My Journey To A Carnivore Diet
Long-time vegetarian for about nine years (heavier on fiber, whole grains, and nut/seed fat), but not against eating meat. I just avoided it at home due to “ethical and sustainability” concerns (yes, I bought into the propaganda).
The Onset Of Symptoms
About four years in, I noticed some subtle but consistent itches/rashes on some small areas of my skin shortly after eating. They would not heal or go away. The symptoms would worsen over the next five years, causing me to cover up full-time due to the unsightly sores/rashes/tears/psoriasis/swelling all over my limbs/fingers/face/back/body.
I was not able to work out/train/sweat without intense itching and pain and stopped working out altogether years ago.
Frustrations With Traditional Medical Approaches
My pro-vegan and fitness GP Dr. did his best and ended up only prescribing me steroid/antibiotic creams to manage the symptoms, referring me to an allergy specialist, who, after his tests, eventually added immuno-suppressants and anti-biotics (due to staph infections from the exposed skin tears), and more steroid/antibiotic creams.
Experimenting With Clean Eating And Alternative Therapies
Two years ago, at 5’6″, 155 lbs, I attempted a cleaner diet, removing processed foods and the meds and focusing on whole plant foods, which steadily decreased my weight from 10 lbs to 145 lbs.
My symptoms remained. I began practicing meditative breathing (Wim Hof method), intensely hot/cold showers, and intermittent fasting. This provided great relief from my symptoms but did not heal them. My weight steadily decreased another 10 lbs to 135 lbs.
Discovering A Naturopath And Avoiding Vegetables
Eventually, I sought a Naturopath with experience in resolving skin inflammation and auto-immune issues. He basically gave me a long list of foods to avoid, and to my surprise, they were all vegetables! Specifically soy, brassicas, nightshades, and starches.
I went hard and said, I’ll just eat eggs and quinoa… for a month, see what happens. Lo and behold, all my symptoms went away. Unfortunately, I was still not able to discern or find any reason for the change. I would experiment for a year further, cycling between getting intense flareups and healing.
Exploring The Carnivore Diet
Eventually, as an avid listener/viewer of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, I saw/heard Dr. Shawn Baker talking about the Carnivore diet, human history with it, and his arguments for them.
What he said piqued my interest, seemed reasonable, and I began to add meat back into my diet on a consistent basis. My symptoms continued to persist, though, as I was still experimenting with various vegetables/foods. After six months of a whole food diet of meat/plants (still avoiding vegetables noted above) with some success, I decided to just cut out vegetables entirely.
The Benefits Of A Carnivore Diet
During that time, I was listening to Dr. Shawn Baker on various podcasts/outlets, especially the conversations between himself with Zack and their guests on the Human Performance Outliers (HPO) podcast.
It’s been two months since I started eating a beef/bacon/egg, salt, and water-focused carnivore diet (I still eat about 10% berries/fruit).
My wounds are healed, I’m itch/rash/psoriasis free with no auto-immune symptoms, I get better sleep, require less sleep, have more energy than ever, and my mood/attitude/thoughts/productivity has greatly improved.
I can train again without any issues, I heal faster (I think?), and I can wear T-shirts/shorts again (or go shirtless). Also, I dropped another steady 9 lbs to about 126 lbs (high school weight), which I have since increased to 131 lbs by just eating way more meat and building my muscle in the gym.
Simply put, #meatheals.
Thank you, Dr. Shawn Baker.
