Tag: mental health

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Fat and Brain Health: Why we need fat to function

Why is it essential to eat animal fats? Commonly, we are told that the brain requires glucose to function. This, my friends, is a big, fat lie!

What disorders can be improved with higher fat diets?

Eating fat has been shown to improve cognitive function and mental clarity;  mood and mental health; as well as brain disorders like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. 

Expressly, noted improvements in brain-related disorders are:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Brain fog
  • Memory
  • Brain injury
  • Stroke
  • ADHD
  • Autism
  • Epilepsy
  • Dementia (Type 3 Diabetes)
  • MS (multiple sclerosis)
  • Migraines

You can check out one study supporting this here. These are just some of the brain-related issues that can be improved or reversed – not to mention metabolic, autoimmune, and other health issues.

We have been sold on a low-fat diet for so long. And it shows. Incidents of ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression have increased dramatically along with so many other disorders and diseases. We have been told fat and cholesterol should be avoided at all costs. This has been a detrimental piece of horrible advice.

What about all those studies?

Any study that is done for research requires funding. Scientists need paychecks just like the rest of us. So where does this money come from? Usually, at least some portion of funding comes from a large corporation that would stand to benefit from the findings of such studies. So perhaps the study is conducted in a way that a bit of ‘good information’ may come out of it, but the large part of the outcome will be worded in such a way, or the process of the study has been done in such a way, that the funding source can tout the findings as proof that you need to purchase their product. There are no local ranchers out here funding studies, they simply don’t have the bank for that. All we can do is trust the history of our species and dissect the significant amount of data, ignoring the study’s conclusion. Check the sources, and check the processes.

A simple example would be Ancel Key’s 7 nations study. It’s said that the study actually included 22 countries, but only 7 fit the narrative, so the rest were excluded. Another example is well known – the Harvard scientists who were bought by the sugar companies to outright lie and say that fat causes heart disease when the study clearly shows that sugar was the cause. This was proven many years ago, but the false information is so widely circulated that most people, including doctors, still believe it to be true. If this were the case, the last few decades at the height of the low-fat and high-fiber diets, and the increased popularity of veganism should have effectively reduced the rate of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, autism, and the vast array of other modern, and way too common, diseases. But the opposite has happened. The rate of these and other diseases has steadily increased!

What does food have to do with the brain?

Now, to get a bit science-y… brain health begins in the gut – the gut-brain connection. This is where our neurotransmitters are made. A key chemical for brain health is serotonin. But did you know that serotonin is actually made in your gut? So our brain health begins with what we are putting into our bodies. Fiber creates small perforations in the digestive tract. This causes ‘leaky gut’, which is exactly as it sounds. In addition, the toxins in the plants we are convinced we need can contribute to depression. Toxins and various fluids are leaking into your body and bloodstream. This has a direct effect on your brain and contributes to the mental and physical health of your brain. What do you consume via your eyes, your ears, and your mouth? It all matters a great deal. It’s imperative to your overall health. Filling the body with grains and sugar is causing the brain to be malnourished. The brain is not getting the nutrition it needs to operate efficiently or optimally. Add to that the man-made non-food ingredients in processed products, and we don’t really stand a chance at a long, healthy, and happy life.

Book recommendation:

This book has been on my list for a few years:

Video recommendation:

Here is a link to a great YouTube video discussing this topic as well: Anthony Chaffee, the Plant-Free MD with guest, Natalie E. West – a clinical psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience in mental health.

Questions?

This could be a very long post if I were to go into each category and explain how carnivore, specifically higher fat carnivore, can positively impact each issue. Let me know in the comments if there is any specific brain-related issue you would like more information on! 

If you’re ready to start eliminating foods that are harming your health and begin really living your life, email me or contact me on social media here:

You can book a coaching session with me and we will work together to find the right strategy for your particular health mission! Just click the image below, then come with me – we have healing to do!

I am a Revero certified Carnivore & Fasting Coach
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Change is Self Love???

Something I recently saw on TikTok really got me thinking. A creator with followers in the millions said something that I felt was really irresponsible. It was disappointing to me. I’ve seen a few creators and influencers post content to this effect recently. A new movement, maybe? I think it’s dangerous.

I guess I get where they are coming from. We should never hate ourselves or hate our bodies. But changing yourself and loving yourself are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes changing IS self-love. In fact it should always be about loving yourself, especially when it comes to mental and physical health. Change should never be to fit someone else’s ideal. It shouldn’t be about punishing yourself, trying to look like someone else or fitting into a certain size.

