Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
It’s time to get serious about, of all things, butter.
Sommer said, “I found another crazy social media TikTok diet fad going around. It is the carnivore diet but there are people claiming that it’s kind of like Keto, no carb, just high protein. But in this case there are certain individuals claiming to eat large amounts of butter, like whole sticks of butter as a snack.”
It’s really not a good idea to get medical advice from TikTok.
Sommer said, “It claims that it aids in weight loss because you feel fuller, and it actually gives you improved mood and energy. I don’t know about you, but if I eat a meal that’s high in saturated fat I feel really sluggish. So I can’t imagine eating a stick of butter.”
Butter is incredibly full of fat.
Sommer said, “You need a balanced diet. The carnivore diet is only eating animal based products like meat, fish, eggs, and dairy and excluding all plant based foods, claiming that it can do weight loss, and the aim is to consume zero carbs. You need some carbs in your life to function. You need to eat nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables, everything has to be a balance. I’m not a dietitian or a nutritionist by any value, but the food pyramid, I believe has been around forever. Life is a balance. Diet has to be a balance. I feel like sometimes people want to lose weight quick and it’s like, oh, I’m going to do this diet fad. But over the long term, being on just a diet of only meats, or high protein, high fatty foods, sticks of butter, it increases your risk for heart disease. Not to mention, when you don’t have enough fiber in your diet, which a lot of meals and high proteins don’t include, you don’t move your bowels regularly. That leads to constipation, but that also puts you at increased risk for our favorite ugly friend colon cancer.”
Please don’t eat a stick of butter as a snack if you have high cholesterol in your family.
Sommer said, “If high cholesterol runs in your family, and you’re young, and you don’t know pay attention to those warning signs, the concern is that butter is high in saturated fat and it will increase the LDL portion of your cholesterol which is a low lipid density particles in your blood. That’s the dangerous part of cholesterol, the tinier the particle, the easier it is to stick to the wall of the vessel in your heart, creating plaque buildup. So that is why if you have history of high cholesterol, whether it’s familial, or you know you have it, these diets high in saturated fat are not good for you. You’re increasing your risk for potential for heart disease. Foods high in fat, they can make you feel full. If you eat a big steak, you usually feel full, making you not want to each in between meals, but in the long run, it’s just not healthy.”
Butter also lacks a lot of nutrients that a person needs.
Sommer said, “You lack the vitamins you need. Vitamin C, B, E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, again, it has to be a balanced meal, like high protein is a good diet, but you need some carbs in there.”
What are some healthier ways to follow the carnivore diet if that really is the way you’re looking to go?
Sommer said, “You still need to add some healthy snacks like carrots, crunchy bell pepper, fruits and vegetables, oranges, fruits that are not high in sugar. Even if it’s a natural sugar I believe that, my belief is and people can argue with me, your body processes it differently than processed sugar. I mean, just because when I eat an apple or I eat an orange, I feel healthier than if I had a sugary drink, a soda full of soda. There are other benefits. You can definitely have celery which is pretty much just water, but it has to be balance. Nuts, like peanuts and nuts, they have a certain amount of fat, but it’s kind of like a good fat and it’s a healthier snack than…butter.”
One stick of butter is 810 calories and 92 grams of fat.
Sommer said, “So this one TikTok-er, her diet, she made a 10 egg omelet with a stick of butter. That would be 1,590 calories in one meal and 142 grams of fat. For breakfast and high in saturated fat. The long term side effects of any type of fad diet isn’t really the way to go.”