What Is the Animal-Based Diet? A Beginner’s Guide to Healing

From Bruises to Bone Broth: My Healing Journey

My story with chronic illness started young—far earlier than anyone realized. After a head injury when I was seven, I began quietly slipping into years of unexplained pain, fatigue, and sleepless nights. Doctors dismissed it. Teachers misunderstood it. Even I started to wonder if it was all in my head. But it wasn’t. Eventually, in my twenties, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia—a name that came with medications, but no real answers.

For years, I looked fine on the outside while quietly battling flare-ups, fog, and a deep, aching exhaustion on the inside. I tried so many diets and protocols, chasing healing in every direction—but nothing ever seemed to stick.

A little over a 3 months ago, after months of digging and research, I stumbled across the animal-based diet a sub section of the carnivore diet. I saw how it supported autoimmune conditions like mine—how it could rebuild my body from the inside out. I decided to try it. And just a week later, I got into a minor car accident that landed me in the care of a Christian holistic chiropractor and functional neurologist. When I told them I was going carnivore, they nodded with quiet agreement: “That’s exactly what your body needs right now.”

Since then, healing has come—but not in a straight line. I still live with chronic pain. I still experience flare-ups, though they come less often now. The brain fog has lifted some, thanks to the neuro work and hyperbaric treatments I’ve been doing. And slowly, I’m starting to feel like me again—clearer, calmer, and more resilient.

It’s not a magic fix. It’s a return to what was always true: real food can heal.

And if you’re here reading this—tired, curious, maybe even desperate like I once was—I want you to know: you’re not alone. This might just be the first step toward something better.

What Is the Animal-Based Diet?

The animal-based diet is a nutrient-dense way of eating that centers around animal foods—meat, organs, eggs, raw dairy (if tolerated), and wild-caught fish. But it’s not just meat.

It also includes the most non-toxic plant foods like ripe fruits and raw honey.

In a world of diet extremes, this lifestyle is simple, ancestral, and healing.

In short:

🥩 Meat and organs for strength.

🍌 Fruit and honey for energy.

🥛 Raw dairy for gut and hormone support.

It’s not about restriction—it’s about restoration.

Animal-Based vs. Carnivore: What’s the Difference?

Animal-based eating is often confused with the carnivore diet, but there’s a key difference:

• Carnivore: 100% animal foods—meat, fat, organs, salt, water.

• Animal-based: Adds in low-toxicity carbohydrates like fruit, honey, and raw dairy.

Carnivore can be helpful short-term (especially as an elimination diet), but for many of us—especially women—animal-based is more sustainable, gentle, and nourishing long-term.

Why Try the Animal-Based Diet?

This lifestyle can be life-changing for people dealing with:

• Autoimmunity

• Hormonal imbalances

• Chronic fatigue

• Gut issues

• Mental fog and anxiety

• Skin conditions like acne or eczema

Here’s why it works:

1. It Heals the Gut

No more fiber-filled “superfoods” that leave you bloated. By removing inflammatory grains, seed oils, and hard-to-digest veggies, your gut gets a chance to reset.

2. It Supports Hormones

Animal foods provide the building blocks your body craves—cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins, and key amino acids to balance your cycle and stabilize your moods.

3. It Fights Inflammation

No seed oils. No fake foods. No artificial junk. Just real, nourishing fuel your body can recognize and use.

4. It Restores Nutrients

Organ meats and grass-fed beef are packed with iron, B12, vitamin A, choline, and zinc—nutrients that most of us are unknowingly deficient in.

5. It Clears the Mind

Many report fewer anxiety symptoms, sharper focus, and deeper sleep within the first few weeks.

What Do You Eat?

Foundation Foods:

• Grass-fed beef, lamb, bison

• Organ meats (like liver, heart, kidney)

• Pasture-raised eggs

• Wild-caught seafood

• Raw dairy (milk, kefir, cheese, butter—if tolerated)

Add In for Energy & Carbs:

• Ripe seasonal fruits (mango, papaya, dates, bananas)

• Raw honey

• Avocados, coconut, olives (depending on sensitivity)

Avoid:

• Processed seed oils (canola, soy, corn)

• Grains (wheat, oats, corn)

• Legumes (beans, lentils, peanuts)

• High-oxalate greens (spinach, kale)

• Refined sugar + artificial sweeteners

A Day of Animal-Based Eating

Breakfast:

2 pasture-raised eggs in butter, 4 slices of bacon, sliced mango, raw honey and a glass of raw milk

Lunch:

Wild caught tuna, with olives and homemade avocado mayo

Snack:

Raw cheese and pork grinds, or (Chomps) beef jerky + fruit

Dinner:

Cheeseburger soup Ground beef mixed with cheddar cheese, topped with bacon

Who Is This For?

• The woman waking up more tired than when she went to bed

• The mom trying everything and still bloated by dinner

• The chronic illness warrior who looks fine but feels broken

• The tired-of-the-noise-and-just-wants-to-heal soul

If that’s you, this isn’t just a diet.

It’s a return to the foods that nourish.

A release of what no longer serves.

And a reminder that your healing is holy, even when it’s slow.

Ready to Begin?

This is just the beginning. In my next posts, I’ll walk you through:

• My family’s actual grocery staples

• Simple, healing meals (including kid-friendly)

• How to transition out of processed food without overwhelm

• What I wish I’d known before starting

• And why this lifestyle is rooted in grace, not grind

If your body’s been crying out for something different, maybe this is the invitation you’ve been waiting for.

You’re not alone.

And your healing—however slow, however sacred—is still happening.

Let’s walk it together.