Anne lives in Vancouver and says growing up, she ate a lot of carbohydrates, especially rice. Anne has been suffering from migraines with aura since she was thirteen years old, but a problem with her shoulder got her attention and made her want to change her diet.
About a year ago, Anne began having intense pain in her shoulder, and she struggled to sleep at night for almost two months. Anne says because of the covid pandemic, she had to wait an extra amount of time to see a medical professional, but once she saw a doctor, she was told she would need physical therapy and her healing would take up to three years.
Anne didn’t want to wait that long, so she began researching anti-inflammatory diets on her own, hoping that changing what she was eating would help alleviate her pain. Anne says she quickly found Mikhaila Peterson, a carnivore diet advocate, who healed her juvenile rheumatoid arthritis with the diet.
Anne says initially, the carnivore diet seemed too extreme for her. She researched more and asked individuals in the carnivore community if they had any suggestions on how to get started. Anne says someone suggested she try going ketovore, or a meat-heavy ketogenic, before she fully jumped into the carnivore lifestyle. Anne followed this advice and the ketovore diet for two months.
Anne says her version of the ketovore diet included a lot of green vegetables, ruminant meats, eggs, and seafood– she explains living in Vancouver allows her easy access to fresh, quality seafood. Within two weeks of the diet, Anne noticed she no longer had cramps during her menstrual cycle.
After two months on the ketovore diet, Anne became a total carnivore diet follower. She says today that her shoulder is 98% healed. Anne also says her migraines have also become much more manageable. She describes she felt a migraine coming on around eight months into the carnivore diet. However, instead of experiencing debilitating pain as she had since she was a teen, Anne says the migraine was manageable– she didn’t even take her medication.
Today, Anne says her diet is similar to her ketovore days– sans plants. She eats a lot of beef, lamb, and bison and adds cod liver oil since the sun is hard to come by in Vancouver. Anne also practices extended fasting. Anne has just completed a two-week fast. She says during the fast, she drank water, electrolytes, and one black coffee per day.
Anne advises anyone wanting to try the carnivore diet to go meat-based keto first– just like she did. She says anyone coming from a Standard American Diet will most likely struggle with carb withdrawals when jumping straight to carnivore, so she thinks trying ketovore first is the easiest way. Anne also says to persevere, even when the diet becomes challenging because it will get easier.
Anne is grateful she discovered the carnivore diet and loves sharing her story with others. She has even documented her journey on Instagram. Anne plans to continue following the carnivore way of eating and is looking forward to a pain-free life.
