A fitness influencer who advocated eating a purely carnivore diet and avoiding vegetables has died at the age of 66.
Alex Cannon, from Liverpool, passed away on Sunday July 6, his family confirmed via social media on Thursday.
The health enthusiast adopted the controversial lifestyle three years ago and told thousands of followers across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram that it helped him lose weight and boosted his mental wellbeing.
Carnivore diets have grown in popularity in recent years, spurred on by social media influencers who advocate eating protein-rich foods such as meat, eggs, seafood, fish, some dairy products, and water.
The diet excludes any fruit or vegetables. Experts have widely warned that the diet is unsustainable as it lacks essential nutrients such as fibre, and may increase the risk of developing bowel cancer or heart disease.
But Mr Cannon, who had recently become a grandfather, had been on the carnivore diet since 2022, and that switching to an all-meat diet helped him to reduce his blood pressure to the point he no longer needed to take medication.
His first video on YouTube featured him preparing a dish of minced steak, bacon trimmings, salt and scrambled eggs, which he branded a ‘power bowl’. He captioned the clip: ‘Proper Human Diet’, with a winking emoji.
As his following grew, he attended and hosted talks on the contentious lifestyle, claiming he no longer had acid reflux or bloating and had dropped from wearing XL-size clothing to medium.
Alex Cannon (pictured), who only ate meat and eggs tragically passed away on Sunday July 6, aged 66 his wife Michelle (pictured) confirmed
The health influencer had adopted the controversial diet three years ago and said it helped him lose weight and improve his mental health
Mr Cannon’s YouTube featured him cooking carnivore meals, such as this one of steak mince, bacon trimmings and scrambled egg, which he labelled a ‘proper human diet’
In November 2023, he tried the ‘lion diet challenge’ which saw him drink water, take iodine, electrolytes and only eat meat.
His YouTube channel features a disclaimer: ‘I’m not a doctor, nutritionist or dietitian, I’m a working class lad from Liverpool who found a way to reclaim my mental + physical health plus significant weight loss.’
In videos posted to his social media, the influencer and swimming coach claimed he had lost at least 47lbs and was ‘the happiest I’d been for many many years’.
He said in one video: ‘I’ve eliminated my mental health issues, my weight-loss issues and my physical health issues, I just feel like superman.’
According to Kerry Mann, a YouTuber who posts videos about the carnivore diet under the handle HomesteadHow, Mr Cannon died of a genetic heart defect.
He cited a coroner’s report provided to him by Mr Cannon’s family in his video shared earlier this week.
Mr Mann said: ‘According to the official coroner’s report, Alex’s death was related to a genetic heart condition.
‘It was not linked to diet or lifestyle. The report indicated that his heart simply couldn’t pump blood effectively due to a hereditary issue.’
He added that ‘many in the carnivore community looked up to Alex and were inspired by his incredible transformation and health journey.’
Mr Mann concluded: ‘This news may bring some peace of mind. His passing was not related to diet but something entirely out of his control.’
Mr Cannon’s last YouTube video (pictured) saw him and wife Michelle taking a trip to meet their newborn granddaughter
In a statement on the family’s social media, Alex’s wife Michelle, daughter Sophie and son Alex (pictured together) said: ‘It breaks our hearts to share that our Mum’s soulmate and our wonderful Dad passed away peacefully in his sleep, on Sunday 6th July’
Tributes poured in from the wellness community for the father-of-two with one American carnivore releasing a statement from the family on his YouTube
In clips on TikTok, Alex said since changing his diet he no longer suffered with acid reflux or bloating and had stopped wearing size XL clothing, dropping down to a medium
In videos posted to his social media, the influencer revealed he had lost at least 47lbs and claimed he was ‘the happiest I’d been for many many years’
In a statement on social media, his family – wife Michelle, son Alex and daughter Sophie said: ‘It breaks our hearts to share that our Mum’s soulmate and our wonderful Dad passed away peacefully in his sleep, on Sunday 6th July.
‘There are no words for the pain or the emptiness he’s left behind. He was the one we all looked to, and losing him so unexpectedly has shaken our world in ways we still can’t believe.
‘Everyone who knew and loved him is welcome to come and join us in celebrating his life. There will never be another like him.
‘We miss him more than words can say. Forever our Mum’s rock. Forever our Dad. Forever our hero.’
Tributes have poured for the retired civil servant underneath the touching tribute.
One said: ‘He was such a wonderful person… He was respected by so many within our swimming community. He will be so missed.’
Another called Alex ‘a role model’ and said: ‘From being my Swim teacher, to my coach, to my colleague – but most importantly my friend. Dream team forever.’
The carnivore diet has been made popular by a number of influencers in the ‘manosphere’ such as Joe Rogan, Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson.
Proponents say it is likely to be akin to the diet enjoyed by human ancestors such as the Neanderthals – despite widespread archaeological evidence that shows our predecessors ate a mixed diet.
Dr Peter Ungar, a paleoanthropologist and evolutionary biologist at Arkansas University, told the Guardian last year: ‘I doubt there is a single human ancestor, from the time of the earliest primates, that was exclusively carnivorous.
‘Even Neanderthals, which are considered to be the ultimate hominid carnivores – they have barley grains embedded in the dental calculus on their teeth.
‘We know they ate plants, and we know they ate cereal grains. It’s just nonsense.”
Eating nothing but meat, eggs and dairy is not recommended by medical professionals, who support a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, which are sources of dietary fibre.
Diets excessively high in red meat have been linked to multiple health problems including heart disease and bowel cancer.
Experts have also warned that carnivore diet proponents are at higher risk of conditions like scurvy and even cancer due to the lifestyle’s lack of vitamin C and fibre from fruit and veg.
