Carnivore, Paleo, or Keto?

⚠️ NOT MEDICAL ADVICE This post shares personal experiences and research. It is not medical advice. Consult your doctor before acting on any suggestions.

Carnivore, Paleo, or Keto? Decoding the Diets of Our Ancestors for Your Unique Path

In the quiet dawn of human history, one tribe feasted on mammoth marrow under starlit skies, another gathered wild tubers and berries along sun-dappled rivers, while a third thrived on seal blubber through endless Arctic nights. Food wasn’t ideology—it was survival, shaped by season, geography, and biology. Today, three modern diets echo these primal patterns: Carnivore, Paleo, and Keto. Each offers a portal back to metabolic harmony, but none is a lifelong cage. At Heal and Rise Solutions, we honor your body’s wisdom—drawing from ancestral nutritionist Mary Ruddick, light and mitochondrial expert Dr. Jack Kruse, neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, integrative healer Dr. Bruce Hoffman, and biohacker Gary Brecka—to compare these approaches, reveal who thrives where, and illuminate why cycling is the true ancestral way.

The Core of Each Diet: What You Eat, What You Don’t

Carnivore is the lion’s path: pure animal-sourced eating with ribeyes, liver, eggs, tallow, bone broth, and salt, and nothing from the plant kingdom. It excludes all plants, dairy, and carbs, using fat and protein as primary fuel to eliminate irritants and heal gut and immune issues. Paleo is the hunter-gatherer’s plate, embracing meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats, while excluding grains, legumes, dairy, refined sugar, and processed oils; it balances fat and glucose from plants for ancestral alignment and nutrient density. Keto is the fat-burning engine, drawing 70–80% from fat, 15–25% from protein, and under 50g carbs—often under 20g—with foods like avocados, MCT oil, grass-fed butter, low-carb greens, and moderate meat; it excludes grains, sugar, and most fruit or starch, relying on ketones to drive metabolic flexibility and brain fuel.

Dr. Paul Saladino, a former carnivore advocate turned balanced omnivore, once called carnivore “the most anti-inflammatory diet on Earth” for those with severe autoimmunity. Gary Brecka uses short carnivore sprints of 30–90 days to reset gut lining and crush histamine overload. Mary Ruddick, who’s lived with the Hadza and Maasai, calls Paleo “the blueprint of human tolerance”—broad enough for biodiversity, strict enough to avoid Neolithic agents of disease. Dr. Jack Kruse views keto as “winter physiology activated,” syncing with shorter days and scarce plants, while Andrew Huberman praises its neurological precision for epilepsy, addiction recovery, and mitochondrial repair.

Who Thrives Where? Your Biology Decides

No diet is universally superior—context is king. Carnivore shines for those with severe autoimmunity like rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, histamine intolerance, SIBO, or mold illness; Dr. Bruce Hoffman uses 60–90-day carnivore phases to calm mast cells and rebuild gut barriers, offering profound relief for high inflammation and plant sensitivity, especially in cases of oxalate-dumping symptoms like joint pain or vulvodynia. Paleo fits active individuals, families, and those seeking sustainability; Mary Ruddick observes thriving in tribal children on meat, tubers, and honey, while athletes like Huberman cycle Paleo with carb refeeds to fuel performance without insulin chaos, making it ideal for hormonal balance, gut diversity, and long-term adherence. Keto excels for neurological conditions such as migraines, bipolar disorder, or Alzheimer’s, as well as insulin resistance or fat loss plateaus; Huberman cites ketone use in 70% of brain energy during deep ketosis for focus and mood stability, and Brecka pairs it with red light and cold plunges for mitochondrial upgrades, positioning it best for brain fog, metabolic syndrome, and winter cycles.

Genetic nuance plays a role: Kruse warns that APOE4 carriers may need more DHA from fish and less saturated fat long-term, while those with poor bile flow post-cholecystectomy struggle on high-fat keto or carnivore without ox bile support.

