Autoimmune issues

Real People, Real Results

Kat heals from ulcerative colitis, asthma, and Lyme disease on the carnivore diet

October 12, 2022 No Comments

Kat’s battle for her health has been a fierce one, and she has fought bravely her whole life to find relief from the crippling asthma and ulcerative colitis that has plagued her since she was a baby. “I had ulcerative colitis from day one, ear infections, and asthma. Back in the day—they just really didn’t know any better—they gave me round after round of antibiotics, and then they gave my mother access to steroid injections; so she gave me an injection every month for the first couple years of my life.”

At the same time, Kat says she was born to be an athlete, and by the time they invented rescue inhalers, you could find her running happily on the track—inhaler in hand. Still, the years were filled with trips back and forth to the hospital for both her ulcerative colitis and asthma. “I just remember—from the time I can remember—being on the toilet in tears… just all by myself and my parents are helpless…they don’t know what to do. It was really hard—but I persevered and I just kept going. I was very much into sports. I had a horse; I rode. I played tennis, I rode my bike and I just relied on the medications to keep me going.”

In her 30’s, Kat discovered that if she took enough supplements, she could mitigate some of her symptoms without as many drugs, but that came with the hefty price tag of $500 dollars a month. In her 40’s she came across the keto diet which helped her successfully lose 30 pounds, but flare ups and rescue inhalers were still the norm.

On top of all of this, she received a Lyme’s Disease diagnosis in 2008, which complicated matters even further. Throughout all of this time, she never stopped searching—regularly listening to health podcasts and reading the latest books. When she started to hear about the carnivore diet, she mentioned it to her functional medical doctor at the time, and he said she should give it a shot.

“When I met you guys for the first time, it was my 60th birthday—it was May 7th of 2020. I’ll never forget it—that [membership to Revero] was the gift I gave myself for my birthday. Oh my gosh… it’s unbelievable what happened to me.” After a day or two on the carnivore diet, Kat says she was able to take what she considers to be the first full breath of her entire life. “Literally within the first week of eliminating plants, I was breathing and it was remarkable…the colitis cleared up—it still leaves me speechless sometimes to think about what happened just by getting rid of foods!” In the past, mosquito bites would leave painful welts that lasted for weeks, and would also activate her Lyme’s symptoms. A month and a half after going carnivore, she was swarmed with bites. They cleared up after a few days, and there was no adverse Lyme’s reaction. Now off all medications, Kat is incandescently happy to be free from the health problems of the past.“I honestly can say right now I have nothing wrong—and I cannot believe I’m saying that—it’s nothing short of miraculous!”

Emily healed from connective tissue disease, GERD, and fatigue on the carnivore diet

October 9, 2022 No Comments

Three years ago, Emily was simply looking for a way to lose weight before her wedding. On the advice of her father, she started doing the ketogenic diet. She lost weight for the wedding, but was still generally miserable. Why? In her early teens, Emily was diagnosed with a debilitating connective tissue disease. She was on several medications to manage her chronic pain and fatigue, but after years of disappointment didn’t have a hope of getting better. Then, after becoming pregnant with her first daughter, Emily says her body began craving meat—only meat—so much so that she was dreaming of sausages and ground beef at night!

“I was like…I wonder if it would be okay…if I just give in and just eat meat because my body wants it…and that’s when I found [Shawn Baker!] Here was this crazy guy that said it was okay, so I dug into the research and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna give it a go—and never looked back since.”

Following her cravings with no intention of curing anything, Emily was amazed at what happened next. “I had no clue it would help my health! Basically, as the days went by—after I had just started to eat meat—I thought, ‘What the heck! Here I am fat and pregnant, with all these disorders, and I woke up and I had a really good day. I was like, ‘Wow, this is great! I will probably crash out tomorrow.’ But tomorrow, I had a good day—the next day I had a good day. I noticed my inflammation disappearing. I’m not fatigued. I’m not depressed—I’m not anxious. I’m able to put the crib together…I thought pregnancy was going to be so difficult for me with all these disorders, and as soon as I gave myself the okay and went into carnivore, I just kept waking up and having good days. I kept waiting on the other shoe to drop—and it never did!”

