The 2026 carnivore diet scoping review found only nine human studies, mostly case reports and surveys, and concluded that the benefits are unclear while the risks are real. I agree with it. The evidence is thin, and that is exactly why a carefully measured single case with bloodwork, like Dr. Mike's 600 burgers in 30 days, is one of the few kinds of data that exist.
What did the carnivore diet scoping review find?
It found very little to go on. The review in Nutrients included nine human studies, and the evidence says their quality is very limited because the samples were small, the studies were short and none had control groups. That same paper reports weight reduction, increased satiety and possible improvements in inflammatory or metabolic markers in individual reports. It also flags risks: low vitamins C and D, calcium, magnesium, iodine and fiber, along with higher LDL and total cholesterol levels.
Here is the real problem. People quote the conclusion as if it ends the argument. Read it again. It doesn’t say the diet is proven harmful. What it says is that nobody has done the work yet.
The university’s own summary put it in four words: unclear benefits, clear risks. I’m not going to argue with that.
How was the study conducted?
It was a scoping review, which means it maps what research exists rather than pooling results into one answer. According to the paper, the authors searched PubMed, LIVIVO, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library under PRISMA guidelines. Out of everything they screened, nine studies qualified: five case studies, two surveys, one modelling study and one exploratory study.
Sit with that for a moment. That is not hyperbole. A diet with millions of social media fans has five case studies as its biggest category of evidence. One analysis of the review points out that it contained no randomized trials and no data on hard endpoints like heart attacks or death.
Achieving Ketosis Carnivore Diet: Challenges and Insights
What can you eat on a carnivore diet?
Animal foods only: meat, fish, eggs and some dairy, with plant foods cut out entirely. The review notes that red meat is usually the base, and that the strictest version, the Lion Diet, is red meat, salt and water and nothing else.
The burgers were even narrower than that. The film shows Dr. Mike eating 20 Burger King patties a day and drinking water, with no seasoning, for 30 days. It wasn’t a healthy carnivore template, and we never claimed it was. Fast food was the stress test. If you want to know how that compares with a cleaner all-meat plan, I wrote it up in Keto vs Carnivore.
What can a single case study prove, and what can't it?
A single case shows you what happened to one body under known conditions. It can’t tell you what will happen to yours. That is the honest answer, and a skeptic should demand it.
A case like this can do three things.
- It can document change over time with repeated measures.
- It can raise questions worth funding a trial for.
- It can show that a claimed rule has exceptions.
A case like this can’t show cause in a population, rule out chance, or speak for people with different genes. Individual results vary, and every finding from the burger month belongs to Dr. Mike alone. In my experience, each person runs on different software. That is my belief, not a finding.
What are the potential health effects of a carnivore diet?
The evidence says the reported upsides are weight loss and satiety, and the reported risks are nutrient gaps and rising cholesterol. Both lists come from the same nine studies, which is why neither list is settled.
Here is the test we ran. The book lists labs covering hormones, cardiometabolic markers, liver, thyroid, kidneys and inflammatory panels, plus brain scans, HRV, body scans and fitness tests. Dr. Mike wrote on Day 14 that his best long jump was an inch shorter than his worst baseline jump and his mile was about 20 seconds slower, according to the book. The film suggests the strain was building. How his bloodwork ended up, the film shows and I won’t.
Is the carnivore diet sustainable?
No study can answer that yet, because none of the nine ran long enough to test it, as the review makes clear. Long-term data simply doesn’t exist.
His journal tells the rest. On Day 26 Dr. Mike wrote that he was jealous of my turkey burger, especially once I added mustard. That’s one man and one month of fast food, so it proves nothing about steak and eggs. What it does show is the monotony: a cost the surveys never measure.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to lose 20 pounds on carnivore?
No published study answers that. The 2026 scoping review lists weight reduction as a reported effect, but its nine studies were small, short and uncontrolled, so they give no reliable timeline. Any number you see online is an anecdote. Dr. Mike was a fit man and wasn’t trying to lose weight at all.
No published study answers that. The 2026 scoping review lists weight reduction as a reported effect, but its nine studies were small, short and uncontrolled, so they give no reliable timeline. Any number you see online is an anecdote. Dr. Mike was a fit man and wasn’t trying to lose weight at all.
What is a raw carnivore diet?
It’s an all-animal-food diet where some or all of the meat is eaten uncooked. The 2026 scoping review didn’t single it out as a tested variant, so there’s no human trial data on it. Dr. Mike’s patties were cooked fast-food beef, which is the opposite end of the spectrum.
It’s an all-animal-food diet where some or all of the meat is eaten uncooked. The 2026 scoping review didn’t single it out as a tested variant, so there’s no human trial data on it. Dr. Mike’s patties were cooked fast-food beef, which is the opposite end of the spectrum.
Were the burgers in The Keto Project ever lab-tested?
No. In the book I explain that no lab I contacted would take the job, so the patties were never assayed. The nutrition numbers Dr. Mike gives on camera are his own estimates from label data, not a lab assay.
No. In the book I explain that no lab I contacted would take the job, so the patties were never assayed. The nutrition numbers Dr. Mike gives on camera are his own estimates from label data, not a lab assay.
Who paid for Dr. Mike's bloodwork?
I did. I paid for the testing personally. Testing happened before the burger month, after it, after a reset month and after a final month of grass-finished beef, so each phase can be compared against his own baseline.
I did. I paid for the testing personally. Testing happened before the burger month, after it, after a reset month and after a final month of grass-finished beef, so each phase can be compared against his own baseline.
The Bottom Line
The review is right. The evidence is thin, and pretending otherwise is marketing dressed up as science. If you aren’t testing, you’re guessing, and right now the whole field is mostly guessing. Before you change how you eat, get a baseline panel and talk to your own doctor.
If you want to know how a measured case gets built, from the double-blind taste test to the four testing points, it’s all in the book. Get the book, 600 Burgers in 30 Days, to see exactly how we set up the experiment. Then watch the film to find out how it ends. What will you do with it?
Sources
- Carnivore Diet: A Scoping Review of the Current Evidence, Potential Benefits and Risks (PMC)
- Scientific review of the carnivore diet: unclear benefits, clear risks (FH Münster)
- Research Review: The Carnivore Diet — Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Unknowns
- Does the carnivore diet really work? (ZOE)
This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Individual results vary. Speak to a qualified clinician before changing how you eat.
The whole experiment is in the film. 600 burgers, 30 days, every blood test — and the ending we never post.
Watch The Keto Project on Amazon