Words Have Consequences

This creator advised people to ‘just eat the chocolate bunny’, and ‘it’s just food’. She alluded to her own struggles in the past and her relationship to food. Knowing that made what she said even more confusing for me for a few reasons. Maybe she doesn’t know what I know, and definitely doesn’t know me and my struggles. Obviously she isn’t creating content solely for me, and that advice may work for some people. I’m not so self-absorbed to think that my opinion of her post matters to her in the slightest. Actually, I hope it doesn’t because that would be devastating and detrimental to her brilliant creativity. I love most of her content, she’s truly gifted. But I can’t help the way I feel about this specific topic because it is so close to me.

I’m happy for her that she can look at food that way. But so many of us cannot. Not ever. If I were to follow that advice, it would be the start of a downward spiral and the loss of all I have accomplished over the last 15 months. Not realizing that there are a lot of us who have sugar addiction, carb addiction, food addiction, isn’t her fault. But I am here to completely oppose that advice. DROP THE BUNNY AND STEP AWAY. Don’t do it! It is not worth it. Don’t derail your progress in your healing mission. Now if you can eat the bunny and jump right back on track – BRAVO!! I envy and admire you! It does not undo or negate everything you have done so far. Not in the least! But if it’s going to cause you to spiral, or if there is the slightest chance you’ll feel like garbage physically or awaken that addiction… Just. Don’t. Do. It. It doesn’t mean you don’t love yourself. It’s the opposite! Not putting garbage into your body is not deprivation or loathing. It is honor and love.

When Food Isn’t Just Food

The other problem I have with her statement is that idea that ‘it’s just food’. It’s not. It’s a drug. But even more importantly, it’s not actual food! If there are ingredients you can’t easily identify, then it is not food and not fuel. Why would you do that to yourself? Because it tastes good for a few moments? In the throws of addiction, we don’t think about that. Once you wake up and address your addiction it’s a totally different mindset.

Living in Healthy Healing Harmony

While I’m not where I want to be physically, I don’t hate where I am now. I am proud of my progress and finally living in healthy healing harmony with my body. This is not about changing because I hate myself. Really it’s because I love my life and want to enjoy every minute of it, not being consumed with addiction and ailments. I’m not punishing my body for not being what I want it to be. I’m listening to my body and honoring it as it is. I have a vision and goals, yes. However, I’m confident where I am and that took a LOT of healing. Being confident in your skin at any size is wonderful. Complacency, however, if you are unhealthy is not safe.

Triggered by a TikTok Star

I understand the sentiment, but the words chosen to express that idea were irresponsible in my opinion. If you are not an alcoholic, but have decided to just cut back on drinking and tell others to just go ahead and have the beer, take the shot, indulge and don’t feel guilty, just as a general statement of self love and acceptance completely jeopardizes the wellbeing of those who see that message and are alcoholics. If you would never say those words knowing an alcoholic’s recovery may be hampered by your words, then you must acknowledge that there are other addictions that are just as valid in the effect they have on people as well. I am 100% positive, no harm was meant by her words. They still haunt me. Yep, I’m TRIGGERED. This person whose content I enjoy, who seems so loving and who is using her platform to ensure she is doing all she can to put positivity into the world is not in any way responsible for my weakness.

That self-sabotaging bitch in my head though, she’s trying real hard to justify what she heard.

Stay Focused

So how do you stay focused, or re-focus, when you’re battling that voice in your head? Dive deep, my friend. Immerse yourself in all healing things. Whatever it takes to get yourself right. Read, or listen to helpful and positive topics from AudiobooksNow. Join an online community like The Steak and Butter Gang, where you can connect with others, listen to their struggles and their victories here https://sbg-s-meat-up.mn.co/share/KqFp3vyXjBT6w81T?utm_source=manual. Or feel free to reach out to me here, or on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/thecandidcarnivore/. I’d be happy to offer support.

