Meet the Man that eats only raw meats! (PHOTOS)
A man has told how he's only eaten raw meat for the past five years after a mystery illness caused him to develop an unusual appetite for bloody animal carcasses.
Derek Nance from Lexington, Kentucky, told VICE that he even brushes
his teeth with animal fat in a bid to feed his odd food addiction and is training to become a butcher.
He claims that he never gets sick of eating the same thing and feels better than ever, adding 'the idea of cooked meat no longer appeals. It just tastes burned.'
Grub's up: Derek Nance from Kentucky has only eaten raw meat for the past five years after a mystery illness caused him to develop an unusual appetite for animal carcasses
He said that doctors thought he'd developed a food allergy when everything he ate started making him sick
almost six years ago.
To combat his sudden weight loss, he scoured the internet to find treatment plans and diets.
At first he cut out wheat and dairy but when that didn't work he turned vegan, which also had no effect.
He then remembered a man he'd met, who'd experienced similar symptoms and recommended a carnivorous version of the Palaeolithic diet, popularly referred to as the caveman diet.
'I’d been sick for such a long time that I was willing to give anything a try.
'I had a couple of goats in my yard that I was using for milk and you know, I was tired of milking them so I slaughtered them.
'I had a couple of goats in my yard that I was using for milk and you know, I was tired of milking them so I slaughtered them'
'I ate both of those goats, all raw, and just switched over like that.'
At first he said he experienced mild diarrhea, as his body adapted to his new meat-loaded diet but three weeks later he was hooked.
'I noticed this real strong blood-like taste in the back of my throat and then all of a sudden I started getting strong cravings for it.'
Mr Nance is keen to spread the word about eating raw meat.
In a YouTube video, he demonstrates how to dissect a lamb's carcass, which he'd left to 'age' in his fridge for a couple of weeks.
One frame shows him cracking open the animal's legs to retrieve bone marrow and another sees him scooping out its brains, which he describes as being 'sweet', 'nutritious' and having the same consistency as pudding.
Adding a bizarre twist, Mr Nance's girlfriend, Joanne, is vegetarian.
However, she only recently decided to stick to greens and has tried her beau's diet in the past.
'Eating raw meat is just something my family can’t accept. My father tells me that if I eat raw meat I'll get some sort of pathogen'
'We had lamb tenderloins once and they were delicious, but I’m a vegetarian for compassionate reasons.'
She says she understands that he must restrict his diet for health reasons, and feels lucky that she can eat anything.
However, some people are less understanding about Mr Nance's habits. The former electrician says that his family think he's 'lost it' and at the 'deep end of insane'.
'Eating raw meat is just something they can’t accept. My father has a master's in biology and he tells me that if I eat raw meat I’ll get some sort of pathogen.'
During family visits his diet is not mentioned and they tend to avoid getting together around the dinner table.
Mr Nance’s favorite meat is lamb because he can usually get it at a good price and it's easier to slaughter – cows take up too much room in his car.
To prepare the animal he butchers it in his basement and stores the remains in his fridge. Nothing goes to waste and he says organs and clotted blood are a good source of vitamin C.
He concludes: 'Half of my problem with my digestion was actually just lack of enzymes. My body just doesn’t produce enough enzymes to digest starchy foods.’
