Doctors Had No Answer For His Pain... Then He Did This.
In a Nutshell
Kevin healed 12 years of chronic back pain, lifelong anxiety/depression/OCD, and multiple health issues including hypertension, arthritis, carpal tunnel, IBS, and rising A1C after switching from low-carb to strict carnivore diet three years ago. His wife's PCOS symptoms also resolved after she moved from keto to carnivore. The core message is that eliminating plant foods and processed carbs allowed complete reversal of physical and mental health conditions that medications and therapy couldn't fix.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Kevin struggled with chronic back pain for 12 years that felt like someone was taking a steel brush rubbing in circles on his back. He was prescribed gabapentin up to 1,800 milligrams daily and carried Xanax on his keychain for anxiety. After switching to carnivore diet, he noticed the back pain was gone within 30 days and completely eliminated his gabapentin medication over six months.
Kevin experienced lifelong anxiety, depression, and OCD symptoms. Within 30-60-90 days of carnivore diet, these conditions became almost non-existent. He later read books by Dr. Chris Palmer and Dr. Georgia Eids about the mental health benefits of this eating approach.
From young age through college, Kevin dealt with anxiety, depression, and later developed OCD symptoms including perfectionism and pervasive thoughts. He became a workaholic working excessive hours. He developed borderline obesity, hypertension, and had arthritis starting in his hands with carpal tunnel requiring a brace. His A1C was rising, triglycerides were very high, HDL remained low, and he had runner's knee preventing stairs and running.
In 2009, Kevin developed patchulus ustation tube. He was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia in 2023 and had been on PPI medication for 10 years. He also had IBS issues, mouth ulcers, and borderline low testosterone. He had previously experienced shingles.
Kevin's wife was diagnosed with PCOS and prescribed metformin along with fertility drugs. Around 2016-2017, she researched ketogenic diet for PCOS management and followed it for a year. She was able to discontinue metformin through this dietary approach. Kevin initially believed his health issues were genetic and decided to try low carb for 90 days.
After five years of low carb eating with some fasting, Kevin eliminated hand pain, resolved carpal tunnel, normalized blood pressure, and lost weight. His arthritis symptoms improved and other health markers showed progress.
Three years ago after Labor Day, Kevin and his wife transitioned to full carnivore diet after extensive reading of approximately 20-30 health books. Kevin's motivation included reducing acid reflux to potentially eliminate PPI medication. His wife wanted to address remaining PCOS symptoms that persisted on keto.
Within 30 days of carnivore, Kevin's 12-year back pain disappeared. Mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, OCD) that plagued him lifelong became nearly absent within 30-60-90 days. Additional benefits included elimination of mouth ulcers, no new cavities since starting carnivore, resolution of IBS issues, and testosterone levels increasing 200-300 points into normal range.
Kevin and his wife tested wine consumption with meals and experienced anxiety the following day. This experiment confirmed they would no longer consume alcohol, as they had already eliminated it when starting carnivore.
At 51, Kevin reports feeling better than at ages 35-36. He participates in F3 workout group, exercises and runs, and can sprint - activities previously impossible due to knee inflammation. His runner's knee has completely resolved.
Kevin received counseling and tried various medications for mental health without success. He reflects that doctors attributed conditions to genetics or chemical brain imbalances, suggesting he was "defective" with no solutions beyond medication. His doctor recommended whole foods over processed foods when discussing blood pressure medication, and later recommended low carb diet to another patient.
Kevin uses a three-legged table analogy representing body, mind, and spirit. He describes healing all three aspects through carnivore diet combined with prayer, Bible reading, outdoor time, exercise, and avoiding doom scrolling. He references Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones who described humans as body, mind, and spirit.
Kevin researched extensively through Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Fung, and Dr. Chaffee videos. When sharing his story, he provides targeted resources: Chris Palmer and Georgia Eids for mental health concerns, Ken Berry for general topics. He emphasizes that people need multiple sources and time to consider dietary changes.
