands in the same cautious place. A scoping review published in the journal Nutrients in January 2026 pulled together nine human studies on the diet.
The authors reported that individual studies found positive effects such as weight reduction, increased satiety and possible improvements in some inflammatory or metabolic markers, but rated the overall evidence as weak.
Reviewing that paper, science outlet News-Medical summarised it as finding that while the carnivore diet may deliver short-term improvements, weak evidence and emerging risks make long-term adherence a gamble for health.
The review warned that the absence of plants blocks intake of fibre, phytochemicals and several micronutrients, flagging vitamins C and D, calcium, magnesium and iodine as concerns.
It also noted that high intake of animal-based foods, particularly red and processed meat, is consistently associated in broader studies with a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, and early death.
Because the studies were small, short and lacked control groups, the authors concluded that long-term safety could not be assessed and long-term adherence could not be recommended.
One German study cited in the review found that the share of participants with out-of-range blood values actually rose on the diet, to 24.4% from 18.3% beforehand.
The most-quoted piece of carnivore research remains a 2021 survey of 2,029 self-selected followers, who reported high satisfaction and few adverse effects, though its authors and later critics stressed those self-reported findings cannot prove the diet is safe or effective.
Locally, the scepticism is sharpening as the trend grows. Food For Mzansi reported this year that South African dietitians are “raising red flags” about meat-only eating, with registered dietitian Cari Erasmus cautioning that weight-loss and health claims are not backed by robust science.
For now, the honest answer sits between the coach and the clinicians.
Rigorous long-term evidence does not yet exist, a gap researchers are only starting to close, with a randomised trial called MEDIVORE, comparing carnivore and Mediterranean-style eating, listed to begin in mid-2026.
Until then, even Kriel and his critics agree on one line. “Consider what you’re eating, what you put in your mouth,” he said.
Health expert Dr Angelique Coetzee said her main worry was whether the diet was safe over time.
“The carnivore diet is an extremely restrictive diet and it’s based almost entirely on animal products, usually meat or eggs and sometimes dairy, while it’s excluding fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds,” she said.
“So my concern is sustainability and your nutritional adequacy. So some people may lose weight in the short term because they cut out ultra-processed food and sugars and refined carbs, but that does not mean the diet is balanced or safe on the long term.”
IOL
Xolile Mtembu
iol.co.za
