(Disclaimer: I am not a scientist or nutritionist or even a doctor, duh... I did some research, so... Don't quote me on that.
And have some apple or orange from time to time.)
When you’re rocking the all-meat-everything diet (aka carnivore), your body plays by slightly different rules when it comes to vitamin C. Here’s the deal:
On a carnivore diet, you’re basically ghosting carbs, right? Well, fun fact: vitamin C and sugar (glucose) both fight for the same Uber driver in your body—the GLUT-1 transporter. If you’re not pumping yourself full of carbs, there’s way less competition, so your body uses vitamin C way more efficiently. Translation: you might not need as much of it as someone munching on fruit salads all day.
“But dude, meat doesn’t have vitamin C!”—a myth. Some animal products have a sneaky bit of it, especially if you’re adventurous:
Liver: Nature’s multivitamin, but warning, it tastes… “earthy.”
Raw or rare meat: Cooking kills some vitamin C, so if you like your steak mooing, you’re winning.
Organs & weird stuff: Ever tried kidney or bone marrow? They’ve got your back.
If you’re hitting up the nose-to-tail lifestyle, you’ll probably score enough vitamin C without even trying.
Here’s the twist: people on long-term carnivore diets don’t seem to keel over from scurvy (the pirate disease). Why? Turns out, when you’re on low carbs and high fat, your body is chill about vitamin C. It’s like it enters “economy mode” and doesn’t need as much.
Your vitamin C needs depend on a lot of things:
Stress level: Big deadline? Breakup? You might burn through more C.
Meat prep: Raw, rare, or well-done—it changes how much vitamin C you get.
Health vibes: Got a chronic illness or work out like a beast? You might still need extra.
If you’re on carnivore, you probably don’t need as much vitamin C as your kale-smoothie-sipping friends. Low carbs mean less competition with glucose, and eating organ meats (or barely cooking your steak) can keep you covered. Just keep an eye on yourself—if your gums start acting funky or you’re bruising like a peach, maybe reconsider that liver after all.
What do you think? Ready to start looking at liver like it’s the MVP of your diet? 😅