Carnivore diet replaced drugs for ADHD and Depression
In a nutshell
Inspirational – a young man with the courage to choose his own healthy diet
Encouraging – popular outlet shares the benefits of nutrient-dense real food
This is a brief article about something that I found encouraging and inspirational. I am encouraged because I found the story in a major newspaper which means people are likely interested in the subject, why else would the paper publish it? I find the story inspirational because it is about someone who overcame awful disabilities, took matters into his own hands and consequently is now leading a productive healthy life.
The story entitled “My depression and ADHD almost killed me. Then I ditched the food everyone says is ‘good for you’ and followed a radical new diet. Now I’m drug-free and feel superhuman. It can be found here.
At the age of 18, Australian teenager Daniel Vincent wrote in his journal:
“What’s the point of living if I can’t ever reach my potential? I may as well kill myself”
I’ve never felt so low. The worst state I ever reached early in life was to get confused, drink too much beer and assume I’d eventually figure something out. It’s difficult, actually impossible, for me to imagine what it takes to recover from that feeling and turn myself around. Hence, my admiration for anyone in such a position.
Daniel’s story rolls out in three stages:
Daniel’s original diet, symptoms that developed and drugs he was prescribed
A doctor who asked the big question, his new diet, and why it helped
Daniel’s transition to good health and the new person he has become
Daniel’s original diet, symptoms that developed and drugs he was prescribed
Daniel sounds like a typical sporty kid. He ate pasta and vegetables, drank protein powder drinks and was in the gym most days. Unfortunately, he suffered from acne and red, tender bumps covering his face. To make matters worse he damaged both shoulders working out, had to give up exercise, and was diagnosed with ADHD and depression.
His doctors prescribed Accutane, Lexapro, Ritalin and strong pain killers. He took these every day, often in increasing doses to maintain their effect on his symptoms. One of his doctors told Daniel that he would have to live with his state of chronic ill health and take prescribed drugs for the rest of his life.
Daniel’s mental state deteriorated to the point of considering suicide. Thankfully, and I don’t know why, eventually he stopped believing what he’d been told and decided to take responsibility for his health into his own hands.
A doctor who asked the big question, his new diet, and why it helped
Daniel describes how he spent hours online researching “natural cures” for ADHD, depression and chronic pain. Eventually he found a doctor who asked:
“What is your diet like?”
His new doctor recommended a diet that was low in carbohydrate, didn’t constantly raise insulin, and was high in protein. Daniel combined this advice with his online research where the same recommendation appeared repeatedly; the carnivore diet.
Daniel’s transition to good health and the new person he has become
Daniel eliminated vegetables from his diet and increased meat consumption. In his own words:
“I swapped coffee for bone broth and pasta for rib eye”
Daniel describes feeling terrible for the first week of his change but by week two he awoke pain free for the first time in more than three years. He was able to walk and exercise again. Within a few months, Daniel felt so good that he was able to dispense with the drugs he was taking for ADHD and depression. Within four months he’d lost 44kg (97lbs) in weight.
Daniel is 21 now, he owns his own home and runs his own business.
An explanation and a reminder
Daniel previously ate the things we’ve been told are good for us, things like pasta, protein shakes and vegetables. However, we know that constantly consuming such high carbohydrate and highly processed food can create ill health. In my case it was heart disease. In Daniel’s case it was poor mental health, a now understood outcome of processed, inflammatory diets.
As one doctor commented about Daniel’s transformation:
“The high-quality fats in animal foods, especially omega-3s and saturated fats, provide the brain with the essential fuel it needs to function optimally
Additionally, by reducing carbohydrates significantly, his body would have increased ketone production, which is known to reduce neuroinflammation and serve as a more efficient energy source for the brain than glucose”
Now for the reminder. Each of us is unique and different from each other. We each respond differently to the food we eat and to our environment more generally. When things get out of whack, our roads to recovery will differ. Thankfully, Daniel figured out his.
That said, we are all likely the same in that constantly eating highly processed food won’t result in us living our best life.
Additional reading
Interestingly, the carnivore diet is getting increased attention from mainstream outlets, here’s another about someone recovering from anorexia. I’ve previously described the carnivore diet as a vegetable-free ketogenic diet.