Now thriving and feeling well for over two years, Emily has since welcomed a second baby, and says both of her kids are in excellent health. While her children aren’t fully carnivore, they do eat a lot of meat, and it’s always served as the first course a every meal. Emily also believes their meat-first approach has contributed to the fact that her children have always been excellent sleepers.

As for the future, Emily finds true happiness in helping other people in the carnivore community as a coach with Revero online. Working with new mothers, expectant mothers, hopeful mothers, and those recovering from addiction, she adds that it’s often the best part of her week. “It’s so enjoyable because I like to see people have the same thing that happened to me. You wake up, you have a good day, you think it’s an anomaly—you think it’s a stand alone experience—and you keep waking up! I want to see people keep waking up to a good day.”

Lily healed from inflammation and digestive and skin issues on a strict carnivore diet

October 9, 2022 No Comments

Lily is a self-avowed anarchist, living in Mexico. She was featured in an HBO special about the anarchist movement, and her carnivore journey is also chronicled in that special: “you can see the progression of me from my pre-carnivore very sickly days until, you know, now, where I’m more or less healed from a lot of the stuff that I dealt with.”

Lily and her boyfriend stayed engaged in the anarchist community, eventually moving to Mexico where a large group has formed. This choice, however, would lead to her boyfriend’s murder later.

Vegan Troubles at First

When she and her boyfriend moved to Acapulco, they were planning on participating in the anarchist community. What they found, however, was “it was a bunch of rich snooty vegans, and something not mentioned in the series that is actually a big part of the conflict that happened within the community (the conflict is covered but not this specific part of it) was the opinion of the people that were running the event at the time, and running the community…that you couldn’t be an anarchist and still consume animal products, that it was inherently violent in nature.”

Cartel Dangers

Lilly and her boyfriend got into a situation where they were processing marijuana that they bought from the drug cartel into oil, which they sold to “gringos.” When they started growing their own marijuana and cut out the cartel, her boyfriend was murdered.

Health Issues

Lilly was eating a standard American diet, with “emphasis on junk food because that’s how I was raised” and was nauseous most days, “having to sit down and calm my stomach,” was dizzy all the time, and had “horrible migraines that would put me to bed at 7 p.m. every day. She had IBS, and felt “like I was falling apart.” She was “covered in open sores from chronic cystic acne.”

Finding Carnivore

Lily saw the Joe Rogan interview with Dr. Baker and “that’s actually what got me to give it a try.”

She “practiced strict carnivore for almost 2 years, with about 6 months of the lion diet to deal with inflammation, nervous system inflammation, chronic digestive issues, and horrible skin issues. This was from about mid-2018 to early 2020, which was during the filming of the HBO series The Anarchists.”

Her carnivore experience shifted the Acapulco anarchist community away from dogmatic veganism, and many members are now carnivore.

Symptom and Health Improvements

Lily has found great relief from her acne, IBS, nausea, chronic diarrhea, or constipation, and she has better energy. Her depression is gone, as is her joint pain. She still has some anxiety and tension headaches, but attributes this to her stressful life choices.

Lily has been working on reintroducing some foods back into her diet, while remaining vigilant about not returning to the ill health she had earlier. Her diet is still heavily meat-based, and she is “Still very much a believer in carnivore being good for healing the body and for determining specific trigger foods.”

Adam healed from psoriasis on the carnivore diet

October 8, 2022 No Comments

Adam has been a personal trainer for over 10 years. He has been through “some tough times” that have left him “feeling I’m in the best place in my life.”

Ailments and Adversities

Adam had “a lot of acne” when he was young. He tried Accutane, which “made my skin absolutely terrible. Three months later, he developed psoriasis.

