A YouTuber and social media influencer who built a following mostly around her life as a vegan has confused followers by switching to an all-meat diet for 30 days.
Alyse Parker has 728,000 YouTube subscribers and 208,000 Instagram followers and until earlier this year was best known as a vegan blogger, often posting motivational tips and workout advice.
However, in a recent post Parker announced that she had tried eating only animal products - meat, fish, eggs and dairy - for 30 days.
"The Carnivore Diet first came into my awareness when a close friend shared with me all of the benefits that he was experiencing by eating this way", she wrote.
The Carnivore Diet is a highly restrictive diet that only includes animal products and excludes all other foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. Some people refer to it as an "elimination diet", which are used by some people to isolate foods that may be causing digestive or health issues.
Parker adds that it is "considered to be a more extreme version of the currently trending ketogenic diet".
Parker was a vegan for nearly five years, and says in her post that the diet "didn't make ANY sense to me. It actually sounded pretty f*cking ridiculous". But it was hearing stories from other vegan friends "jumping ship" who were experiencing health benefits that made her change her mind.
"With an online community of 800,000 people ~ many of which were primarily showing up for my vegan related content... I was a bit conflicted to say the least.", she wrote.
However, in her video she says that after so many years as a vegan, she knew "what it's like to lose myself in the identity of a diet culture and lose true open-mindedness". Pitching this endeavour as part personal challenge, part experiment in personal growth, she made it less about diet and more about connection with others.
"I swallowed my pride + decided I'd give it a shot. Full onnn carnivore. I woke up the next morning feeling more mentally clear, focused, wholesome, and healthy than I had felt in years."
Parker, who according to her YouTube account strives "to empower YOU to drop all limiting beliefs and step into alignment with your most vibrant self", posted a video explaining her reason for trying out the diet.
"I've done a lot of crazy things in my life, but I haven't eaten only meat for 30 days. Until now", she says, taking a bite of steak. Those crazy things include 30 days without shampoo, one year without deodorant and three years without shaving her underarms.
According to her video, the benefits seen by some people using the diet include better digestion, and can ease conditions such as fatigue. At the end of her 30 days, aside from some initial digestive trouble, she said she noticed some fat loss, more power in the gym, stable energy levels and better focus during the day.
Some followers have expressed support, with one writing "The best thing we can do is self-experiment to figure out what works for us!" However, some were disappointed to see a formerly committed vegan choosing to eat meat. One follower wrote: "I'm so sorry that you changed your mind about veganism. You were my inspiration at first and now you support the exact opposite."
Parker made a point to choose only ethical producers and suppliers and speaks about the horrors of factory farming in the video.
Still, there were many who called out her focus on extreme dieting, such as one follower who wrote: "Can we stop pushing extreme dieting and veiling it as wellness and transformation. It's toxic."
The HSE recommends that all adults, teenagers and children aged five and over should eat two portions of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts per day, while up to three servings of dairy products can be taken each day (five for children aged 9-12 and teenagers aged 13-18).
Limiting your intake of red meat has been linked to lower cholesterol and reduced risk of conditions like heart disease, cancer and many more.
You can find their food pyramid guide here.