Kevin and his wife began daily prayer when starting carnivore. He reports stronger connection to God, clearer life purpose, and overwhelming gratitude - waking up crying at sunrises. He notes these weren't the intended outcomes but emerged as the body healed from chronic inflammation and mild sickness.
Kevin emphasizes that when the body is sick, the brain and spirit are also affected. He describes being previously too fatigued and brain-fogged to act on spiritual intentions, but now has energy and clarity to pursue goals and connections.
The conversation uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to describe the essential components of healing, noting that many people are walking around with one leg shorter and it doesn't work when you don't have those three legs.
Kevin has been doing carnivore for three years. Prior to that, they did low carb and intermittent fasting for five years. His wife has been doing it an extra couple of years on top of that.
Kevin describes how anxiety completely controlled his life before. He would ruminate for days before a call, worrying about what to say and how to handle it. A simple mistake at work would obsess him for a week, even when it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Now he can make mistakes, learn from them, and move on without obsessing.
"I can make those mistakes and I can think, 'Oh, I got to learn from this.' And then I move on, right? And I don't just keep obsessing about it."
His wife says she has a different man as a husband now because she's lived with him through anxiety, depression, and OCD that got worse during the marriage. He used to sleep on the couch, not really sleeping but thinking all night, or would sleep 12 hours the next night to compensate.
Kevin tried all the talk therapy and medications. Some anti-depressant medications he was on for years, with doctors saying to try it for three months, up the dosage, try for three more months, up the dosage. He spent a year on one medication and it still wasn't working.
Kevin prayed to God for an answer and feels better now than he has his whole life. He can't imagine going back to eating a donut or Twinkie. When coworkers ask why he can't just have one donut, he responds that it doesn't even sound good anymore and asks why he would want to go back to where he was before.
He mentions having a glass of wine at a Brazilian steakhouse on his birthday for the first time in six months, but knows that any more than that would make the next day horrible. He says it's not worth it.
Kevin is more strict than his wife and others. When people ask about fiber, he explains it makes things worse for him. He notes that people question his credibility because he's an accountant by trade, not a doctor or nutritionist. His mental health issues were hidden from most people, and his physical pain was also kept hidden except when they saw him pull out a pill.
He prefers to hand people information and let them do the research themselves rather than trying to convince them directly.
The conversation highlights the remarkable ripple effect of healing stories, noting that Kevin's wife found healing and now he's found healing and they're inspiring other people. This spreading of healing stories is described as unlike anything else seen with weight loss regimens or diets.
When asked if eating meat gets boring or if they miss wine at every meal, Kevin explains he eats mostly beef and eggs, usually only a couple times a day. Sometimes he fasts, sometimes eats three meals, sometimes one. He views food as fuel for his body, not entertainment or reward.
His reward is going through life every day without the anxiety, depression, pain, and suffering he had before. He acknowledges that not everything has been healed - he still has eustachian tube issues, some pain from surgery, and acid reflux he's still working through.
About six months into carnivore, Kevin had chest issues and saw a cardiologist. His heart was great - echocardiogram was great, CAC score was zero, EKG was fine. The issues turned out to be electrolytes. He supplements with magnesium and potassium, noting that being on a PPI as long as he was messed up his stomach and gut from low acid.
Kevin references Judy Cho from Nutrition with Judy podcast, who talks about eating the rainbow of meats. He tries to eat other things as well, including fish.
The conversation discusses how at a certain point in the carnivore journey, eating becomes about fuel rather than entertainment. Kevin notes that he sometimes eats once a day and feels full the rest of the time, rarely thinking about food.
The recommendation for people new to carnivore is not to look at it as a lifelong commitment. The advice is to try it for 30 days initially, or 60 days if possible, until finding healing. Then decide if they want to continue or do something else.
The key point is that almost everyone who gets to day 60 feels so good they don't want to do anything else. Being strict is emphasized for healing - doing carnivore 90% with weekend cheats prevents reaching deep ketosis and full healing.
