Paul Saladino, the physician and influencer best known for championing a carnivore diet, has raised eyebrows online after sharing a “what I ate in a day” video in which he revealed he has been adding vegetables back into his meals. Among the surprises? Asparagus.
“I’ve added some new stuff to my diet recently,” Saladino said in the video. “Stuff that you might not expect me to eat. I’ve got some asparagus. Yeah, asparagus. I bet you guys didn’t expect to see anything green on my plate.”
He also noted he had begun experimenting with starches, a notable departure from his previous approach. “For most of the last 4 and a half years, I’ve eaten exclusively fruit for carbohydrates, fruit and squash,” he explained.
Dr. Layne Norton, scientist and fitness personality, broke down Saladino’s evolving nutritional journey on a recent YouTube video. Norton traced the full arc of Saladino’s dietary history, beginning with a raw vegan phase that, by Norton’s assessment, was nutritionally lacking.
“If you’re only consuming raw fruits and vegetables, you’re really missing out on a lot of nutrients,” Norton said. “Raw is less digestible than cooked vegetables. You’re probably having some GI symptoms too.”
From there, Saladino moved to a strict carnivore diet, then gradually reintroduced honey and fruit. He began calling his approach “animal-based,” though Norton pointed out that Saladino’s plate, by that point, was “mostly fruits.” Now, with vegetables re-entering the picture, Norton sees a pattern worth addressing.
Norton’s praise for Saladino’s willingness to adapt is genuine, but he also criticised Saladino. At every stage of Saladino’s dietary evolution, Saladino publicly declared that his current diet was the optimal choice for human health. When he was eating carnivore and reportedly feeling unwell, he was simultaneously writing a book promoting it as the ideal human diet.
“How can you write a book that you’re going to sell to people, that you’re pitching as the optimal human diet, while you’re feeling bad on that diet?” Norton asked.
Saladino has attributed his improved energy after reintroducing carbohydrates to electrolyte co-transport with sodium and glucose. Norton disagrees with that explanation.
He said, “You have muscle glycogen now. You’re feeling better because you have muscle glycogen. It’s not an electrolyte issue.”
Norton also contrasted Saladino’s approach with his own. He said, “I’ve gotten things wrong. I’ve changed my opinion on LDL cholesterol, branched-chain amino acids, fasting. I say, ‘Hey guys, got it wrong. My bad, I changed my opinion.'”
