Whether you’re on a strict no carb diet, a low-carb keto diet, or just looking to reduce your carbs and increase your healthy fats and proteins, this zero carb food list will point you in the right direction.
Dramatically reducing your carb intake by consuming zero carb foods high in healthy fats, proteins, and bioavailable micronutrients can provide numerous studied benefits, including:
Proponents of no and low-carb high-fat diets trace these health benefits to four main factors:
Recent research suggests that for nearly 2 million years, humans evolved on a hypercarnivorous diet of zero carb foods, especially fatty animal meats. 2
It wasn’t until the dawn of the agricultural revolution some 10-8,000 years ago that humans introduced cultivated high-carb plant foods.
The discordance between our genetic inheritance and modern lifestyles and environments may be the root cause of various diseases associated with chronic inflammation.
Why is targeting inflammation so important?
Because inflammatory diseases are the root cause of death across the globe. Yet, they are nearly non-existent in hunter-gatherer societies that consume low-carb diets high in zero carb foods. 6 7
We’ll start with zero carb fats because on a no carb diet, fat is king.
Your body can only get 35-50% of calories from protein before incurring symptoms of protein poisoning. [87]
This is a potentially serious problem that occurs when the liver can’t upregulate urea synthesis it needs to process high amounts of protein. So when it comes to no carb diets, fat is your friend!
This “protein constraint” also supports the view that humans evolved on a high-fat diet, leading researchers like Amber O’Hearn to suggest that humans are not just carnivores, but lipivores.
Butter, especially from grass-fed cows, is loaded with beneficial nutrients like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), butyrate, vitamins, and minerals.
Research shows that eating butter can reduce your risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.2 Butter is also linked to improved sleep 3, immune function, and fertility. [7]
Ghee can bring all the full-fat dairy benefits of butter with the added ability to withstand higher temperatures.
With a smoke point of 465°F, ghee has an 80° higher tolerance than any other cooking oil!
And if you’re still falling for the outdated anti-saturated fat scare tactics, a 2018 study of 200 people in India found that participants who ate more ghee and less vegetable oil had healthier blood cholesterol markers. [8]
The long-chain saturated fats in beef tallow support healthy cell membranes and play a role as signaling molecules. [2]
Eating more saturated fat can saturate your cell membranes, protecting your cells from glycation, oxidation, endotoxin buildup, and other cellular stressors. [3] [4] [5]
As with beef tallow, lard offers numerous essential and heat-stable fatty acids. In addition, pastured lard from pork that is allowed to bask in the sunshine is one of the best vitamin D sources on earth.
Lard from pasture-raised pigs can be as high in vitamin D as cod liver oil and may be higher in other fat-soluble vitamins. [6]
Duck fat is tasty, and studies by French researchers (of course) show that duck fat may also increase overall cardiovascular health. 2
Duck fat is also high in linoleic acid, along with certain antioxidants that can reduce premature aging and support bone health.
However, duck fat is higher in unstable PUFAs, which allows it to oxidize faster than other zero carb fats listed here.2 Oxidized fat can cause inflammation.
Like butter, full-fat cream is loaded with fat-soluble vitamins and minerals.
Just ⅓ cup of heavy cream offers 35% of vitamin A, 10% of vitamin D, and 7% of Vitamin D. Studies show that consuming full-fat dairy is associated with a decreased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. [9] [10] [11] [12]
For those of you still scared of full-fat dairy: A large-scale review including more than 3.6 million participants found that high-fat dairy products are not associated with any causes of mortality. [13]
Nutrition info per 1 tablespoon
Fatty beef is loaded with nutrients in near-perfect proportions for our body’s needs and in highly bioavailable form.
In addition to healthy fats and proteins, beef provides unique compounds that are hard to find anywhere else, these include:
When choosing your cut of beef, it’s best to select grass-fed and finished or pasture-raised if possible.
Of course, finances, as well as general availability, can prevent this from being accessible for all. But don’t worry, standard beef “grain-fed” cows are still highly nutritious, and guess what, “grain-fed” cows actually spend the majority of their lives on open pastures eating grass. They are only fed a diet consisting partially of grain for a short period of time before slaughter.
