Does Carnivore Diet Really Work for MS, Autoimmune Diseases, Anxiety, Depression, Type 2 Diabetes and more?

Thousands of people are claiming to cure themselves with this radical elimination diet. I happen to be one of them. If you are suffering and looking for an alternative, consider this:

A big thanks to Emily Penton for having me as a guest on her podcast! I hope you all enjoy it and can find some value in it….especially if you are suffering like I was!

Emily was one of the first people I know of to beat MS with diet (along with George Vahamonde). When I started having some scary symptoms about 19 months ago, they were the first to offer advice that helped me stop those symptoms in their tracks. But now - thanks to people like Emily and George spreading the word - many other people with MS and other autoimmune disorders have been able to find the best versions of themselves using this seemingly radical way of eating. But is it really that radical?

When I suggest to people to eat only meat and animal products as a way to optimum health they often look at me like I am offering a voodoo spell to rid their body of a poltergeist. But look at any cave painting, this is what humans have eaten for tens of thousands of years - large ruminant animals. (20,000 year old cave painting):

Then, examine overall human health for the past 120 years. Since 1900 we have gotten steadily worse in nearly every metric available outside of infant mortality. Our populations have become more overweight; cancer and heart disease have skyrocketed; diabetes and auto immune diseases have become the norm. What changes in human behavior could possibly be the cause of all of this disease? Well it is hard to argue anything has changed as drastically as the human diet has over that time.

The goal of a good physician should be to get us off the medications. You would think that with 120 years of "trusting the science" overall human health would be improving along with human knowledge, not getting worse. Sure, some areas (like fixing broken bones and invasive operations) are eons better. But our overall health and wellness is much much worse.

Also, is it really "voodoo science" to think that what we eat has a direct correlation to our overall health?

To me and many others, it has become apparent that we have been demonizing the wrong fats. Saturated fats are good. Polyunsaturated fats (like those found in seed oils) are destroying people. Our food is causing inflammation. We are injuring our guts, causing leaky gut that many believe is the root cause for nearly all autoimmune disorders.

Reducing the inflammation caused by food - by eating a diet as simple and primal as carnivore is - many people have been able to reverse some of the most stubborn and nasty of the diseases, eventually even getting off of their medications. This includes some fascinating chronic issues such as clinical anxiety, depression, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and many many more.

This way of eating also has other amazing side effects - for example I no longer get sunburn (this is widely reported in the carnivore community). But why? Is it cellular health? Mitochondrial strength? This video examines the fascinating “sunburn phenomena” found in most carnivores:

In future articles I plan on diving much deeper into all the hows and whys behind this way of eating. But if you are eager for more information now there are many books written about the Carnivore Diet to dive into (see below).

Or, if you are extra skeptical (like I was) one of the easiest ways to test the theory is to try this diet yourself. Do it for six weeks, keep a daily journal, and see how much better you feel at the end. See if you lose weight. See if your joint pain goes away. See if you stop snoring. See if your skin clears up. See if you can still get sunburned and if you do how quickly you heal. See if you can reduce - or completely stop - your autoimmune issues. See if you sleep better. See if your depression or panic disorders go away. See if your blood sugar stabilizes. See if any of the myriad of benefits reported by the recent Harvard study (broken down HERE) are also reported by you. For example 93% of the participants lost weight or resolved obesity (a member of my jiu jitsu team has lost well over 100lbs and stopped his chronic gout in under a year). 93% of the people also reported improving their hypertension. A whopping 98% improved conditions relating to diabetes. 97% improved gastrointestinal issues. And an incredible 96% of the participants in the Harvard study improved psychiatric symptoms.

But you have to be strict. You can’t do it just a little bit.

If you think Carnivore diet could help you, a few things I suggest:

 1) Tune in to Emily Penton’s page HERE:

2) Do the diet strictly for six (6) weeks minimum to start.  Treat it like a science experiment.  No seed oils (like condiments or dressings). No processed meats. No coffee. Just animal products such as ruminant meats, soy free eggs, A2 raw dairy, fish, and soy free chicken. Then salt and water. If your goal is to add more foods back in then wait the full 6 weeks at least before you do.  It takes at least 3/4 weeks for you to adjust your metabolism to burning fat for energy instead of carbs. Also your gut biome will completely change over. As you adjust to burning ketones, you will also cleanse yourself of toxins (oxalate dumping) so it requires some time for this full adjustment to take place.  The first few weeks you can get the "KETO FLU" which basically is an electrolyte issue. That first week I felt nauseous and dizzy until I upped my salt intake and balanced out.  Don’t expect to feel great day 1, and expect to run to the bathroom a bunch as you adapt during the first few weeks (trusting a fart is not something I recommend right away)!

3) Drink lots of water and don’t be afraid of salt.  I use salt that is high in minerals like Redmond’s real salt.

4) Eat lots of red meat.  I barely eat chicken or fish.  And can only do soy-free eggs.  I eat lots of ground beef, steak etc.  But anything from animals is technically part of this diet.  The problem is that if you have auto immune issues like I did then eggs and dairy and pigs and chicken can be triggers (especially if soy fed). Ruminant animals (animals with 4 stomachs) can turn toxic Polyunsaturated fats into healthy saturated ones. Chickens and pigs and other animals with only one stomach cannot.  So if you eat non-ruminant meat or eggs make sure they are soy free.  

I do sometimes eat liver for nutrients but don’t love the taste so I get the ground beef that has like 20% liver in it and eat that a few times a week. 

4) Join these FB groups for help.  Lots of doctors and people sharing everything from bloodwork to stress tests to success stories:   

Zeroing in on Health

World Carnivore Tribe

Lion Diet

One last thing.  You will get your energy from fat.  So if you are feeling lethargic add more fat.  I melt tallow and pour it over my burgers and steaks.  But you can melt butter, drink raw milk (A2 protein is the much much better casein choice if you can get it - A1 is genetically modified and the main one people are allergic to).  But eat lots of fat.  Fatty cuts of meat.  Drink bone broth. Eat A2 cream.  Etc 

SUGGESTED Books:

Carnivore Diet 

By Dr Shawn Baker

Carnivore Code (technical)

By Dr Paul Saladino 

Carnivore Cure

By Judy Cho NTP

YouTube Chanels:

Dr. Ken Berry’s Chanel

Paul Saladino, MD

Podcasts:

Nutrition with Judy (Judy Cho)

Mikhaila Peterson

Fundamental Health with Paul Saladino MD

Also, I lost about 40 lbs total:

If you enjoyed this please like this post (below) or subscribe (it’s FREE!). As always the entire purpose of this is to connect with other solutions-minded people like yourself! For 4 billion years on this planet there were only single-celled organisms. Then one day they somehow learned to work together and make complex multi-celled creatures like you and me. Right now we are like those single-celled organisms. Our next evolution is finding how to work together, better.

Thanks for problem solving with us, you beautiful, rational creature.

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About the author:
Josh R. Ketry - Strategy and Systems Director - is an advocate for freedom, human growth, and human potential. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt and Academy owner. Growth Mindset student (for life). Entrepreneur. Writer. Philosophy fan. Long-time carnivore diet practitioner for autoimmune issues. Birder. Muskie fisherman. Photographer. No topic off limits. Thank you for reading!