Shawn Baker MD on Seafood
Dr. Baker is one of the most prominent carnivore advocates and a practicing physician. His personal protocol is practical and not dogmatic — fish and shellfish feature regularly.
Fish as His #4 Carnivore Food
"After dairy, then fish would be my fourth most common. And more often than not, I just — because I'm relatively minimalist and fairly lazy when it comes to cooking — I'll often eat things like smoked salmon 'cuz I can just open it up and eat it directly out of the packaging. Try to get wild-caught when I can... a little bit of steak every day, some cottage cheese and salmon."
"I have a lot of things like salmon and shrimp as a sort of sometimes as a side to my meals."
Refrigerator Tour: Wild-Caught Salmon from Costco
"For the sake of variety, I'm expanding my normal palette a little just for the sense of displaying what potentially is possible on a carnivore diet. For a little snack, I'm going to have some of this salmon. This is a smoked salmon, just a wild-caught Alaskan salmon... I'll probably eat about half that. That's probably about 4 ounces of salmon."
"Got some wild-caught salmon also again from Costco."
Shellfish for Testosterone & Sexual Health
"Shellfish is another food — now shellfish has a lot of zinc and we know that zinc has a significant relationship with testosterone and sexual function... things like crab, lobster, oysters — great sources of those."
"Fatty fish like salmon has a number of very important compounds from the omega-3 fats EPA, DHA, proteins, selenium, vitamin D — all these things are important."
Naturally Occurring Glutamates in Shellfish
Baker notes that oysters, clams, scallops, anchovies, and sardines are natural sources of MSG (monosodium glutamate) — a non-concern for carnivores eating whole foods.
Key Takeaways from Baker
- Wild-caught over farmed when possible; Costco is a cited accessible source
- Smoked salmon = the most convenient carnivore fish (open and eat)
- Shellfish (oysters, crab, lobster) = the best dietary zinc sources, supporting testosterone
- Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel) = vitamin D + omega-3 EPA/DHA + selenium
- Fish is not ideologically inferior to red meat in Baker's protocol
Sources: Shawn Baker MD YouTube transcripts — Videos: wHI1XkH3E7k, JKkmwIUk0ds, CgGIeRMRBBM, 6ZkGXWBDUjY, 34l8HMFaEqE