A mother-of-two claims she feels healthier than ever after ditching veganism in favor of a raw meat diet – washed down with 12 egg yolks a day.
Suffering since the beginning of 2018 with a long list of ailments, including fatigue, acne and panic attacks, Jo Tyler, 28, tried to alleviate her symptoms by becoming a vegan, after reading about it on social media.
But, when she saw no signs of her health improving after 18 months, at the beginning of 2020, the full-time mum of Williamsburg, Virginia, had a drastic change of heart and adopted a ‘primal diet,’ consisting of raw or minimally processed foods.
Jo Tyler, 28, from Williamsburg, Virginia, says her new diet consisting of raw or minimally processed foods has helped alleviate her ailments
Jo started her raw meat diet at the beginning of the year and she says she has ‘never felt better’. Pictured right, having one of her raw egg smoothies
Jo says within four months of changing her diet she she ‘completely back to normal’. She eats at least a dozen eggs a day
The mother of two wolfs down raw chicken, intestines and hearts which she says has helped clear her skin and makes it seem more plump
The ‘primal’ diet has also help clear up acne on the mother of two’s face. She decided to start eating raw meat after she struggled to feel healthy as a vegan
Claiming she has ‘never felt better,’ Jo, who has two children, son Alexander, eight, and daughter Rae, two, with her husband, gas and electrical engineer Matt, 30, now wolfs down raw chicken, intestines and hearts, saying: ‘Within four months of following the raw meat diet, I was completely back to normal.
‘My acne disappeared and my skin seemed plump and hydrated for the first time in years. All of my allergic reactions went away and my anxiety disappeared. I felt calm and well balanced for the first time in a long time and had bags more energy.
‘People are most shocked by the fact I eat raw chicken but I love it with chicken hearts and lots of delicious yellow fat.
‘I also enjoy a raw smoothie – with raw milk, eggs and honey – throughout the day. Every two or three hours I crack open two eggs and swallow them whole.’
Having previously followed a healthy, balanced diet, Jo admits that her eating habits deteriorated soon after she moved out of her family home aged 18.
Busy working full time as a waitress, she would rely on quick fixes, like takeaway burgers or fried chicken.
She said: ‘I grew up in a very healthy household and we’d eat a lot of well-balanced meals.
‘But when I left home my diet went out of the window. I ate a lot of processed food, doughnuts, meaty sauces and a ton of burgers. The quality of the food I ate was very poor and not nutrient-rich at all.’
In early 2018, Jo suddenly began to struggle with fatigue, panic attacks, depression and anxiety, acne breakouts and mysterious allergic reactions.
‘I got very sick, very quickly,’ she said. ‘I was having allergic reactions to things I’d never had problems with before – even the smell of a candle or perfume would make me incredibly ill.
‘So would coffee, alcohol, some fruits and vegetables and cooked meats – it felt like I was allergic to everything.
‘I’d get terrible rashes and my whole face would turn red. My hands and feet would go numb.
Her husband, gas and electrical engineer Matt, 30, tried out the vegan diet she used to have but gave up after a few months when he said he needed some meat
She has two children, son Alexander, eight, and daughter Rae, two. Despite the health benefits she has experienced, she says she does not put her pressure on her children to eat raw meat
Jo says she enjoys eating chicken hearts, especially those with lots of ‘delicious’ yellow fat. Pictured: A meal of raw chicken, coupled with vegetables
‘I was having daily panic attacks – my chest would be very heavy and I would be wheezing and struggling to breathe.
‘I felt like it all came over night. I’d never experienced anything like it before. I wasn’t connecting the dots at the time, I just thought I was generally unwell. I didn’t have a clue why I felt so sick.’
Visiting her doctor in March 2018, Jo was given a blood test to check her thyroid and liver function, as well as her vitamin levels – but the results came back clear.
Medics suggested that her issues could be linked to her hormones and she was offered antidepressants to lift her low mood but, adamant she did not want to take medication, she started researching alternative treatment.
She said: ‘I knew from the start I didn’t want to go down the pharmaceuticals road, so I began looking online.
‘Everybody suddenly seemed to be promoting a vegan diet. It was impossible to ignore, especially on Facebook and Instagram.
‘I found a page that specifically promoted healing through veganism. People even claimed to have cured cancer with plant-based food, so I knew I had to try.’
After turning vegan overnight, Jo started her days with an entire melon, followed by a salad for both lunch and dinner.
Between meals, she grazed on fruit, eating six apples and a bunch of bananas a day.
She said: ‘I would go to the grocery store every other day and fill up a whole trolley with nothing but fruit and vegetables.
‘The rest of my family’s diet stayed the same, though. I was very conscious of making sure that what I ate didn’t impact them.
‘My husband tried to join me in going vegan a few times, but after a few days he just needed some meat.’
After two months, Jo began to feel as if her health was improving.