Bodybuilding, Less Psoriasis

Adam developed a love for bodybuilding, and his psoriasis completely healed within 30 days of starting his bodybuilding diet, no longer drinking alcohol or eating fast food. “That was amazing to me…how my skin improved from improving my nutrition.” His diet at that point included some meat and vegetables, and “a lot of white rice.”

Cancer

At age 30 Adam was diagnosed with a non-seminal germ cell tumor “a five-inch mass in my chest. One night…started having chest pains from a deep breath I taken, and all of sudden it just would not go away.”

An emergency room visit “basically determined that it was some type of lymphoma, so right there just completely changed my life.”

Adam endured four rounds of chemotherapy and open chest surgery to remove the tumor, all within a six-month period.

Psoriasis Returns, Worse!

After another brief heart scare, and having fluid drained away, things seemed like “smooth sailing” until his psoriasis “just came back with a vengeance, covered my legs, my arms, my chest, my head, everywhere. During his chemo for the tumor, Adam’s psoriasis had completely gone away.

He decided he had to learn how to solve his problems himself because all of his medical providers just kept “over and over again prescribing me things that I just knew weren’t going to help me.”

The Vegan Missed-Steak

Adam’s search led him to a vegan diet, which he followed for two years, “making vegetable smoothies, and trying a grape diet for three weeks.”

On the vegan diet, Adam “lost 20 to 30 pounds of muscle, started getting just super fatigued…I had testosterone of a 90-year old. Everything was going downhill. I was thin, I was frail, and the biggest thing was my psoriasis was absolutely inflamed to the wazoo.”

Back to Bodybuilding

One of Adam’s friends encouraged him to return to bodybuilding, as it was “the last thing that had worked.” Within days of adding meat back into his diet, “my skin started to improve.”

“The difference is night and day.”

Adam recently competed as a bodybuilder, and “did a carnivore styled prep, and consisted of high fat, high, protein, and zero carb. It was the best stuff I’ve ever been, best I’ve ever felt mentally and physically.”

Better Bowel Function Without Fiber

“My stool is normal, …when I was vegan plant-based going to the bathroom was insane. I had hemorrhoids and it was the stool was hard, it was ridiculous. Every time I went to the bathroom it was a struggle; I’d be in pain.”

His psoriasis has improved so that he estimates 3% coverage, instead of almost 100%, and his cancer has never returned.

Ryan cleared auto-immune disorder that affected his right eye

September 28, 2022 No Comments

I am 37 years old in Southeastern Massachusetts and a married father of 3 young girls ages 8, 4, and 18 months. I was an athlete growing up through high school and always was fairly active giving minor attention to my diet.

I noticed like clockwork I’d put on 10 lbs a year starting at 30 really regardless of how much I worked out. I remember I dropped 25 lbs one year as part of a weight loss challenge with a buddy where once a week i literally cut weight like a fight to beat him, (I did, haha).

I’m naturally a very competitive person so when I started seeing my weight increase and health deteriorate I decided it was time to make a change. Starting in October 2020 I knocked off all sweets, did oat milk, truvia in my coffee, and began running 45 minutes a day on my treadmill, yuck.

Worse than that, I wasn’t losing any weight, I was killing myself for 10 weeks and was down like 4 lbs. I had also been diagnosed with an autoimmune eye disease that could be managed with 20mg of doxicycline daily for periods of 30 days. I had had enough.

I saw Dr Baker on Joe Rogan’s podcast and was intrigued by the idea. I began to think very seriously about joining world carnivore month in January. I did some research and then, jumped in with both feet.

After the first few days I began to feel the difference, my energy popped, my hangry personality traits disappeared and I felt genuinely, good.

I lost 28 lbs in January alone and was completely hooked. I signed up in July that year to compete in the “Haymakers 4 Hope” charity fight. Essentially a white collar brawler it’s a bunch of executives who raise money for various cancer foundations by getting in the ring and having a sanctioned amateur bout.

