225 - Beating / Reversing Crohn's Part 5 - A New Hope

Evan McCann vs. Crohn’s – Lion Diet, Carnivore, and College Comeback

Description:
In this powerful story episode, Andy shares his son Evan McCann’s journey battling Crohn’s disease with the Lion Diet and carnivore nutrition. After a tough diagnosis, Evan committed to a year of strict carnivore eating (mostly beef, salt, and water) and saw incredible results — not only managing symptoms but also regaining energy, strength, and health. He’s now back at college, thriving, and living proof that radical lifestyle changes can make all the difference.

Highlights include:

• What the Lion Diet and Carnivore Diet look like in real life
• How Crohn’s symptoms responded to this strict elimination approach
• The role of discipline, family support, and faith in his recovery
• Lessons for anyone facing an autoimmune or gut health challenge
• Why food is foundational in Andy’s Five Pillars of Health & Longevity framework

This is a story of resilience, nutrition, and hope — one that might just inspire you or someone you love to explore food as medicine.

Keywords for SEO: Crohn’s disease recovery, Lion Diet success, carnivore diet healing, autoimmune health, fitness over 40, CrossFit Garage podcast, health and longevity, gut health carnivore, college student health journey, Woodstock GA fitness

Summary:

# Evan's Journey Beating Crohn's: A Summary
A Father-Son Journey Battling Crohn's Disease: Andy McCann shares his son Evan's journey with Crohn's disease, offering hope to others. When conventional medicine only offered immunosuppressant drugs and potential colon removal, they chose a different path focused on diet and lifestyle changes.
The Lion Diet Approach: Evan committed to the Lion Diet (ruminant meat, salt, and water only) for over a year. After four months, he began noticing improvements. This highly restrictive diet eliminated all plant foods, processed foods, and non-ruminant meats to reduce gut inflammation.
From Critical Condition to Recovery: At his worst, Evan had dropped from 170 pounds to 117 pounds, with undigested food passing through his system. Now he's back at college weighing 140+ pounds with dramatically reduced symptoms and significantly improved quality of life.
Beyond Diet: A Holistic Approach: In addition to the Lion Diet, they hired a gut health consultant (The Gut Solution), did parasite cleanses, colon cleanses, and made significant changes to Evan's living environment to eliminate potential triggers.
The Challenge of Social Isolation: One of the hardest aspects of Evan's healing journey was the social isolation. College life revolves around food and social eating, making his strict diet particularly challenging in a university environment.
Gradual Reintroduction Process: After strict adherence, Evan has slowly experimented with adding foods back, often experiencing setbacks when adding too much too quickly. He developed alternatives like egg-and-cheese based "pancakes" with honey to provide different textures and tastes.
The Role of Discipline: Andy emphasizes that extraordinary discipline was required for this approach to work. Both he and Evan have particularly disciplined personalities that made this possible, acknowledging this approach may not work for everyone.
Encouraging Others with Autoimmune Conditions: Andy shares this story as "A New Hope" for others with Crohn's or similar conditions. While not offering medical advice, he encourages others to research, experiment carefully, and consider alternatives before accepting invasive treatments.