Carnivore/Keto Study, Integrative Medicine, and the Doc Associated | Rob Abbott EP 229
In a Nutshell
Dr. Rob Abbott is launching the first randomized controlled trial comparing a carnivore/lion diet, ketogenic diet, and waitlist control (delayed start) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD: Crohn's or ulcerative colitis), using quality-of-life as the primary outcome and monitoring physiological markers for safety. The 24-week study features a 4-week low-carb paleo on-ramp, 8-week main phase, voluntary crossovers, and intention-to-treat/per-protocol analyses to assess real-world effectiveness for autoimmune conditions, motivated by clinical successes and funding challenges for non-patentable interventions. Carnivore diets are defended as nutrient-dense, temporary therapeutic tools—safer than vegan trials despite criticisms—aiming to improve symptoms better than immunosuppressive drugs.
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It is easier to be sick than to be well. As a clinician, day in and day out taking care of people, the goal is to make them feel better. The most logical daily intervention for meaningful health impact is diet. Carnivore diet and lion diet appear restrictive on the surface—how to study them safely? There are zero randomized trials of a vegan diet. Comparing nutritional profiles of vegan vs. carnivore diets side by side is damning. Primary outcome should be quality of life measure, not just physiological markers like inflammation, because if people do not feel better, they do not care. As a clinician, if someone does not feel better, that matters most.
Dr. Rob Abbott welcomes to the podcast. Interest in studying lion diet vs. keto diet vs. standard American diet stems from poor job studying interventions that create health.
Not pro-medicine or anti-medicine—different tools with tradeoffs. Drugs and supplements are passive therapies with limited potential for health creation. True health requires ownership and active engagement. Diet and lifestyle fall into this category. Current model focuses on indirect interventions like medicines that enable action but do not create health. Inspiring clinical practice is relieving suffering through daily meaningful impacts, starting with diet.
Unfortunately, it is easier to be sick than well. Takes more effort to stay well than get sick, despite abundance and comfort. Modern lives lack natural stressors and environments conducive to health—people artificially stress via workouts, meditate, or yoga to downregulate nervous systems. Removing gluten or processed foods helps but insufficient for metabolic or chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease burden. Elimination diets now target whole foods with nutritional benefits for specific individuals. No money in studying non-patentable foods, so academic institutions ignore them despite people like Dr. Terry Walls pushing forward with funding.
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