Also, keep in mind that fattier cuts will keep you in the ideal fat-protein ratio to fuel your cells. The list below details 10 of the most popular cuts of beef.
Nutrition Info per 4 oz.
Let’s take a look at the nutrient profile of one of the most nutritious, fattiest, and tastiest cuts of beef– the ribeye
On no and low-carb diets, ruminant animals like beef and lamb are given a primary role, while pork is often viewed as a second or third option. Some of the reasons for this include:
But none of these points are reasons to leave pork out. Pork is delicious and loaded with healthy fats and proteins. It also offers a slightly different micronutrient profile which can be helpful in ensuring all your vitamin and mineral needs are met.
Choline is one of the lesser-known, but important compounds in pork, and bacon is one of the top five sources of dietary choline.
Choline maintains brain and nervous system function, regulates mood, and aids in memory. It also plays a key role in the formation of membranes around cells. [17]
This unsung nutrient also offers greater antioxidant activity than Vitamin E. It’s the reason why lard resists rancidity–choline neutralizes the free radicals that would otherwise oxidize the fat. [18] Oxidized fat can cause inflammation when consumed.
Nutritional information per 4 oz.
On zero carb diet, it’s best practice to choose the fattiest cuts, and they don’t get fattier than pork belly. Similar to bacon, pork belly comes from the hog’s underside.
You can serve this boneless cut fresh, unlike bacon, which is cured or smoked and therefore contains nitrites.
Fresh pork belly is loaded with quality fat, protein, and fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. [19]
Lamb is a delicious nutrient-loaded zero carb food. As with most other meats, lamb is rich in protein and healthy fats, along with bioavailable vitamins and minerals.
Lamb offers meat-specific compounds like taurine and creatine and other vital nutrients, including:
Let’s take a closer look at the nutrition facts for one of the most popular and delicious cuts of lamb–the chop or rack:
Though poultry is zero carb food, it usually only accounts for a relatively small portion of the total caloric intake on no carb diets.
The main drawback to poultry is that it’s generally lean compared to ruminants, pork, and even many seafood options.
It’s important to remember that on a zero carb diet your body relies on fat, not protein for fuel. To provide the necessary fat, aim for at least a 70-30 fat-to-protein ratio.
A quick tip for choosing the most nourishing poultry is to choose cuts that keep the skin on. You can always cook your poultry in added healthy fats like duck and beef tallow. There is also one part of poultry that is always encouraged; chicken liver.
Let’s look at the profile of one of the most nutrient-dense varieties of poultry on a carnivore diet:
Fish are one of the most nutrient-dense classes of food on earth. Yet on a no carb diet, it’s best to let fish play a supporting role to ruminant meats.
This is because most fish are relatively lean. Making lean protein the center of your diet can lead to fat shortages and even protein poisoning. There’s also the issue of fish toxicity. Almost all fish contain some amount of toxic compounds from pollution. 4 5
Interestingly, most ancestral cultures that ate a lot of seafood still got most of their fat from land-based animals. Or in the case of the Inuit, from fatty seafaring mammals.5
That said, fish are a welcome addition to any zero carb food list. Below is a list of some of the most popular varieties.
Nutrition info per 100g
King Salmon, AKA chinook salmon, is the largest of the Pacific salmon species. They can reach over 100 pounds!
It’s also the highest in fat of all wild salmon species. Widely considered the most delicious variety of salmon, with a smooth buttery texture and mild flavor, it also offers the highest amount of B vitamins.
Seafood is an excellent way to add variety to your zero carb food list, both in terms of taste and nutrients.
Oysters, for instance, are fantastic sources of zinc.
While many types of seafood with orange pigment, like lobster, roe (caviar), and shrimp, contain a powerful antioxidant compound called Astaxanthin. [22] [23] This compound may be 6,000 times more potent than vitamin C, and has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and protect the liver. [24]
Also known as Ikura, red caviar, and salmon caviar, salmon eggs are a true superfood. They’re loaded with bioavailable vitamins A, B, D, and vitamin K2, zinc, iodine.
