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!”
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.
Tessa describes being so chronically ill her doctors didn’t know what to do with her. Tessa has a history of eating disorders but says for most of her adult life, she didn’t struggle with eating. Tessa ate copious amounts of food but couldn’t seem to gain weight. Tessa says she experimented with the vegetarian diet, vegan (including raw vegan), five meals a day, three meals a day– but nothing worked. For several years her weight hovered around a mere ninety pounds.
Tessa had severe digestion issues. She describes taking antibiotics for a sinus infection over a decade ago. After the antibiotics, she struggled to digest food and was often bloated and gassy. Tessa also had severe depression and debilitating anxiety. She had multiple panic attacks per week and described struggling to get off the floor some evenings. Tessa also lost her period for an entire decade, developed bells palsy, or numbness, in her face, severe brain fog, poor libido, and exercise intolerance. Tessa says, “my health was in shambles.”
Since Tessa had become a mystery to her western doctors, she sought alternative medicine. There she was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease and a genetic disorder that makes it difficult for her body to detox naturally. She also discovered she has macrocytic anemia, which makes it very difficult for her body to absorb B vitamins.
Tessa then began to see a naturopath doctor. When Tessa described her then-vegetarian diet to the doctor, she was told, “you need to eat meat.” Tessa says initially, she didn’t take her new doctor’s advice well, but she was desperate. Her doctor recommended the book “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon. Tessa read the book, and the day she finished it, she ate salmon.
Over the next few months, Tessa began following the ketogenic diet and eating more meat. She started to explore the carnivore diet in March 2018. Tessa says she has dabbled with the diet for over a year, committing for a few months at a time. She even gave it up in the summer of 2019 after listening to outside influences, but she couldn’t deny how good the diet made her feel. In October 2019, Tessa fully committed to the carnivore lifestyle.
Tessa’s period returned in June 2020, and she is no longer considered anemic. Tessa says her digestion has greatly improved, her depression and anxiety are almost non-existent, and her energy is “off the chains.” Tessa has also been able to gain weight, including muscle, and says she gets comments from people all the time telling her she looks so much more healthy.
Today Tessa says she is a nose-to-tail carnivore diet follower. She typically eats one meal daily, which works best for her digestion. Tessa says she drinks coffee in the morning and mineral water throughout the day. After a workout session in the afternoon, she usually eats a rare steak, which she has found has the best source of B vitamins. However, Tessa says she will eat dark chicken meat from time to time, or pork, bacon, and fish. Tessa doesn’t eat dairy but loves ghee and has found a love for coconut oil after discovering it also seems to aid her digestion.
Tessa advocates the carnivore lifestyle and has even documented her health journey on YouTube through her channel. Tessa thanks Shawn Baker and the carnivore community for spreading the word about this incredible diet. Tessa says, “because of this amazing diet, I’ve got my life back.”
Jon is from Sweden and is grateful he discovered the carnivore way of eating. Before becoming a carnivore follower, Jon was on and off the ketogenic diet. He says he had a lot of injuries early in his adult life from working out, specifically in his ankles and wrists, which caused him a lot of pain. At twenty-five years old, Jon was also diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
John says he first tried the ketogenic diet after being diagnosed with IBS. He says, “it helped, ” but he struggled to stay consistent on the keto diet and teetered between following it two a tee and falling off the wagon. Jon’s weight began to creep up and became an issue as he struggled to stay consistent with the keto diet. At his highest weight, he tipped the scales at 102 kilograms.
After a sickness, Jon was partially paralyzed in one eye, which made blinking more complex and much slower than it was previously. Additionally, he had an operation on his foot but still found he struggled with the pain of walking and had to be careful not to put all of his weight on that particular foot. Jon also struggled with weekly migraines; he took many medications to treat them.
