Can I Eat Tomatoes on a Carnivore Diet? What About Tomato Paste?

What Is the Carnivore Diet?

Can I eat tomatoes on a Carnivore diet? Well, let’s figure out the rules and principles of a Carnivore diet to be able to answer this question.

The Carnivore diet is an animal-based dietary approach that excludes all plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. You can provide the necessary fats and protein from meat, fish, eggs, and other animal-based products like butter and cheese.

The Carnivore diet eliminates carbohydrates to facilitate weight loss and offers different health benefits like better mental clarity and lower inflammation.

So, does this animal-based approach allow some plant-based foods, like tomatoes? Keep scrolling to find out.

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Can I Eat Tomatoes on a Carnivore Diet?

The Carnivore diet has multiple versions with small differences. The strict Carnivore diet doesn’t allow any plant-based foods and focuses solely on animal products.

However, less strict versions may allow minimal carbohydrates and plant-based ingredients. Also, some people find it hard to remove their favorite plant-based foods for their taste or health benefits.

Remember that adding foods that are not allowed to your Carnivore meals can have negative effects on the diet results. However, some dieters may need more time to adapt to the Carnivore lifestyle and can decrease their carb/ plant-based food consumption gradually.

Can I Eat Tomato Paste on a Carnivore Diet?

As we learned above, tomato is not allowed on a strict Carnivore diet. Even less strict versions frown upon tomatoes, and the focus is on animal-based foods.

Tomato paste is a kind of sauce derived from tomatoes and is not Carnivore-friendly for its plant origin. So, no matter whether whole tomatoes or processed products like tomato paste, neither is allowed on the Carnivore diet.

Although tomato paste has significantly lower water content than fresh tomatoes, it still contains compounds derived from tomatoes, making it a plant-based product.

It means that if you’re a strict Carnivore, you must avoid both tomatoes and tomato paste. However, if you can’t omit tomatoes altogether at the beginning of the diet for any reason, you need to know how to eat them on a Carnivore diet.

Learn More: Can You Eat Ginger on a Carnivore Diet? Is It Healthy?

How to Eat Tomatoes on a Carnivore Diet?

Here are the tips for those who can eliminate tomatoes and need occasional consumption.

• Minimal Consumption: Eat small amounts of tomatoes infrequently and gradually minimize consumption.
• Cook Tomatoes: Cooking tomatoes can reduce their lectin content, a plant compound. You can roast or stew tomatoes before consuming them.
• Tomato-Based Sauces: Simmering and blending tomatoes into a sauce makes it more easily digestible. Remember not to add ingredients that are against the rules of a strict Carnivore diet.

The Benefits of Having Tomatoes on a Carnivore Diet

Before talking about the benefits of tomatoes, I must remind you that the Carnivore diet aims to reach weight loss and other health benefits by avoiding plant-based foods.

So, speaking of the benefits of tomatoes on a strict Carnivore diet is a bit strange. That said, adding tomatoes to a less strict Carnivore diet can lead to the following benefits. In fact, it all depends on your choice, whether you want Carnivore results or tomato benefits.

Various studies indicate the anticancer properties of tomatoes. They can also have positive effects on cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, skin health, fertility, immune response, and exercise recovery (source). Additionally, tomatoes can have the following benefits.

Cholesterol Reduction

Consuming high levels of dietary tomatoes can significantly reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels (source).

Nutrient Diversity

Tomatoes contain vitamins C and K, potassium, and folate.

Antioxidants

Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants like lycopene, which can reduce the risk of some chronic diseases. Also, they are great sources of micronutrients and bioactive compounds, vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds, which offer various health-promoting effects (source).

Fiber Content

Tomatoes contain fiber, which some believe can help the digestive system, while others totally disagree and believe that fiber should be eliminated from our diet.

Variety in Diet

Adding tomatoes can bring variety to Carnivore meals. You can make different sauces and create different tastes.

Digestive Benefits for Some

It’s easier for some individuals to digest cooked or processed tomatoes as they can help maintain healthy gut microbiome (source).

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Tomato Nutrition

Here are the nutrients found in 100 grams of tomatoes. But remember that the numbers can vary based on the type of tomato and your cooking/ using method.

• Calories: 18 kcal
• Water: 95 g
• Protein: 0.9 g
• Carbohydrates: 3.9 g
• Sugars: 2.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
• Fat: 0.2 g
• Vitamin C: 14 mg (23% of the Daily Value, DV)
• Vitamin A: 833 IU (17% DV)
• Vitamin K1: 7.9 µg (10% DV)
• Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): 0.1 mg (6% DV)
• Folate (B9): 15 µg (4% DV)
• Vitamin E: 0.5 mg (3% DV)
• Potassium: 237 mg (7% DV)
• Phosphorus: 24 mg (3% DV)
• Magnesium: 11 mg (3% DV)
• Calcium: 11 mg (1% DV)
• Iron: 0.3 mg (2% DV)

Learn More: Can You Eat Sauce on a Carnivore Diet? [The Best Sauces to Eat]

Summary

Tomatoes and tomato paste are not generally allowed on a strict Carnivore diet. Even the less strict versions of the Carnivore do not usually contain tomatoes.

Anyhow, including tomatoes in a Carnivore diet is your decision. Maybe it’s challenging for some beginners to avoid tomatoes all at once.

But if you wish to achieve the weight loss results offered by a Carnivore diet, you’d better stick to its rules, minimize carbohydrates, and focus on protein and healthy fats.