I thought how cool it would be to train on carnivore and document my journey. Dr Baker even joined in by sharing some of my progress on his stories.

I was amazed at how much energy I had eating carnivore and completely busted the myths of everyone around me saying you need carbs to train. In fact, most people I told (including the event coordinators) thought I was nuts for trying to. I had plenty of gas for not only the training, but for the event itself.

I was already down quite a bit but was able to get down to the required 228lbs on fight night, compete, and win my fight. I’ve turned a handful of my friends and siblings onto this diet and will absolutely never consider “going back” to any other way of eating.

Jennifer Gains More Dense Muscle On The Carnivore Diet

June 18, 2022 1 Comment

Jennifer is a long-term care nurse and bodybuilder in Ohio, who like many of us was raised on Cheetos and Kraft singles and a standard American diet.

As a child, she experienced terrible hip pain, which later in life would be diagnosed as ankylosing spondylitis.

In her 20s, “when I was having babies and having the worst flare ups of my life, and I cut out gluten and dairy, and it went into full remission for 14 years.”

Rheumatoid Arthritis

“It was in remission for 14 years, until I got Covid.” After her first Covid infection, Jennifer got rheumatoid arthritis “full-blown.” She was prescribed methotrexate within a few days, at the highest dosage level, “which saved me…but there’s a tradeoff.”

Jennifer had to take methotrexate weekly, and says “it took me a couple of days to feel normal again after I would be dosing that. I would get mouth sores, feeling kind of ‘out of body,’ not in my body, for a few days. Just feeling not good!”

Covid Again, More AS

After getting Covid again, “the second one gave me a recurrence of the AS. It wasn’t as severe as in the past, where I was in bed and could not walk, but it was enough to make me limp and just be in constant pain.”

“I had every single symptom, textbook, of ankylosing spondylitis.” Her problems were from head to toe: “I had inflammation in my heels; it was hard to walk barefoot, very painful actually…Lots of SI joint pain, lower back stiffness, neck pain and stiffness, pubic bone pain which was new.”

Searching for Answers

Jennifer found herself “emotionally, mentally, everything was falling apart. I just started researching autoimmunity, and it just led me to carnivore…I listened for so many hours a day…then I decided to implement it, and once I did, I turned a corner so quick, and I’ve had many good days now.”

She started eating steak “every single day…lots of ground beef, careful with the eggs and pork-if I can find soy and corn free then I’ll eat those, but mostly just eating beef and butter and eliminating all of the crap.”

Improvements

Jennifer also has seen improvements in her energy “I’m able to work out longer and harder; everything is improved. She is a bodybuilder, and has found it easier to develop muscle now, saying “I was just maintaining, like busting my ass just to maintain, and since going carnivore I’ve been able to build this muscle that is, just, it’s more dense than any muscle I’ve ever had before, and I’m leaner than I’ve ever been…I crave the fat, and the more fat I eat, the leaner I get. It’s crazy!”

Jennifer’s mental state improved also. “I was extremely anxious on a normal basis, and that has improved greatly with this diet. I’m just more calm. I have a calm gut for the first time in my entire life” and also notes “I’m less reactive.”

“It’s just been a miracle for me, all the way around!”

Lauri Is Pain-Free At 69 On The Carnivore Diet

June 18, 2022 No Comments

From the time I was very young, I remember my extremities hurting if someone would grab me by the arm or jump on my legs. I believe now, from what I’ve learned that I have primary lipedema and possibly mild lymphedema. I was a normal weight in high school (somewhat plump preadolescent), weighing 127 or so, having a very skinny waist and rib cage, though somewhat heavy legs but not abnormal looking. After high school being less active, I began to gain weight.

However, I was fortunate to stumble across Dr. Atkins’ low carb diet book which set me on the path of being able to pretty much maintain a decent weight. This was in the 70s. However, after four babies, I found myself 80 pounds heavier.

