Fernanda is a doctor in her thirties who lives in Brazil with her husband.
She explains that she “always had acne.” She recalls how her mom took her to see many doctors and was always prescribed a pill for it.
In her twenties, she continued to struggle with acne and even though she had asthma and used an inhaler to manage it, she was more concerned about her skin. Over 15 years she had a lot of pills and treatments for her acne—none of which ever completely cleared up her skin.
When Fernanda started medical school she became a vegetarian. The first 2 years were a “honeymoon” period because she did pretty well. But after 2 years she started having low energy, and her asthma and acne got worse. She recalls that she was “kind of depressed.”
She desperately wanted to heal herself and firmly believed that vegetarianism was good for her, so she went “more extreme” with her diet and became vegan.
“I only could handle being a vegan for a year,” Fernanda says. She asked herself how she could still have acne, no energy, and suffer from depression when she was eating the best for her body.
After nine years as a vegetarian, Fernanda recalls, “I was 28 when I realized I am really sick. I was taking pills for depression. I was too skinny. I wasn’t feeling good. I had low self-esteem.” And to top it off, her acne and asthma were worse.
Fernanda knew she had to do something different.
After she quit vegetarianism, Fernanda did a low-carb diet for a year and a half, and a keto diet for six months before transitioning to a carnivore diet.
At first, Fernanda found that eating meat was difficult because her teeth and jaw didn’t “have the power.” She noticed her jawline had become very narrow as a vegetarian because she didn’t need to use her jaw muscles to chew. For the first two weeks of eating carnivore, her teeth hurt a lot. Now Fernanda has a defined jawline as a result of eating meat.
After the first month of carnivore, her skin was much better. Fernanda explains that she had acne on her neck and shoulders and spent years covering it up, but now that her skin is clear, she wears sleeveless shirts without shame. She thought she would have to deal with acne her entire life.
Fernanda says she feels stronger, has more muscle mass, more energy, and “I feel happy.” Her mood and self-esteem have improved and, “I can’t remember the last time I had to use my inhaler.”
Fernanda and her husband are “happy carnivores.” They like to eat nose to tail—heart, kidney, and liver. She says that they are able to source quality beef where they live. “I eat ribeye and like the fattier cuts,” Fernanda admits.
Fernanda says that the carnivore diet is the best thing for her and she wishes she knew about it when she was a teenager.