Their number one claim to fame is their neuroprotective and brain-building omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. [25]
With all these nutrients its no surprise that salmon roe has been linked to numerous health benefits, including:
You can learn much more about each of these benefits here.
Salmon roe nutrition per 100g
Vitamins in salmon roe per 100g
Minerals in salmon roe per 100g
Organ meats are among nature’s original superfoods. That’s because they’re even richer than muscle meats in many of the most important nutrients.
Different organ meats have varying micro and macronutrient blends, which means that diversifying your nutrient intake is as simple as trying different organ meats. [26]
Organ meats may provide direct benefits to the corresponding organs in your own body. For example, beef kidney contains special peptides that may benefit the health of our own kidneys. [27]
Beef brain is one of the richest sources of cholesterol–the perfect fuel source for our energy-hungry brains. [28]
It’s worth noting that some organ meats contain extremely low amounts of carbs (.5-2 grams per serving). Even though they may not be true zero carb foods, they are so remarkably nutritious that it would be ridiculous to eliminate them from a no and low-carb diet.
Some of our favorite organ meats include:
Beef liver is one of the most nutrient-dense of all the organ meats. It’s also one of the easiest organs to start off with.
Liver is so high in certain fat-soluble vitamins, in fact, that it’s better viewed as a supplement than as an everyday food. You only need to eat a modest amount, once or twice a week, to get its complete benefits. [29]
Both beef liver and chicken liver are chock-full of nutrients, including CoQ10. CoQ10 serves many important functions like generating energy in your cells by making adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
It’s also a powerful antioxidant with evidence linking CoQ10 to the prevention of cancer. [30] CoQ10 may also be the elusive anti-fatigue factor in liver. And for the men out there, it’s been shown to increase sperm motility. [31] [32]
Bone broth and bone marrow have both staple foods around the world since time immemorial.
Now, modern nutritional research has something to tell us about why we chose and stuck with these foods. They’re loaded with essential healthy fats and protein, and they’re nature’s best source of glycine, the most anti-inflammatory, anti-aging amino acid. [33]
Bone broth and bone marrow are also excellent sources of collagen, which supports healthy skin and bones. Research has found that consuming collagen can improve skin health and reduce aches and pains. [34
One of the criticisms of zero carb diets high in meat comes from people who think red meat causes cancer.
Though red meat does contain a specific amino acid called methionine that has been linked to cancer, there have been no links between consuming fresh red meat and increased cancer risks.
Studies on methionine have found that in order to increase base levels of homocysteine (the key amino acid synthesized from methionine associated with disease), you need 500% of the normal daily intake. [2] [3] [4]
Moderate methionine doses, like you get when consuming a zero carb diet, do not increase base levels of homocysteine. [5] Put simply, there is no convincing evidence showing that for healthy people, a diet high in zero carb fresh meat increases base levels of homocysteine.
The reality is that meat-derived amino acids themselves are not likely associated with disease. Rather, when these amino acids are consumed in the context of a broadly unhealthy high-carb Standard American diet and lifestyle that entails excess energy from grains, added sugars, and protein, combined with a lack of physical activity.
If you’re active and enjoying a well-formulated high-fat, moderate-protein low carb diet, there’s likely nothing to worry about.
If you’re still worried about your methionine consumption, bone broth may be the answer you’ve been looking for. It’s one of the richest sources of glycine and amino acid that has been shown to mitigate the effects of methionine.
With a plethora of healthy fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, eggs are a zero carb food that contains almost everything your body needs to thrive.
The choline content of eggs also makes them great for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant.[35]
People consuming no carb, low-carb, and carnivore diets focus on zero carb foods.
Popular zero carb foods include:
Eliminating carbs may provide numerous health benefits linked to reducing inflammation and improving heart health.
But choosing zero carb foods isn’t just about eliminating carbs. Just as importantly, these nutrient-dense whole foods provide your body with complete macro and micronutrients in the most bioavailable forms and in near-perfect proportions for your body’s needs.
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