Jon came across the carnivore diet five months ago and decided to try it. He says initially, he was very strict with his diet. Jon ate meat, salt (notably Redman Sea Salt, which he orders from the United States), and water. He says the first week was very hard for him, mainly because he tried and failed to give up coffee. His body did not react well to the sudden lack of caffeine. Jon says he also struggled with his energy the first two months of following the carnivore way of eating. His energy levels were up and down, almost like a rollercoaster.
However, Jon’s body has seemingly adjusted to the carnivore lifestyle and is now reaping the benefits. Jon has lost seventeen kilograms since he started the carnivore diet. Jon says he no longer struggles with IBS or pain in his foot or joints. He also says he has had one mild headache during his carnivore journey instead of the weekly migraines he used to endure.
Additionally, his energy levels have evened out. Jon describes feeling it is much easier to do manual work like shoveling snow and other things he found difficult before finding the carnivore lifestyle. What is somewhat surprising is that Jon no longer struggles with a partially paralyzed eye. He says he has improved his ability to move and blink his eye, which he didn’t think was possible.
Jon also says other people have noticed a difference in his health. He describes his masseuse, telling him his back seems much more aligned and healthy. Though Jon admits he had some success on the keto diet before discovering the carnivore way of eating, he says the carnivore lifestyle is much easier and sustainable for him. He has seen many improvements in his health and is now a believer in this lifestyle.
Astrid has been dealing with health concerns as far back as her infancy. She describes her mother telling her she was a very colicky baby. Astrid also often became sick as a child and dealt with severe constipation. Even as a young person, she thought the answer to all her problems was the much popular at the time vegetarian diet, but as her life progressed, she continued to develop more and more issues with her health.
In her twenties, Astrid developed mercury toxicity from the dental work she had received. Unfortunately, she was not diagnosed with the condition until she was forty-three, and her health vastly deteriorated during the more than twenty years she was exposed. Astrid was also diagnosed with Lyme Disease, which she says exasperated her metal toxicity issues even more. Add to that, Astrid also suffered from chronic fatigue and depression. She says there came a point when her family was the only reason she felt she needed to keep living.
Astrid says her first introduction to nutrition came through her son, who was also colicky as an infant. She says he was in pain every day, and she researched what she could do to find relief for her child. At that point, she learned about the human body’s nutritional needs and how many people have food intolerances.
From her research, Astrid began feeding her son almond milk instead of cow’s milk and experimenting with other foods he was eating. After a while, she started noticing that eating meat seemed to help her son, who even craved meat at a very young age. At that point, Astrid began to understand why she had struggled with so many health ailments while being a vegetarian. And while she started adding meat back for a time, she wasn’t quite ready to completely change her lifestyle.
In 2010, Astrid began following the GAPS diet– which primarily focused on gut health through meat, bone broth, soft-cooked vegetables, and honey. Astrid found some relief, but she continued to struggle with her health. A friend recommended the carnivore diet, and Astrid said initially, she didn’t want to hear about it. Over time, her heart began to soften towards the crazy diet, and she began to wonder if it could help her body heal.
Astrid said at first, she had no plans to follow the diet long-term. She tried the carnivore diet for a few days and noticed within a week, she felt better. Astrid then decided to continue the diet for two months, which turned to six months, then one year, and then two years. Astrid says she was feeling better and better as she continued with the diet.
After one year on a diet, she experimented with adding vegetables and berries, but almost immediately, her body reacted. She says she now knows that “this (the carnivore diet) is my life.” Today, Astrid eats a lot of beef, pork, chicken, and duck. She does eat some eggs and organs, but she’s found that she can’t tolerate butter or ghee because of her medical history.
Astrid says she has become 98% healed on the carnivore diet. Astrid still struggles with some depression, but she knows she is feeling better today than she even thought she could. She says at sixty-eight years old, she knows she is much more vital than many people her age. Her advice to anyone looking to try this diet is to “never give up.” She also says she is living proof that there is a “light at the end of the darkness.”