The Truth About “Forever” Diets: Why None Are Meant to Be Lifelong

Our ancestors didn’t eat one way year-round. The Inuit went carnivore in winter, then berry-feasting in summer. The Hadza cycle tubers, honey, and meat by season. Monoculture eating = modern trap. Long-term carnivore beyond six months can elevate B12 and heme iron but risk dipping vitamin C, folate, and magnesium without nose-to-tail eating; scurvy is rare but possible, and gut microbiome diversity crashes, potentially raising colon cancer risk over decades—Dr. Saladino reversed his own high Lp(a) and heart palpitations after reintroducing fruit. Chronic keto past 12 months may cause thyroid downregulation with low T3, cortisol spikes, and sleep disruption in women; Huberman notes adrenal fatigue without carb cycles, and while kidney strain from high protein and low fiber is a myth, oxalate buildup from spinach smoothies isn’t. Strict long-term Paleo can lead to calcium and vitamin D shortfalls if organs and fish are skipped, with over-reliance on nuts spiking omega-6 and social isolation creeping in without flexibility.

The ancestral answer is to cycle: Brecka advises using carnivore like a scalpel, keto like a seasonal tool, and Paleo like a lifestyle; Ruddick says to eat like the land changes; Kruse urges following the light—keto in winter, Paleo in summer, carnivore in crisis.

Side Effects: What to Watch For

In the first one to two weeks, carnivore may bring diarrhea from high fat or insomnia, Paleo can spark carb cravings and bloating, and keto often triggers keto flu with headaches and fatigue. From one to three months, carnivore might cause histamine clearance with rashes but also euphoria, Paleo delivers an energy surge and better skin, and keto yields mental clarity and weight drop. Beyond six months, carnivore risks dry skin and hair shedding if organs are neglected, Paleo can lead to oxalate dumping if spinach-heavy, and keto may shift hormones in women, sometimes causing amenorrhea.

Mitigation starts with salt and electrolytes—Brecka recommends three teaspoons of Baja Gold daily to prevent keto or carnivore flu. Include organ meats like liver one to two times weekly for vitamins, cycle carbs with sweet potato post-workout on Paleo or keto, and incorporate sunlight and grounding as Kruse suggests to enhance all three via circadian reset.

Your Personalized Path: Start Here

Assess your fire: for autoimmune issues, try carnivore for 30 days; for brain fog, keto for eight weeks; for family-friendly eating, a Paleo base. Track energy, sleep, digestion, and mood without obsession, and consider bloodwork for HSCRP, fasting insulin, and thyroid panel. Cycle like nature—lean keto or carnivore in winter, Paleo with fruit in spring and summer, carnivore reset in crisis. Budget hacks include eggs, sardines, ground beef, frozen berries, and bulk tallow—ancestral eating need not break the bank.

Rise with the Rhythm

Carnivore, Paleo, and Keto aren’t competitors—they’re tools in your ancestral toolkit. One heals your gut, another sharpens your mind, the third sustains your spirit. As Hoffman reminds us, “The best diet is the one that heals you—then teaches you to listen.”

Which path calls to you? Have you danced between these worlds? Share your story — we’re here to guide your rise. Pair your journey with our Red Light Therapy or Barefoot Forest Walks to amplify cellular repair. Subscribe for seasonal wisdom, and remember: your body doesn’t need a label. It needs alignment.

In radiant health,

The Heal and Rise Solutions Team

Sources: Insights from Mary Ruddick’s tribal nutrition studies; Dr. Jack Kruse on light, DHA, and seasonal eating; Andrew Huberman Lab episodes on ketosis, BDNF, and thyroid; Dr. Bruce Hoffman’s clinical autoimmunity protocols; Gary Brecka’s 30-30-30 and cyclic dieting; Dr. Paul Saladino’s carnivore research and personal reversals; peer-reviewed data on microbiome diversity, Lp(a), long-term ketogenic outcomes, and Paleo metabolic benefits. Always consult a practitioner before major dietary shifts.