Dear Shawn,
I wanted to relay my personal story as I just read your book and there is one disease I think you should add to the list of diseases that could potentially be eliminated on the carnivore diet. This includes snoring and sleep apnea, which do not appear on the list in your book.
My story is as follows: I heard your podcast on Joe Rogan a couple of years back and was very impressed. I also heard Joe Rogan’s podcasts with Jordan Peterson, and Mikhaila Peterson (separate podcasts). I tried the carnivore diet the first time after hearing Jordan Peterson mention his and his daughter Mikhaila’s diet which was based on carnivore.
I was overweight (220 lbs at 5-ft 9), and had sleep apnea and crazy snoring for several years. In the past it took me bringing my weight down below 190 to reduce my snoring and apnea. To my great surprise (and my wife’s elation and improved sleep), my snoring and apnea went away within one week of going carnivore and I was able to wake up on the first alarm ring in the morning with lots of energy and positive state of mind throughout the day. I had no measurable weight loss by the scale and thought that the loss of snoring/ sleep apnea was not possible without weight loss.
But it happened. I am a neuroimmunologist by training and immediately made the connection of possible reduction in inflammation due to the carnivore diet as a trigger for my snoring and apnea going away without any measurable weight loss.
Within a few months, around the holiday time, I went off the carnivore diet and my snoring and apnea returned within a couple of weeks. I have since gone back on the diet, again without measurable weight loss, and once again my snoring and apnea cleared up within 3 days this time. The same effects of ability to wake up early in the morning, with energy and good mood all day long returned too.
I feel at this point, the disappearance of my snoring and apnea must be the direct result of the carnivore diet, and not simply a coincidence. I also recently re-listened to the Joe Rogan podcast with Jordan Peterson, where they discussed the carnivore diet, and I heard Jordan say something I did not hear (or at least did not remember) when I listed to it the first time. Jordan also said that his snoring cleared up within a week of starting on the diet! I hadn’t recalled that.
It is clear to me that part of the benefits of the carnivore diet, and ones that I believe should be listed in the table of diseases in your book, include snoring and sleep apnea. It is no longer an N of 1 as the diet has had the effect on me (now twice) and, by his own words, to Jordan Peterson too.
Many thanks for the inspiration!
Best regards,
Daryl
1 thought on “Daryl lost weight and improved his sleep and snoring on a carnivore diet”
Daryl, well said. I just chanced upon your article and very recently came to the same or similar conclusion. I’ve experimented with different diets and can tell you that, when water fasting, my snoring goes away. If I’m keto, it’s mild. I now believe there are foods causing us varying degrees of inflammation, and while there are common culprits, there are many uncommon ones as well often masquerading as foods traditionally accepted as healthy, and perhaps are typically salubrious for the majority of the species. Fasting is the ultimate elimination diet. Only very rarely do meats cause negative reactions in humans. Dairy tolerance is highly variables. Vegetables as well. Natural fruits should be our infrequent-and-therefore-more-likely-to-be-appreciated desserts. I love an occasional dragonfruit, or a crisp, sun-ripened apple.