Woman claims she has transformed her body and mind with a meat only diet – but is it safe?

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Jillian Faith, 34, says she has transformed both her body and mind by eating a meat only diet for four months.

After years of suffering from PTSD, she spotted the extreme ‘caveman diet’ on social media and decided to give it a go in a bid to improve her general wellbeing.

Now her daily menus begin with breakfast of elk meat and beef with beef fat, followed by a bowl of bone broth later in the day and finally a supper of beef brains, liver and beef fat – all only just cooked.

But although Jillian, who lives in California, U.S., claims she is healthier than ever, experts aren’t totally convinced.

UK nutritionist and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, Linia Patel, is not surprised that Jillian is feeling so much better on her high protein, high animal fat diet, because ditching carbs can help to stabilise blood sugar levels.

Her weight loss has resulted from her body having to burn fat for energy, but Linia warned that such an extreme diet does have drawbacks.

‘Wholegrains and plant foods are important for building the good bacteria in the gut, but animal protein does the opposite and feeds the bad bacteria,’ she warned.

‘There is no one diet that works for everyone, but you have to ask is this way of eating sustainable and the best way to eat in the long term?

‘People on this kind of diet may struggle to do any high intensity exercise and, since we know exercise is important for stress relief and sleep amongst other things, we would always recommend a more diverse.’

Jillian, who was a bassoonist and drummer for the US Army reservists for nine years, says she was left traumatised from a combination of events but particularly after being raped as a teenager.

Determined to get on with her life after the attack, she honed her musical talents – putting them to good use in the army reservists, despite still suffering with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which include anxiety, nightmares, insomnia and depression.

Unable to work because of her health, four months ago Jillian saw people talking on social media about following an extreme carnivorous diet and decided to give it a go.

Dubbed the ‘caveman diet’, because it harks back to a time when we were hunter gatherers, relying on meat, Jillian claims it is a more natural way for human beings to eat.

‘The animal fat in this diet is very important because it’s where I get my energy or fuel from now that I don’t eat any carbohydrates,’ she explained.

She also said the bone broth, which is a staple of the diet, helps her stay hydrated and provides her body with electrolytes, which are crucial for muscle contraction and the transmission of nerve impulses.

‘I only eat now when I am hungry and because this diet is so high in fat, I’m not very hungry throughout the day,’ she said. ‘I don’t snack or graze, I don’t have any cravings and I only eat high quality, grass-fed meats.’

Rather than using a diet or health manual to prepare her meals, Jillian now has supervision from a team of nutritional experts and doctors at a Hungarian centre, which specialises in this type of eating.

‘They have recommended that I try and eat 500g of liver and 200g of brain or bone marrow every week. They are all really high in nutrients that are good for the intestine which is what I need most,’ she said.

‘I was raised on fast food, so I do find some of the meals quite difficult to eat, especially the liver, which I chop into tiny pieces and have to swallow with water, but your body quickly gets used to it.

‘And there are huge benefits. My mind is now so much clearer, my memory has improved, I sleep better and I feel ready now to tackle the PTSD I’ve suffered from since my teens.’

While Jillian, does not claim that her extreme meat diet has cured her problems, she does feel ready to tackle her PTSD now that her diet has improved her general sense of well-being.

She continued: ‘I’m not saying this meat diet has cured my PTSD, I’m saying for the first time, I feel well enough to explore treatments, whereas before, my mind was so clouded, I didn’t know where to start.’

Buying quality meat in bulk, Jillian freezes what she is not eating immediately and while meat is pricey, she eats less, so does not find her new diet expensive.

‘My family and friends think it’s a strange diet, but they can see how much healthier I am and if you think about evolution, this is how we all used to eat,” she said.

‘I know I am going to upset a bunch of vegans eating this way and will probably get hate mail, but all I can say is that eating this way is really working for me.”

Jillian is now such a fan of the carnivore diet her own dream is to own a few acres of land and farm and eat her own animals.

‘I know I don’t really fit into normal society, which is down to the traumas I have been through,’ she said. ‘But I have always felt a connection to the land and nature, so my dream would be to live in peace and have that same connection with the food I eat.’

The daily lifestyle email from Metro.co.uk.

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