New diet where you eat only 'three ingredients' could 'give you scurvy'

A new diet trend consisting of just three ingredients "could give you scurvy", experts have warned, as it sweeps social media. The carnivore diet is sweeping across social media and sees loyal followers eat merely meat, eggs and butter.

Jane Clarke, a nurse at Confidence Club warned: "Meat, eggs, and butter all contain a whole heap of essential vitamins, that much is true. However, what these meatfluencers are leaving out are all the things your body needs that this restrictive diet doesn't contain."

She added: "There is a reason that for years health professionals have been telling patients to follow a balanced diet, and that's because this is the only way you are going to get the right mix of vitamins and nutrients to keep you healthy.

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"When you restrict yourself to just animal products, you are missing out on a whole bunch of vital nutrients from plant foods and other non-animal sources." On its website, the NHS says: "Scurvy (severe vitamin C deficiency) is rare as most people get enough vitamin C in their diet. It's usually easy to treat."

"Scurvy is caused by not having enough vitamin C in your diet over a long period of time. Vitamin C is mainly found in fruit and vegetables," it adds. "However, even people who do not eat very healthily all the time are not usually considered at risk of scurvy."

Symptoms of scurvy may include feeling very tired and weak all the time and feeling irritable and sad all the time as well as joint, muscle or leg pain, swollen, bleeding gums (sometimes teeth can fall out) and developing red or blue spots on the skin, usually on the legs and feet, although this may be less noticeable on brown or black skin.

Other signs could be skin that bruises easily.