I only ate raw meat for 100 days straight – everyone thinks I’m crazy but it’s transformed my life
A DAD who ate raw steak for 100 days straight has revealed how the diet changed his life.
Pauly Long, 30, who lives in Bali, Indonesia, started the challenge after switching to a food regime made up of 90 per cent raw meat.
Previously, he had eaten a regular diet including cooked vegetables and meat but decided to make the change after suffering stomach problems five years ago.
He claims the change — which included eating testicles, earning him the nickname “testicle king” — has boosted his digestion, energy levels and overall mood.
Pauly said: “I wanted to experiment and see how I felt, and also show the public that eating raw meat is perfectly safe.
“I did one raw steak per day, and then anything else I wanted to eat, which could’ve been another steak that I chose to cook or eat raw again.
“I had no concerns about the challenge because I understand how beneficial good quality raw meat can be for the body.”
He added: “The main benefits I noticed were digestion and energy.
“Raw meat is great for digestion because it’s in its purest form without any damage to the enzymes or nutrients from heat.
“I started noticing the biggest shift around day 30. After that, it became very noticeable every day — good energy, great digestion, all around great feeling after eating raw.”
The NHS recommends a varied and mixed diet including trying to eat two or more vegetables a day, wholegrain carbohydrates and mixed sources of protein like beans and fish.
Brits should aim to eat a minimum of five portions of fruit and veg a day to ensure they get enough fibre and essential vitamins, the health service says.
However, some advocates of an all-meat diet claim you can get all the nutrients you need from only eating animal products.
They say cooking destroys the nutrients in foods and therefore you should eat meat raw.
Dr Don Schaffner, of Rutgers University, told Everyday Health: “Heating destroys nutrients, and it doesn’t matter if those nutrients are in vegetables or meat, or other foods.”
But he said many of the micronutrients that are affected are not essential, and some are actually increased by the cooking process.
A study published in the Elsevier journal Meat Science showed some vitamins and minerals in pork, veal and beef fell after cooking — but iron and zinc increased after adding heat.
Experts also warn eating uncooked meat or dairy products can increase your chances of getting food poisoning.
Dr Beth Czerwony, of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Nutrition, said: “Not only is there a risk of being infected with campylobacters and salmonellas, but also parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms.”
Pauly insisted he has never had problems with illness after eating the raw meat.
But that has not stopped viewers of his TikTok channel calling him “crazy” and warning he’ll get a bug.
He said: “People say ‘he’s going to get sick’ or ‘he won’t be alive much longer’ and parasite this, parasite that.
“I’m so used to it by now I don’t even pay attention anymore.
“Of course everyone thinks I’m crazy and during the challenge everyone was always saying how I would get sick and die but it’s just entertainment to me.
“[I had] no complications from the raw meat – only from certain cooked foods and spicy stuff which messed me up.”
One the steak challenge, he said: “I used a very reasonably priced steak every day. My main goal was just to show everyone that I was perfectly healthy after.
“We can eat raw meat, and in fact, I think humans thrive off a raw diet.
“I combine a mixture of raw and cooked because I’m a huge foodie and love to experience good food out, but overall eating raw makes me feel the best.
“I had no concerns because I understand how beneficial good quality raw meat can be for the body.”