For 2.5 million years, women thrived on meat-based diets, rich in animal fat, organs, eggs, and nutrient-dense animal foods. This was the diet that built fertile, strong, hormonally balanced women-capable of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and living long, active lives.
But something changed. Over the course of the last century—and especially the past 50 years—women’s reproductive and hormonal health has gone into crisis mode. Irregular periods, PCOS, painful PMS, infertility, early menopause, and metabolic disease are common instead of rare. Women today wrestle with complaints that their great-grandmothers would have hardly recognized.
What happened? We abandoned the diet that women evolved to thrive on.
- We replaced animal fats with seed oils—swapping butter, tallow, and lard for canola, soybean, and vegetable oils.
- We cut out red meat and replaced it with grains, sugar, and processed carbs.
- We were told to fear cholesterol, even though it’s the building block of hormones.
- Some women went fully plant-based, only to experience devastating hormonal crashes, missing periods, and infertility.
The result? A skyrocketing incidence of hormonal imbalances, metabolic dysfunction, and reproductive health issues. But here’s the good news: we can reverse these problems by returning to the nutrient-dense, animal-based diet that sustained women for millions of years.
How Women’s Health Declined: From Hunter-Gatherers to Modern Disease
For 99% of human evolution, women continued to thrive on animal-heavy diets, consuming fatty meats, organs, and nutrient-dense animal foods to support the cycles of pregnancy, reproduction, and health in general.
Hunter-Gatherer Women Were Strong and Fertile
- Early human women were not struggling with infertility, PCOS, or chronic hormonal imbalances.
- All that was necessary for ideal reproductive function came from meat: cholesterol, heme iron, pre-formed vitamin A (retinol), omega 3’s, and complete proteins.
Agriculture Shift (10,000 Years Ago) Injures Health in Women
- Grain-based diets resulted in shorter height, weaker bones, and more pregnancy complications-as evidenced by skeletal remains of early farming societies.
- Women became increasingly susceptible to iron deficiency, reproductive problems, and metabolic disease.
The Past 100 Years: The Worst Dietary Experiment in History
- 1950s–1980s: The Low-Fat, Anti-Meat Movement Began
- Women were instructed to consume less fat and avoid red meat, despite these being the most nutrient-dense foods for hormonal health.
- Seed oils replaced butter and tallow, creating chronic inflammation and hormone dysfunction.
- 1990s–2000s: The Rise of Processed Foods and Veganism
- Processed carbohydrates, soy, and plant-based substitutes saturated the food markets.
- Many women who tried vegan diets lost their periods, developed nutrient deficiencies, and suffered from acute hormonal imbalances.
- Today: Record High Levels of PCOS, Infertility, and Hormonal Disorders
- One in ten women now has PCOS.
- Infertility rates have skyrocketed-now affecting one in five women
- Reproductive cancers, including ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancers, have increased significantly.
- Thyroid disorders, particularly hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, are affecting more women than ever before.
- Metabolic disorders, insulin resistance, and obesity are all related to high-carb, plant-based, and processed diets.
What did we learn? We stopped eating the food we evolved on, and women’s health has suffered the consequences.
Animal Fat and Cholesterol Are the Foundations of Women’s Hormones
Dr. Elizabeth Bright is a menopause specialist and a naturopathic physician who asserts quite simply that it is impossible to have balanced hormones without dietary cholesterol and animal fat.
Cholesterol Is the Raw Material of All Female Hormones
- All sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) are manufactured from cholesterol. Low cholesterol means low hormone production, resulting in irregular cycles, infertility, and early menopause.
- Women on diets of low fat or plant-based diets commonly experience hormonal imbalance, symptoms of fatigue, and mood disorders.
Animal Fats Support Fertility and Menstrual Cycles
- Butter, tallow, egg yolks, and fatty cuts of meat regulate menstrual cycles, including the lessening of PMS symptoms, and restore ovulation.
- Many women who add animal fats back into their diet find their periods return, become regular, and are less painful.
Animal Protein Fuels Mitochondria and Metabolism
- Mitochondria (the body’s energy producers) run best on high-quality animal protein and fat.
- High-carb, low-protein diets damage mitochondria, leading to fatigue, insulin resistance, and poor reproductive health.
Why Vegan and High-Carb Diets Make It Worse
Yet so many women, trying to “eat healthier,” cut out meat and animal fats-only to experience worsening hormonal issues.
Vegan and Plant-Based Diets Lack Critical Nutrients for Women
• No cholesterol → No hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone).
• No heme iron → Leads to anemia, fatigue, and poor circulation.
• No vitamin A (retinol) → Impairs ovarian function and fetal development.
• No bioavailable zinc and B12 → Essential to fertility and hormone regulation.
Too Many Carbs and Seed Oils Wreck Hormonal Balance
- High-carb diets sky-rocket insulin, making PCOS and irregular cycles worse.
- Seed oils cause chronic inflammation, impeding hormone production and making PMS worse.
Dr. Bright has seen scores of women who lost their periods, developed raging hormonal imbalances, and even struggled with osteoporosis after going plant-based.
The good news? These issues reverse when women return to an animal-based diet.
Women around the world are healing their hormones, restoring their fertility, and balancing their cycles by returning to their biologically appropriate diet: a diet centered on meat, animal fats, and nutrient-dense animal foods.
Common Benefits Reported by Women Who Switch to a Meat-Based Diet
- Regular menstrual cycles after years of irregularity.
- PCOS symptoms disappearing.
- PMS significantly reduced (less bloating, mood swings, cramps).
- Fertility restored—women who struggled to conceive finally getting pregnant.
- More stable energy, fewer cravings, and better metabolic health.
- Significant improvement or reversal of thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s.
- Reduction in symptoms of uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and ovarian cysts as inflammation decreases and hormones regulate.
- Decreased risk factors for reproductive organ cancers as insulin resistance and chronic inflammation improve.
Studies Confirm the Benefits
- A study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism demonstrated that women with PCOS who switched to a low-carb, high-fat diet saw major improvements in hormones and fertility.
- Research into mitochondrial function confirms that low-protein, high-carb diets weaken metabolic and reproductive health, while high-protein, high-fat diets strengthen it.
The Bottom Line: Women Need Meat and Animal Fat to Thrive
If you’re a woman struggling with hormonal imbalances, irregular cycles, painful PMS, PCOS, or infertility, shifting back to a meat-based diet rich in animal fats may be the most powerful thing you do for your health.
How to Get Started
- Eat liberal quantities of fatty ruminant meats-ribeye, lamb, beef brisket, ground beef.
- Consume tallow and butter in large quantities daily to support hormone production.
- Prioritize organ meats: liver is a superfood for fertility.
- Ditch the seed oils: cook in butter, tallow, or ghee.
- Processed carbs and sugar are out: they disrupt your hormones.
- Trust your body: ancestral nutrition just works.
Women don’t have to live on low-fat, plant-based, ultra-processed foods. Your body loves real, nutrient-dense foods-just as it has for millions of years. Try it, and watch your body heal.
