Meet the Carnivore Queen: Heavily tattooed Michigan businesswoman, 31, lives on a raw meat diet — and claims she makes cheese from her own SPIT

A wellness guru claims that regularly eating raw meat and homemade cheese she makes from her own spit has changed her health for the better.

Emily Ciosek, 31, a health coach based in Michigan, follows a daily diet of raw beef, chicken and pork, as well as homemade cheese made from her own saliva, because it “adjusts the bacteria” to what her body needs.

She eats up to seven pounds of raw meat a week and claims it has improved her mental and physical health as well as her spirituality, despite overwhelming health advice to avoid uncooked meat, especially chicken.

Consuming raw meat puts a person at high risk for severe food poisoning, but the diet has gained popularity in recent years due to its purported benefits with social media users uploading videos of themselves chewing raw steak, liver, and even bull testicles .

Ms. Ciosek started eating raw meat in May 2022 and now eats about seven pounds a week

Emily Ciosek started eating raw meat in May 2022 and discovered, “It was so good and I loved it.”

She was put on the diet when she heard from another raw meat enthusiast, Nebraska resident Weston Rowe, who has touted his increased energy levels and, like Ms. Ciosek, said he never got sick from going on the diet .

The shift from a “Western” diet to one more aligned with the teachings of the 5,000-year-old Ayurvedic tradition stems from an interview she had in February 2022 for her podcast Root Awakening with Weston Rowe, who is already half following a raw meat diet. a decade consisting mostly of raw beef, raw liver, raw chicken and even brains, all sourced locally from dairy and poultry farms.

Ms. Ciosek said, “He was such a cool guy, but I really wasn’t convinced. His vision is that we actually need bacteria in our body and that we have built up strength in our immunity.’

She had previously tried the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet, which aims to balance the gut microbiome to improve overall health by emphasizing bone broth, organic meats, and fermented foods. But she said her taste buds changed after trying the GAPS diet. She suddenly had an appetite for raw meat.

The first time she tried it, she sat outside and got a “giant” New York strip steak and “felt so spiritually connected to food.”

Ms. Ciosek said she used to be in poorer health, having partied hard in her early 20s.

She said, “Suddenly I started having urinary tract infections, stomach infections and hair loss in my twenties, and Western medicine made it worse… and then I found natural medicines. In June 2020 I am certified as an Ayurveda health coach.

Ms. Ciosek has also stopped washing her hair and wearing make-up. She said: ‘I also haven’t worn makeup in three years, and my skin is better, eyelashes are thicker and I have better self-esteem.

“Natural health saves money, time and feels good.”

For breakfast, she usually drinks celery juice, noting that she prefers to drink water in a “textured” form, such as kombucha. The term “structured water” is not common in Western medicine, and its proponents believe it contains distinct benefits not found in natural water.

For lunch, she said, “I’ll have a charcuterie spread of raw chicken, beef, and pork with fermented sauerkraut, capers, or just with some tomatoes or something juicy.” Vegetables are scarce.

‘I also take raw cheese and olive oil, with salmon or white fish caviar, and I fry chicken skins until crispy. That gives me a full feeling all day long.’

She makes her own cheese using her saliva, which she says adapts the bacteria to her body’s unique nutritional needs

She occasionally eats cooked foods for her evening meal, such as meatballs, but adds that this is rare. She said she often eats something sweet, like French toast made with raw milk straight from the cow’s udder. Then she tops it with raw butter and raw honey and raw cream cheese “that I make with my spit.”

In general, cooking meat eliminates pathogens, which is why it is generally not recommended to eat it raw. Some common pathogens in raw meat include Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter. Cooking meat too makes the body easier to digest and absorb nutrients.

And while cooking meat may reduce some of the vitamins and minerals according to some studies, they also point out that cooking it increases the concentration of other nutrients such as iron and zinc.

Ms Ciosek said: “People know I think differently. We keep it low and with strangers I don’t really tell them.

“People have left nasty comments online and are getting angry. I think people think it’s dangerous.’

Yet the diet has gained popularity in recent years for its purported benefits, propelling social media personalities like the muscular raw meat-loving Liver King to Internet stardom. Every day people also jump on the bandwagon.

For example, a Las Vegas flight attendant named Rusty always preferred his steak on the very rare side, trying small pieces of raw steak before cooking. But about eight years ago, he decided to take the plunge and ate a whole raw bison ribeye steak, which “energized” him.

Rusty hasn’t looked back since and now follows a Neanderthal-inspired diet that includes raw cuts of meat, fish and even more exotic animals like octopuses.

He claims he eats between 3,000 and 4,000 calories a day — including two pounds of raw meat — and regularly posts videos of himself tearing up his meals on social media.

He said, “When I eat an abundance of raw meat, I really feel an increased amount of energy and a sense of focus.

“It could be a mental thing, but personally for me, coming off my raw diet makes me feel much slower than when I’m on it.”