Updated Bloodwork: 2 Years On Animal Based Diet

I am not a doctor, scientist, or expert in anything. This content should not be construed as advice or recommendation, but is intended for entertainment and informational purposes only.

It’s been almost 10 months since I last had some bloodwork done, so I figured it was time to see what the data looks like after nearly two years on an animal based diet. You can check out my previous bloodwork here and here.

An animal based diet is one that focuses on getting the vast majority of nutrients and caloric intake from animal products. My diet consists of the following:

• At least 1.5 pounds of meat per day primarily from beef and pork

• 6+ eggs per day

• Some butter and cheese. Not sure if raw milk works for me or not, so I’ve eliminated it for the time being. I will work it in at a future point to see how I handle it.

• I recently switched from cow whey protein to goat whey for the same reason I stopped drinking cow’s milk.

• 100% fruit juice (orange, grape, cherry)

• Raw honey and real maple syrup

• Fruit. No more bananas and mangos unfortunately. My body just doesn’t seem to like them much.

• Baked potatoes on occasion.

• Desiccated cow organ and bone matrix supplements from Heart & Soil

• 10,000 IUs of vitamin D3

• Magnesium Threonate

I stick to this diet about 98% of the time, and find it’s relatively easy to adhere to most of the time even when travelling.

I’m consuming roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of target body weight, and even though I eat a lot of animal products, I do still consume a high amount of carbohydrate as well.

I usually try to get at least 300 grams of carbohydrate from the sources I mentioned above. To put that amount into perspective, that is 1,200 calories per day from carbohydrate alone.

First up we have the thyroid hormones. This was one that I really wanted to improve from my first round of blood work about 15 months ago. My TSH dropped from 3.42 to 1.87. Ideal TSH is 2.0 so I’ve gotten that one straightened out. My T4 is still a little lower than I would like. I’m shooting for 1.5 or higher, but overall the thyroid looks pretty good.

The CBC looks pretty good overall so nothing much to comment on there.

Next up are the metabolic panel and urinalysis. All looks pretty good.

The lipid panel carries over from page two to three. In the conventional medical world, my cholesterol would be considered high and no doubt doctors would rush to prescribe statins.

But as I’ve pointed out numerous times in these digital pages, high LDL cholesterol does not really correlate well to negative health outcomes, and treating with statins provides next to no benefit when it comes to improving mortality.

While my LDL is high by current medical standards, my HDL is also high which is a good thing. My triglycerides and VLDL are also very low.

Next up we have iron and TBC which are both normal.

My testosterone numbers are another area where I wanted to see improvement. While my total testosterone was good on the original bloodwork, my free testosterone was low. Both are now above the top end of the reference range.

I am not doing TRT and have avoided the organ supplements that contain bull testicle because I wanted to get a good picture of how my diet impacts testosterone levels without any form of exogenous testosterone.

FSH and LH are other indicators of hormonal health and both are in healthy ranges. My A1c was a little higher than the original bloodwork, but still close to the optimal number of 5.3

DHEA-Sulfate is another one that was low and continues to be stuck in the lower range. It’s essentially a master hormone from which the sex hormones are derived. We’ll keep an eye on this one, but it hasn’t negatively impacted my other hormone levels.

Cortisol looks good.

Next is Prolactin which is below 10, so I’m good there. PSA is close to zero.

IGF-1 is a surrogate marker for growth hormone production. The optimal number is 175 or higher so I’m almost on the money.

My vitamin D levels are at a very healthy 110 ng/mL. One of the best ways to prevent all types of illness, including cancer, is to have optimal levels of vitamin D which according to sources I’ve read is 50 ng/mL or higher. Below that your risk increases significantly.

Lipoprotein (a) remains low.

Lat up we have C-Reactive Protein which is an inflammatory marker and indicative of cardiovascular risk. Ideal number is .75 or less so I’m in good shape there.

Estradiol, GGT and progesterone levels all look good.

My fasting insulin was 4.3. Anything below 5.0 signals good insulin sensitivity. I’ve since realized that carbohydrates probably aren’t the driver of Type 2 diabetes the way we have been told. As I mentioned above, I consume 1,200 calories from fruit, fruit juice, honey, and maple syrup yet I remain very insulin sensitive.

Ferritin (iron) levels look good. T3, another thyroid marker, is still a little below the optimal range of 3.5 - 7.0

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin is still higher than I would like, but is significantly lower than my original bloodwork.

Apolipoprotein B, another supposed indicator of cardiovascular health, is high but I’m not concerned when I look at my bloodwork in totality. Modern medicine can’t see the forest for the trees sometime, and would be well served to step back and look at the big picture.

As usual, I’m not recommending or suggesting someone pursue an animal based diet although I have benefitted tremendously from this approach.

Rather, I want to share real data that contradicts much of the conventional wisdom around animal products and health. I realize that I am simply an anecdote, but that does not negate the validity of the data.

If you’re thinking about making significant changes to your lifestyle, I would recommend getting similar bloodwork done before making changes, and thereafter on an annual basis at minimum to see the impact any changes have over time.

Cheers to your good health!