Kevin's wife is more keto-carnivore. Her hormones are the best they've ever been. Keto brought improvements but there were still times when things were out of whack. Carnivore smoothed out the hormonal imbalances from PCOS, where there's a lot of testosterone and imbalances.
PCOS is now being called PMOS (poly metabolic ovarian syndrome). When Kevin's wife first went on metformin, doctors didn't understand why it was helping women in their late 30s who had never been able to have kids suddenly get pregnant.
Kevin expresses frustration that for type 2 diabetes, glucose is poison to the body, yet people are told to eat carbs and sugar and then take insulin. He uses the analogy of having a venomous snake strike yourself and then taking antivenom on top of that.
He notes that a strict low carb ketogenic diet can reverse type 2 diabetes depending on how far along someone has progressed.
The conversation uses another analogy for type 2 diabetes: it's like rubbing poison ivy all over your body and then using an ointment, versus simply not rubbing poison ivy on your body at all.
The documentary includes stories of people who reversed type 2 diabetes, including Chris Bath whose doctor wrote next to his diagnosis "type 2 diabetes resolved." Several people described it as "this easy" - just changing the food they're eating and their A1C improved dramatically.
Kevin originally went on Dave Mac's show to share his story with people who don't live nearby. Dave has recently surpassed 2,000 interviews. The recommendation is that if friends and family won't listen to science, find 5, 10, or 15 examples of people suffering with the same ailment on Dave's channel.
When people ask about constipation and lack of fiber, Kevin explains that bowel movements represent waste product the body doesn't want. If someone is going multiple times a day, they're eating something their body doesn't need or want.
He points out that processed foods from bags and boxes weren't around before the industrial revolution. Before then, average sugar consumption was 4 pounds per year. Now it's 125 to 135 pounds per year. Even in the 1950s and 1960s, it was half that amount.
For people asking how to get started, Kevin suggests starting by quitting sugar and reducing carbs. He recommends Whole30 for 30 days as a starting point because some people can go strict carnivore immediately while others can't.
He warns against getting stuck at the sugar elimination stage - if people see improvements from cutting sugar, they often stop there and miss the greater healing that could come from continuing to carnivore.
The energy savings from not processing waste and toxins is highlighted. The liver doesn't have to process as much garbage, leading to excess energy because the body isn't bearing that toll.
The conversation emphasizes that proper human diet allows people to potentially live 30 years longer without chronic inflammation. Instead of reaching retirement age in a mobility scooter with aches and pains, people should thrive for many more years.
Kevin plans to be wake surfing at age 80. He wants to enjoy life in his later years - traveling, being active outdoors, wakeboarding and wake surfing - rather than being bound at home or in assisted living.
Kevin references Rancher Maggie from the documentary Healing Humanity as inspiration for aging well on carnivore.
I can't go back and change anything. I can only go forward. Maybe I've done damage to my body in the first half of my life. Maybe I won't live to 120, but maybe I'll live to 100, and maybe I'll enjoy those years as I get older as well.
Healing Humanity special announcement: the documentary will be streaming for everyone at home. Viewers can go to healinghumanity.watch, put their email address in, and get notified the second it's available to stream at home, which is coming very soon.
Kevin does not have social media links to share at the moment but plans to set up accounts. He feels there is a need for anybody who's found healing to let everybody else know, whether through social media or word of mouth. Talking to people you know and explaining the healing you've had is beneficial. It may not happen right away, but maybe down the road they might find healing as well.
I learned this from Dante Ferraro. And had he not shared his story, I may not be here right now.
This way of eating saved my life. It's definitely going to drastically extend my life. I'm busy living for the first time, and it never would have happened without somebody bravely sharing their story. The host will have a link in the description for Kevin's interview on Dave Mack's channel and possibly some other links from Kevin as well.
Keep HomeSteadHow in your library
Save the videos and channels worth coming back to, and find them again in one place.
