Dave has always taken his health seriously. Dave says he never ate a lot of sugar and has always worked out. Dave was shocked when he was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer ten years ago that caused his body to produce too many red blood cells. Though Dave’s cancer is treatable, it makes his blood like “motor oil’– extremely thick. It also requires that he get regular phlebotomies to remove his body’s excess red blood cells.
Dave says though the phlebotomies help his body’s red blood cell count, they make him anemic. Over the last ten years, his anemia has made him very weary. So much so that he has struggled to leave his home. His doctors have tried different medications, like prescription iron tablets, to help with his chronic anemia, but they caused his body to produce too many red blood cells yet again.
Dave says he experimented with diets to find ways to battle his fatigue. He first tried the paleo diet. He ate a lot of chicken, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and beans. Dave says the paleo diet did little to help him with his fatigue.
Then one day, Dave stumbled online across Joe Rogan’s podcast and his interview with Dr. Shawn Baker. Dr. Baker spoke of his meat-only diet, which Dave admits sounded crazy but still intrigued him. From there, Dave researched other carnivore diet followers like Kelly Hogan, who has followed the diet for over a decade. Dave says he knew there had to be something to the carnivore way of eating if its advocates could stay on it for many years and thrive.
Dave decided to try the diet for thirty days. He says initially, he had some digestive issues, but after two weeks, they went away. After those first two weeks, Dave said he had more energy than he had in years. He knew he needed to continue the carnivore way of eating beyond the thirty-day limit he gave himself. Dave describes having a shoulder replacement surgery five months into his diet, where his doctor said he “healed like a model patient.” Dave knew his rapid healing was thanks to his carnivore lifestyle.
Dave says today his ferritin levels are slightly on the low side (which is to be expected), but his hemoglobin has dramatically improved. Dave also says he’s even got his wife and daughter following the carnivore diet after seeing his success. His daughter has even lost a lot of weight following the carnivore lifestyle.
Dave says at sixty-seven years old, he is the only one of his friends that isn’t on daily prescription medications. Dave says his version of the carnivore diet consists of mostly beef with some pork. He also drinks around one gallon of raw milk per week and eats some eggs.
Dave is a fan of the platform and says he greatly respects Dr. Baker. He doesn’t usually attend the meetings, but he likes to watch them later online. Dave recognizes he has had to relearn everything he thought he knew about health, and he loves soaking up all the information he can get about this way of eating. Dave is very grateful for his carnivore journey. He says, “the carnivore diet took me to another level and opened my eyes to a whole new world.”