At 18 years old, Jenae was diagnosed with end stage chronic Lyme disease. After transitioning to a carnivore diet and implementing cold laser therapy, she has successfully put her symptoms into remission.
“I had neurological Lyme disease, so I experienced constant brain fog, headaches, and joint pain,” Jenae shares with Revero coach Tracy. “I couldn’t drive for a very long time, and I experienced excessive sweating as one of the autoimmune symptoms.” At the time, Jenae was enrolled in college classes, and she struggled to have enough energy to make it through her day, and would spend hours sleeping after class. The fatigue was nearly unbearable. “I learned that my body is very sensitive to oxalates, so I knew I needed to avoid plant foods as much as possible.”
Jenae had some success on a ketogenic diet, but found it was easy to get caught up in baking low-carb versions of her favorite sweets and treats. She was looking for a way to address her Lyme disease symptoms through nutritional therapy rather than a pill, so she looked online for information and found Mikhaila Peterson’s story about how she put herself in remission from several autoimmune disorders while following a version of the carnivore diet. “I was taking a bunch of herbal supplements and working with a functional medicine doctor, but I wasn’t seeing any progress,” she recalls. “So I decided to try a carnivore diet.”
Jenae’s first attempt at carnivore did not go as planned. “The first time, I jumped right in, but failed after a week. I realized it works better for me to eliminate foods slowly so it’s not such a shock to my system. I also realized I need to supplement with more electrolytes.” Jenae was struggling with her weight at the time, so she had implemented intermittent fasting, and continued this as she first transitioned to carnivore. “I was only eating meat and still trying to fast, which was not a good idea. So for my second attempt, I stopped intermittent fasting and slowly transitioned from keto with avocados and coconut oil to carnivore with eventually no plant foods.”
In an effort to treat Lyme disease and her thyroid condition, Jenae continued on a carnivore diet and finally started to see improvement. “My thyroid was significantly affected by Lyme disease, and I almost had full-blown Hashimoto’s disease. But I’ve been able to lessen that since following a carnivore diet, and my energy has greatly improved.”
In conjunction with changing her diet, Jenae has had incredible results from cold laser therapy. “It’s an alternative therapy using a low level laser that seems to work well for autoimmune conditions,” she explains. “Along with the carnivore diet, cold laser therapy completely catapulted my healing process. With these two things, I have completely gone into remission and the inflammation in my body is gone.” Jenae is now able to enjoy intense workouts and has gotten down to a healthy weight. Jenae plans to keep going with an animal-based diet to keep her symptoms at bay, and enjoys helping others as a carnivore diet coach to help them find healing and develop a plan that works best for them.
I wanted to share my success story thus far. My life has changed and improved drastically- and I wasn’t sure I was going to be alive less than a year ago.
My name is Rebekah. I’ve always had a passion for health, nature, Fitness, and holistic nutrition / medicine.
I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 6th grade. In seventh grade, I ran into chronic pain. I was rushed to the emergency room with severe chest pains, and left with a diagnosis of costochondritis and degenerative disc. I was then diagnosed with OCD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, Narcolepsy, and a myriad of digestive issues such as gastroparesis, IBS, IBD, slow transit colon, Celiac and diverticulitis.
I started regular Chiropractic treatments to address scoliosis and chronic pain. I went through multiple rounds of physical therapy, but symptoms continued to worsen. Shortly after graduating high school, I ran into chronic adrenal fatigue, crippling anxiety and pain so bad that I was bed bound. I had difficulty breathing, with frequent episodes of near- suffocation.
Desperate and afraid, I knew that I needed to dig deeper. I ventured to uncover the root of my issues, working with multiple functional medicine doctors, and embarked on a more strict/ personalized version of the ketogenic diet. I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, colitis, Addisons, Hashimotos hypothyroid, CREST scleroderma, and a central nervous system disorder called Central Sensitization Syndrome (see youtube video by Dr. Sletten of Mayo Clinic).
