Question: Why would I develop shortness of breath on a carnivore diet?
That can happen in scurvy. So given that vitamin C is one of the higher-risk nutrients on a carnivore diet, that would be the first thing that I would look at. I’m glad it was short-lived. I think it’s possible that there are vitamin C-sparing effects of a carnivore diet, but they take a little while to kick in. So as you transition, you had a temporary scurvy and then you had adaptations that mitigated that. Certainly it could be many other things, but without doubt, I would look at vitamin C first and given that it was short-lived, I think that’s great. But I think that you should still do some nutritional testing to make sure that you’re not in a marginal position on some of those possible things.
This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here:
If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.
There are two ways to discuss this episode:
1. Discuss it in The Masterpass FREE Forum, which is freely open to everyone, at
2. If you’re a Masterpass member, discuss it in the Masterpass Discussion Group, found in your dashboard.
DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.