Carnivores vs. vegans: you're both fighting the wrong enemy

the food fight that's missing the plot entirely

If this piece resonates with you, please consider subscribing to Untreated and sharing it with someone who's been struggling with their health.
My mission is to uncover why so many of us are unwell—and to translate complex science into clear, actionable insights you can apply to your own life, and the lives of your children and future generations.

It’s time to break free from this toxic cycle. Because if we don’t make changes now, infertility, chronic illness, and declining quality of life will only become more widespread. That future isn’t coming—it’s already here.

It’s time to do something that isn’t a wellness trend.
Be your own investigator. Question everything you’re told.
Because the system we live in doesn’t care about your health. It’s evolved into a machine that runs on autopilot—and far too few are willing to question it, or the scientific dogmas it protects.

Take the time to understand your body. You only get one. And too often, people wait until it’s too late—until they’re in crisis and in need of acute intervention.

We’re getting closer. People are starting to question their food. But when the conversation becomes a war between two sides, nothing productive gets done.

---

Raise your hand if you've ever adopted a restrictive diet—like strict carnivore, paleo, low carb, or strict vegan—in response to chronic symptoms, food sensitivities, stubborn weight, or inflammation. Most of us have.

Initially, these diets seem miraculous! Don’t they? Removing foods that trigger bloating, joint pain, fatigue, or brain fog undeniably makes you feel better. But there’s an uncomfortable truth nobody wants to accept: simply cutting out symptom-triggering foods doesn't heal the underlying problem. It temporarily reduces inflammation and discomfort, creating the illusion that the diet itself is the solution. But anything more complex than a two party system where one has to be the evil bad guy tends to be too much for most people to comprehend.

So what's really going on beneath the surface?

A compromised gut barrier, often called "leaky gut," allows molecules that should never enter the bloodstream—like gluten fragments, dairy proteins, histamines, or oxalates—to provoke immune reactions, systemic inflammation, and autoimmune-like symptoms.

Initially, eliminating these foods reduces symptoms, offering relief. But because the root problem—gut permeability, systemic inflammation, and immune dysregulation—isn't addressed, symptoms inevitably return. This traps people in a vicious cycle of ever-stricter diets, confusion, and anxiety around food.

Why extreme diets feel great at first but eventually fail

Extreme diets initially remove inflammatory triggers:

• Carnivore diets eliminate inflammatory plant compounds (lectins, oxalates, gluten).

• Whole-food plant-based diets remove processed foods, dairy, refined sugars, and excess fats.

Yet, long-term adherence to these diets often results in:

• Rebound symptoms and renewed food reactivity.

• Nutrient deficiencies and hormonal imbalances.

• Social isolation due to dietary rigidity.

Because who can actually stick to this insanity of only eating meat for the rest of your life or never having ice cream, a cheeseburger, or birthday cake ever again?

That initial relief was only ever symptom control, not root-cause healing. And maybe you really are another Mikhaila Peterson, for whom living on steak every day sounds easy, or you're Freelee the Banana Girl drinking a 10-banana smoothie every morning followed by an entire watermelon and 10 pounds of oranges—but the reality is, for most people, these lifestyles are neither sustainable nor healthy because they isolate you from bonding over food. Food has been a cultural phenomenon at the heart of human existence. Rituals revolve around food, celebrations revolve around food. What do people bring when you lose a loved one? FOOD. Where do you usually go on a date? TO EAT FOOD. I’m sorry, but I don't accept this cultural shift where we vilify food as an easy out to fix health problems or lose weight.

I would love for our increasingly poor health and atrocious healthcare system to be easily blamed on certain foods. But over the last decade of learning and research, I can confidently tell you our health problems are not the food itself. It would be so much simpler if we could just vilify gluten (or meat, eggs, dairy, tomato seeds, oxalates—take your pick), cut it out, call it a day, and fix our health. I hate to make everyone start using their thinking caps here but the common denominator is mostly gut barrier permeability—aka leaky gut—and the result of modern life. In other words, it's complex and multifactorial.

The real issue isn't the food—it's a broken ecosystem

Gluten, dairy, and other commonly blamed foods aren't inherently evil. Historically, humans consumed these without widespread chronic illness. Our current epidemic of food sensitivities signals a deeper imbalance:

• Compromised Gut Barrier: Modern lifestyles (processed foods, prescription and over the counter drugs, antibiotics, glyphosate exposure, chronic stress) weaken gut integrity, allowing inflammatory molecules to leak into the bloodstream.

• Systemic Immune Dysregulation: Chronic exposure to these molecules triggers ongoing inflammation and immune confusion, making previously benign foods highly reactive.

• Altered Microbiome and Metabolism: Loss of microbial diversity and impaired digestion exacerbate sensitivity even to nutritious, whole foods.

In short, our gut–immune–microbial ecosystem is fundamentally broken.

Moving beyond diet "camps"

Neither extreme dietary approach fully solves the underlying problem:

• Carnivore Diets temporarily remove plant irritants and supply bioavailable nutrients but lack fiber, creating microbiome imbalances.

• Plant-Based Diets initially boost microbiome diversity but often worsen symptoms (lectins, oxalates) and cause nutrient deficiencies long-term.

Both fail to:

• Fully heal gut barriers.

• Restore microbial ecosystems.

• Normalize immune function.

• Reduce systemic inflammation sustainably.

The path to true healing requires restoring balance and tolerance

The solution isn't indefinite restriction but rather restoring metabolic flexibility and systemic tolerance:

• Heal Your Gut Barrier: Incorporate nutrients like glutamine, zinc, vitamin D, omega-3s, polyphenols, and soothing herbs (marshmallow root, slippery elm).

• Restore Microbial Diversity: Eat diverse, balanced diets with both plants and animals. Include fiber-rich foods, fermented foods, and foods supporting beneficial short-chain fatty acids.

• Normalize Immune Function and Lower Inflammation: Address chronic stress, hidden infections, optimize sleep, sunlight, circadian rhythms, and utilize targeted anti-inflammatory supplements (curcumin, omega-3s, magnesium).

• Strategically Reintroduce Foods: Gradually reintroduce previously problematic foods once healing is underway. Aim for dietary resilience and expansion, not lifelong restriction.

• Support the Immune System When Necessary: Trust your immune system’s remarkable resilience, but recognize when it needs extra help. For some, deep-seated infections, complex chronic conditions or cancer may require targeted medical interventions (e.g., antimicrobial treatments, targeted immunotherapy, phage therapy or other integrative therapies) alongside dietary and lifestyle modifications. Comprehensive care involves addressing both immediate symptoms and deeper, underlying triggers to achieve lasting balance and resilience.

It isn't the villain—it's the messenger

(Insert any food molecule—e.g., gluten) itself isn't fundamentally problematic. It's merely the messenger signaling deeper gut–immune–microbial dysfunction. Addressing these root imbalances restores health, allowing most people to reintroduce what used to be symptom-triggering foods—without the symptoms.

The path forward isn't food fear or lifelong restriction, but balanced, integrative healing that restores dietary resilience and freedom.

It’s time to move beyond dietary dogma and heal our broken ecosystems for good. Usually, the answer isn’t black or white—it’s grey. And understanding the grey area requires you to step outside the two-party system.

Let's move beyond dietary dogma and heal our broken ecosystems for good.

Alexandra Kassis

---