With Keto, various supplements, and support I was able to get off of Adderal, Clonazepam, and Ambien after being dependent on them for 13 years. I gained energy and focus, and reversed Hashimotos! My cystic acne also cleared completely.
I was only just beginning to break free from the cage that I became burrowed into after years of quick “fixes” and excessive rounds of antibiotics ordered by traditional med doctors. I have continued to strip off the band-aids to uncover the sources and contributors to systemic disease that almost took my life, and more importantly my hope and joy.
After losing a severe amount of weight, I was diagnosed with chronic chlostridium difficule (C-Diff). I am resistant to all of the antibiotics, and have now had 3 fecal transplants. I was told that I should consider removing my colon, and that I needed a feeding tube. I refused and instead decided to commit to the one thing that I avoided trying for so long… Nothing brought relief or nourishment back into my body until I started the carnivore way of eating.
I have gained back 30 healthy pounds of mostly muscle, and have overcome almost all of my autoimmune issues. I have broken up deep layers of scar tissue that was taking over my body and limiting mobility; now there is new, strong, healthy muscle. My mood has never been more stable, and I am mentally resilient. No more swollen ankles or strange skin rashes/ hives.
My energy is steady and dependable, and I’m sleeping the best I have in my entire life. I have gained so much freedom in this journey thus far and I am passionate and thrilled to help others overcome their battles, and reach their goals -beyond expectation!
I’m so grateful for all that you are doing. You are such a refreshing voice amongst the sea of noise out there. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Rebekah
Listen to Rebekah’s interview on the Revero podcast here:
As per interest and requests I thought I would sit down and talk about my story of approaching and reaching my carnivore diet. Even though I like to never look back or put any focus on my previous ill health, I know that by doing so it may help others. Warning… I’m a number of things, but not a writer. So, read on at your own risk!
I was born March 22, 1973 to an engineer and a physical therapist. My mom’s dad was an M.D. with an emphasis on OB/GYN. He was a great man, but followed the norm of doctoring. He suggested the healthy diet of “cereal and low-fat milk” to snack on in between the standard low fat meals.
I was born quickly without any complications. Things went the way they typically do with hospital births. She nursed me, weaning me off breastmilk completely by the 3 month mark. I reacted to every formula and every food they gave me. They ended with the least reactive combination for me.
Growing up, I always had rashes, asthma and allergies. I was allergy tested at 4 after having a scary breathing situation at nursery school. I was sensitive to almost everything. But my diet was never looked at as an option to cure it all. Instead, I got shots for years. I hated every single one. Never got used it. It always seemed wrong to me.
Because I was an only child, my parents wanted me to have opportunities to do things with other kids as much as possible. So, I went to a lot of camps – which I absolutely loved. However, one of the many camp trips is most likely when I was bitten by a deer tick. I remember tick checks every night and removing them with tweezers when found. I don’t remember having a specific rash or period of flu-like symptoms. I had my share of colds, strep and flu every year and would always catch whatever was “going around”, so nothing stood out when I contracted Lyme.
In the meantime, my health kept deteriorating. Beginning at age 8 I developed trichotillomania. Sores on my eyelids and eyebrow lines made me want to rub/pull at the lashes. I had times when I had no eyelashes or eyebrows. This lasted all the way through grade school, middle school, high school, college and my first couple years working.
Whenever I went over to my friends’ houses (everyone had pets), it wasn’t long before my parents would get a call to come and get me because I was wheezing or developing hives.
Once I started to mature around age 13, the acne I developed was cyst-like and extremely ugly and painful. They would look like craters. I had them all over my face, neck, inside my ears, shoulders, back, chest and arms. Between hardly having eyelashes/eyebrows and having this acne, I was very self-conscious. I was not obese as a kid, but I was always heavier than the norm and carried my weight in a weird sort of way in my hips and butt. I remember having cellulite at age 12.
By age 16 my periods slowed and stopped completely. None of the OB/GYN doctors had any answers. My diet was the typical low fat, high complex carbs, high vegetation and low sugar. So, OBVIOUSLY my diet wasn’t causing it.
