A mum has been slammed on social media for feeding her children a diet of almost exclusively animal products – including desiccated organs, meat, eggs and milk.
Izabelle, 32, used to be vegan but now she and her family eat a 90% carnivore diet, something she once considered “crazy”.
But after noticing incredible benefits when she changed her eating patterns, the nutritionist claims she and her children are now healthier than ever.
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Izabelle – who is mum to Noah, four, and one-year-old Taj – claims the diet says they have better immunity and more energy than ever before.
Now, the family-of-four – soon to be five, with Izabelle currently pregnant – chow down daily on raw milk, egg yolks, desiccated organs, as well as red meat, consuming very few, if any, vegetables.
The choice to feed her children this way has proved controversial online, with a recent video going viral with over three million views and plenty of backlash.
“Some people think it is a little bit extreme or strange that we don’t consume vegetable at every, or any, meal,” Izabelle, from the Sunshine Coast, Australia, told What’s The Jam.
“I thought the carnivore diet sounded crazy, too, years ago.
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“But it was before I had tried it myself and I had very little understanding of the benefits.
“There’s been some angry ‘leaf nibblers’ – aka vegans – reaching out as well.
“I understand the emotional struggle of going back to eating meat but their hate hasn’t affected us at all.”
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Izabelle first made the switch to a largely animal products-based diet in a bid to restore nutrients in her body following her second pregnancy, as well as shift some of the baby weight postpartum.
She was vegan eight years ago, later transitioning to a paleo diet, which largely consists of meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
But now, the mum eats an almost entirely carnivorous diet and says that she will never go back to “normal” eating habits.
After starting her son, Taj, on solid foods at six-months-old – where she turned to animal products to provide the nutrients needed – she was initially worried about the lack of vegetables the family were consuming.
But now she claims they are “not important” and that they save roughly $400 a month by not purchasing many vegetables.
A typical day’s diet for Taj includes a breakfast of three pasture-raised eggs cooked in grass-fed butter and mixed berries.
Lunch consists of 100 grams of 100% homemade beef burgers with grass-fed butter and 10 prawns with a snack of half of an apple.
The toddler’s dinner includes slow cooked grass-fed beef brisket with meat stock and milk.
In the viral video, the mum explains the effects of feeding her child the carnivore diet for six months – saying he hit milestones ahead of other children his age and has no allergies.
She claims that son Taj is taller and stronger than the average baby/toddler of his age and doctors say that they are both healthy.
Izabelle said: “He took steps early at seven months old [and] was fully walking comfortably and almost running at 10 months.
“It’s such a relief knowing I don’t have to force my kid plants or hide them in various foods.
“As a family, we are healthier, don’t have to stress about cooking as much, save money and eat delicious food, all while supporting our local farmers.
“None of my kids are 100% carnivore at this stage, but baby number three will be raised [in this way] at six months.”
Izabelle’s typical day of eating includes a breakfast of coffee with cream, scrambled eggs made with grass-fed butter and pasture-raised eggs and one grass-fed beef sausage.
Her lunch includes slow-cooked grass-fed beef brisket with meat stock.
The mum’s dinner usually consists of “just random leftover foods” such as chicken breast, parmesan cheese, blue
choose and some watermelon, alongside some desiccated organs.
Not everyone online is so convinced of the benefits of the diet, with Instagram users sharing their thoughts.
A social media user commented: “Stop forcing your lifestyle on your child.”
“This is idiotic. This type of content should be illegal,” someone else commented.
Another person added: “Or give him plants and meat. Your kids are going to have heart problems at 10.”
“This kid will become a Viking and conquer foreign lands by age 10,” one user commented.
Speaking about the strong reaction, Izabelle said: “[It has been] divided.
“I have gotten a lot of support and requests from families who want to introduce more meat into their children’s diet.
“I am currently creating a ‘Milk to Meat’ guide on how to start solids using a meat-based approach for babies and toddlers.
“The focus here is baby led weaning, real nutrient-dense foods and moving away from fortified rice cereal, purées and ready-made baby food, which can contain vegetables that are several years old, preservatives and other nasties.
“I always recommend my clients and families to do what feels good for them.
“Never copy 100% of what we are doing, all families and kids are different – so make it your own.”