My name is Serhad Erdogan and I launched this website in June 2023.  

But why did I do that?  

I have been concerned with my body, or rather the human body, for years now. I lifted weights for the first time when I was 15 and that's how I found my way into bodybuilding. The diet said that I had to eat rice, broccoli and chicken breast so that I got around 200g of protein a day... which I did. My muscles grew, I looked better, but something was wrong. I had to force myself to eat this food every day. I also saw no problem in consuming cured meat (nitrite), genetically modified wheat and "healthy" oils such as peanut oil, rapeseed oil and low-quality olive oil. Butter was out of the question because it was "unhealthy". I did all of this for around 14 years. The path was arduous:  

Chronic diseases  

Reflux: Lifelong treatment with gastric acid blockers  

It started for the first time when I was about 16. I couldn't sleep because my stomach was burning so much. Both my brother and my father had the same problem. So the doctor concluded that it was genetic. The blockage between the stomach and esophagus wasn't closing. I accepted what the doctor said. Because (at that point) he knew better than I did.  

Pollen allergy: Out of nowhere  

At the age of 20, I completed my military service as a Swiss citizen. I followed the keto diet for the first time over a longer period of time (with mayonnaise, eggs, huge amounts of cured meat and lots of sunflower oil in the canteen). And one day, on a beautiful day in June, I was overcome by tiredness, itchy eyes and a runny nose: I had spontaneously developed a pollen allergy. Here too, the doctors said I would have to take anti-histamines for the rest of my life. Some even claimed it was genetic (no one in the family has any allergies) or that I had simply (quote from the clearly overweight doctor) "had bad luck". I searched online for a solution, but couldn't find one. Here, too, I accepted my fate!  

Rotator cuff: "You too will have to have your shoulder operated on"  

I was in the middle of my medical studies when my shoulder started to hurt. They said I had tendonitis in my shoulder. I should lift less weight. But my brother, my mother and my uncle (on my mother's side) all had these symptoms. The latter two never did competitive sports. So why this tendonitis? I couldn't understand it. I was studying medicine, always did my exercises correctly (I'd never been an egolifter), but I had to deal with unsolvable and inexplicable shoulder problems. I asked shoulder specialists. But they didn't have an answer either. Other than that I would probably need an operation in the future.  

Obesity: "You're just getting older"  

I got fat during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Exam periods and sitting for hours on end weren't good for my health either. Since I was a business information technology student at the time, I wasn't doing great financially and I ate mostly convenience foods, vegetables, bread, nuts and processed "meat". At that point, I hadn't been exercising for a long time, which meant that my 97 kilos at the time were not muscle, but primarily fat.  

The solution: species-appropriate nutrition  

My brother discovered Ray Peat's work by chance. Ray Peat explained that many illnesses and obesity are caused by an imbalance of hormones, mitochondrial processes and energy balance. What initially sounds very complicated and like hocus-pocus can be broken down into: Eat only selected fruits, meat, bone broth, offal, cheese/milk and honey. Avoid seeds and oils like the plague, only eat grains in the form of sourdough and avoid additives if possible. No sooner said than done: 

• After just three days of being grain-free, my shoulder pain was gone. 

• After half a year, I was able to slowly wean myself off the stomach acid medication and now I only burp when I “accidentally” eat too many oils. 

• In late spring 2022, I had to inhale cortisone for the last time because the combination of cheese and pollen gave me an excess of histamine. Today (June 2024) I only have a runny nose and slightly red eyes. An immense improvement! 

• In two years I have built muscle like never before! Avoiding seed oils and the resulting lower serotonin, cortisol, estrogen and adrenaline levels allow my thyroid hormones to run free, allowing my body to produce testosterone from cholesterol without hindrance. 

Raw Animal – freeze-dried beef offal in capsule form  

If I can do it, you can too. I don't have any special genetics or advantages. I'm actually pretty average. It takes a certain amount of time to wean yourself off rice or grains and only eat fruit. And almost everyone likes fruit. 

It is also not difficult to eat meat, cheese and bone broths. I don't know anyone who doesn't like the taste of these foods. 

However, opinions differ when it comes to offal. It is completely understandable that not everyone likes to eat testicles. The taste of liver is also debatable. And it is also understandable that people pull a face when they just think about offal. 

That's why I want to help out here. Are you convinced that offal is healthy or would you like to try it because you think: "Yes, Serhad might be right." But you find the idea disgusting, don't have time to cook or can't get hold of certain offal? 

That's exactly why Raw Animal exists. To give you the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of offal. To show you that there is another way. To prove that we can eat in a species-appropriate way and be healthy again - together!