College days were fun, but continued my downward health spiral. The extreme fatigue really set in at this point. I started out having a double major of Mathematics and Studio Art. What kept me from successfully majoring in Mathematics is I could not stay awake in class. I would fall asleep after a couple minutes of class starting and wake up when it was over. I needed naps throughout the day and I would always be the first one to sleep in the dorm by hours. Depression and darkness started overcoming me. I pushed friends away more and more due to my fatigue and depression.
I started working out hoping that would make me feel better about myself (and my floppy physique), but it just made me more tired and angry. I didn’t give up working out until years later. (I even became a PT on the side of my professional job.)
I ended up graduating cum laude with math and psychology minors, and studio art major.
After graduating college, I got a job working in the Industrial Design department at Navistar, which was a dream as an Art major, loving automotive design and working at the same company as my dad, cousin and uncles.
The most dramatic downturn in my health happened next. The stress of working and being around clay modeling, paint spraying and all sorts of chemicals quickly sent me downhill fast. Honestly, at this point life is a blur to me still.
My lifesaver was Joe. Wonderful, talented, funny, interesting, 100% compatible with me, Joe! It’s almost as if I was waiting to meet him before my life which was heading downhill fast would make a turn for the better. But it was going to get worse before getting better.
My list of health conditions grew:
eczema all over my hands (to the point of second degree burns),
tinnitus,
worsening depression,
worsening fatigue (fell asleep at work all the time, at meetings, at church, and driving a car),
lower back/pelvic and sciatic nerve pain (couldn’t sit at all, worked standing up, constant pain with occasional howling-pain spasms; MRI revealed degenerative disc disease in 3 areas),
systemic edema,
blurry vision (eyeglasses were worn beginning in high school, worsening every year),
paralyzation at times in hands and feet working its way into my torso (Joe had to be called to carry me out of work several times),
allergies/sensitivities to all things (food, pollens, chemicals),
continued amenhorrea,
weight gain (at my heaviest 50 pounds overweight),
inability to concentrate (couldn’t understand a sentence spoken to me in time to hear the next in a conversation),
diagnosed with cervical dysplasia (treated with cryotherapy),
migraines,
heart pains,
indigestion/reflux,
bingeing (and at the end, vomiting – luckily only a few times),
muscle twitching (over 100 twitches in 1-minute’s time),
lumps in my breasts I was too afraid to have checked out,
irritation and rage (a complete reversal of my laid back and sweet nature everyone knew me to have growing up).
I literally could go on, but I don’t want to waste any more time or bleed my heart out anymore than I have.
I went the conventional doctor route, with absolutely NO success. Each one made me sicker, weaker and with more symptoms. Most concluded it was all in my head and I was crazy!
Joe was always interested in body building and happened on Vince Gironda. His way of eating to be as strong and sharp as possible intrigued Joe. Almost as soon as he researched this and similar diets (many authors delving into the low/carb free approach to health long, long ago) he started eating low carb/high fat. Instantly it appealed to me and I tried experimenting with low carb foods and recipes (I loved to cook and bake).
It was not an immediate win for me, but certain things instantly started to turn around (allergies and asthma in particular as soon as I removed grains). I also started unmasking the low carb foods (vegetation especially), which would send me into terrible fatigue spells.
When Joe and I married August 8, 1998 (this is part of my love of the number 8), it was one of the best days of my life (other than the days of giving birth to my two sons). It was bittersweet though. I felt bad despite the adrenaline. We were the first ones to leave our own reception, not because we couldn’t wait to be together, but because I was so wiped out from the whole thing.
On with the positive turn!
Soon after I was diagnosed with Lyme disease by an alternative M.D. At least that gave us something to focus on and be able to look at as reasons behind some of my issues. I decided to quit my job to focus on getting well and reducing my stress level (I was working, taking MBA classes, finished my PT and nutritionist licenses).
