Carnivore Diet & Traditional Chinese Medicine

Carnivore Diet

&

Traditional Chinese Medicine

There is a moment, quiet and unsentimental, when the body remembers what it has always known. That nourishment is not a trend, but a lineage. That meat on bone, broth slow-simmered, and earth-born herbs were never separate from medicine. They are the medicine. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we speak of harmony and elemental balance. Yet, beyond the theories and charts, there is something much simpler: an ancestral rhythm that lives in the marrow and waits to be recalled. A diet that mimics a more carnivore-like way, to me, is not restrictive. It is a return. A reclamation of strength, clarity, and primal reverence…where blood and botanical wisdom meet in the ritual of every meal.

In TCM, the organs are not mere anatomical structures. They are vessels of energy, memory, and elemental balance. The Kidney stores essence. The Liver moves Qi. The Spleen governs nourishment. When we honor the body with nutrient-dense, animal-based foods, we are feeding these vital systems directly. It is often described as like heals like. Meaning, if you are deficient or in excess, what ails can be exactly what heals us. A very simple example: if dehydrated, you rehydrate; if you are overhydrated (hyponatremia), you would dehydrate. Make sense?

The fragrant richness of something like bone broth becomes more than comfort; it is a quiet, medicinal infusion that strengthens connective tissue and supports the marrow. Fatty cuts carry both energy and subtle signaling molecules that whisper to every cell: you are safe, you are fed, you may flourish. Animal foods, especially red meat, liver, and other organ meats, are rich in heme iron, the form of iron that the body absorbs most efficiently (bioavailable). Iron is the key building block of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Without sufficient iron, the body can’t make enough red blood cells, leading to fatigue and weakness. Nourished with animal energy, we thrive.

Supplements of organ meats (high-quality ancestral blends), something that seems to be trending in the spheres of our societies, are a modern nod to an ancient truth. They offer concentrated, life-sustaining nutrients in a way few other foods can. Iron, B vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, trace minerals: these are the tools the body uses to synthesize energy, balance hormones, and create resilience. In TCM terms, they nourish Yin, build Blood, and support Jing (translating as “essence”; the deepest, most vital substance in the body). In practical terms, they are the closest we can come today to consuming the whole animal, honoring both its life and our own innate wisdom.

Herbs are companions, not competitors. Some “herbs” in Traditional Chinese Medicine are actually animals, bones, shells, bugs; they are not separate from the nourishment of those things that bleed. Herbal formulas in TCM are presented in tincture, a decoction, or a meal of combined and single herbs. They don’t clash with the carnivore table; they enhance it, softening digestion, moving Qi gently, and reminding us that our meals are ritual as much as sustenance. The combination is elemental: meat to ground and fortify, herbs to balance and harmonize. It is not rigid. It is poetry in practice.

The elegance of this approach lies in its simplicity. It asks nothing more of us than presence and reverence. Each meal becomes a quiet ritual, a daily alignment with what our ancestors already knew: that the body, when nourished with integrity, heals, balances, and remembers. The carnivore diet, when viewed through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is less a fad and more a bridge between science and tradition, body and spirit, remembrance and renewal.

In this dark, quiet rhythm, there is a kind of romance: the marrow that seeps richness into broth, the glint of liver on the plate, the subtle fragrance of an herb tucked alongside. It is sensual, it is potent, and it is ancestral. It is a reclamation of what we have always carried within us, a reminder that nourishment is not merely about calories, but about returning home: to the body, to the earth, to remembrance itself.

TCM Term / Concept Simple Explanation

Yin

Cooling, nourishing, moistening, grounding energy

Yang

Warming, active, energizing, protective energy

Qi

Vital energy that flows through the body, fuels activity, circulation, and life

Xue (Blood)

Nourishes, moistens, and carries vitality throughout the body

Heart; emotions: joy, calm

Jing (Essence)

Deep life force; inherited and stored vitality

Kidneys; emotions: willpower, strength

Liver

Moves Qi, stores blood, regulates emotions

Anger, frustration

Heart

Houses the Shen (mind/spirit), circulates blood

Joy, love

Spleen

Produces Qi and blood from food, supports digestion

Worry, overthinking, pensiveness

Lungs

Governs Qi and respiration, disperses fluids

Sadness, grief

Kidneys

Stores Jing, governs growth, reproduction, water metabolism

Fear, insecurity

Gallbladder

Decision-making, courage

Courage, decisiveness

Stomach

Digestion and transformation of food

Worry, overthinking, pensiveness

Pericardium

Protects Heart, circulation of blood and emotions

“Heart Protector”, helps with emotional well-being