Thank you for your support and your time. I hope my content supports and inspires you – and maybe makes you laugh sometimes.

xoxo

~ The Candid Carnivore

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How the Carnivore Diet Can Relieve Anxiety and Masking Personality

An often overlooked benefit of the carnivore diet is dramatic improvement in mental health. We carnivores know this to be true, but most people don’t come to this way of eating for that specific benefit. Some do, but most are looking for physical changes and/or healing some medical issues. What brought me to carnivore? A couple of things: disordered eating, weight, autoimmune disorders, food addiction, and just being really fucking sick and tired of counting and tracking every damn thing I put in my mouth. But wait, there’s more…

Cleaning out my home office today, I came across a notebook that I had used for many different things. As I flipped through the pages to see if anything important jumped out at me, I noticed I had scribbled some thoughts onto a couple of pages at some point in the last year or two. Maybe three. There are two entries that caught my eye – and both of them completely shattered my heart. I cried for the woman who wrote those thoughts. The version of me who wrote these things is still here, but she has healed so much since then.

One entry was probably written within the last six to twelve months. It’s a whole blog entry all on its own, so I won’t share it here. It’s very similar to my first blog post CARNIVORE MISSION: FOOD ADDICTION AND RESTRICTION, WITH A DASH OF HASHIMOTO’S AND A SIDE OF SHAME. Food addiction, as I write about often, is cruel and sinister. You need food to live, you can’t just avoid it. That causes a whole other issue. I’ve gone that route, too. I’m better now – thanks to carnivore. I will take each day as it comes, but I have zero desire to ever take that ride again.

Masking Personality

The other entry I found, is in regard to something I am still struggling with. But I am so much better than I was when I wrote this:

“It’s exhausting. Being the person people expect you to be. It’s a lie. Every time I flip the switch it drains my soul. I WANT to be that person – that happy, fun, bubbly person. That person who makes a connection with everyone I meet. Maybe I am that person, somehow, somewhere deep, DEEP inside. But the chains, the weight of not being able to act what I feel, to look how I feel when I want to shut out the world. Sleep. Think. Dream. Plan. Heal. Then maybe I could be that person. But for now, the pretending, on-off, on-off, on-off… it’s torture.”

Masking, in my case, has been a way for me to cope with anxiety and depression. I crave friendships and connection but the thought of social situations crippled me. Holidays with extended family was excruciating for me. I dreaded them from the moment the invitation was extended. Smile, converse, look amused, know you’re being judged but pretend you don’t. Or maybe that part was just in my head. Working with the public was exhausting. Smile and greet people, validate them whether they are right or wrong, pander to them because they might be well-connected. I was always completely exhausted. I’ve done this all my life. But get ready, because the mask is about to come off!

Don’t be scared, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Unmasking

Trauma gets buried under expectations and layered under the day to day. The pain, ailments, work, family, obligations pile up, covering the initial major trauma(s) and we forget it’s there. Too busy to deal and heal. But your body remembers and acts out in ways we cannot ignore. Once we begin trying to heal the physical problems we have created for ourselves, heal the very cells and nourish each one of them so that we can be whole again, those deeper traumas may be revealed and demand to be dealt with.

Through that healing, I’ve discovered a lot about myself and still am discovering more. I’m recognizing my past traumas, naming them, and releasing them. There is no room for them in my life anymore. I’m removing all things from my life that do not serve me in a positive way – including my government job. That is the place where I have had to mask the most. Even though I now feel I am me again, completely authentic. That authenticity is happiness now and I no longer feel like I’m flipping a switch. I have room for joy. My mind is healing along with my body.

How Does the Carnivore Diet Heal?

A carnivore diet means eating only animal products. So many complex things happen in your body in reaction to what you consume, apply, and inject. Yet, it really is very simple. I think of it this way: we are what we eat. Humans are animals. Humans are not plants, we did not sprout up from the ground. We are not manufactured or made up of lab-produced chemicals. Human cells require replenishment with the correct building blocks. We need to replace animal protein with animal protein. You can’t rebuild a brick house with cardboard boxes or sugar cubes and expect the same stable structure. This seems like common sense to me.

Once your cells are healthy and functioning properly, after all of the clutter that is unusable material is removed from your body, you start to think and process more clearly. When your body and your cells are working congruently, your mind can finally deal with everything it needs to deal with – swiftly and clearly.

Me, Revealed

I am very happy to report, that I am actually a very happy person. I’m removing the mask, bit by bit, and I’m finding that I AM that happy, friendly person. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’m a ‘people person’, and I still get anxious about social gatherings. but it’s getting easier. It’s not a tremendous effort anymore. I’ve found that the ‘on switch’ is the real me. The off switch was my very sick body attempting to recuperate from any effort I put out and the buried trauma that I had not dealt with properly. I still get tired after a particularly people-y day, but I have the tools to refuel and not shut down at 5pm. I gained the strength to leave my job so that I can earn a certification to become a health coach, and focus on helping others heal so they, too, can live a joyful life.

