Gina is a nurse who has multiple autoimmune diseases. She began her carnivore journey almost three years ago because her health worsened on a plant-based diet.
Early on, her menstrual cycle was never regular, and as a teenager, her hair fell out. At 19, she was diagnosed with PCOS. When she was older, she had infertility issues, and her health problems continued to worsen into her 50s.
Gina joined a low-carb group that mainly consumed meat in 1998. She was unable to fully embrace it because it went against everything she had been taught.
The medical community promotes a plant-based diet, and since she’s a nurse, she followed this advice herself. For five years, Gina ate plant-based and ran long-distance. Gina’s plant-based diet consisted of grains, beans, and two smoothies with spinach every day.
Despite the fiber she consumed, she was always constipated. She was advised to eat more fiber by the medical staff at the GI unit where she worked. “How much more can I eat?” she thought.
Gina’s symptoms worsened to the point where she was unable to climb a flight of stairs. It was during this time that she was diagnosed with a skin disorder.
Gina also discovered that her borderline low thyroid may be a bigger issue than she initially thought. She had blood work done to test for TPO antibodies, which, when present, indicate hypothyroidism. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease in her early 50s. Gina believes she has had Hashimoto’s for a long time based on her symptoms.
Gina questioned what other autoimmune diseases she had, knowing that having one autoimmune disease increases the likelihood that you either have or will have others.
Gina was prescribed medication for her thyroid, and she had some improvement but continued to have problems. Finally, she was diagnosed with lupus and Sjogren’s syndrome, both of which are autoimmune diseases.
Brain fog and joint pain were some of the last symptoms that Gina experienced before switching to a meat-based diet. Brain fog became a serious concern for Gina—so much so that she got tested for Alzheimer’s disease. ”I couldn’t complete a sentence.” In addition, Gina experienced joint pain that kept her awake at night.
Gina says what she was doing wasn’t working, so after watching Dr. Baker on Joe Rogan’s podcast, she decided to give a meat-based diet another try.
When she eliminated grains and plants from her diet, she saw the biggest gains. After the first week on carnivore, Gina’s joint pain was gone, and after two weeks, the brain fog lifted. Also, Gina’s markers for lupus went down, which is very unusual.
Chicken, beef, pork, and dairy made up her diet when she first started carnivore.
Now Gina doesn’t eat dairy because it affects her lupus. Her diet is mostly beef because she feels best when she eats it. Eggs, bacon, bone broth, lamb heart, and oxtail round out her diet. She drinks coffee and unsweetened tea as well. Gina doesn’t “fat-load” on carnivore and says, “Your body will tell you what it needs.”
Gina thinks her autoimmune diseases would have advanced to the point where she would be in a wheelchair today if she hadn’t started carnivore when she did. She encourages others to try the carnivore diet.