I believe it was at this time when my lipedema developed. Throughout the years I could lose 40 to 50 pounds doing low carb, but I always gained it back. 4.5 years ago, I got serious about low carbs again, and lost 56 pounds, but struggled to keep it off (aging 30, losing 20, etc.), yo-yo-ing back and forth. So tiresome and frustrating!

I was so excited when my daughter came across carnivore!!! I thought, “I might as well give it a try. I’ve tried everything else.” We both started carnivore August 11, 2021. Since then, in eight months I’ve lost over 45 pounds. I continue to lose just a couple a month. I am now over 90 pounds down from my heaviest weight ever and still could maybe lose another 25. But I am so thrilled to be where I am AND TO ACTUALLY KNOW I WILL NEVER GAIN THIS BACK, as long as I maintain on carnivore. I am thrilled beyond measure. This is not even stating the health benefits.

My back pain is nearly 100% improved. My self-diagnosed fibromyalgia pain is gone! My knee pain is gone! I can actually stand up for more than 10 minutes at a time and not hurt. I was so debilitated that my husband and I were talking about moving from our two-story house of 44 years because of the stairs. I now go up and down without limiting my trips and without pain. It’s actually unbelievable to me!

I no longer dread going to bed to toss and turn in pain, because I am not in pain anymore. Oh, and I just turned 69 in April! My husband says my jeans are saggy in the butt…🤷🏼‍♀️But he’s okay with it! Sugar/carbs were poison to me —— and I am never going back!

Nicole D Is Her Best Self On The Carnivore Diet

June 18, 2022 No Comments

I am an aspiring Revero Health Coach. I began the Carnivore Diet July 1, 2019 after giving Keto a try to rid myself of recurring infections such as mastitis and UTI’s. Little did I know, my left kidney was holding on to a larg calcium oxalate kidney stone.

3 months in to Carnivore the stone tried to exit and got stuck in my ureter. It caused a back up in my kidney which began leaking. I became septic and had fluid on my left lung. Of course all the doctors and some of my family urged me to stop eating so much meat because they all believed a meat heavy diet would further damage my already failing kidneys. I had a decision to make and all I could do was listen to my body. My instincts told me to tune them out and keeping going.

It took me almost 3 months to recover from my kidney situation, but recover I did and even though my left kidney has permanent damage from the stone, I was upgraded from 6 month Nephrology appointments to 12 months. In addition to overcoming kidney stones, Carnivore has also helped me lose weight, put my Hashimotos Autoimmune symptoms into remission, and has received me of my arthritis pain.

Kevin is fighting off multiple sclerosis on a carnivore diet

June 10, 2022 1 Comment

Kevin was diagnosed with MS in 2011. He also had Lyme disease and was bipolar.

In Junior college Kevin had “a vegetarian trash panda diet.” He ate a lot of oreos, ramen, and pop tarts. This continued for 5 years and he believes set the stage for his MS.

Diagnosed

Kevin performed as a juggler at Renaissance fairs. He noticed something was wrong when he couldn’t do juggling patterns that he’d been doing for years. An MRI found brain lesions, as well as lesions on his cervical and thoracic spine.

At 27, Kevin had MS.

Kevin was prescribed immune suppressing medications that made him susceptible to infections.

But he wasn’t getting any better with the meds alone.

Vegan at 27

His wife thought that a vegan diet could help him so he started a low-fat, plant-based diet.

Kevin felt better for a month because he wasn’t eating his “trash panda diet.” But it didn’t last—he had an overall downward trend for the next 8 years.

He couldn’t tie his shoes, button his shirt, walk, cook for himself, or think. He often had to use a wheelchair and a scooter at big box stores.

MS and Lyme

Kevin found research stating that the bacteria that causes Lyme disease is symbiotic with nematodes (worms). Because he was diagnosed with Lyme, he began a protocol to kill parasites. He ate keto with big “freakin” salads. Kevin felt somewhat better, but had joint pain.

