Getting enough antioxidants is essential for health, but many worry that eliminating plant foods on a carnivore diet means missing out on these important nutrients. The truth is, you can get all the antioxidants you need from animal foods on a carnivore diet.
Animal Foods Offers a Treasure Trove of Antioxidants
Many people falsely believe antioxidants only come from fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. In reality, animal foods contain a goldmine of antioxidants in greater concentrations than plants. Here are some of the top carnivore-friendly antioxidants:
Astaxanthin – This carotenoid gives salmon and trout their pink color. It's one of the most powerful antioxidants known, showing benefits for skin, vision, brain health, exercise recovery, and more.
Carnosine – Abundant in meat, poultry, and fish, this antioxidant supports healthy aging by protecting cells from damage. It's also shown promise for boosting exercise performance.
Taurine – Found primarily in seafood and organ meats like liver, taurine is a sulfur-containing antioxidant. It supports metabolic health, heart function, and brain development.
Glutathione – The “master antioxidant,” glutathione is critical for detoxification and is made from amino acids in animal protein. Organ meats are excellent sources.
Vitamin A – Preformed active vitamin A (retinol) from animal foods like liver, fish, eggs, and dairy products is a potent antioxidant that benefits vision, immunity, and reproduction.
Vitamin E – Fatty fish, organ meats, egg yolks, and dairy products contain natural forms of antioxidant vitamin E like alpha-tocopherol.
Boost Absorption with Animal Fat
Here's an antioxidant secret: fat helps you absorb fat-soluble antioxidants like astaxanthin, vitamin A, and vitamin E. By pairing antioxidant-rich foods with fatty animal foods, you increase the antioxidants absorbed.
For example, eat salmon with more omega-3s and astaxanthin by cooking it in butter or cream. Dip your liver in beef tallow or egg yolks in hollandaise sauce. Choosing fattier cuts of meat also means more antioxidants are absorbed.
Optimize Antioxidants with Nose-to-Tail Eating
By enjoying the entire animal, you get a diversity of antioxidants. Organ meats like liver are the most concentrated source, providing powerful antioxidants like vitamin A, glutathione, taurine, carnosine, and CoQ10. Shellfish, roe, bone broth, and blood are other antioxidant-dense foods often overlooked.
Try: calf’s liver cooked in butter, grilled oysters topped with egg yolk, bone broth soup with kidney, or blood sausage. Discover new-to-you odd bits to become a true antioxidant connoisseur.
Give Yourself an Antioxidant Boost with These Carnivore Tips:
Eat plenty of organ meats – liver, kidney, heart. At least once a week.
Rotate different seafood – salmon, mackerel, oysters, caviar, sardines.
Cook meats with more fat – choose fattier cuts like ribeye, and add butter or tallow.
Slow-cook bones – extract antioxidants from bones into broth.
Enjoy raw egg yolks – soft-boiled, salad dressing, smoothies.
Spice it up – use antioxidant spices like turmeric, cloves, allspice, and cumin.
Addressing common Concerns About Antioxidants on a Carnivore diet
I know what you may be thinking: What about polyphenols from plants? Aren't fruits and veggies antioxidant superstars?
Here's the truth: polyphenols are not essential nutrients. And studies show polyphenol content doesn’t determine the antioxidant capacity of foods.
While fruits and vegetables do contain antioxidants, they are not as bioavailable. Plant antioxidants bind to the indigestible fiber, limiting absorption. Carnivore antioxidants like retinol and carnosine are more readily absorbed.
Plus, plants contain antinutrients that can negatively impact health. So you're better off getting antioxidants from animal foods without the antinutrient lectins, oxalates, and phytates found in plants.
The Carnivore Diet Naturally Minimizes Oxidative Stress
Here’s an interesting fact: high levels of oxidative stress typically come from high-carb diets and PUFA oils – not a lack of antioxidants.
By avoiding these oxidizing foods, the carnivore diet intrinsically decreases oxidative stress. When your body isn’t dealing with excess inflammation and free radicals, it doesn’t need mega-doses of antioxidants.
The most powerful way to minimize oxidative damage isn’t antioxidant supplements – it’s removing the factors causing that damage in the first place.
In Summary
You absolutely can get all the antioxidants your body needs from the carnivore diet. With nose-to-tail animal foods, optimal cooking techniques, and avoidance of oxidizing factors, a carnivore diet may provide the most bioavailable antioxidants yet.
So don't worry about missing out on plant antioxidants. Embrace the animal antioxidant powerhouses that will help you thrive on a carnivore lifestyle.