More research quickly led us from looking at low carb to virtually no carbs. We experimented so much in such little amount of time that we realized we’d better start journals of everything we ate, how we felt, what worked and what didn’t. All we wanted was consistency.
The fish and oil diet was the first diet I can remember being the first try at a zero carb diet. It relieved a lot of my symptoms, but not all (still had amenhorrea, edema, trichotillomania, acne, eczema and excess weight). We probably spent about a year experimenting beginning with the fish and oil diet, quickly switching to free range eggs and poultry, and occasional lamb and beef.
Charlene’s journals tracking every reaction to every meal
As SOON as I switched to animal fat as my fat source instead of “healthy” oils, I ovulated and had a period two weeks later. I couldn’t believe it!!! Why in the WORLD didn’t someone tell me years ago about the importance of animal fat?!? I’ve been more regular since then than I ever was as a young teenager. I’ve had two healthy boys (no complications for me; home births too; mid-wife with Charlie and unassisted with George)!
We experimented with pork only to find that it activated symptoms. Ground meats, no matter what type also did.
We continued researching and looked at our wins and fails. It led us to Blake Donaldson who suggested a steak and water diet for his patients. That made a lot of sense to Joe and I. We started with pemmican only for some time, introducing steak eventually. Sure enough, as soon as I decided to go all beef, EVERY SINGLE ONE of my symptoms vanished!!! I couldn’t believe it. Whenever I tried to share my success and happiness about this, it was met with more questionable stares, anger, fear, and rolled eyes than you would ever imagine. So, it was our little secret. And that’s how we kept it until we found others with our point of view.
Also, I quickly found the more I ate meat only, my face shape changed and especially my body. I went from needing to work out religiously and strenuously when eating poorly to giving up exercise completely in order to not become too muscular or masculine-looking.
Even when others put our interview out a few years ago, it was met (by some) with so much anger, that we pulled it. It was slated to be run in National Examiner magazine. Boy, would that have been a disaster in many respects.
Charlene’s favorite food, the glorious ribeye
These days we eat ribeye steak, since it’s the fattiest. And we drink spring water. That’s what we do. We don’t think about it. We don’t really even talk about it. To us it’s like talking about why the sky is blue. Yes, there is scientific reasoning behind it. It’s nice to understand, but it’s beauty is really all it comes down to appreciating!
Hi, I’m Jason. I was perfectly healthy until 32, then my immune system went off the rails.
Stabilizing my conditions
I have found that eating only meat or fasting stabilize my condition, and remove the immune cytokines that cause flares. I was told I had Lyme’s, I have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), and other autonomic damage due to inflammation. I had brain damage and memory loss, and was disabled for years. I use doxycycline as an anti-inflammatory and nicotine gum to suppress my immune response and those help a lot, but if I eat anything other than meat I have edema all over my body.
Elimination diet
I’m not entirely sure Lyme’s is the answer to CFS and the all meat improvement, but I do know my immune system is overreactive. My fasting experiments prove that. All the symptoms are from inflammation, long term. Going back to the 1970s you’ve got people with auto immune diseases who go into remission when put on an elemental diet, meaning pure glucose, amino acids, fats, but no proteins that could flare them. No fibre.
Meat, freedom
We’re all on this spectrum, and unless people go through it, or their spouse goes through it, they will never understand the freedom eating only meat gives. It saves our lives. I need to be more consistent, I’m tired of being tired and nauseated all the damn time.
Hi, my name is Mark. I want to share my path to health on a carnivore diet with you.
Lyme on a vegan diet
When I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. After one clueless doctor after another, I decided the way I was going to get well, was to take matters into my own hands. I was a pizza delivery guy at the time, and I came across Gary Null’s Natural Living radio show. He preached a vegetarian diet, preferably vegan, and cited countless health benefits in living that lifestyle. It made perfect sense to me, so I adopted the veggie life. 2 years into it, I was wondering, what the heck is the deal? This isn’t working like Gary said it would. But at that point, I was so brainwashed by the vegan propaganda, that I knew I’d get healthy eventually if I kept detoxing, cleansing, meditating and exercising. Another year or two later, I decided to go a more drastic route, and became a raw food vegan.
