Just last week, we wrote a book review of “The Carnivore Diet,” Dr. Shawn Baker and lo and behold he made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Podcast a few days later.
Here’s our analysis of the episode.
An Informative Discussion on Diet, Health, and Social Engineering
On November 28th, 2023, Joe Rogan had Dr. Shawn Baker on his massively popular podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on diet, nutrition, health, and the forces shaping public policy and science. For those unfamiliar with his work, Dr. Baker is an orthopedic surgeon and longtime advocate of the carnivore diet, having eaten only animal foods for nearly eight years.
The Flaws of Conventional Nutritional Guidelines
A major focus of the conversation centered on the deep flaws Dr. Baker sees in conventional nutritional guidelines. He explained how special interests like Big Food and Big Pharma fund most nutrition research, and that official recommendations more often than not align with maximizing corporate profits rather than public health.
For example, Dr. Baker discussed a recent USDA study concluding that ultra-processed foods can be part of a healthy diet. He views this as positioning society to accept human “pet food” that keeps people sick and hooked on medications. Rogan agreed, lamenting how the sugar industry literally bribed Harvard researchers in the 1960s to shift blame from sugar to fat as the cause of heart disease. This fraudulent study became “the basis that people have been making recommendations on forever.”
The Power of the Carnivore Diet
A centerpiece of the discussion involved the remarkable power of the carnivore diet. Dr. Baker stated he’s seen the carnivore diet help “hundreds of thousands” of people recover from autoimmune diseases, digestive disorders, diabetes, obesity, chronic fatigue, depression, and more – often when nothing else worked.
He referenced a recent study where type 2 diabetics adopted a mostly meat diet and 92% completely got off insulin. Rogan shared his own experience with the diet, feeling far better when he eliminates sugary foods and processed carbs. However, Rogan isn’t as strict, admitting he still enjoys sushi despite it making him “feel like shit afterwards.”
The Great Cholesterol Conundrum
The discussion also tackled the issue of cholesterol, as critics argue diets very high in animal foods dangerously raise cholesterol. Dr. Baker explained an emerging theory called the “lean mass hyper-responder,” where being muscular and eating low carb ramps up blood cholesterol as the body’s adaptive response to supply more energy to tissues.
He stated that for lean and insulin-sensitive people, extremely high LDL cholesterol may not correlate with heart disease risk, contrary to modern guidelines. Dr. Baker referenced an upcoming study tracking people with sky-high LDL over a year but no other metabolic issues, predicting it will show cholesterol by itself isn’t inherently dangerous for some genotypes. Rogan found this theory paradigm-shifting, though admitting most cardiologists would likely disagree.
Final Thoughts
Rogan and Dr. Baker covered considerable ground in this thought-provoking discussion that challenges much of today’s conventional wisdom on food and health. Those seeking to improve their health, energy, and mental clarity may find merit in considering their words rather than simply accepting the standard guidelines as gospel truth. With open-mindedness and skepticism, listeners can decide for themselves the best paths forward.