Carnivore Discovery

Kevin found Dr. Baker and started carnivore. But he was “foolhardy” because the improvements were so amazing. “I could work out, I could walk in the heat and bright light.” He thought he didn’t need medication anymore and stopped it “cold turkey.”

Coming off the meds so fast was horrible.

Additionally, Kevin learned he needed to eat more fat and upped his intake.

Objective Evidence

In 2021 Kevin had an MRI revealing he regained some cranial mass— he had lost 5 1/2 percent of his brain mass as evidenced from an MRI a decade earlier. And his previous cervical and thoracic lesions weren’t visible.

Today

Kevin has been carnivore for a year and eats mostly beef.

He gets beef fat trimmings and slices them to snack on. His diet is 80-85 percent fat.

At 6’4’ and 165 pounds, Kevin eats about two pounds of meat each day. He buys grass or grain fed, whatever is affordable and available.

At his last follow-up, his neurologist ordered another MRI. Based on its results, Kevin may titrate off his immune-modulating medication.

“So” Kevin says, “ I tied my shoes this morning. I can button pants. I can walk around in the yard.”

After years, Kevin is relearning juggling sequences and reawakening neural pathways.

“Emotionally I’m a lot more level,” Kevin maintains. And he is able to attend a local college.

To function better Kevin exercises using dumbbells, resistance bands, and bodyweight. He’s particular about sleep and says it’s critical for him.

Kevin has bad days, but says they are better than the good days he used to have when he was vegan.

Kirsten feels alive for the first time on a carnivore diet

May 6, 2022 No Comments

Obesity and Psoriasis

Kirsten was obese her whole life. When she was in first grade she weighed 99 pounds. The woman who weighed her said, “Oh, you weigh more than I do.”

Kirsten will never forget that moment.

Her family frequently had snacks before bed—ice cream sundaes in tupperware containers.

At her heaviest Kirsten weighed 350 pounds. Her doctor never addressed her weight and prescribed medications, like metformin.

She was on the verge of death and describes that going up and down stairs at home was painful. When she woke up she couldn’t feel her feet or legs. She would have to stand in place for a few minutes before she could take a step.

Kirsten had “horrible, horrible psoriasis,” and red swollen patches on her skin.

Eliminating Dairy, Grains, and Sugar

Before Kirsten tried the carnivore diet she eliminated dairy, grains, legumes, and all forms of sugar. She ate meat, some vegetables and fruit. After one week she could feel her feet in the morning, could walk immediately without having to wait and had no pain walking down the stairs. “I felt amazing and I knew on that 7th day I was never going back.” Kirsten continued eating this way for about a year.

She saw her doctor and told him what she had eliminated in her diet. His response, “That’s not good for you. You need the grains and dairy.”

Starting on a Carnivore Diet

About a year later Kirsten started her carnivore journey. One day she just decided to only eat meat. “I had no issues switching.”

Her skin had shown a marked improvement. The dark spots all disappeared and her skin was firmer. “I feel like I’m aging in reverse.”

Although her blood work when she ate a meat and veggie diet was good, her labs while eating carnivore revealed “perfect numbers.” The hospital couldn’t believe that she wasn’t taking any medication.

When she was eating the Standard American Diet she constantly ate. Now she eats once or twice per day and has a “ton of energy.”

Listening to Her Body

She listens to her body and believes “our bodies tell us exactly what we need.” Some days she’s craving a ribeye and another may be chicken.

“I love meat. I think it’s more satisfying than meat and veg.”

“I eat a lot.” Kirsten loves chicken wings, pork belly, and duck eggs. My body craves a lot of fat sometimes. One of her favorite foods is dipping chicken wings in duck egg yolks.

Kirsten says this is the best thing she has done for herself. The Revero community is very supportive and she needs it. Everyday she listens to a carnivore podcast to surround herself with like-minded people.

Advice

Kirsten recommends, “Give it 30 days and think about all the benefits that will come from it. You will feel better and have so much energy.” And surround yourself with people who are on the same journey as you—find your tribe of people who support you.