The year 2022 is doing its absolute most to make sure it carries the bizarre celebrity flame of yonder, as it presented us with sometimes reality-TV star Heidi Montag chomping on a succulent piece of raw meat this week.
We’ll let you digest that sentence, much like ol’ Heids here needs to digest this meal.
The Hills star, who shot to reality TV prominence in the noughties (‘I want to forgive you, and I wanna forget you’, we’ll never forget) has shared her apparent love of the raw meat diet which we cannot in good faith advertise here as a terribly brilliant thing to do.
Still, the star is all about it, and was papped – how convenient – this week tucking into a *checks notes* raw bison heart.
From a Ziplock bag, no less.
Many experts have warned against eating raw meat, and, while there can be benefits to consuming organ meats – such as providing a good source of vitamin A and iron – there is a possible risk of food poisoning due to any bacteria that would usually be destroyed through the cooking process.
Be that as it may, the wife of Spencer Pratt revealed in January she was consuming a diet including raw meat and filmed herself cutting up a slab of raw bison liver with scissors and sharing her hopes it’ll aid with her fertility.
Clearly finding a love for the stuff, she then shared a clip of herself nibbling on bull testicles, as you do.
Classic famous people.
Speaking to People recently, Heidi – who is mum to four-year-old son Gunner – said she’d researched the ‘carnivore diet’ and wanted to give it a go.
She said: ‘I have been trying to get pregnant for over a year and a half, I’m willing to try different things. It’s a great source of nutrients! I have felt incredible on this diet. A lot more energy, clarity, increased libido, and overall improvement on chronic pain I have had.’
While the star acknowledged that there is ‘always a risk eating raw just like eating raw sushi’ Heidi added: ‘I just happen to like eating sushi-style organs.’
And when it comes to the whole ‘raw meat’ thing? ‘I have definitely adjusted to the taste. I do like the taste cooked. I mean I love Foie gras.’
Well there you go.
Is a raw meat diet safe?
Dietician Dr Frankie Phillips, of the British Dietetic Association, has stressed the dangers of eating raw meat.
She said: ‘Eating some cuts of meat raw or lightly cooked poses a health risk, but provided it has been butchered, handled and stored correctly – with proper hygienic conditions – it may be low risk.
‘A ‘blue’ steak, or steak tartare, may be safe to eat, but it can’t be guaranteed free of harmful pathogens. Conversely, cooking meat to a high temperature for long enough reduces the risk of food poisoning, as harmful bacteria are killed, or denatured.
‘If eggs have a UK lion stamp, they are salmonella free, so should be safe to eat runny or raw
‘Raw milk is less clear and pregnant women, infants and elderly people shouldn’t have unpasteurised milk.
‘However, raw chicken is a definite no and food hygiene practices should be strictly followed when handling raw chicken. We would never recommend people eat chicken that is not cooked thoroughly as there is too great a risk of food poisoning.’