Dante Carrillo
The Pegan Diet is a style of eating created by Dr. Mark Hyman that combines the core principles of the paleo and vegan diets. The diet promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar through the consumption of nutrient-dense, whole foods. While the paleo and vegan diets have been a source of contention, with advocates on both sides, the Pegan Diet aims to strike a balance by incorporating the best aspects of both. This includes a focus on vegetables, fruits, good fats, limited refined carbs, and limited sugar, while still allowing for some meat consumption.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Creator | Dr. Mark Hyman |
| Food philosophy | Food is medicine |
| Inspiration | Paleo and vegan diets |
| Goals | Reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar, promote optimal health, prevent disease, heal the body, soothe the soul, promote longevity, increase energy, improve mental clarity, improve happiness |
| Food focus | Vegetables, fruits, whole foods, healthy fats, limited refined carbs, limited sugar, grass-fed meat, fish, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains |
| Food avoidance | Heavily processed sugars, oils, grains, conventionally farmed meats or eggs |
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What You'll Learn
The Pegan Diet combines the paleo and vegan diets
The Pegan Diet is a style of eating inspired by two of the most popular diet trends: paleo and vegan. It was created by Dr. Mark Hyman, a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine.
The Pegan Diet combines the key principles of the paleo and vegan diets, focusing on nutrient-dense, whole foods that can reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar, and support optimal health. The diet emphasizes the consumption of fruits and vegetables, with 75% of the diet comprising vegetables and fruits. It also includes small to moderate amounts of meat, certain fish, nuts, seeds, and some legumes.
The Pegan Diet encourages the intake of healthy fats, such as avocado, avocado oil, coconut oil, and olive oil. It recommends limiting refined sugar and processed foods, including heavily processed sugars, oils, and grains. The diet suggests eating grass-fed, pasture-raised meats, poultry, and whole eggs, as well as sustainably caught fish with low mercury content.
The Pegan Diet is designed to be a sustainable, long-term approach to eating, promoting a food-is-medicine philosophy. It aims to provide a balanced and easy-to-follow framework for achieving optimal short and long-term health, supporting longevity, energy, mental clarity, and happiness.
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It focuses on vegetables and fruits
The Pegan diet, created by Dr. Mark Hyman, is a style of eating inspired by two of the most popular diet trends—paleo and vegan. The diet promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. It is less restrictive than either a paleo or vegan diet. The primary food group for the Pegan diet is vegetables and fruits, which should comprise 75% of your total intake.
Dr. Hyman recommends eating two to three vegetable dishes per meal. He suggests focusing on fresh produce, which is packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber and is usually low in calories. The diet encourages the consumption of non-starchy vegetables, including greens, mushrooms, summer squash, beets, and cauliflower. These vegetables provide gut-balancing fiber and powerful antioxidants.
The Pegan diet also includes low-glycemic fruits, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, pears, and apples. These fruits are low in sugar and have a low impact on blood glucose levels. Dr. Hyman emphasizes the importance of eating a variety of deeply colored fruits and vegetables, as they provide a high phytonutrient content protective against most diseases.
In addition to vegetables and fruits, the Pegan diet allows small to moderate amounts of meat, certain fish, nuts, seeds, and some legumes. It discourages heavily processed sugars, oils, and grains but allows them in very small amounts. The diet recommends eating whole grains sparingly and avoiding gluten-containing grains.
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It allows small to moderate amounts of meat
The Pegan diet, created by Dr. Mark Hyman, combines the principles of the paleo and vegan diets. It promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. The diet is rich in nutrients and focuses on whole foods or foods that have undergone little to no processing.
The Pegan diet allows small to moderate amounts of meat. According to Dr. Hyman, meat and poultry should be sustainably raised, organic, and grass-fed. He recommends avoiding conventionally farmed meats and suggests focusing on grass-fed, pasture-raised sources of beef, pork, and poultry. Meat consumption on the Pegan diet is lower than on a typical paleo diet but still higher than on a vegan diet.
The diet recommends that 75% of your plate should consist of plant-based foods, including fruits and vegetables, leaving less than 25% for animal-based proteins. Dr. Hyman emphasizes the importance of eating a variety of deeply colored plant foods, which provide high phytonutrient content protective against most diseases. He also suggests eating foods full of phytochemicals, such as plant-based foods with anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, hormone-balancing, and gut-healing compounds.
In addition to meat, the Pegan diet also allows for the consumption of fish, especially those with low mercury content, such as sardines, wild salmon, and anchovies. These fish are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have numerous health benefits. Overall, the Pegan diet's approach to meat and animal-based proteins is designed to promote a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
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It encourages the consumption of nuts, seeds, and legumes
The Pegan diet, created by Dr. Mark Hyman, is a style of eating inspired by two of the most popular diet trends: paleo and vegan. The diet promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. Hyman describes the diet as a "food-is-medicine approach", emphasising the consumption of whole foods or foods that have undergone little to no processing.
The Pegan diet encourages the consumption of nuts, seeds, and legumes. Nuts and seeds are heart-healthy and fiber-rich fats that also offer some protein. Jackie Newgent, a registered dietitian, cites research suggesting that a higher intake of tree nuts is associated with a lower risk of cancer, especially cancers of the digestive system.
The diet recommends eating legumes like beans or lentils (up to one cup per day). These are good sources of plant protein and fiber, which support satiety, heart health, and gut health. However, Dr. Hyman recommends avoiding big, starchy beans.
The Pegan diet also encourages the intake of healthy fats from specific sources, such as coconut butter, coconut oil, avocado, and olive oil. These foods are full of phytochemicals, polyphenols, antioxidants, microbiome-healing fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, and post-biotics.
Overall, the Pegan diet by Dr. Mark Hyman encourages the consumption of nuts, seeds, and legumes as part of a balanced and easy-to-follow approach to eating that promotes optimal health.
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It discourages processed sugars, oils, and grains
The Pegan diet, created by Dr. Mark Hyman, is a style of eating inspired by two of the most popular diet trends: paleo and vegan. The diet promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. It is less restrictive than either a paleo or vegan diet.
The Pegan diet discourages heavily processed sugars, oils, and grains. While fruits and vegetables should comprise 75% of your total intake, the remaining 25% is made up of animal-based proteins. This includes small to moderate amounts of meat, certain fish, nuts, seeds, and some legumes.
Sugar and processed foods are discouraged on the Pegan diet. Dr. Hyman recommends limiting refined sugar, including fruit juices and natural sweeteners like honey. Instead, he suggests focusing on foods that are full of phytochemicals, such as colourful plant foods with anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, hormone-balancing, and energy-boosting compounds.
The Pegan diet also recommends eating whole grains sparingly, with no more than 1/2 cup per meal and avoiding gluten-containing grains. While legumes are allowed, Dr. Hyman recommends avoiding big, starchy beans. Nuts and seeds are encouraged as they are heart-healthy and fibre-rich fats that also offer some protein.
Overall, the Pegan diet is designed to be a sustainable, long-term approach to eating that supports optimal health and reduces inflammation.
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Frequently asked questions
The Pegan diet is a style of eating inspired by two of the most popular diet trends: paleo and vegan. It focuses on whole foods or foods that have undergone little to no processing.
The Pegan diet is primarily plant-based, with an emphasis on vegetables and fruits, which should comprise 75% of your total intake. It also encourages the consumption of small portions of sustainably sourced protein, including eggs, chicken, lamb, and wild salmon.
The Pegan diet promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. It also combines the good fats and limited refined carbs of the paleo diet with the fresh, healthy veggies of the vegan diet.
The Pegan diet was created by Dr. Mark Hyman, a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine.
