When You Cut the Green, What Screams Inside?
There’s something downright primal about ditching plants. You strip away the fluff, the fiber, the colors… and what’s left? Flesh. Bone. Blood. Salt. It’s the food of wolves, not bunnies.
And your body knows it. The question is—what do your organs do when they stop swimming in antioxidants and start marinating in ribeye grease 24/7? They don’t whisper. They howl.
Cut the kale, toss the turmeric, burn the broccoli. You’re now feeding your system like a lion on the savannah, not a monk in a monastery. At first, it feels clean, even biblical—just meat and fire. No lectins, no oxalates, no bloating from that sad salad you forced down out of guilt.
Your gut? Silent. Your skin? Glowing like it just got back from a spiritual retreat. Your energy? Spiking like a crypto coin on a good day.
But beneath the hood, things get gritty.
The Liver—Your Detox Diva on Overdrive
Let’s talk liver. That brick-red powerhouse doesn’t just process margaritas and regret—it’s your filtration unit. On a zero plant diet, it’s clocking in hard. No fiber means bile has fewer passengers to carry out, so it recycles. Again. And again. And too much of that bile? It gets thick, sticky, tired.
Gallstones start showing up like uninvited guests at a family BBQ. Liver enzymes might rise—not always a crisis, but a flare signal. She’s working overtime without green backup dancers.
The Gut—From Garden to Ghost Town
You know that lush microbial jungle squatting in your colon? It’s basically the Amazon rainforest of your insides. Start eating only meat, and that forest starts dying off like it’s been hit with napalm. Less fiber means less food for your good bugs. Some die. Others adapt, turn carnivore themselves.
But the diversity? Gone. And gut diversity isn’t just a nerdy science flex—it’s tied to mood, immunity, even how your skin looks when you’re flirting.
Poop becomes a whole saga. It slows down, then turns into fossilized bullets. Some folks brag about not crapping for days like it’s a badge of honor.
But that backup can mean toxins hang out longer than they should. Your colon’s supposed to be a moving train, not a parking lot.
The Heart—King of the Long Game
Ah, the heart. Romanticized in poetry, punished in real life. Zero plants means saturated fats go up, fiber goes down. LDL might spike, HDL might flex, and triglycerides… well, they’ll do whatever your genetics tell them to.
But one thing’s for sure—no fiber means your cholesterol’s missing its escort service out the body. It hangs around longer, throws parties in your arteries, lays down plaque like it’s building a highway.
Some folks say meat cleans up their numbers. Others? Get heart palpitations like a drum solo in their chest. One study says carnivore diets reduce inflammation. Another says they mess with endothelial function.
Bottom line: the data’s a mixed bag, but the stakes are heart-deep.
The Kidneys—Salt’s New Best Friend
Drop plants, and salt intake often skyrockets—because meat’s naturally salty, and you’re probably adding more to make that tenth steak taste like something new.
Your kidneys? They have to balance that sodium like tightrope walkers over lava. Some folks thrive. Others start leaking protein in their urine like their filters have sprung a slow leak.
Add in the fact that high protein raises your urea load—another job for the kidneys—and things can start feeling like a pressure cooker. If you’re already on shaky ground (hello, family history of kidney disease), going all meat might push you into a doctor’s office real quick.
The Brain—Meat High or Dopamine Crash?
Now let’s get to the control center. Ditching plants can mess with serotonin levels, since many plant foods boost tryptophan availability. You might feel sharper—no more glucose rollercoasters.
Or, you might crash, mood-wise. Some carnivores say they feel like gods. Others say they feel like robots with anxiety.
What’s clear: meat’s got tyrosine, and that boosts dopamine. So you might feel driven, even euphoric—for a while. But remove carbs completely, and serotonin might drop. Less calm, more cranky. Like your brain’s had too much coffee and not enough cuddles.
So What’s the Verdict?
Zero plant diets are like walking a nutritional tightrope in steel-toe boots. Some bodies roar with energy. Others wave white flags. Your organs? They’re either thanking you or plotting a rebellion, and you won’t know which until months in.
“Just because you can run on meat doesn’t mean you’re running well.”
It’s not about good or bad. It’s about trade-offs. You gain clarity, maybe. Lose microbial diversity, definitely. Get leaner? Possibly. Lose hormone balance? Also possible. No free lunch—just meat on the plate and your insides adapting like it’s survival of the fittest.
You can live without kale, but don’t think your organs don’t notice. They do. And they’re taking notes.
