Siobhan Huggins is a fantastic nutrition and health researcher, but she got her start from a personal experience transforming her own health. Here, she shares her story of overcoming depression, anxiety, hypertension, and many more ailments.

For complete show notes, visit http://youcuredwhat.com/podcast/siobhan[2:45] Siobhan was an active, athletic child. At six years old, she had a six pack. However, she became depressed at the age of 10 or 11. After that, she started gaining weight and stopped many of the physical activities she used to enjoy.

[3:50] By the time Siobhan turned 18, she was obese, hypertensive, and suffering from depression.

[5:30] At 18, Siobhan was 5 feet, 1 inch tall, and she weighed 240 pounds.

[6:15] Siobhan had tried using exercise to ameliorate her depression, but the depression remained.

[7:30] Siobhan views her depression as having metabolic origin. “I was likely depressed because I wasn’t unhealthy.”

[8:15] Siobhan tried calorie restriction, but it did not work well for her.

[9:30] In late 2016, Siobhan’s mother suggested trying the ketogenic diet.

[10:45] In two months on a ketogenic diet, Siobhan lost 20 pounds and her joint pain went away.

[12:05] “It was the food which had put my depression into remission.”

[12:25] “I’ve lost 80 pounds since I started the diet. I’m no longer hypertensive. I’m no longer depressed. I no longer have joint pain. My skin is so much better. Like, everything is just better.”

[14:00] Siobhan describes some of the social anxiety she used to have, including specific conversations with her father which triggered negative emotions.

[16:00] Siobhan grew up looking at depression as something genetic and inescapable.

[18:00] Siobhan noticed that as her depression lifted, it gave her the opportunity to meet many other friends, as it enabled her to move away from negative self-talk and get to know others (specifically, at keto conferences).

[21:00] Siobhan sometimes notices aspects of her depression returning if she accidentally eats certain foods. She took that to another level with a High-Carb Experiment.

[22:15] Siobhan did a High-Carb Experiment. For the experiment, she ate high-carbohydrate, low-fat (the opposite of her typical low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic carnivorous diet). She ate all whole food carbohydrate sources. The experiment was hyper-caloric. The effects of this experiment were very negative physically and mentally, and the after-effects lasted for months after the experiment. “It took two months to get back to normal.”

[27:45] Siobhan’s experiment had a remarkable impact on her frame of mind and her physical health. And the only thing that changed during the experiment was the food she ate.

[34:00] What foods did Siobhan start eating to initiate her positive health transformation?

[41:10] Siobhan initially started eating a carnivore diet as an experiment, but she had such great results from it that she has stuck with it for approximately two years now.

[43:00] What were the timelines for Siobhan’s improvements in depression, joint pain, skin health, and hypertension?

[47:00] Siobhan also has had a great improvement in her menstrual cycle and greatly reduced cramping.

[55:45] Now that she has improved her health, what is one thing Siobhan enjoys doing that she couldn’t do before?