Don’t waste another day.

xoxo

~ The Candid Carnivore

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CARNIVORE MISSION: FOOD ADDICTION AND RESTRICTION, WITH A DASH OF HASHIMOTO’S AND A SIDE OF SHAME

Food Addiction and Obesity in Childhood:

I have been addicted to food since I was a kid. I have binged on everything from sliced bread to uncooked hot dogs. One of my earliest memories of feeling shame came from sneaking yet another handful of little chocolates that my dad had brought home and my mom calling me a glutton when she discovered me stuffing them into my mouth while hiding behind my toy box. I remember asking her what that word meant and that feeling when she told me. I was about 5 years old, maybe 4. 

I felt shame, but it didn’t stop me. Rather I think it defined me in my mind. I was the fat kid. Shopping with my grandmother in the boys’ ‘husky’ section of Sears as a girl in 1st grade was humiliating, but I had no concept of diet. My next shameful moment, at about 8 years old, came when my grandfather had bought me a bag of Reese’s Pieces. We were going to go fishing after he closed up his shop, and he told me not to open that bag. That was a treat for later. I insisted I would not open them, thinking to myself how I didn’t even really like Reese’s Pieces. No sooner than he left the room, I opened and devoured the entire bag. Within 5 minutes, he returned and expressed his disbelief and disgust. I literally ate anything and everything that I wanted and would constantly search cupboards for food when I was not even hungry. The food was filling a void that I did not understand at the time. I could go on and on with memories of feeling that shame related to my binging. Maybe I’ll share those another time. 

When I was around 12 years old, my mom said she would buy me some workout clothes if I promised to exercise. You know, the shiny, colorful leotards with the matching headband and leg warmers from the 80s. Yeah, that must have been a sight! But she bought them for me. And that was it. I didn’t keep my end of the deal. I had no idea HOW. Like, ok thanks. I have this outfit, but how exactly do I exercise? No one ever showed me or encouraged me, so I didn’t do it. 

Now, was this all due to the failing of the adults in my life for not putting any restrictions in place or teaching me how to eat properly? Was this something broken in my brain? Dopamine deficiency? I can say with 100% certainty that I did not have a typical childhood. I was born to teen parents. My mother had severe mental and emotional trauma of her own. I’d be willing to bet that it was a perfect storm of a lot of things. 

I’ll skip over the teen years for now. Just know that there was a lot of destructive behavior and I truly believe I’m lucky to have made it through that period alive. 

Anorexia & Bulimia:

As I continued with binging into my 20s, it finally hit me. I was in my apartment searching for loose change so that I could go buy some snack cakes when I realized that I did not have control of my own actions. I felt possessed! It finally occurred to me that I wasn’t really consciously making this decision. I felt an overwhelming urge, but not a thought process. It was as if I had held my breath for too long and felt the overwhelming urge to take a deep breath. You don’t tell yourself constantly, ‘breathe in, ok now breathe out, breathe in…’. You just do it. That’s what eating was like. Mindless, compulsory binging. That revelation didn’t stop me, though and disordered eating from one end of the spectrum to the other consumed my life for more than two decades. 

Around the age of 22, and at approximately 230lbs after giving birth to my first child, I went to the other extreme. I became obsessed with staying under 20 grams of fat. I cheated, though. I rounded up. If something had 3 grams of fat, I counted it as 5. I kept a running tally in my head all day, counting and re-counting obsessively, and then rounding up that number as well. So, when I may very well have had only 7 grams of fat for the day, I was counting it as 20 grams. I lost a lot of weight very, very quickly. There were days when all I had eaten was a small bag of pretzels from the vending machine, a diet Mt Dew, and a bag of light microwave popcorn for dinner. Snackwell cookies and ‘yogurt’, Tootsie Rolls, or Twizzler Nibs were eaten as an additional ‘meal’ now and then. I worked in retail at the time, so I was on my feet, racing around all day. It definitely was not enough food. My manager at the time was extremely worried about me. She pulled me aside one day, almost in tears. Which was really strange because she was a tough lady. Most of my coworkers were a little afraid of her because she was strict and didn’t put up with anyone’s shit. But that day, she told me about her niece who had passed away from complications of anorexia. She saw similar behavior in me. I thought she was crazy, of course. “I eat, Pat. I promise I do!”. I wasn’t lying, really. Or at least that’s what I convinced myself. I was very skinny – and very sick. My cycle had always been irregular, very heavy and very painful. But now it was very light and short. I had blood in my urine at times. I would get extremely sick and vomit at random times. I began over-exercising, teaching 9 – 11 cardio kickboxing classes per week, plus working out at home. I fractured both of my legs due to malnutrition and over-use. But I had lost 112lbs, so I wasn’t about to stop. I maintained my weight at 118lbs for a few years and through another pregnancy. I even kept that weight, or there about, through a seriously abusive marriage, divorce, and into another abusive marriage. But after the birth of my third child, I lost control. The weight crept back up through my second divorce and continued beyond that 230lb mark. 