Going raw vegan
I was eating seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables in their raw, uncooked state. For the first time in my life, I felt a shift in my health. I started to feel a lot better. The raw food diet made sense. I became so passionate about it, that I would tell anyone and everyone. I started only dating girls who were raw vegan. I went to raw vegan potlucks and events. I was hooked. At one of the events, someone told me about the 80/10/10 diet, and how that was the ultimate form of eating raw vegan. I gave it a try, and was hooked even more! I felt invincible. I was running everywhere I went. Strength was going up. I felt like a kid again. I went and got nutrition certifications, so I could have some credentials when I started teaching people how to eat this way.
My teeth were rotting
My first blow came when I went to the dentist, because one of my teeth literally broke in half one day when I was sitting there. It just fell apart. That was kind of strange. I had 17 cavities at the dentist. 17!!! I ended up having 3 teeth pulled because they were rotten beyond repair. They couldn’t even do a root canal on them. My teeth were rotting out of my skull like I was on meth. What was the raw vegan remedy? Green juice of course! I started juicing the daylights out of greens. 6 glasses a day. Which of course, upset my stomach a great deal. Man is not meant to be drinking green juices.
More vegan problems
Anyway, after the dental incident, I started noticing other symptoms I couldn’t ignore anymore. My anxiety and social withdrawal became a BIG problem. I couldn’t go out in public anymore. I started having phobias too. In addition to that, my Lyme Symptoms started coming back worse than ever. I used to be able to watch muscle spasms in my legs and arms like it was an entertainment show. My digestion became so bad that I could only digest fruit. Not even a salad. My body temperature dropped so low that I couldn’t even be outside if it wasn’t 80 out. And I kept the heat on 78 in my house in the winter, while wearing thermal everything. I decided to finally realize veganism was destroying me, worse than the Lyme Disease ever did. Every good thing I experienced on the diet was only temporary.
Trying every diet
For about 10 years after veganism, I went from one diet to another. Ultimately, I settled on low carb paleo, because they made me feel best. My problem though, was always intense cravings for sweets. And I always gave in to muffins and cookies. This went on for years. One day on Facebook, I came across the concept of eating a zero carb diet. I didn’t see how this was possible. I actually laughed at and mocked the people doing it. Until I started reading stories and seeing how healthy people looked.
Carnivore for the first time
Eventually, I said screw it, and gave it a shot. I felt HORRENDOUS, and gave up after 5 days or so. Then went back to my mostly paleo diet. I bounced back and forth between paleo and carnivore about a dozen times, before finally realizing that carnivore is THE diet.
Nearly every ailment or symptom I’ve ever had is completely gone:
No more Lyme disease symptoms
My digestion is better than it’s ever been in my life.
My energy is outstanding, like I’m 18 again.
I have absolutely no cravings (except for coffee, because I love it so much).
I feel more like a man.
I feel strong. Confident.
My mental clarity is on point.
My sex drive is alive and well.
My 10+ year dandruff issue cleared up.
My gums stopped being swollen and bleeding, which is a problem I dealt with since childhood.
It’s almost miraculous what this meat based diet has done for me.
What do I eat?
Mostly beef: steaks and hamburgers. Occasional ground turkey or something in a pinch. Occasional bacon as well. I eat about 1-2 dozen eggs a week. I drink a cup of black coffee a day, rarely two cups. I use kerrygold butter. I’ve tinkered with cheese and heavy cream a bit. They don’t agree with me at all, so I cut them out. I’m pretty much beef, eggs and coffee only.
This diet has given me my life back. And if one struggling vegan reads this and decides to make the switch, then this was all worth writing out and submitting!
