A former vegan claims switching to a diet of "raw meat and organs" has helped her look more than 30 years younger.

Eva LaRoche, 56, says she is now "healthier than ever" after become a "raw carnivore".

And the wedding officiant believes the move has also cured her "lifelong constipation" and has bowel movements as regular as clockwork.

"I feel better so much fitter and stronger now, and I have the body I had when I was 25," the mum-of-two, of Chicago, Illinois, said.

She compares the taste of raw brains to "custard without the sugar".

Eva added: "Straight away I saw an overall improvement to my health and I went from having boulder-hard poo to soft and regular bowel movements every day. On top of that, I haven't got sick once.

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(Image: PA Real Life)

(Image: PA Real Life)

"My whole life I had tried everything to fix this problem - which has been so bad at times that going to the toilet felt like giving birth - but nothing worked."

Eva, who is married to Bryan, 52, a training director, blamed her problem on having an underactive thyroid - the gland which produces hormones to regulate how the body processes food.

But despite trying different diets since her early 20s, Eva was until now unable to find a cure.

She became a vegan when she was 36 but, after six years, her digestive problems did not improve and her general health deteriorated.

"I really didn't notice much improvement and I remember my older sister Susan saying to me, 'How come you're ill so much even though you eat so healthily?'

(Image: PA Real Life)

"It was true, I had a cold every month, flu once a year, and after a few years of being vegan my hair started to fall out and my skin became really dry," the mother said.

So she switched her diet drastically to the raw meat one.

Starting slowly with raw beef steaks, which she would eat with suet - hard, uncooked beef fat - Eva soon graduated to more gory meals, sourcing pork brains and kidney, beef livers and heart from nearby farmers and local butchers.

She added: "As soon as I discovered raw carnivorism, within days, my constipation was cured.

"It's really done wonders for my health more generally, too. I never get colds any more, I've got much more energy and my body is fitter than it has ever been.

"This way of eating is still very new and little understood."

(Image: PA Real Life)

(Image: PA Real Life)

However, Eva won't eat raw chicken due to the health risks.

"My family think I'm pretty crazy eating the way I do, but they have got used to it now and know that I do it because it makes me feel better," she said.

"They say that eating raw pork can be dangerous, but I have never had a problem and I'm always very careful to source the animals I eat and only get them from responsible farmers.

"I've spent a lifetime struggling with my health and now that I have found something that works for me, I'm not going to stop just because it seems strange to other people."

(Image: PA Real Life)

(Image: PA Real Life)

Daniel O'Shaughnessy, a nutritionist for The Naked Nutritionist clinic in Harley Street, London, warned of the risks of eating raw meat.

He said: "While there can be benefits to consuming organ meats - such as providing a good source of vitamin A and iron, it’s not safe to say that this is OK to eat raw due to the possible risk of food poisoning.

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"Even consuming steak tartare is not recommended.

"A raw meat diet is very restricted and additionally increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies as the diet is lacking in vitamins and minerals."