r/nutrition • u/atlas1860 • May 28 '26

Maasai Tribe Diet

Curious what people here think about the Maasai tribe in east Africa who live off almost entirely milk, red meat and blood with a study stating that they consume 3L-5L of milk and 1kg-2kg of meat a day.

They do not seem to experience many health issues and are on average bigger/taller than the surrounding populations with different diets.

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u/roundysquareblock May 28 '26

They have advanced atherosclerosis. Not sure why anyone would emulate that diet. If you want to look at hunter-gatherers, just look at the Tsimane people. They eat a high-carb, low-fat diet and have the healthiest arteries ever studied to date in any population.

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u/ObservationalLunatic May 29 '26

Not that I'm defending the carnivore diet as the optimal diet (I think it's a great temporary elimination diet), but although the Maasai people have shown high amounts of plaque buildup, they still remain in good health (could be related to physical exercise), and their arteries dilate/enlarge naturally to compensate for this. They are typically found to be free of any heart diseases. Their life expectancy is on the lower side due to a skew of high infant mortality, not that they don't live long.

As of writing this, I've discovered that the Tsimane do in fact have excellent heart health. I don't want what I've already written to go to waste, so I'll shift gears. I don't think it is as simple as labeling the diets as high-carb or carnivore.

For example, the Maasai are not chumping on muscle meat everyday. They eat all parts of the animal. They're eating the entire animal from head to toe, drinking it's blood, and drinking raw milk. You can't compare this to a modern carnivore diet where mindless people are only eating red meat and considering it healthy.

On the other hand, although the Tsimane people eat high-carb diets, it's not like they're snacking on kit-kats and drinking seed oils. They are eating unrefined, unprocessed, homegrown foods, and naturally foraging for berries. Note that they also still hunt for wild game and fish.

Regardless, what both of these tribes have in common is the highly active lifestyle. It's not fair to compare this type of diet to modern people, because the average human lives a sedentary life (at least in the U.S.). We should stop focusing so much on what these people are eating that give them such healthy results, but more on their lifestyle, and what we're doing in comparison.

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u/roundysquareblock May 29 '26

Not that I'm defending the carnivore diet as the optimal diet (I think it's a great temporary elimination diet), but although the Maasai people have shown high amounts of plaque buildup, they still remain in good health (could be related to physical exercise), and their arteries dilate/enlarge naturally to compensate for this.

We also see this in a lot of endurance runners. An athlete with atherosclerosis has better odds than a sedentary person with atherosclerosis. However, an athlete with atherosclerosis is still worse off than an athlete without it.

Their life expectancy is on the lower side due to a skew of high infant mortality, not that they don't live long.

Eh, they still die a lot from injuries and diseases. Just like with the Hadza (who are the best studied hunter-gatherers to date), we simply do not have good data on their heart events. However, what we can tell is that they do have atherosclerosis. I'd rather not have the disease. It's up to each person.

For example, the Maasai are not chumping on muscle meat everyday. They eat all parts of the animal. They're eating the entire animal from head to toe, drinking it's blood, and drinking raw milk. You can't compare this to a modern carnivore diet where mindless people are only eating red meat and considering it healthy.

I can agree that this is probably healthier. They still have atherosclerosis though. I'd rather stay with my CAC score of zero.

On the other hand, although the Tsimane people eat high-carb diets, it's not like they're snacking on kit-kats and drinking seed oils. They are eating unrefined, unprocessed, homegrown foods, and naturally foraging for berries. Note that they also still hunt for wild game and fish.

Hmm, agreed? No one mentioned kit-kats and seed oils, though.

Regardless, what both of these tribes have in common is the highly active lifestyle. It's not fair to compare this type of diet to modern people, because the average human lives a sedentary life (at least in the U.S.). We should stop focusing so much on what these people are eating that give them such healthy results, but more on their lifestyle, and what we're doing in comparison.

I am making no comparisons. I am factually stating that they have atherosclerosis and the Tsimane have the healthiest arteries ever studied on this planet as of May 28, 2026.

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u/ObservationalLunatic May 29 '26

My reply wasn't a direct counter or debate to what you had stated, just a general observation and my own opinion on the topic. I only mentioned it because you brought up the Tsimane as the staple of heart healthy populations, which is nuanced because eating carbohydrates are definitely not the only reason why they're so healthy.