But then, six months later, her symptoms returned with a vengeance.
She continued: ‘At first, I had more energy and a spring in my step, but before I knew it the symptoms were worse than before.
‘I thought maybe it was just part of my body detoxing, so I persevered and tried to keep going.
‘But as time went on, things got worse and worse. My complexion looked almost grey, and the weight was falling off me.
‘I lost about 25lb (1st7lb) in a year, but I was only 125lb (8st 13lb) to begin with.
‘Friends and family were really worried. When you’re in it, it’s so hard to see just how bad it is.’
In early 2018, Jo (pictured tucking into a meal of raw meat) suddenly began to struggle with fatigue, panic attacks, depression and anxiety, acne breakouts and mysterious allergic reactions
As well as raw meat, Jo enjoys eating raw fish. She believes she began having problems with her health when she left home and started feeding herself
In a bid to fight her ailments, she adopted a vegan diet which helped to begin with eventually she worse than before. She took to the internet again to find solutions to her problems and discovered the ‘primal’ diet. Pictured: A meal of raw chicken, raw chicken hearts and radishes
Now, on an average day, she has raw oysters for breakfast, followed by uncooked chicken for lunch, and liver for dinner – wolfing down a whopping 12 raw eggs between meals
Things came to a head for Jo in November 2019, when her hair began to fall out in clumps.
No longer able to ignore what was happening to her body, she took to the internet once again to research alternative remedies.
‘I noticed an influx of people following a carnivorous diet, eating raw meat and untreated animal products,’ she said.
‘I thought the meat eaters looked so healthy. They glowed.
‘I figured there was nothing to lose. I already felt so awful, what was the harm in experimenting?’
So, at the beginning of the year, as a record 400,000 people worldwide took part in Veganuary, Jo did the complete opposite, ditching her plant-based diet in favour of meaty meals.
She continued: ‘The taste was fine but the texture was a bit more difficult to get used to.
She visited her doctor in March 2018 after feeling ill and was given a blood test to check her thyroid and liver function, as well as her vitamin levels – but the results came back clear
When she was a vegan she would eat an entire melon for breakfast and between meals, she grazed on fruit, eating six apples and a bunch of bananas a day. Pictured: Jo looking healthier after adopting the raw meat diet
Six months after she started her vegan diet, she symptoms slowly began to reappear and eventually came back with a vengeance
‘I’ve always enjoyed rare steak, so it was really just like that without the cooked outside.
‘Other things, like raw chicken, were harder because it’s so ingrained in our mind not to eat it.
‘It tastes just like it smells. I call it land sushi as it’s a similar flavour and texture to regular sushi.
‘I was a bit nervous about food poisoning but I’ve never had one case of being sick from the raw food.’
Within just a few months, she claims to have seen a huge transformation in her health.
She lost around 25lb in a year as a result of vegan but she was only 125lb to begin with. She soon realised the vegan diet wasn’t for her and now she eats meals such as steak tartare (pictured) every day
Since going ‘primal’ and eating lots of raw meat, including chicken, she says she finds it a lot easier to ‘keep the weight on’
Now, on an average day, she has raw oysters for breakfast, followed by uncooked chicken for lunch, and liver for dinner – wolfing down a whopping 12 raw eggs between meals.
Estimating that she easily eats 4,000 calories a day – double the recommended intake for women by the NHS –Jo claims that going primal has even saved on the weekly shopping bill.
‘We used to spend $450 (£339) a week on the food shop for our family of four – most of which went on my fruitarian diet. Now we spend $250 (£188) to $350 (£264).
‘There are a lot of local farms in the area that we use – it’s the most humane way to eat meat.
‘I’ll get a really good deal because I’ve built a relationship with the farmers and we’ve got a good rapport.
As well as helping her with her weight, the diet has also improved her overall health, including strengthening her teeth
Before the meat-based diet, she said her friends and family were really worried about her but says: ‘When you’re in it, it’s so hard to see just how bad it is’
‘People say saturated fat and cholesterol is bad for your heart, but I don’t believe that. It’s cherry picked science and I’m a firm believer that the primal diet has only been beneficial. I’m a healthy 135lb (9st 6lb) and I look and feel better than ever. You can’t argue with that.’
But while Jo is happy to extol the virtues of her extreme diet, she does not anticipate her family following in her footsteps.
She said: ‘Alex will look at my plate and say, ‘That’s disgusting.’
‘I’d never put pressure on either of the children to go primal. It’s their choice.
‘Everyone who sees me says how much healthier I look now and how worried they were about me before. They’re shocked when they hear about my diet, but they’re more impressed with how much better I look.’
She eats a variety of meats coupled with vegetables and minimally processed foods, such as this plate of buffalo brain, with avocado and scrambled egg
Also on her menu from time to time is a side of raw oysters coupled with a plate of raw elk