A woman who eats raw meat and makes cheese with her own spit says ditching junk food has ‘’transformed’’ her life. Emily Ciosek, 31, also eats raw chicken and refuses to wash her hair. The businesswoman, who is based in Michigan in the US, started eating raw steak back in May 2022 after reading about the health benefits and has since consumed up to 7lbs of raw meat per week - costing £55. The 31-year-old tends to eat raw chicken, beef and pork for lunch every day. Since changing her diet, Emily - who was previously living “a typical American lifestyle” - claims her mental health, spirituality, digestive system, and skin has improved. She also makes a lot of her own food products including raw butter and cream cheese - made with her own spit as it ‘’tailors the bacteria” to what her body needs. Emily, who runs a self-development business and hosts a podcast, said: “At 21 I was partying really hard and eating a lot of junk food. “Around that the same time I started doing yoga as an outlet into spirituality and then it became bigger and bigger. Someone recommended Weston Rowe, who was eating raw meat. “I was following my soul and it told me to eat raw meat. It was so tasty, and I loved it. Strangers that don’t know me don’t know what to do about the raw meat thing. “You get told in this society you will die if you eat raw meat. People that know me personally put in so much effort to support me, but they’re probably confused about why I’m doing this. “I went into a practice of me experimenting and realigning with what felt right to me.” Emily was 22 and living in New York City when her health started to “collapse”. “All of a sudden I started to get UTIs , stomach infections and hair loss off and on in my 20s, and Western medicine was making it worse,” she said. “My health was getting worse, and then I found natural medicine. I was certified as an Ayurveda health coach in June 2020. “It’s an ancient Indian health lifestyle. It’s well-known for the different Indian herbs you can take to aid your health. “It champions cooking from home and cooking with spices to handle the temperatures in your body. It uses different elements to describe different body types and balancing out health.” Emily admits to eating a typically modern Western diet of processed food and frozen dinners from her teens until aged 20. But when she got into yoga and spirituality in 2011, she began to experiment with her diet. At first, she tried the meat-based GAPS diet which is based on bone broth, meat and fermented foods and found it “taught her a lot” about what she liked and didn’t like. She then interviewed Weston Rowe - a well-known raw meat eater - for her podcast Root Awakening in February 2022. “It was so weird and so interesting,” she said. “My curiosity grew and after the GAPS diet my tastebuds changed. I was craving raw meat.” Trying raw meat for the first time in May 2022, Emily says it’s “the complete opposite to what people think”. “I remember the first time I had it I was sitting outside, and I got a giant thick New York strip and I felt so spiritually connected with food,” she explained. Emily, who is single, now follows a lifestyle of raw eating and shares her experiences online in the hope of convincing others. She said: “For breakfast I’ll have celery juice. “I don’t drink much water, around one litre maximum per day because I prefer to eat my water through structured water like kombucha. For lunch I’ll have a charcuterie spread of raw chicken, beef and pork with fermented sauerkraut, capers, or just plain with some tomatoes. “Vegetables are few and far between. I’ll also have raw cheese and olive oil, with caviar either from salmon or white fish, and I bake chicken skins until they’re crispy. That keeps me full all day.” For her evening meal, Emily will sometimes have cooked food, like meatballs, but this is “rare” for her to do. “I’ll have sweeter stuff, like French toast I make with raw milk,” she said. “I cover it in raw butter and raw honey and raw cream cheese that I make with my spit.” Alongside her meals, Emily will have supplements including a tablespoon of olive oil daily, and a piece of old raw lambs’ liver, which ferments from the bacteria, with an audience member of Emily’s saying it “tastes like candy and red wine.” Her family are “really supportive” of her lifestyle choices. “I don’t really talk about it,” she said. “With both my family and friends I’m really lucky, everyone wants to support me.” The 31-year-old added that if she decides to go out to eat, she’ll eat charcuterie boards of oysters. Since starting her Instagram, Emily has connected with people who follow the same lifestyle but is careful not to get ‘’too close as you run the risk of isolating yourself from society.” She also began experimenting with her haircare routine after suffering with hair loss in her twenties. Emily said: “I thought, why am I buying factory made products when I can use food? “I used raw eggs first for one month, once a week to wash my hair with. But I started talking to other people in the Instagram community who don’t wash their hair. “So, I stopped in April 2023 and at first it was so greasy but then it got thicker and puffy. I enjoy the volume, it’s a freeing process. “I’ve worn no makeup for three years too, and my skin is better, eyelashes are thicker, and I have better self-esteem. Natural health saves money, time, and feels good.” To follow Emily’s health journey, visit her Instagram page.
