Dunja describes their diet before carnivore as a healthy version of the Standard American Diet—home-cooked food, no junk food, meat, vegetables, and fruit. Alex adds that he did eat a lot of nuts and grains, thinking they were healthy.
Dunja found it very hard to focus, tired easily and learned she had Hashimoto’s. She then developed gout, knee pain, and joint pain in her right hand.
Alex recounts his illnesses: gout, arthritis, psoriasis, Hashimoto’s, kidney stones, IBS, shingles, migraines, acne all over his body, constant back pain, and diverticulitis. Diverticulitis landed him in the hospital, where he discovered he had a perforated colon. “I was a mess.”
He had to find something else because the doctors and medications weren’t working.
Dunja started on a ketogenic diet first to help her thyroid. Gradually, she removed gluten, nightshades, sugar, and dairy from her diet. She felt much better but continued to learn and read about anti-nutrients and their keto diet became increasingly restricted.
Dunja was able to resolve her Hashioto’s on keto, but not her gout, knee, and joint pain in her hand.
Alex felt better at first but then declined and thought something wasn’t right—he was getting joint pain. The more salads and greens he ate, the worse he felt.
His joint pain intensified, and it became difficult to get out of the car because he was developing hip pain.
They learned about the carnivore diet through podcasts with Dr. Baker and others in the space.
The diet sounded “very, very extreme” to them. But they listened to testimonies about finding relief from joint pain after two weeks of eating carnivore and decided to give it a try.
And, after his perforated colon, Alex was ready to try something else.
Dunja and Alex felt it would be easier if they both did the diet together.
For a few months after starting carnivore, Alex had diarrhea. He also experienced cramping and had to eliminate coffee. “Things are good now,” he says.
Dunja experienced oxalate dumping after beginning her carnivore journey. As oxalates were flushed from her body, the joint pain in her hand got worse. This lasted about two weeks, after which the pain was completely gone.
Dunja also explains that for the first few weeks, she was extremely hungry—she ate as much as her body needed and did not restrict calories.
Today, Alex is off all medications and supplements, though they both take vitamin D because they get limited sun exposure in the Midwest during winter.
Alex did take all sorts of supplements before and thinks they may have been why he had kidney stones. He says, “There’s no need for supplements because you get all the nutrients from meat.”
Dunja and Alex have been carnivore for a year and a half. They like beef and wild game. Dunja eats eggs, and Alex enjoys adding some lamb.
They both appreciate the social gatherings and say that people are very open and supportive.
