Dr. Mark Hyman, a top functional medicine physician, first coined the term “pegan”on his blog back in 2014, but the nutritional philosophy has been getting attention only recently. Pinterest, searches for the pegan diet increased 337% last year and it continues to spark people’s interest.
What is the pegan diet?
Basically, paleo eaters follow the dietary plan made available during the Paleolithic era such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, meat and fish and excludes dairy, grains, sugar, alcohol, and coffee. Veganism prescribes whole, plant-based foods and restricts any animal products. Jaclyn London, Nutrition Director at the Good Housekeeping Institute described pegan diet by saying, “The general parameters are basically taking the topline of two competing diet ideologies and combining the names to make for a great wedding hashtag.” What do pegan followers eat? Although you can still eat (a fraction of) meat, Dr. Hyman encourages 75% of your pegan meal includes vegetables and fruits.
So as you see, it puts emphasis on eating fruits, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, and eggs and avoidance of dairy products, processed foods, sugar, grains and legumes. Critics say that due to its restrictiveness, followers of the pegan diet may lose their interest in sticking with it in the long term.