The 3 Myths The Carnivore World Likes to Push

By: Marcy Schoenborn

1. “Plant nutrients aren’t bioavailable because of anti-nutrients”

This is probably the most repeated claim.

The argument usually focuses on compounds such as:

• phytates

• oxalates

• lectins

• tannins

These compounds are often labeled as “anti-nutrients” because they can bind minerals under certain conditions.

The problem with that argument

First, these compounds are dose-dependent and context-dependent.

For example:

Phytates

Phytates can reduce absorption of minerals like zinc or iron in isolation.
But they also have important biological roles:

• antioxidant activity
• blood sugar regulation
• reduced cancer risk
• support for beneficial gut microbes

Populations that eat legume-rich diets for generations typically show normal mineral status because:

• soaking

• sprouting

• fermenting

• cooking

all reduce phytate content dramatically.

Traditional food cultures figured this out thousands of years ago.

Second, phytates don’t completely block absorption. They modulate it, which can actually help regulate mineral balance.

2. “Animal nutrients are more bioavailable so they are superior”

Animal foods do provide some nutrients that are easier to absorb:

Examples:

• heme iron
• vitamin B12
• preformed vitamin A (retinol)

But the argument often stops there and assumes that greater absorption equals better health.

That’s where the logic breaks down.

Biology is regulated, not linear

The body tightly controls nutrient absorption.

Example: iron regulation

The hormone hepcidin controls how much iron enters circulation.

When iron stores are high → absorption decreases.
When stores are low → absorption increases.

So foods with lower absorption can still maintain adequate status over time.

Additionally, highly absorbable nutrients can sometimes create excess exposure.

For example:

Very high heme iron intake has been associated with increased risk of:

• oxidative stress
• type 2 diabetes
• cardiovascular disease

because free iron can catalyze reactive oxygen species formation.

So again, bioavailability alone does not define health value.

3. “Plants are nutritionally inferior because animals already processed the plants”

Another common statement is something like:

“Animals eat plants and convert them into a more usable form for humans.”

This sounds intuitive, but it oversimplifies nutrition.

Plants contain thousands of compounds that do not exist in animal tissue.

These include:

• flavonoids
• carotenoids
• lignans
• glucosinolates
• polyphenols

Many of these compounds influence:

• mitochondrial signaling

• inflammation pathways

• detoxification enzymes

• vascular function

• gut microbial diversity

For example:

Sulforaphane from cruciferous vegetables activates the Nrf2 pathway, which helps regulate cellular antioxidant defenses.

You cannot obtain this compound from animal foods.

Similarly, many polyphenols interact with the gut microbiome to produce beneficial metabolites such as:

• short-chain fatty acids

• phenolic metabolites

• urolithins

These compounds influence metabolism and immune regulation.

So if someone evaluates foods only by vitamin and mineral absorption, they miss a huge portion of the biological picture.

The Bigger Issue: Reductionism

The bioavailability argument often reduces food to isolated nutrient math.

But human metabolism doesn’t operate that way.

Food influences the body through multiple systems:

• nutrient absorption

• hormone signaling

• microbiome interactions

• inflammation pathways

• mitochondrial metabolism

A food might contain a nutrient with moderate absorption but still produce powerful metabolic effects because of the broader biochemical environment it creates.

A Simple Way to Understand This

“Bioavailability is important, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
Some people use it to argue that plant foods are inferior, but plants provide thousands of compounds that support metabolism, the microbiome, and cellular signaling. Nutrition isn’t just about what you absorb immediately — it’s about how food influences the entire biological system.”

One More Interesting Observation

When researchers study long-lived populations around the world, the common pattern is not carnivore diets.

It’s diets that are typically:

• plant-forward

• fiber rich

• diverse in phytochemicals

• moderate in animal foods

These dietary patterns consistently correlate with lower risk of:

• metabolic disease
• cardiovascular disease
• certain cancers
• neurodegeneration

which again shows that nutritional value cannot be reduced to simple absorption percentages.

References

Hurrell, R., & Egli, I. (2010). Iron bioavailability and dietary reference values. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91(5).

Gibson, R. S., et al. (2018). Strategies to improve micronutrient bioavailability. Nutrition Reviews.

Slavin, J. (2013). Dietary fiber and health outcomes. Nutrients.

Koh, A., et al. (2016). Short-chain fatty acids and host physiology. Cell.

Satija, A., & Hu, F. B. (2018). Plant-based diets and cardiovascular health. Journal of the American College of Cardiology.