Robert had been suffering from ulcerative colitis for almost a decade, and his gastroenterologist had been giving him advice that didn’t help. Despite years of symptoms and no relief or resolution of his condition, Robert wasn’t getting help from his “gastro telling me that diet doesn’t make a difference and that I should always be eating lots of fruits, veggies, and fiber.”
By most modern medical standards, Robert’s diet should not have been causing him any problems. He says, “I want to add that I was never eating an “unhealthy” diet. It was full of whole, unprocessed foods.”
Robert finally decided to break from the advice he had been following, due to a flare-up in his condition. He found a solution, relief arrived, and he says, “by going on a meat heavy, low-carb, low fibre diet, I managed to get myself out of a flare-up and completely drug-free for 2 years now.”
Despite almost universal advice to consume more fiber for a healthier gut, Robert learned that this isn’t very good advice. All herbivores have either foregut or hindgut outpouchings of the intestines, where the fermentation happens. These structures do not exist in human beings. Robert says, “My gut health has never been better, and I feel like I am in control of my life and my body again. It’s priceless.”
Robert found that dramatically modifying his diet was the key to reclaiming his life: “Cutting out fibre, grains, and greatly reducing veggies and fruits has been life-changing for me.” Mainstream advice is exactly the opposite, but the results that Robert and many others are enjoying prove that a meat-heavy diet works.
Robert is frustrated with the way his doctor had continued to recommend a high-fiber diet, despite clear evidence that it was making him worse. He says, “If I listened to my gastro telling me that diet doesn’t make a difference and that I should always be eating lots of fruits, veggies, and fiber, I would be on heavy medication, and my life would be very different.”
He now believes strongly that the carnivore diet and its healing power should be more widely known. Just the idea of experimenting rather than continuing with a failed strategy would be better.
Robert explains how he feels by saying, “I feel that it’s so important that you continue to spread your message, to challenge the status quo and to continue to encourage people to try different things, and that they should never feel shamed by their doctors, peers, or society about it.”
Addressing Dr. Baker directly, he says, “Last thing, I love that you note that carnivore might not be for everyone, and that you don’t necessarily need to be 100% carnivore if you try it, but that it has the potential to alleviate so much suffering and even save lives.
“This subtlety in your messaging is not lost. You give people ‘permission’ to try options that other health care professionals would not offer and/or completely dismiss.”
