In 2009, Heidi thought her blood sugar problems were over as she welcomed the birth of her son. While still recovering in the hospital, she was assured by the staff that her first meal of Lorna Doone cookies was perfectly fine—the gestational diabetes she had while she was pregnant was now a thing of the past. Three years later, Heidi was diagnosed with mature adult onset type 1 diabetes. From 2012 to 2018, she desperately tried to get a handle on her blood sugar, while managing the highs and lows that go along with the condition. Then, in 2018, a well-meaning friend recommended a vegan, low fat diet advertised to “master your diabetes.” Unfortunately, after trying it, not only did her diabetes problems continue, but she ended up struggling with exhaustion, inflammation, brain fog—and newfound joint issues.
“To make matters worse, I started to have joint issues which I didn’t expect—you know, people from the vegan community never tell you that you’re going to have joint problems—but I started having trouble going upstairs and I’m like, ‘I’m not that old! I may be in my 50’s but I have a long life to live and I can’t hobble down the stairs for 50 years!’ So out of desperation I first went into keto, but then I started to see videos about carnivore.”
Keto is a common pitstop on the way to the carnivore diet, and Heidi was no different. “I saw a couple carnivore videos and at the time—I’m sure we can all relate to this— it was a little bit of cognitive dissonance. I was like ‘How do people really just only eat meat?‘“
After launching into carnivore at the beginning of 2022, she noticed after two weeks that the joint pain she had been experiencing was completely gone, her focus was returning, and as of today, she is currently down 35 lbs. Not bad considering the year isn’t even close to being over yet! On top of all that, her blood sugar has become more stable, she’s been able to halve the amount of medication she uses to manage her diabetes, has better skin, better sleep, and is just generally more vivacious. “My whole world’s different,” she says happily, “And I actually love my food now!”
Heidi says she prescribes to the beef/bacon/butter/eggs approach to carnivore. An added bonus? Her 16 year old daughter has also joined her on her carnivore journey! Heidi says the carnivore diet also gives her the freedom to not eat first thing in the morning—a time when sugar is usually highest for diabetics—and opts to start eating around 3:30 or 4pm in the afternoon when her blood sugar is naturally lower. “Not only do i feel subjectively better, but I do have objective numbers to say my blood sugar’s in so much better control now—and I have the presence of mind to actually enjoy life…I’ve never felt better. I’ve not felt better in literally probably decades.”
Article by Jennifer McDowell
