MrBeast suffers from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause fatigue, weight loss, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
MrBeast first started experiencing symptoms of the disease as a teenager and has lived with it since then as it is incurable. The disease often leaves him tired, but he remains determined not to let it constrain his life. That positive mental attitude has seen him become of the most famous YouTubers in the world.
MrBeast’s Illness Started as a Teen
As earlier mentioned, MrBeast has Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects parts of the gastrointestinal tract (GI), which runs from the mouth to the anus. The disease affects different parts of the GI in different individuals. It has many symptoms, but the most common ones are diarrhea, fatigue, abdominal pains, weight loss, etc.
MrBeast first started experiencing the symptoms of Crohn’s disease at the age of 15. Some of his earliest symptoms included diarrhea. He had to use the loo about ten times each day, and this caused him to lose about 40 lbs., which wasn’t healthy any way you look at it.
He eventually made his way to the medics and was officially diagnosed.
MrBeast’s Disease Made Him Shift His Interest from Baseball to YouTube
As hard as it sounds, Crohn’s disease actually played a part in MrBeast’s YouTube journey. Prior to the flaring up of his Crohn’s disease, MrBeast was a very physically active kid. He loved baseball and often played it thrice a day. Things, however, changed when he began suffering from Crohn’s disease.
It caused him to be fatigued a lot, and he couldn’t play baseball as much as he used. He had to look for something else to occupy himself with, and the answer came in the form of YouTube. He paid more attention to his channel, which he had earlier started in 2012, and uploaded various videos which proved to be a hit with the public.
He first struck gold with his “worst intros on YouTube segment” before moving on to the expensive stunts that he is now known for.
The Famous YouTuber Has Spoken About His Disease Condition
MrBeast is one of the most popular YouTubers in the world now, and why he hasn’t held himself out as some sort of spokesperson on the issue of Crohn’s disease, he has talked about his condition in interviews. There are also videos on his YouTube channel where he has addressed what living with Crohn’s disease is like for him.
Crohn’s Disease Limits MrBeast’s Diet and Social Life
MrBeast has revealed that Crohn’s disease impacts his diet and social life. For one, he cannot just eat anything he wants because it could lead to the flaring up of his stomach and consequent diarrhea.
He, therefore, has to stick to a limited but tested and trusted diet such as chicken and rice, chicken and sweet potato that won’t upset his stomach. He avoids foods like chips, cookies, etc. According to him, this affects his social life as he often has to bring his own food while hanging out with his friends at eateries and similar establishments.
It Also Makes Him Tire Easily, Thus Affecting His Work Rate
When you watch his videos and expensive stunts, MrBeast comes across as a fellow that is quite energetic and bubbly. However, the reverse is the case. The YouTuber tires easily and has to take a lot of naps to be able to function properly. This affects his work rate and has led to controversy in the past.
On the 4th of April 2018, a YouTuber named FlyyDoesYT made a video in which he claimed that MrBeast’s videos are fake. According to him, MrBeast only appears in the opening minutes of his videos and then leaves the rest of the filming to his employees who are miserable in his employ. This allegation came after a MrBeast video titled I tipped waitresses $20,000.
MrBeast was forced to defend himself. He revealed that his employees were not miserable working for him but rather satisfied. He also stated that he actually gives out the money that he touts in his videos.
On the issue of only filming the first few minutes of the video, MrBeast revealed that his Crohn’s disease left him quite tired on that particular day, and he had to leave the filming for his staff to complete.
MrBeast Undergoes Routine Treatment Every Eight Weeks
According to experts, there are different courses of treatment for Crohn’s disease. The one that MrBeast uses is biologics. He goes to the hospital every eight weeks, and a medicine known as Remicade is pumped intravenously into his body.
The medicine suppresses his immune system so that it doesn’t attack healthy tissues. However, the after-effect is that the YouTuber easily contracts infections as a result of the weakened immune system.
He Maintains an Upbeat Attitude Towards His Illness
Despite the treatments and being careful with one’s diet, Crohn’s disease can flare up in a sufferer without warning. MrBeast has experienced this multiple times, and while it can be quite frustrating, he has chosen not to let his illness have the upper hand.
The famous YouTuber has accepted his condition, and this has helped him in moving forward with his life and achieving great things. As he sees it, sitting around and bemoaning the disease that he has doesn’t help him achieve anything.
As such, he might as well get up and get on with his life. For MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, if something is within one’s control, then it is okay to worry about it and how to change it. However, if something is out of one’s control, then all the worrying is quite a waste of time.
Some Believe MrBeast Should Create More Awareness about Crohn’s Disease
MrBeast is not only popular for his expensive stunts but also his expensive philanthropic gestures. For instance, in January 2023, he paid for cataract surgery for 1000 people. Then in May, he paid for hearing aids for another 1000 individuals. These gestures have made him speak out on the state of the healthcare system in America, but some fans feel that he should say more about the disease that he suffers from.
They want him to be quite outspoken about it and lead efforts toward research, fundraising, etc. MrBeast has done some videos on his disease, but he doesn’t place it front and center all the time.
The reason for this is that he believes there are more terrible diseases out there, and as such, he doesn’t want it to seem like he’s making too much noise about a condition that is not as terrible as cancer, for instance.
