A Las Vegas man has revealed he switched to a raw meat only diet after an acid trip — and claims it has made him stronger and smarter.
Flight attendant Rusty McEntire, from Las Vegas, always preferred his steak on the very rare side, and used to try small bits of raw steak before cooking.
But eight years ago he decided to take the plunge and ate a whole uncooked bison ribeye steak, which left him feeling ‘energized’.
Mr McEntire, 30, hasn’t looked back since and now follows a Neanderthal-inspired diet made up of raw cuts of meat, fish and even more exotic animals like octopi.
He claims he eats between 3,000 and 4,000 calories per day – which includes two pounds of raw meat – and regularly posts videos of himself tearing into his meals on social media.
Mr McEntire said of his first experience: ‘I may have been coming down from an acid trip, but it was one of the most invigorating experiences in my life.’
He said: ‘When I’m eating an abundance of any form of raw meat, I truly feel a heightened amount of energy and sense of focus.
‘It could be a mental thing, but personally for me, when I come off of my raw diet, I feel a lot more sluggish than when I’m on it.’
Rusty McEntire, 30, enjoys a raw beef steak for dinner alongside a glass of red wine and broccoli. He has been eating a carnivorous diet since he was 22
Mr McEntire tucks into a hunk of raw meat, not wanting to cook it in case it loses its flavor and nutrients
Mr McEntire said he switched to his raw meat diet after becoming concerned that he was losing vital nutrients during the cooking process.
But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that meat should be cooked so that germs which can make you sick are killed.
Cooking meat breaks down tough fibers, meaning it is easier to chew and digest.
It also leads to better nutrient absorption, and a Harvard study in 2011 found cooked meat provides more energy than raw meat.
Mr McEntire emphasizes he is not a doctor or a nutritionist, and gets his knowledge from his own research and experience.
He tries to buy grass-fed meat, rather than raw steaks from supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, to steer clear of lower-grade meat.
He does receive online abuse for his carnivorous diet, with comments such as ‘You’re an idiot’ and ‘Enjoy your parasites’, but they don’t bother him and he is happy with his choice.
His usual meal is raw steak, but he eats raw beef mince, rabbit and burgers from time to time
Some of family and friends agree with the trolls, branding his diet ‘savage’, ‘feral’ and ‘too hardcore’.
But generally his family are supportive, with his mom also regularly eating raw meat.
And uncooked meat isn’t Mr McEntire’s only dietary quirk. He also drinks raw milk, which is unpasteurized.
Pasteurizing is the process which kills potentially dangerous bacteria in milk, and the sale of raw milk is illegal in many US states.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits the interstate sale or distribution of raw milk at the federal level, but in Mr McEntire’s state of Nevada, raw milk sales are legal.
According to the CDC, raw milk and products made from it can pose ‘severe health risks, including death’.
However, Mr McEntire thinks there are serious health benefits to eating and drinking raw.
He believes it to be a ‘healthier alternative’ to pasteurized milk and said it has only been made illegal in some states because ‘some people’s bodies truly can’t handle it’.
He said: ‘Raw milk is almost the only kind I ever drink, and I have never had any form of illness from doing so.
‘It has been said that the presence of omegas and DHA in fish and raw meat is what made man evolve from the ape and gain greater mental capacity.’
Eating raw meat is common practice in some cultures, such as Inuit communities.
Meat is prepared by being buried underground so it can ferment for months – a process named igunaq.
If it is not prepared properly, it can cause sickness or even death due to botulism, bacterial toxin poisoning.
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