For Weight Loss, Eat Less Move More…Yeah, Fuck That:

By my late 30s – early 40s I was finally over this shit. I did not want to just exist as a fat lump. I missed out on so much with my kids because I was just so tired all the time. Dusting the living room would wipe me out. My muscles and joints ached, and I could not do any more. After just dusting! 

My youngest had been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism at the age of 8. Her antibodies were in the hundreds, she had so many digestive issues and had so much inflammation at such a young age. I did a little research, put her on a gluten free diet and – WOW – what a difference that made for her! So I went to my family doctor and asked if this could possibly be my issue as well. He begrudgingly ordered a blood test for my TSH level and antibodies. TSH is the thyroid stimulating hormone and the presence of antibodies mean the body is attacking that particular part of itself. The result was a TSH of 5.5 and antibodies around 180. He told me that my TSH was in the normal range and never mentioned anything about the antibodies. At the time I didn’t even know he included antibodies in the lab work. I argued that my TSH was at the very high end of normal, so couldn’t my symptoms be due to that? He laughed at me. He LAUGHED at me. HE LAUGHED AT ME, and said, “Everyone would like to blame being overweight on thyroid issues, but that’s not your problem”, and he refused to look any further

Bullshit. I called an endocrinologist on my own and told them my TSH results and the experience I had with my doctor, and they brought me in for an appointment immediately. I never went back to that arrogant ‘doctor’. I was put on thyroid medication and also began taking a weight loss/food addiction drug. 

That experience taught me how to advocate for my children’s health and for my own. I researched everything I could before any appointment after that. That research led me to paleo – which helped a lot. That led me to low carb – which helped even more. Which led me to keto – which helped even more, BUT I began to get bogged down in the counting and tracking macros, and keto ‘treats’, and the expense of trying to make SAD foods (SAD = Standard American Diet) into keto-approved versions. Freaking exhausting! Between keto, calorie restriction (1200 calories a day), and the weight loss drug, I was down to 140lbs, working out, and feeling amazing. But I was SO. Freaking. Tired of tracking every single thing and calculating. UGH! Then, I found Dr. Ken Berry, and Neisha Berry, and Kelly Hogan, and Dr. Shawn Baker, and Steak and Butter Gal, and all the wonderful, amazing, brilliant others who have taught me so much! And now I belong to a community where I am supported and encouraged to EAT as much carnivore food as I possibly can to heal my hunger hormones and my thyroid. But it’s also healing my mind, my outlook, my everything. I have gained a lot of weight back doing this. I don’t even care. I feel so good, and I know it will come off again once my body has healed from all the trauma I have put it though. There’s no rush. I’m living now – not just existing. 

So here I am, about to turn 50, and I finally figured it out! I stopped the weight loss medication and I’m happily eating about 3,000 calories a day at the moment. Meat is healing me. I don’t eat any plants, I don’t eat any sugar or processed foods, I don’t use any sweeteners. I eat meat, butter, and eggs. I’m ridiculously happy and energetic, my mind is clear and focused, I do not crave carbs, I have no food addiction issues, and my sleep quality is incredible. From mindlessly eating as though possessed to being able to be around people who are eating pizza and ice cream, and just be able to say, ‘wow that smells good,’ and not be compelled to eat it…. that is nothing short of a miracle. 

More on the whole thyroid, wight loss drug, and some other medications I have had to take in the next post. Hint – I was pre-diabetic, insulin resistant, and could almost grow a beard in 12 hours. True story!

If you managed to get through this ‘short post’ – thank you! While I’m writing mostly for myself, to work through some things, I hope you come back again and that I can help others who may have endured these things in some way. 

xoxo

~ The Candid Carnivore