Jenny McCarthy is a force to be reckoned with. She is an actress, model, author and activist. She went from hosting her own talk show, “The Jenny McCarthy Show,” to serving as a judge on Fox’s reality guessing game show, “The Masked Singer.” But behind the scenes, she faced serious health issues that forced her to re-examine her diet in order to alleviate her symptoms.
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Jenny McCarthy opens up about her diet amid health concerns
In a March 2025 episode of the “Heal Squad” podcast, McCarthy told host Maria Menounos that she “literally almost died” after following a vegan diet. “I got so sick because I’m vegan,” she said at the time.. “I tried vegan and almost died. I literally almost died.”
McCarthy then revealed that she has celiac disease, which means she has to be careful about what she eats. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, triggers the immune system to attack the small intestine, preventing the body from absorbing nutrients.
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McCarthy reveals she had a ‘gluten and dairy problem’
Her diagnosis led her to discover that she not only had a gluten problem, but also a dairy problem. This made her rethink her diet, which led her to eliminate carbohydrates from her diet.
“I didn’t know I had a gluten and dairy problem. I thought everyone got sick from eating,” McCarthy said, according to PEOPLE review. “I can’t eat carbs, and everything is carbs.”
Unfortunately, his food allergies don’t stop there. “I’m also allergic to soy and everything — I was literally dying,” she continued. “I was exhausted and tired. I was a mess.”
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Jenny McCarthy followed a carnivore diet
From there, McCarthy followed what she called “my last resort diet.” The diet, commonly known as the carnivore diet, is an extremely restrictive diet that involves eating only animal products like meat, fish, seafood, eggs, and certain dairy products like butter.
After starting the diet, McCarthy said she felt “very low vibrational, heavy. I was eating more salmon and doing light things like that, but I might as well try.”
Although she said it was a “last resort,” she admitted that it worked for her. “It’s been amazing for me,” she said. “Once again, I emphasize things because In my opinion.”
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McCarthy opens up about her bathroom habits
Although she’s seen a “huge boost in energy” since becoming a carnivore, she admitted she doesn’t intend to stick to the restrictive diet for long. However, it also helped her in the bathroom.
“I literally go laxative-free every day. I was living on seven to ten aloe pills a day, just every four days,” she revealed. A few months later, in May 2025, she discussed her bathroom habits in another post. PEOPLE interview in a magazine.
“And I’m sorry if this is too TMI, but I was a complicated person who only went to the bathroom once every 14 days,” she said, admitting that her constipation was so severe that her functional medicine doctor told her she might need a colostomy bag.
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The “raw” foods she eats on the carnivore diet
McCarthy admitted she was initially “against” the idea of a meat-only diet. “I was so against it, but my doctor told me you’ve tried everything but that, so you become a carnivore,” she explained. “I have to tell you, it’s saved my gut. I go to the bathroom every day now – and it’s made me feel like I’m 25 again.”
As well as including avocado in her diet for ‘fibre’, she also revealed the ‘gross’ food she loves. “I had mostly grass-fed beef, sometimes grass-fed kidneys and liver mixed in, which sounds gross, but you can’t tell,” she said before elaborating further on her symptoms.
“I have so many issues with myself,” she confessed. “I figure I have Hashimoto’s disease, Candida, leaky gut, celiac disease and histamine intolerance.”
Although becoming a carnivore allowed her to manage her symptoms, she admitted, “You can’t go halfway” with the diet. She added: “But if I showed you a picture of my face from just a year ago, it’s so different. I didn’t realize how swollen I was all the time.”
